Grey’s Anatomy : Jo Drops Karev and Gets a New Roommate After a Longtime Couple Breaks Up
Jo Karev is doing her best to move on.
During Thursday’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Jo (Camilla Luddington) continued to deal with the aftermath of her husband Alex Karev’s (Justin Chambers) sudden departure — and made some major life changes along the way.
Still processing the news of her husband leaving her to be with his ex-wife Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and their two children, Jo seemed ready for a fresh start.
“Karev, you’re late,” Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) said during a phone call to Jo.
“It’s 5 a.m. and it’s not Karev anymore,” Jo responded.
“Fair enough, what is it?” asked Meredith.
“I don’t know yet,” she said.
ABC Dr. Jo
Taking her colleague’s advice, Jo went into work to help with Meredith’s pro bono project (25 surgeries in 12 hours!) — and quickly decided what she wanted to be called.
“It’s Wilson now,” she told her coworkers after Meredith almost referred to her as Karev. “Wait, I don’t like that either. For now it is Dr. Jo,” she said, while putting a sticker over “Karev” on her lab coat.
In an attempt to continue her plan of moving on successfully, Jo had another idea.
Walking into Joe’s bar across the street from Grey Sloan Memorial, Jo ran into Dr. Schmitt (who had just had an argument and possible breakup with his boyfriend, Dr. Nico Kim).
“I think I dumped myself,” Schmitt told Jo. “Is that even possible? Oh, wait, of course it is. I’m me.”
After revealing that he had left all of his stuff at Nico’s and had nowhere to live, Jo offered a solution.
“Do you want to stay with me while you look for a place?” she asked.
“Jo, that time in my mom’s basement was a one-time thing,” Schmitt said, referring to the time they hooked up during a previous break from Alex. “I’m a gay man.”
Bursting out laughing, Jo said, “That’s why you’re getting the invite.”
ABC Jo and Schmitt
“My place is too empty and I’m too sad and I don’t want to be chased out of the place that I bought myself because my husband, my ex-husband … I don’t want to have to go, but it needs to change, like now,” she added.
“Then definitely yes, we can be super sad together,” Schmitt responded.
Earlier this month, fans finally got answers as to why Chambers’ beloved character left Grey Sloan Memorial, his on-screen wife Jo, and the home he’s known for 16 seasons.
In four different letters to Jo, Meredith, Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), Alex explained that he’d moved to Kansas to be with his ex-wife, Izzie, and their 5-year-old twins.
RELATED: Grey’s Anatomy Showrunner Bids Justin Chambers’ Character an ‘Impossible Goodbye’
Kelsey McNeal/ABC Dr. Alex Karev
In January, ABC confirmed to PEOPLE that Chambers, 49, was not returning to the franchise.
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” Chambers said in a statement. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”
He added, “As I move on from Grey’s Anatomy, I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride.”
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays (9 p.m. ET) on ABC.