“Buffy” Star Nicholas Brendon Was Found Dead By a Friend Taking Care of Him

Authorities say a friend of Nicholas Brendon was the one who found the actor dead

NEED TO KNOW

• The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum was pronounced dead on March 20 at the age of 54

• At the time of his death, a friend was staying with Brendon to help take care of him

Nicholas Brendonwas found by a friend shortly after he died, according to new details being shared by authorities.

In a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday, March 25, Putnam County Coroner Todd Zeiner confirmed theBuffy the Vampire Slayeralum, 54, was found deceased on March 20, and "positioned as if asleep."TMZwas first to report the news.

"The decedent resided alone and was discovered by a longtime friend who had been staying overnight to provide care," Zeiner said. "Evidence indicated the time of death was very recent. Investigators are reviewing recently posted videos as potential evidence of prior illness."

The identity of the friend who found Brendon was not disclosed.

Brendon's family members reported that the actor had a history of cardiac issues, Zeiner said, adding that there were no signs of foul play. Nothing at the scene indicated the death was anything other than natural, the coroner added.

Brendon's body was transported for an autopsy. Toxicology and final results are pending. The final cause and manner of death will be released upon completion of all findings.

The actor's familyconfirmed his deathin an Instagram post on March 20.

"We are heartbroken to share the passing of our brother and son, Nicholas Brendon. He passed in his sleep of natural causes," his loved ones said in a statement.

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In the lengthy post, they remembered him as "passionate, sensitive and endlessly driven to create."

"Those who truly knew him understood that his art was one of the purest reflections of who he was," his family said. "While it'sno secret that Nicholas had struggles in the past, he was on medications andtreatment to manage his diagnosisand he was optimistic about the future at the time of his passing. Our family asks for privacy during this time as we grieve his loss and celebrate the life of a man who lived with intensity, imagination and heart. Thank you to everyone who has shown love and support."

Brendon became known for his role as Xander Harris onBuffy the Vampire Slayer, which aired for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003, alongside costarsSarah Michelle Gellar,Alyson Hannigan,Charisma CarpenterandDavid Boreanaz.

"'They'll never know how tough it is to be the one who isn't chosen,'" Gellar, 48, wrote in anInstagramtribute to Brendon, quoting hisBuffycharacter, alongside a throwback photo of them together. "'To live so near to the spotlight, and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes, because nobody's watching me.'"

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"I saw you Nicky," Gellar added. "I know you are at peace, in that big rocking chair in the sky."

Hannigan, 52, and Boreanaz, 56, also mourned the loss.

In addition toBuffy, Brendon was also known for his work in movies likePsycho Beach Party,UnholyandCoherence. His other TV shows included Bradley Cooper'sKitchen ConfidentialandCriminal Minds, in which he played the recurring character Kevin Lynch.

Read the original article onPeople

byJastin Mags

in

March 26, 2026

“Buffy” Star Nicholas Brendon Was Found Dead By a Friend Taking Care of Him

Authorities say a friend of Nicholas Brendon was the one who found the actor dead NEED TO KNOW The Buffy the...

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Savannah Guthrie Sobs in Interview Wondering If Her Fame Led to Her Mother's Kidnapping: 'If It Is Me, I’m So Sorry'

The first half of Savannah Guthrie's sit down with Hoda Kotb aired on Today on Thursday, March 26

NEED TO KNOW

• "We don't know anything... [but] to think that I brought this to her bedside, that it's because of me?" Guthrie wondered in her first interview since her mother's disappearance

• The second half of Guthrie's conversation with Kotb will air on Friday, March 27

Savannah Guthrieis opening up about her family's ordeal in the wake of her mother Nancy's disappearance.

In her first interview since her mom went missing on Feb. 1, theTodayhost, 54, sat down withHoda Kotbfor a two-part conversation, the first half of which aired on Thursday, March 26.

"What Savannah has shown in these past 54 days is the most remarkable grace I have ever witnessed," Kotb said as she introduced the interview. Their conversation began with Guthrie detailing how she first found out the news that her mother disappeared. As she and her siblings pieced together what might have happened, she admitted she questioned whether her fame led to her mother being targeted.

"I think my brother, my siblings are so amazing, my brother, he spent his career in the military and worked in intelligence and is a fighter pilot and just brilliant and he saw very clearly right away what this was. And even on the phone when I called him, he knew. He said, 'I think she's been kidnapped for ransom.' And I said, 'What?!'" Guthrie told Kotb.

"It sounds so — how dumb could I be — but I said, 'Do you think because of me?' He said, 'I'm sorry, sweetie, but yeah, maybe,'" Savannah recalled of the conversation she had with her brother, Camron.

"I hope not. I mean, we still don't know. Honestly, we don't know anything. We don't know anything. So I don't know that it's because she's my mom and somebody thought, 'Oh, that lady has money we could make a quick buck,'" Guthrie said. "That would make sense, but that's probably… which is too much to bear. To think that I brought this to her bedside, that it's because of me? Can I just say, I'm so sorry, Mommy. I'm sorry to my sister and my brother and my kids and my nephew and Tommy, my brother-in-law. I'm just so sorry. I'm so sorry. If it is me, I'm so sorry."

Guthrie'sTodaycolleagues rallied around her after the interview aired. "The fact that our dear friend would blame herself..." said Craig Melvin, sitting at the desk.

"Oh, that was the hardest part," Carson Daly said in agreement.

"That was the hardest part. That she would blame herself for any of this when it was some sicko or sickos out there who would kidnap a woman in the middle of the night," added Melvin.

When Kotb initially announced the interview on air on Wednesday, March 25, she described the conversation to her colleagues as "really emotional."

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"We're gonna have the whole thing for you [Thursday] and Friday, but first, we did want to bring you one of the moments from the interview where Savannah shared a message to anybody who may have information about Nancy," Kotb added.

In a preview clip from the conversation, Guthrie said to Kotb through tears: "Someone needs to do the right thing. We are in agony. We are in agony. It is unbearable."

On March 5, PEOPLE reported thatGuthrie plans to return toTodayin an official capacity. While no date was set at that time, PEOPLE can confirm that information will be coming soon.

Three weeks ago, on March 5,Guthrie visited theTodayshow set in New York Cityfor the first time since returning from Arizona. PEOPLE confirmed that she shared an emotional reunion with the entire staff and crew. She thanked them all for their prayers and support and for "caring about my mom as much as I do."

The search for Nancy is now in its eighth week. The 84-year-old was last seen on Jan. 31, after her family dropped her off at her home in Tucson. When she failed to show up for a virtual church service the next day, the Pima County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) launched an urgent search for Nancy.

Investigators believe that Nancy was kidnapped overnight, citingsurveillance footageof a masked man at her front door.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Guthrie and her family continue to plead with the public for their help bringing their mom home.

Anyone with information about Nancy's disappearance is asked to please contact 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or the Pima County Sheriff's Department 520-351-4900.

Read the original article onPeople

byJastin Mags

in

March 26, 2026

Savannah Guthrie Sobs in Interview Wondering If Her Fame Led to Her Mother's Kidnapping: 'If It Is Me, I’m So Sorry'

The first half of Savannah Guthrie's sit down with Hoda Kotb aired on Today on Thursday, March 26 NEED TO...

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At 72, Kathie Lee Gifford says aging isn't what she expected. 'The golden years? It's a lie.'

Faith and family are two topics that light up Kathie Lee Gifford.

"Five grandchildren in three years," the four-time Emmy-winning TV host tells Yahoo. "It's like precious pandemonium."

Her daughter, Cassidy, lives in the Nashville area and has two children. Son Cody lives in Connecticut and has three. Luckily, Gifford has homes near both, so she can log a lot of "Bubbe" time. Gifford goes by the Yiddish word for grandmother — though one granddaughter has shortened it to simply "Bob," which makes her laugh.

"Anytime a child is born is an amazing blessing. I just rejoice," says the former host ofToday With Kathie Lee and HodaandLive With Regis and Kathie Lee. "It's like one of the final miracles left in this world, because it's such a dark place too often."

The same sense of awe carries into her latest creative work: the historical thrillerNero & Paul, How the Gospel of Grace Defeated the Ruler of Rome, out now. The book is the second in theAncient Evil, Living Hopetrilogy she's writing with coauthor Bryan M. Litfin.

The book juxtaposes the contrasting figures of Nero, the Roman emperor who spent his life clawing for power and clinging to it, and Paul, who changed his path, surrendering to faith and purpose as an apostle.

Gifford, who's also producing a movie about Paul with her son, studies rabbinically and says she has built a relationship with God that has nothing to do with "religion."

"I'm the least religious person you've talked to," she says. "I don't like religion. It puts us in chains. Relationship with the living God releases the chains to be who we truly, authentically are in him."

That conviction is what she's leaned on in her toughest moments, including the death of her husband, NFL legend Frank Gifford, in 2015.

"When I found my husband dead on the floor, I could cry tears of absolute joy because I knew where he went and who he was with," she says. "[I] don't fear death. The greatest day in my life will be the day that I go home to Jesus. The best day — and I've had some great ones."

Prayer is a connector she's used with her friend and formerTodaycolleague Savannah Guthrie, whose mother, Nancy, wasabductedon Feb. 1.

"I probably heard the news a lot sooner than most people, and I immediately started praying for Savannah," she says. "[Later], I just started texting her: 'Love you. Praying for you,'" she says. "Just that message over and over again."

It was about a month before she got a reply.

"She said, 'Love you, friend,'" Gifford says. "I was just happy to hear her respond. I didn't need it, but it said something to me about how she is, maybe, in her healing."

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The last time I spoke with Gifford, she had just hadhip replacement surgery, in 2024, which was a challenge. Now 72, she updates that she's had four operations in the last year alone.

"It just gets harder. Everything gets harder," she says of aging. "The golden years? It's a lie."

One surgery came after Gifford fell on an uneven sidewalk following a morning exercise class. She shrugged it off — "My lip cracked. I didn't break a tooth. I'm good" — until an X‑ray revealed two broken bones.

"You can do all kinds of stuff to your body, but it knows how old you are and where you've been and what you did when you went there," she says. "No keeping secrets from it."

But her mind is sharp, whether she's going deep on biblical topics or recounting the origin story ofhow wine started flowingonToday's fourth hour.

She says she's determined to keep it that way. Instead of asking Siri or Google to look up a fact, she runs through the alphabet until the answer comes. She also credits memorization for boosting her brain.

"It makes my mind work," she says. "It keeps it sharp."

Her late husband was posthumously diagnosed withchronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)and her father had Lewy body dementia, so she's mindful of hurdles others face.

Gifford herself is unstoppable. She's working on her next book and looking ahead to an upcoming documentary about her life.

If age has gifted her anything, Gifford says it's clarity about what matters. She's been letting go of possessions and investing in things she believes in.

"I've made tons of money in my career, which I never dreamed I'd be able to have," she says. "I've given away, I would say, more than half of it, and been grateful to do it."

Profits from her faith‑based projects, likeNero & Paul, go to theRock, the Road & the Rabbi Foundation.

She laughs that Frank used to get mad at how much she gave. "He stopped doing that when he realized that once I gave something, I got it back a hundredfold," she says. "I said, 'God loves a generous soul.' … You can never out‑give God. I'd rather die giving something away than holding it unto myself and not being able to take it with me anyway."

Today, Cody helps run the businesses while Gifford focuses on the work she feels called to do.

"Some people love their misery," she says. "I'm not one of them. I want the joy. I want thezoe."

byJastin Mags

in

March 26, 2026

At 72, Kathie Lee Gifford says aging isn't what she expected. 'The golden years? It's a lie.'

Faith and family are two topics that light up Kathie Lee Gifford. "Five grandchildren in three years,...

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What’s next in the investigation into the deadly Air Canada collision at LaGuardia

An Air Canada regional jet landing at one of the country's busiest and most prominent airportsslammed into a fire truck at more than 100 miles per houron Sunday, leaving federal investigators and frightened passengers questioning what could have gone wrong.

The National Transportation Safety Board combed through wreckage, collecting data and physical evidence to find answers in the first days of an investigation that will take a year or longer.

"We have a lot of data right now, a lot of information, including information on tower staffing, but the NTSB deals in facts," said Jennifer Homendy, chair of the NTSB, at a news conference on Monday. "We don't speculate. We don't take one person at their word. We verify that information carefully before we provide it."

Investigators have released the plane to Air Canada, the airline said, which will move it into a secured hangar where teams will begin reuniting passengers with the personal belongings they left behind as they evacuated.

"Items will be safely returned as soon as possible, although the process of sorting and identifying all belongings from the aircraft will take time," the airline said Wednesday.

Air Canada Express flight 8646, operated by Jazz Aviation, had 72 passengers and four crew members on board for the flight from Montreal to New York's LaGuardia. The two pilots died and four of the dozens of passengers and crew who were injured in the collision remain in the hospital, the airline said.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the airline and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, will also participate as parties to the investigation.

The first several days of the investigation are going to be focused on data collection, according to Jim Brauchle, an attorney that represents plaintiffs in aviation disasters for the law firm Motley Rice.

"They won't be doing a lot of analysis the first few days," Brauchle said. "That's more facts and data collection and getting witness statements and those kind of things, while it's still fresh."

What happened in the tower?

Questions about the people in the control tower, their responsibilities, and if all proper procedures were followed will be answered in the course of the investigation.

Homendy confirmed Tuesday there were two controllers working in the tower cab, the top of the control tower which looks out over the airfield, at the time of collision. The "local controller" manages active runways and the immediate airspace surrounding the airport. The "controller in charge" is a supervisor responsible for the safety of operations, and on the night of the crash, they were also assigned to give pilots departure information.

The NTSB says the staffing was standard operating procedure for LaGuardia at that time of the night, but whether that procedure was adequate will also be investigated.

"We saw that there was a pretty heavy workload for these two controllers where you had an emergency going on; you had several flights that they had to attend to," Homendy told CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins on The Source Wednesday. "We will look at controller staffing entirely in this tower, but then across the national airspace."

Another part of the investigation is to determine which of the controllers were responsible for the aircraft and vehicles on the ground.

"It is not clear who was conducting the duties of the ground controller. We have conflicting information," Homendy said. That person would be tasked with managing all aircraft and vehicle movements on taxiways but typically not active runways.

There is also "conflicting information, including dates and times on the logs," of who else was elsewhere in the air traffic control facility, she said. The NTSB will have to "rectify some of those inconsistencies," Homendy continued.

The controllers involved in the crash continued to work for some time after the crash, and the NTSB will also investigate why they were not relieved more rapidly.

Eighteen minutes after the collision, one controller appeared to blame himself for the crash in a conversation with a pilot who saw it happen.

"That wasn't good to watch," the pilot said in audio recorded by LiveATC.net.

"Yeah, I know. I tried to reach out to them," the noticeably distraught controller said. "We were dealing with an emergency earlier. I messed up."

The pilot responded, "Nah man, you did the best you could."

Investigators will probe far beyond the comment and investigate every aspect of what happened and always note accidents often have complicated causes.

"Our aviation system is incredibly safe because there are multiple, multiple layers of defense built in to prevent an accident," Homendy said. "So, when something goes wrong, that means many, many things went wrong."

The NTSB interviewed the local controller on Tuesday night and continued interviews with others on staff through Wednesday, Homendy said. Investigators will also examine audio recordings the Federal Aviation Administration keeps of every tower radio transmission to determine what exactly was said and by who.

"It looks like it's a communication error," Brauchle said, noting that publicly available recordings of air traffic control audio appear to show "the tower both cleared the aircraft to land, and also cleared the fire truck to cross the active runway."

But he said investigations can sometimes reveal more than is apparent in the first moments.

Why didn't the controllers see the collision coming earlier?

LaGuardia Airport has systems designed to prevent vehicles on the ground from colliding, and investigators will want to know why they were not able to stop this crash.

The airport's surface detection equipment –ASDE-X– uses radar to track ground vehicles but did not warn the controllers ahead of the collision, according to the NTSB.

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"Due to the close proximity of vehicles merging and unmerging near the runway," no alert was issued, Homendy said.

The radar returns on the screen showed two "blobs" on the taxiway, but never showed one go in front of the plane, she said.

Another revelation was that the fire truck involved in the crash was not equipped with a transponder to help air traffic controllers identify it and know its precise location. Though a vehicle without a transponder should show up on radar, no other information would be displayed, and obstructions might prevent radar returns. Why a transponder was not installed will be part of the investigation.

While stressing the need to wait for the investigation's findings, Homendy said Wednesday that she and the team believe all vehicles on tarmacs should have transponders so controllers can see them.

Did the fire truck hear the warning from the control tower to stop?

Another area of the investigation will include looking at the radio transmissions between pilots of Flight 8646, the firefighters, and the control tower.

"Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop, truck 1. Stop," one of the controllers yelled as the fire truck pulled in front of the plane landing on Runway 4.

Nine seconds after the first warning, they collided.

The first radio call the fire truck made to the control tower more than a minute before the collision was "stepped on" by another transmission and was apparently not audible in the control tower, recordings from that night show, but later transmissions appeared to go through.

Investigators will want to know what was transmitted and what was heard, and will review recordings from the control tower, the plane's cockpit voice recorder, and interview other people listening to the frequency that night.

During the investigation into the 2025 midair collision between an Army Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional jet over the Potomac River, the NTSB found the soldiers in the helicopter didn't hear all the directions given by air traffic control due to a problem with the frequency.

For Sunday's collision at LaGuardia, investigators also will be looking into the status of the airport's runway status lights. These are a type of traffic light system that is embedded in pavement of taxiways and runways.

The lights should, for instance, automatically signal vehicle operators whether it is unsafe to cross a runway,according to the FAA.

"We … know from the replay that the runway status lights were functioning," Homendy said Tuesday. "But we still have to verify that with tech ops from the FAA."

Why was the fire truck cleared to cross the runway?

Perhaps the most vexing question: Why did the controller apparently clear the fire truck to cross Runway 4 when the plane was speeding toward it?

Controllers are working in high stress situations with long hours and busy airfields to manage. Investigators want to know if something was going on with them that may have contributed to the crash.

The two controllers started their shifts about an hour before the 11:37 p.m. collision and at some point took over duties in the tower cab, the NTSB noted.

Shortly before the collision, another plane on the other side of the airport declared an emergency after an aborted landing and odor in the cabin. Controllers dispatched the fire trucks and were working to find a gate for the plane in the minutes before the accident.

"This is a heavy workload environment," Homendy noted, but said no one should jump to conclusions.

"I would caution (against) pointing fingers at controllers and saying distraction was involved," she said. "We still have to determine what happened at shift change, which was around 10:30. We have to determine who else was in the tower and the facility and available at the time. We rarely, if ever, investigate a major accident where it was one failure."

What was going on in the plane?

The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, often referred to as black boxes, are two "critical" pieces to the puzzle in any aviation incident investigation, Peter Goelz, former NTSB managing director and CNN aviation analyst told CNN Monday.

The data recorders are expected to give some insight into what happened during the flight's final moments,capturing everything from what was said in the cockpit, to the sound of switches and automated warnings as well as what the aircraft's instruments were reading.

"They give you the functionality of the plane," Goelz said. "It will tell you exactly when it touched down. Did the pilots attempt to do a go-around? Did the speed brake work effectively? And it will discuss the comments between the pilots on whether they were following procedures, what they saw and how they reacted."

Investigators had to "cut a hole," on top of the aircraft to retrieve the recorders, Homendy said. They were then driven to the NTSB's headquarters in Washington, DC, for analysis.

The cockpit voice recorder contained more than 25 hours of good quality audio across four separate channels, said Doug Brazy, NTSB lead investigator. The flight data recorder contained approximately 80 hours of data and recorded more than 400 parameters.

What will the debris tell us?

While investigators moved quickly to recover data and comb the wreckage before any clue is lost to time or the elements, they have to be careful because some of what is left of the plane and fire truck is complex and hazardous.

"There is a tremendous, tremendous amount of debris from taxiway delta across Runway 4," Homendy said. "It's pretty expansive, and we want to make sure, because as you're walking around, you can get injured. There's also hazardous materials, of course, on the firefighting vehicle itself."

Runway 4 at LaGuardia remains closed until Friday afternoon, according to a FAA notice, while the NTSB conducts its investigation.

The airport, meanwhile, has reopened with flights using a perpendicular runway. As they whiz by, passengers can catch a glimpse of the wreckage and the investigators making sure they understand what went wrong so it never happens again.

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byJastin Mags

in

March 26, 2026

What’s next in the investigation into the deadly Air Canada collision at LaGuardia

An Air Canada regional jet landing at one of the country's busiest and most prominent airportsslammed into a fire tr...

Read More

Record-high temperatures set in over a dozen states as heat wave moves east

Temperatures reached record highs in multiple states on Wednesday, asa heat wavethat has been scorching the West since last week expanded into the middle of the country.

The unusually warm weather tied or broke records across the western half of the U.S. over the course of the day, according to the National Weather Service, and warmer temperatures are expected to continue in the coming days as the wave moves east.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming were among the states impacted, with temperatures hitting 90 degrees and higher in major cities throughout the region.

Denversaw its hottest March dayon record, hitting 88 degrees at Denver International Airport. The previous record was 86 degrees, set just four days earlier, on March 21.

Phoenix was among the cities to see the most extreme conditions, after weathering triple-digit temperatures on multiple days already since the heat wave began, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'sNational Digital Forecast Database. The Arizona capital hit a high of 100 degrees Wednesday, a daily record, theNational Weather Service confirmed. The city's last record-high temperature for this date was set in 2022.

A new record warm low was also set Wednesday in Phoenix, which recorded 68 degrees as its low temperature, theNWS said. The previous record was 66 degrees, set in 2025 and 2004.

Other cities that broke their daily records include Yuma, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; Rawlins, Wyoming, and Pocatello, Idaho.

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Tucson's seven-day streak of tying or breaking maximum daily record highs came to an end Wednesday when it recorded a high of 95 degrees, just one degree shy of the record,the NWS said.

Salt Lake City broke its daily record with 83 degrees. The old record was 78 degrees, set in 2022.

More than 200 additional daily temperature records could be broken through Sunday, said CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan. The heat wave is forecast to slowly move eastward this week and eventually reach the East Coast on Friday.

Central states are expected to see temperatures of 30 or 40 degrees above average for the time being, and Nolan warned that warmth settling into the Northern Plains will increase fire risks in that region through Thursday.

Numerousfire weather alertswere in effect Wednesday for a large strip of the central U.S., from Montana to Texas, and forecasters warned there is a "critical threat" of fire weather through Thursday for sections of the Rocky Mountains down to the Southern Plains. In addition to the heat, wind gusts in those areas could reach up to 40 or 50 mph this week, while relative humidity is expected to drop to as low as 4% in certain places, Nolan said. Those types of dry, blustery conditions can be conducive to wildfires.

Spoiler alert! "NCIS" star Rocky Carroll talks major twist in the show's 500th episode

Latest on jury deliberations in California social media addiction case

Video: Hawaii reels from worst flooding in 20 years

byJastin Mags

in

March 26, 2026

Record-high temperatures set in over a dozen states as heat wave moves east

Temperatures reached record highs in multiple states on Wednesday, asa heat wavethat has been scorching the West since l...

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Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver to leave 'Grey's Anatomy' after 16 seasons

"Grey's Anatomy" is parking ways with two core characters, Kevin McKidd's Dr. Owen Hunt and Kim Raver's Dr. Teddy Altman, seemingly over creative differences.

Kevin McKiddandKim Raverare both set to exit the long-running ABC medical drama after the Season 22 finale, the actors confirmed on Wednesday, March 25. Their exits are due to creative decisions based on a storyline, but the door is open for their characters returning in the future, USA TODAY has learned.

The show "has been a huge chapter of my life, creatively and personally, and I'm deeply grateful for everything the show has given me over the years," McKidd said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. "I've had the privilege of working with an extraordinary group of people throughout that time."

McKidd, who has portrayed the trauma surgeon since the Season 5 premiere in 2008 and has become a series regular ever since, added he was "particularly thankful to Shonda Rhimes for creating Owen, and for the encouragement she gave me as I stepped into directing."

His character, while not always the most beloved by fans, has been integral to the major plot lines from Hunt's stint as chief of surgery at the hospital to his romances with Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorscone) and also Teddy Altman (Raver).

Kim Raver says Teddy Altman holds 'special place in my heart'

Raver's cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Teddy, made her "Grey's Anatomy" debut in Season 6, joining alongside fellow 2009 additions Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) and April Kepner (Sarah Drew). Altman was not only introduced as a mentor figure for Cristina Yang but also as a best friend and unrequited flame to Owen Hunt, after the pair served in the U.S. Army as trauma surgeons in Iraq.

"Playing Dr. Teddy Altman will always hold a dear and special place in my heart,"Raver wrote on Instagram. "To the fans, your unwavering devotion and support are the reason this show remains such a force. Thank you for making this set my place of magic and my home."

Teddy left the hospital in the Season 8 finale following the death of her husband, Henry Burton (Scott Foley), and later reprised her role as a guest star in Season 14 before becoming a series regular again in Season 15.

"I feel so fortunate to have worked under the brilliance of Debbie Allen, who not only mentored me but welcomed me into the Director's chair," her social media statement continued. "To my amazingly talented castmates and our formidable, tireless crew: playing in this arena with you has been a joy, and I will carry this company in my heart always."

McKidd and Raver's characters have been intertwined since Season 6, with Owen initially grappling with his long-term feelings for Teddy while also being in love with Cristina Yang.

By Season 15, the characters finally pursued a relationship together and later repeatedly faced tribulations from new love interests, including Dr. Tom Koracick (Greg Germann) and Dr. Cass Beckman (Sophia Bush), while sharing two children.

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The actors have also directed several episodes of the show, with McKidd having directed the most episodes in the show's history.

'Grey Anatomy' fans react to Owen Hunt's departure

While Raver and McKidd's exits are somber for the "Grey's Anatomy" family, some fans are cheering at the exit of the character Owen Hunt, who, at times, was far from being a fan favorite.

The trauma surgeon was heavily scrutinized for his actions in his past relationships, including screaming at Cristina for having an abortion in Season 7 and cheating on her in Season 8. Many fans blame him for the deaths of beloved characters Dr. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) and Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), who died in a plane crash that occurred because Owen had booked a cheap flight from an airline with an unreliable history during his tenure as chief.

"Wait I'm actually shocked. Can they kill Owen off and keep teddy tho," X user @eggscrams wrote while@lovingbenleywrote, "NO WAY ARE WE ACTUALLY FREE OF OWEN HUNT???????"

"Oh look, finally Owen leaves a decade after I quit watching. I wanted him to die the year he came on the show 😂 …the character …I love Kevin Mckidd," user@MollyVegaswrote on X.

Shonda Rhimes says goodbye to 'bittersweet and joyful' exit

Series creator and former showrunner Shonda Rhimes shared a tribute to McKidd's and Raver's exit over a decade after she created their characters.

"Over the years, we have had the privilege of watching Owen and Teddy's love story evolve and deepen- two characters who always seem to find their way back to each other. It is both bittersweet and joyful to give this couple the happy ending their story deserves," she wrote in a statement.

She thanked McKidd and Raver for bringing "extraordinary talent, nuance and heart" to their roles and leaving "an indelible mark on Grey's Anatomy, both in front of and behind the camera."

Isaiah Washington (Dr. Preston Burke, Seasons 1-3): The quiet but intense cardiothoracic surgeon left fiancée Cristina Yang at the altar in the Season 3 finale.

Burke went on to win a prestigious award at another hospital and later ran a private research hospital in Switzerland, which he later turned over to Yang when Oh left at the end of Season 10. He then moved to Italy with his wife and two daughters.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Richard Flood (Cormac Hayes, Seasons 16-18): Hayes is introduced in Season 16 as Karev's replacement for chief of pediatric surgery.

A single parent and widower, Hayes later bonded with Meredith Grey over the grief of losing a spouse. He left Grey Sloan Memorial in Season 18 after deciding to return to Ireland with his children.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Chris Carmack (Atticus "Link" Lincoln, Seasons 15-22): A child cancer survivor, Dr. Lincoln joined Grey Sloan Memorial as the hospital's chief of orthopedic surgery.

Lincoln starts up a romance with Amelia Shepherd after her breakup with Owen Hunt. Although the couple goes on to raise Shepherd's child together, Shepherd turns down Lincoln's proposal for marriage in Season 17.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Jake Borelli (Dr. Levi Schmitt, Seasons 14-21): Something of an underdog, Schmitt was initially known as the intern whose glasses infamously fell on a patient during surgery. Despite the rocky start, he goes on to become a general surgical resident.

In his personal life, Schmitt came out as gay in Season 15 and began a relationship with orthopedic fellow Nico Kim.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Greg Germann (Tom Koracick, Seasons 14-19, 21): Koracick came to the rescue in Season 14 when he removed Amelia Shepherd's tumor and continued as her substitute while she recovered.

Koracick also struck up a tumultuous love affair with Teddy Altman, despite Altman expecting a baby with Owen Hunt. In Season 17, following a bout of COVID-19, he moved to Boston to work at the Catherine Fox Foundation.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Anthony Hill (Winston Ndugu, Seasons 16-22): Ndugu, an attending cardiothoracic surgeon from Boston's Tufts Medical Center, sparked a romance with his former teacher, Maggie Pierce, in Season 17 when they reconnected during a conference.

Ndugu and Pierce eventually married following a long-distance relationship that culminated in Ndugu moving to Seattle. The couple separated in Season 19 when Pierce moves to Chicago and Ndugu becomes the chief of cardiothoracic surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Alexis Floyd (Simone Griffith, Seasons 19-22): Dr. Griffith works as a general surgical intern at Grey Sloan Memorial after losing her residency at another hospital following a viral incident, in which Griffith spoke up against a racist superior

Griffith lived for a period of time at Meredith's house but later moved out after Meredith moved to Boston.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Harry Shum Jr. (Benson "Blue" Kwan, Seasons 19-22): A Yale University dropout, Kwan was forced to leave medical school when his mother became terminally ill, and he was saddled with debt from his mom's treatments.

Kwan resumed his medical career after enrolling at a school in the Caribbean, later becoming a general surgical intern at Grey Sloan Memorial. He also developed an on-again-off-again relationship with Jules Millin.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Adelaide Kane (Jules Millin, Seasons 19-22): Millin, a general surgical intern, was reluctant to enter a romance with Kwan after she failed her previous residency placement due to becoming distracted by a relationship.

Millin also struggles in her relationship with her irresponsible family, whom she often has to bail out of legal trouble.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Niko Terho (Lucas Adams, Seasons 19-22): The nephew of Amelia Shepherd and Derek Shepherd, Adams works hard to hide his family legacy and prove himself at Grey Sloan Memorial, where he works as a general surgical intern.

Adams later moves into Meredith Grey's house after spending weeks living at the Grey Sloan on-call room.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Trevor Jackson (Wes Bryant, Seasons 21-22): Bryant, a charismatic and brash surgical intern, shakes things up at Grey Sloan Memorial with his messy love triangle with Simone Griffith and Lucas Adams.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Midori Francis (Mika Yasuda, Seasons 19-21): Yasuda, a competitive surgical intern, fights for her career ambitions amid her struggle with student debt.

Yasuda's financial troubles inspired Taryn Helm (Jaicy Elliot) to advocate for disadvantaged residents. Yasuda and Helm later start dating, which leads to tensions when Helm becomes Yasuda's boss as co-chief resident.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Scott Speedman (Nick Marsh, Seasons 14, 18-20): Marsh, a transplant surgeon from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, met Meredith Grey in Season 14 when he collapsed during a visit to Grey Sloan Memorial (Grey treated him for a kidney transplant-related blood clot).

Marsh and Grey reconnected in Season 18 and developed a romantic relationship when Grey began visiting Minnesota to develop a cure for Parkinson's disease. Despite later splitting up, Grey offered him a position as director of Grey's residency program after the pair performed a triple organ transplant.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

'Grey's Anatomy' doctors who've come and gone, including Eric Dane

Isaiah Washington (Dr. Preston Burke, Seasons 1-3): The quiet but intense cardiothoracic surgeon left fiancée Cristina Yang at the altar in the Season 3 finale.Burke went on to win a prestigious award at another hospital and later ran a private research hospital in Switzerland, which he later turned over to Yang when Oh left at the end of Season 10. He then moved to Italy with his wife and two daughters.

"I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them both and to see them shine. While we will all miss seeing them in the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial each day, I am excited to witness where Kim's and Kevin's journeys will take them in the future," she wrote.

Current showrunner Meg Marinis said the two stars will always be "cherished members of the Grey's Anatomy" family.

"While their story is coming to a close, this is never truly a goodbye," Marinis wrote. "We are endlessly grateful for the years, the artistry and the memories they've given to the show and we look forward to cheering them on in whatever comes next."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver to exit 'Grey's Anatomy' after finale

byJastin Mags

in

March 26, 2026

Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver to leave 'Grey's Anatomy' after 16 seasons

"Grey's Anatomy" is parking ways with two core characters, Kevin McKidd's Dr. Owen Hunt and Kim Raver...

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OnlyFans Star Bonnie Blue Puts Baby’s Name up for Sale Amid Pregnancy

OnlyFans starBonnie Blueis making headlines with her latest pregnancy reveal, and she is uniquely involving her fans. The 26-year-old announced she's expecting her first child and wants her followers to be a part of this journey. In a shocking twist, the adult content creator has decided toauctionoffher baby's namewhile still expecting.

OnlyFans star Bonnie Blue set to auction her baby's name

Bonnie Blue is stirring up both controversy and curiosity by putting her baby's name up for auction. The OnlyFans sensation is inviting her fans to bid on the privilege of choosing the perfect name for her little one.

Bonnie Blue, whose real name is Tia Billinger, said she is always brainstorming new ideas. She thought involving her fans in the naming process would be a fun twist.

"I would like to auction off the baby's name, I think that would be quite fun," Blue said in an exclusive interview withUs Weekly."I think I want to get my fans involved in a gender reveal. They're going to be involved along the way."

However, Bonnie Blue has emphasized being cautious about not sexualizing her child. She is aiming for a balance between fan engagement and protecting her baby's privacy. Blue plans on setting clear boundaries, especially after the baby arrives.

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For those unaware, the OnlyFans creator had a rather unconventional approach to getting pregnant. She slept with 400 men without protection as part of a "breeding mission" earlier this year. When asked what message she had for the men who took part in her mission, Blue's response was, "Good luck, I guess."

Bonnie Blue further stated that she was clear about her intentions and the possible outcomes. She plans to give the men involved the option to be part of the journey or not. However, she is prepared to be a single mom either way. She highlighted that her priority is the baby's health, not determining paternity.

Meanwhile, certain observers have speculated that Blue's pregnancy may be a publicity stunt. However, the adult content creator has expressed that she is not concerned by such claims.

Originally reported by Sibanee Gogoi onMandatory

The postOnlyFans Star Bonnie Blue Puts Baby's Name up for Sale Amid Pregnancyappeared first onReality Tea.

byJastin Mags

in

March 26, 2026

OnlyFans Star Bonnie Blue Puts Baby’s Name up for Sale Amid Pregnancy

OnlyFans starBonnie Blueis making headlines with her latest pregnancy reveal, and she is uniquely involving her fans. The 26-year-old anno...

Read More