Grey's Anatomy: Will Alex Really Leave Grey Sloan Memorial?

Could another doctor say farewell to the hallowed halls of Grey Sloan Memorial before the end of Grey's Anatomy's tenth season? With the mounting pressure of his student loans soon being due, Alex (Justin Chambers) might be swayed to join Dr. Butthole's (Patrick Fabian) private practice.

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"This is somebody who Alex [is] taken by what's going on with his life," Chambers tells TVGuide.com. "This guy is still young. He's got cars, a nice office and a good job. What he does is easy. He could do it blindfolded. Alex thinks, 'Wow, maybe I could do this. I still have all these loans. I'm broke. Maybe I need to start possibly thinking of joining a private practice.' He's starting to see that he could maybe profit a little more than he has and also still be able to do charitable and humanitarian things that he's been doing as a doctor."

But that decision won't come lightly. After all, Alex is part of the original Fab Five of interns whose careers have been defined by their time at the hospital formerly known as Seattle Grace. And if his emotional ties won't keep him at the hospital, then his mentor Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) certainly will try. "I do not think she will let him go very easily," Capshaw says. "Just flashback to the fact that he was supposed to be on the plane. He can't have had her go on the plane and then go off with Dr. Butthole, that's not going to go down well for her.

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Still, Alex considering taking the job is "justified," Chambers says. "Especially now that he's in a relationship, he has a home now, maybe he wants to start a family and he wants to pay off these debts, he might want the money."

Would you miss Alex if he left Grey Sloan?

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.