Why did Richard Flood leave Grey’s Anatomy, role of Cormac Hayes?

Why did Richard Flood leave Grey’s Anatomy? It makes sense to wonder that after Cormac Hayes’ abrupt exit from the hospital. He claimed that he wanted to move his kids back to Ireland in the aftermath of Owen’s request to him at the end of last year. He didn’t want to keep a secret and yet, he also couldn’t bring himself to admit to the truth.

Ultimately, Flood’s exit came as a classic Grey’s Anatomy bait-and-switch, where they had us all worried about Owen when in reality, another character was departing. We should note there’s always a chance for Richard to return, but he’s not set to be a series regular moving.

Now, let’s get back to the reasoning behind it: Ultimately, it feels like the right spot in this story for him to step away. We wish there was more closure for Meredith and Hayes, but there wasn’t much for him to do at the hospital beyond that. Jo’s story was shifting towards him at one point but now, it’s on Link. Meanwhile, Meredith has another love interest now in Nick Marsh who she first met before Flood ever came on board.

At this time, Flood has not spoke out himself on his departure from the series. However, a report from Deadline on this subject indicated that there was talk about him leaving even before season 18 started. Much of the original plan for the character was likely impacted by the pandemic, which caused just about everything to veer off-course. There’s a whole different alternate universe out there where the story for Hayes is very-much different from what we actually got.

In general, Grey’s is just a big cast; that’s why we see people leave on a seemingly-regular basis. It’s also possible that Richard as a performer will find opportunities for more screen time elsewhere.

Related – Be sure to get some more news when it comes to Grey’s Anatomy

Are you going to miss Richard Flood as Cormac Hayes on Grey’s Anatomy?

Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do just that, remember to also come back to score some other updates. (Photo: ABC.)