Ellen Pompeo's top-secret wedding was so unconventional with no guests

August 21, 2024

The couple tied the knot in New York in 2007

Ellen Pompeo went to incredible lengths to escape the public eye when she married Chris Ivery back in 2007 – a difficult feat considering it took place during the fourth season of Grey's Anatomy.

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Instead of the traditional big white wedding in front of friends and family, the couple travelled to New York where they said 'I do' at City Hall, with only officiator Mayor Bloomberg in attendance. "At that point, I was really dying for privacy. So we flew out on a redeye Thursday night. Friday morning, we woke up, went to City Hall, had the wedding really quick, and then we went to a waffle lunch after," she said during a chat with Ryan Seacrest and Kelly Ripa in 2017.

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But Ellen and Chris couldn't simply walk off the street and into their wedding venue without being spotted, so they took a secret route into the building that could be out of a James Bond film!

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She explained: "They took us on the subway underneath a tunnel. There are tunnels underneath City Hall!

The couple got married in 2007

"And then you come up, and you're in the mayor's office. There's a bookshelf and then, you just walk in and you're in his office."

Their private nuptials and waffle lunch weren't the only unconventional parts of the low-key wedding – the bride also reportedly wore a black wedding dress by Yves Saint Laurent that she bought in Paris the previous summer.

"I get to dress up all the time. I completely understand women wanting a wedding, because most people don't get to dress up in gorgeous dresses and have their hair and make-up done" the actress previously told . "I, however, am fortunate enough that I get to put on beautiful dresses and make-up and jewels all the time."

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Ellen and Chris are parents to three children

Ellen met Chris in a Los Angeles grocery store in 2003 and they got engaged on the star's 37th birthday. The record producer got down on one knee after they had finished breakfast at home, presenting his wife-to-be with an emerald-cut diamond from Tacori.

The couple are proud parents to three children: Stella, Sienna, and Eli.

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