Katherine Heigl reveals the REAL reason she left Grey's Anatomy

Katherine Heigl turned her back on hit ABC series, Grey's Anatomy, in its sixth season in 2010. 

And the actress, 42, now says that despite rumours of on-set feuds and being 'difficult' to work with, what really pushed her out of the spotlight was her family. 

'I started a family, and it changed everything,' Katherine, who played Dr. Izzie Stephens on the medical drama, told The Daily Telegraph on Friday. 

'It changed my desire to work full-time. I went on family leave and just got to be a [mother], and it changed my whole perspective. That was really the turning point.  

'So before I was due back, I spoke again to [show runner] Shonda [Rhimes] about wanting to leave. Then I waited at home until I was given the formal okay that I was off the show. The rumours that I refused to return were totally untrue,' she added. 

Katherine went on to claim that she was encouraged to try and balance her career with motherhood to stay on the series. 

'[Shonda] wanted to try to figure out how I could do both [parenting and Grey's], and I kind of wanted to do both. There wasn't a great way

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