Ellen Pompeo‘s character Meredith Grey may have a rocky relationship history onGrey’s Anatomy — but her real-life love story is much more stable. 

Pompeo met husbandChris Ivery in a Los Angeles grocery store in 2003 and after six months of friendship, the couple began dating. After nearly four years together, they secretly wed in 2007 with former New York City mayorMichael Bloomberg officiating the ceremony. 

“They took us in this underground tunnel underneath City Hall … and you’re in the mayor’s office. Behind a bookshelf, a wall opens and then you just walk in and you’re in his office,” Pompeo recounted during a 2017 episode ofLive With Kelly and Ryan. “No one knew, so we had that to ourselves.” 

The twosome, who grew up in neighboring Massachusetts towns, went on to welcome three children: Stella, Sienna and Eli.

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