Katherine Heigl ’By no means Noticed’ Daughter Whereas on ‘Gray’s Anatomy’

A tough time. Katherine Heigl opened up in regards to the difficulties she confronted as a mom whereas engaged on Gray’s Anatomy — and feeling indifferent from daughter Naleigh after a lot time aside. 

“I by no means noticed that child. I used to be at work with three triplets who have been taking part in my goddaughter and I spent extra time with them than I did with my new daughter and she or he bonded with my husband,” Heigl, 44, mentioned throughout the Monday, November 28, episode of The View. “So, I used to be all the time afraid that I had missed that chance to essentially bond together with her and that she didn’t love me.”

The Firefly Lane actress tied the knot with husband Josh Kelley in 2007. Two years later, Us Weekly confirmed that the pair adopted child Naleigh from South Korea. The couple shared images of their then-10-month-old later that month. 

Lower than a yr after bringing their infant house, nonetheless, Heigl was “on a airplane” and again to “work in Atlanta” for the ABC sequence. 

“On the time, changing into a brand new mom, I used to be identical to, ‘I acquired it. I acquired it. I can deal with this,’” she defined. “You understand, they’ve informed us we are able to have all of it. We are able to have careers and have households and it’s all gonna be nice. It’s all gonna work out.”

Regardless of the challenges of being a working mother, the Life as We Know It star hinted at her need to develop her household throughout a June 2010 interview with Gala journal. “We’d like to have a second little one, adopted or organic,” the Golden Globe nominee mentioned on the time. “We’re not ruling it out.”

Two years later, Heigl’s rep confirmed to Us Weekly that the mother and father had adopted a second daughter named Adalaide. The couple’s third little one, son Joshua, arrived in December 2016. 

Tthe Washington D.C. native has been candid in regards to the struggles she confronted on Gray’s Anatomy over time. Heigl portrayed physician Izzie Stevens on the medical drama for over 100 episodes from 2005 to 2010, when she exited midway by way of season six. Her abrupt departure got here after a public feud with creator Shonda Rhimes. 

“There was a decision to Izzie’s story. We had deliberate to have her come again for an episode to essentially correctly tie up Izzie and Alex (Justin Chambers),” Krista Vernoff, who labored on seasons 1-7 of the medical drama earlier than returning because the showrunner for season 14, informed the Los Angeles Occasions in November 2020. “And I wrote that episode, and it was stunning. The day earlier than it was supposed to start out prepping or capturing, I can’t keep in mind, we acquired a name that Katie wasn’t coming. Simply wasn’t coming. Wasn’t going to do it. It grew to become my job to remain up all evening for a number of nights and reimagine a script that didn’t embrace Izzie.”

Vernoff went on to say that whereas followers “screamed” on the writers “for years and years” about Heigl’s departure, the present all the time had plans to wrap up Izzie’s story. “That’s the behind-the-scenes story. That’s what occurred. I’m not saying that to bash Katie. I don’t know what was taking place in her life,” she defined.

Sources near Heigl, nonetheless, informed Us on the time that Vernoff was “mistaken” when it got here to the actress’ exit from the sequence. “Katherine was again in L.A. after parental go away (when she adopted her Adalaide) ready to be referred to as to set,” the insider shared.

Heigl, for her half, informed Entry in 2014 that she hopes to “sometime” mend the fences between her and 52-year-old Rhimes. In January 2021, the Knocked Up star even informed the Washington Put up that returning as Izzie earlier than the long-running sequence ends could be “utterly dependent upon the staff over there, how they really feel about it, and the story.”

She added, “By no means say by no means.”