Who Is Ellen Pompeo’s Husband? All About Chris Ivery

Chris Ivery knew Ellen Pompeo long before the world knew her as Dr. Meredith Gray Grey’s Anatomy.

After meeting in 2003, the couple married in 2007 and later had three children together.

“This man was my rock… my soul mate,” Pompeo wrote on Instagram in 2018. That same year, she told PEOPLE that Ivery’s understanding was part of the success of her marriage.

“My husband is not at all afraid of my desire or bossiness,” she said.

So who is the other half of Ellen Pompeo’s support? Here’s everything you need to know about Chris Ivery and his relationship with the actress.

He has worked in the music industry for almost 30 years

John Sciulli/WireImage

Iver spent many years working as a record producer. Although little is known about his work in the music industry, he is credited as the writer of Rihanna’s song “Cheers (Drink to That).”

He met Pompeo in 2003

As Pompeo told PEOPLE in 2006, she and Ivery met in 2003 at a grocery store in Los Angeles. For six months they were just friends. “Then one night she just looked different to me,” Ivery recalled.

As for Pompeo, their relationship was written in the stars: they grew up in Boston just minutes apart. “We’ve had six degrees our whole life, so I feel like we were meant to be,” she said.

He and Pompeo married in 2007 in an ultra-private ceremony

Ivery proposed to Pompeo in 2006 on her 37th birthday after dating for three years. “She was surprised and delighted,” her rep told PEOPLE at the time. Pompeo’s engagement ring was a 3.5-carat, emerald-cut diamond in a platinum setting by jewelry designer Tacori.

The couple married a year later in a low-key ceremony at City Hall in Lower Manhattan. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was a witness. “She just didn’t want a big deal,” Pompeo’s father told PEOPLE. The actress previously expressed her desire for a small affair, telling PEOPLE after the engagement, “It won’t be anything ‘big.’ It will be very little.”

Pompeo’s intimate scenes are difficult for him Grey’s Anatomy

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For Ivery, marriage to the television star was not always easy. For one thing, Pompeia’s job means she’s often away from home on set. “He said the other day, he said, ‘Don’t you think you could work a little less now?’ Pompeo told E! News’ Daily pop in 2021

Ivery also reportedly didn’t really enjoy Pompeo’s love scenes on the show. In the interview for 2019 Us WeeklyIvery said: “I’d say I’m not jealous; I’m really confident, but it’s embarrassing.”

Pompeo also commented on her husband’s distaste for her sex scenes. “I remember it was very difficult for him at first,” she said Ladies First with Laura Brown podcast 2021 “He said, ‘This is not what I signed up for. Go to work and screw with it. I like Patrick [Dempsey] and all, he’s a good guy, but like really?’ ”

He supports Pompeo’s career

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Despite Ivery’s early hesitation about some of Pompeo’s Grey’s Anatomy scene, the actress told PEOPLE in 2018 that her husband “isn’t intimidated by my driving at all.”

“I never thought I’d be at the top of my career at 48. I’m at the top of my game, never ending,” Pompeo said, adding that when it comes to success, “it’s very important that men are involved.”

She also noted that she tends to be a little bossy with Ivery when she’s juggling a lot of things, but that her husband is “good at letting me know when I’m talking to him like an employee.”

“Sometimes they tell me, ‘I don’t work for you, don’t talk to me like that,’ which is fine,” she said. “I need to hear if I’m wrong.”

He and Pompeo have three children

From left: Chris Ivy, son Eli Christopher, daughter Stella Luna, daughter Sienna May and Ellen Pompeo. Dolce Gabbana

Ivery and Pompeo have three children: Stella Luna born in 2009, Sienna May born in 2014 and Eli Christopher born in 2016.

After the birth of their third child in 2016, Pompeo wrote on Instagram: “Chris Ivery just fell… I have a new guy.”

The actress previously discussed raising her two daughters with PEOPLE in 2016, saying it’s important for her girls to have role models and that highlighting the achievements of black women is her priority.

“My daughters are black so it’s really important to me that they see a lot of images of beautiful, powerful, strong black women,” she said.

“Anytime a black woman is on the cover of a magazine, whether it’s Kerry Washington or whoever, I make sure that magazine is in my house and on my desk. It’s super important to me.”

In July 2022, Pompeo, Ivery and their children made a rare public appearance at the Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda women’s show in Italy. Pompeo took to Instagram to post several photos of the family dressed in Dolce & Gabbana gear, including one sweet photo of Ivery and Eli posing on a Vespa.

He and Pompeo live in Malibu

Ivery and Pompeo, along with their children, live in a 3,000-square-foot home in Malibu, California.

“I like to say that I manifested this house,” Grey’s Anatomy said the star Architectural Digest in an interview for the January 2023 cover.

Pompeo first saw the house for sale years before she bought it — even though she couldn’t afford it. “But I didn’t tell anyone,” she explained. When she was finally listed again in 2013, she bought a house overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

He is the CEO of a well-known brand of sports and leisure equipment

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In addition to his work in the music industry, Ivery is also the CEO of Sergio Tacchini, the heritage athletic brand founded in 1966 by the Italian tennis champion.

As Pompeo said Us Weekly in 2019, she couldn’t be more proud of her husband as he switched careers from music to fashion at the age of 50. “He’s been in the music business for 25 years and changed careers at 50,” she said. “And he killed it. I mean, knocked it out of the park. It’s amazing!”

Ivery frequently posts about the brand — which counts Justin Bieber as one of its celebrity fans — on Instagram.

He and Pompeo love fashion

Chris Ivery and Ellen Pompeo at the Michael Kors Spring/Summer 2024 Fashion Show at Domino Park on September 11, 2023 in Brooklyn, New York.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

The fashionable couple has been seen sitting front row at numerous fashion shows over the years. In September 2023, Pompeo and Ivery supported Michael Kors at his Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show in Brooklyn.

He and Pompeo know how to prioritize their relationship

Presley Ann/Patrick McMullan via Getty

It’s clear that Ivery and Pompeo know how to keep their love alive. For one thing, they spend a lot of time together on dates — even if they’re just relaxing at home.

“Sometimes we go out to dinner, but the dates really kind of happen at home. And actually, we both go to bed pretty early, so we have a lot of lunch dates, too,” Pompeo told PEOPLE in 2016.

Ivery also keeps the spark alive by making sure his wife feels appreciated. “He keeps telling me I have the body of a 20-year-old. He’s the best,” the actress said.

“I don’t really like a lot of makeup, and my husband doesn’t really like a lot of makeup,” she added, noting that Ivery is “so supportive. He’s amazing.”

What’s more, Ivery learned how good it is to keep his sense of humor despite the media onslaught. As he once joked to PEOPLE, “I’m the real McDreamy!”

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