Grey’s Anatomy Actress Natalie Morales Speaks Out on That Shocking Season 22 Death

 

Natalie Morales is grateful for her time at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Grey’s Anatomy’s season 22 premiere confirmed the actress’ character Dr. Monica Beltran died following the explosion at the end of season 21 after she was crushed by hospital machinery that fell on her during the impact—but not before walking surgical intern Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane) through the surgery of a boy the two had been operating on at the time of the blast.

Natalie—who originally joined Grey’s Anatomy in season 20—admitted she was slightly surprised when executive producer and showrunner Meg Marinis called her about the new season.

“When they asked me to come back for this season. I got the phone call to come back, and I said, ‘Oh, I thought maybe she would have died,’” the 40-year-old recalled to Deadline in an interview published Oct. 9. “And then Meg was like, ‘Well, I have something to tell you.’”

As Natalie shared, she was feeling “a mix of things” as she heard her character would be killed off.

“I’ve been so lucky to be a part of this show,” she said, “and I feel very grateful to have been a part of it.”

And Natalie was especially grateful for how kind the Grey’s Anatomy fandom has been to her, although she joked, “I think those people that have been welcoming to me are going to be pissed. I’m sorry about that.”

But there are certainly no hard feelings for Natalie, as she had complete trust in Meg, gushing that she is “an incredibly talented writer and showrunner.”

“She was so kind and so on top of it all the time that when she told me the plan, I was like, ‘Oh, that feels right. I get why you’re doing that, and it makes sense to me,’” Natalie recalled. “Although I’m sad about it, it really works for the story.”

And the No Hard Feelings actress was thankful she got more time than she anticipated on Grey’s, as she’d originally been brought on for just three to five episodes.

“I didn’t know what it was going to be,” Natalie explained. “I’m lucky that it was more than that; I’m excited that I got to do more than that.”

Still, it was hard to say goodbye, as Natalie shared that the show’s cast and crew were a joy to work with.

“To me, the crews are always the best part. I got to work with an amazing cast, the writers were all wonderful, and the directors that I worked with were great,” she added. “So, really, it’s the people that I will miss more than anything.”

And Natalie herself will be equally missed.

“She’s such an incredible performer, incredible actor,” Meg gushed to Deadline. “I loved working with her, and I hope to work with her again one day. She’s just a delight, and the things that she brings on screen.”

And as the showrunner explained, she didn’t want to kill off anybody this season and actually tried to avoid it.

“But then I was in the writers room, and as I rewatched the finale,” she shared, “it became clear to me, ‘Oh, this is where the story is leading.’”