“It just hit a point where it was like, ‘Okay, what you want and what I want aren’t really lining up anymore.’”

*Grey’s Anatomy *star Chyler Leigh announces split from husband of more than 20 years

"It just hit a point where it was like, 'Okay, what you want and what I want aren't really lining up anymore.'"

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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May 13, 2026 10:52 a.m. ET

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Nathan West and Chyler Leigh in 2017. Credit:

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty

- Chyler Leigh opened up about her split from her husband, Nathan West, to whom she was married for more than two decades.

- The* Grey's Anatomy *star said they went their separate ways because it became clear they wanted different things.

- Leigh said the former couple are on good terms and remain committed to co-parenting their three children.

Chyler Leigh has broken her silence on her split from her ex Nathan West after more than two decades of marriage.

The *Grey’s Anatomy *alum announced their separation for the first time during a recent visit to the *Books That Changed My Life* podcast, revealing that she and West are on good terms and remain dedicated to co-parenting their three children.

The topic came up when host Chris Collins asked Leigh to reflect on an event in her life that pushed her to ask for help.

Chyler Leigh as Lexie Grey on 'Grey's Anatomy'.

Bob D'Amico/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

"I think getting to a point where my relationship with my ex had reached a point where it was just time," she replied. "It was time to let it go. Even after such a long time. We'd been together… it would be 26 years this year?"

While Leigh explained that she and West are still "amicable," she said it had become clear that they wanted different things in life.

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"It just hit a point where it was like, 'Okay, what you want and what I want aren't really lining up anymore,'" she said. "And I'd rather us be on good terms and us not harbor the resentment and the anger… all that stuff. It's not worth it."

Leigh added that their differences had become "so abundantly apparent" that even their kids and family members began to notice something wasn't right.

"It just shifts the mood and the dynamic of everything," she said on the podcast. "He went through a lot of trauma with his family. I went through a lot of trauma with my family. So we're just perpetuating that cycle. And so it was like, 'Okay, we have to make a choice.'"

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Leigh and West first met at an audition for a WB pilot in 1999. At the time, she was 16 and he was 20. The pair tied the knot three years later in 2002 and went on to welcome three children together — Noah, Anniston, and Taelyn — over the course of their decades-long marriage.

In addition to sharing children, Leigh and West shared the screen, appearing as friends of Mary (Jessica Biel) in season 5 of *7th Heaven*.

Leigh, however, is best known for playing Dr. Lexie Grey on *Grey’s Anatomy* and Alex Danvers/the Sentinel on *Supergirl* and other *Arrow*-verse shows.

West, meanwhile, is a musician and actor known for his roles in *Bring It On, Miracle, D2: The Mighty Ducks, *and *Not Another Teen Movie.*

Watch Leigh discuss the couple's split in the clip above.

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