It seems like the fans are not the only one who were surprised when Sara Ramirez announced the departure of her character Callie Torres after the season finale of "Grey's Anatomy" season 12.

In an interview with Us Weekly, showrunner Shonda Rhimes admitted that she only found out that the actress will not return for season 13 just a few days before Ramirez announced it in public.

According to Rhimes, she never had the chance to plan how Callie will say goodbye to her colleagues in the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital since she had no idea about Ramirez's exit. This resulted in the understated farewell scene at the end of the season.

"I had a different plan going and when Sara came in and said, 'I really need to take this break,' I was lucky that we'd shot the end of the season with her going to New York," the executive producer said.

The renowned TV producer admitted that she was glad that they shot the scene when Callie had to move to New York.

"I felt really good that we had shot that ending and that she said she wanted to take this break and we were able to give it to her because I love the woman and I want to do everything for her. It all worked out in that sense."

However, News Everyday implied that Ramirez could still return in the future installments of the long-running medical drama series, since the actress only said that she needed a break.

Meanwhile, "Grey's Anatomy" season 13 is also speculated to feature the brewing drama between Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and her half-sister Maggie (Kelly McCreary) because they fell for the same guy Nathan (Martin Henderson). Will they manage to sort this out, or will the siblings sever their relationship because of a man?

"Grey's Anatomy" season 13 is expected to return to ABC this fall.