Why Grey's Anatomy Star Chyler Leigh & Her Ex-Husband Decided To End Their Marriage After 25 Years

Chyler Leigh is a prolific performer with multiple claims to fame, but she's perhaps best known for her role as Dr. Lexie Grey on the long-running primetime medical soap opera "Grey's Anatomy." If superheroes are more your speed, the actor also played Alex Danvers, the adoptive sister of Melissa Benoist's Girl of Steel, on the DC series "Supergirl." More recently, Chyler Leigh found a home on the Hallmark Channel as the lead actor in its hit fantasy-drama series "The Way Home." Before all of that, though, she starred as Janey Briggs in the cult favorite 2001 parody film "Not Another Teen Movie." That movie just so happened to feature a minor appearance by an actor named Nathan West, who became Chyler Leigh's husband the year after it came out in theaters. 

Shockingly, after a quarter-century together, the former co-stars decided to call it quits. Initially, Leigh simply confirmed during a May 2026 appearance on the "Books That Changed My Life" podcast that she and West were no longer together. Luckily, fans of the actor didn't have to wait long to get answers, as she then proceeded to open up about what ultimately led to their decision to end things. "My relationship with my ex had reached a point where it was just time," the Hallmark star explained. "It was time to let it go, even after — for such a long time — we'd been together, it would be 26 years this year," Leigh continued, adding, "[We] just hit a point where it was like, 'Okay. What you want and what I want aren't really lining up anymore. 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.'"

Elsewhere on "Books That Changed My Life," Chyler Leigh also discussed how her three children, as well as some broader family dynamics, influenced the decision to end her marriage to Nathan West. According to the Hallmark star, the mounting tension between the couple was something their kids were starting to pick up on, and they felt it would be best to not continue to expose them to that. "It just shifts the mood and the dynamic of everything," she said. Likewise, "[West] 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.'" Ultimately, the decision they made was to amicably part ways and settle into a healthy co-parenting dynamic for the sake of their children. 

Interestingly, Leigh went public about transitioning out of her marriage at a time when she was also in the midst of a major transitional period in her professional life. Just one month after doing the podcast, Hallmark's "The Way Home" came to an end after four seasons, meaning Leigh was actually back on the market in more ways than one. However, during an interview with Greay Magazine, in June 2026, she clarified that her approach to taking acting jobs had evolved over time regardless. More specifically, Leigh had reached a point where she was less concerned with fame and accolades, and more interested in whatever creatively fulfilled her on a more personal level. As the "Grey's Anatomy" star stated emphatically, "[W]hatever my next project is something I am wildly passionate about."