Is Patrick Dempsey leaving Grey’s Anatomy? Don’t go, McDreamy!

In the latest Italian Vanity Fair, Patrick Dempsey spills the beans that he’s quitting Grey’s Anatomy, noting, “I do not know what’s going to happen to the other characters, but for me it’s done.”

Can Grey’s Anatomy go on without Patrick Dempsey’s Derek Shepherd? Will viewers tune out if it’s a McDreamy-less series?

And why is Patrick Dempsey leaving Grey’s Anatomy anyway?

Dempsey notes that it’s “bittersweet because it’s been great a great part of my life. But I can’t see me doing it anymore.”

Well, we’ll have to see if Dempsey really does leave Grey’s, as his publicist tried to smooth the waters, saying, “He was referring to the fact that his contract is up at the end of next season and we have no idea what the future holds.”

Renegotiating tactic? Or is Dempsey really on his way out?