Chris Ivery: What Most People Get Wrong About Ellen Pompeo’s Husband

You probably know Ellen Pompeo as the face of Grey’s Anatomy, the woman who spent nineteen seasons navigating life-or-death drama at Grey Sloan Memorial. But off-camera, her real-life anchor isn’t a McDreamy. It’s Chris Ivery.

Honestly, he’s one of the most low-profile husbands in Hollywood, which is wild considering his wife was once the highest-paid actress on network TV. They've been together since 2003. That's practically a century in celebrity years.

While fans were obsessing over Meredith and Derek, Ivery was building a completely separate life in the music and fashion worlds. He doesn't even watch the show. Seriously. Pompeo has joked that he finds the whole "fake doctor" thing a bit much.

How They Actually Met (It Wasn't a Red Carpet)

Forget fancy Hollywood parties or industry mixers. Chris Ivery and Ellen Pompeo met at a grocery store in Los Angeles. This was back in 2003.

The funny thing? They grew up about ten miles away from each other in Boston. They were "six degrees" away from each other their entire lives but had to move to the West Coast to finally cross paths while picking out produce. They were friends for about six months before things got romantic.

Their wedding was just as low-key. In 2007, they snuck off to New York City Hall. No paparazzi. No massive guest list. Just them and then-mayor Michael Bloomberg acting as a legal witness. They went to L'Artusi for a quiet dinner afterward and went home. That was it.

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The Music Career and the Rihanna Connection

People often label Ivery as just "the husband," but he's a heavy hitter in the music industry. He's been a record producer for over 25 years.

If you’ve ever sang along to Rihanna’s 2010 hit "Cheers (Drink to That)," you’ve heard his work. He’s a credited songwriter on that track. He’s worked behind the scenes with massive names, but he prefers the shadows over the spotlight.

Lately, he’s pivoted. In 2019, he took a major role in the relaunch of the Italian sportswear brand Sergio Tacchini. He serves as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). You’ll see him sitting front row at fashion weeks now, not because he's an actor's plus-one, but because he's actually running the show for the STLA Collection.

Addressing the "Skeletons" in the Closet

The couple has a remarkably stable marriage, but they’ve been open about the fact that it hasn't always been perfect. Early in their marriage, tabloids dug up Ivery’s past. He had a criminal record from his younger years in Boston—things like credit card fraud and drug-related charges.

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Pompeo didn't blink. She basically told the media, "Show me a teenager from Boston who doesn't have a record."

She’s always defended him, noting that he was open about his past from day one. He’s a "stand-up guy" who learned from his mistakes. That kind of loyalty is pretty rare in a town where people jump ship the second a PR crisis hits.

Their Family Life and Raising Mixed-Race Kids

The couple has three children:

1. Stella Luna (born 2009)
2. Sienna May (born 2014 via surrogate)
3. Eli Christopher (born 2016)

Being in an interracial marriage isn't something Pompeo or Ivery take lightly. Ellen has been very vocal on podcasts and in interviews about the responsibility of raising Black children. She makes sure their home is filled with images of powerful Black women. She wants her daughters to see themselves in the world.

She’s even admitted that her son, Eli, looks quite light-skinned, but she’s conscious that the world will still perceive him through a specific lens. They talk about race. They talk about the "Boston kids" mentality. They keep it real.

Why Their Marriage Lasts

Why do they work when everyone else in Hollywood is getting divorced?

Probably because they don't play the game. They aren't trying to be a "power couple." Ivery has his own money—estimated at a net worth of around $10 million (though some reports suggest higher due to their joint real estate ventures). They’ve flipped houses in the Hamptons and own a massive estate in Malibu.

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He isn't intimidated by her success. He’s her biggest fan, even if he won’t sit through a 42-minute episode of medical jargon.

What You Can Take Away

If you’re looking at Chris Ivery and Ellen Pompeo as "couple goals," there are a few actual takeaways from their two-decade run:

• Separate Identities Matter: He didn't become "Mr. Pompeo." He kept his music production and moved into fashion marketing.
• Privacy is a Choice: You don't see them in the tabloids every week because they don't hang out where the cameras are.
• Radical Honesty: Dealing with "skeletons" early on prevents them from being used against you later.
• Shared Background: Coming from the same working-class Boston area gave them a shared "language" that Hollywood couldn't change.

If you want to keep up with what they're doing now, keep an eye on the Sergio Tacchini brand launches or catch Ellen’s occasional updates on her podcast, Tell Me. They’re still out there, just doing their own thing, away from the hospital scrubs.