‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 12 Spoilers — Meredith Grey Is Ready To Date Again, Will Riggs Be The New Man In Her Life?

Season 12 of Grey’s Anatomy has finally returned! With one episode in the books, what exactly can fans expect from the rest of the season? What will happen with Meredith Grey? Is she ready to date again? What else is going on in and around Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital?

First things first: With Meredith being brutally attacked by her patient in the midseason premiere, “The Sound of Silence,” Ellen Pompeo opened up about her character’s struggles and future.

Pompeo recently told Cosmopolitan that she is against doing scenes that dishearten a person’s optimism. Despite that, she has continued to drag Meredith through the fire again and again. Remember, it was just last season when she lost Derek in a terrible accident, and now she has just been violently attacked by her own patient.

But the actress also believes in learning lessons from new stories, and her trust in showrunner Shonda Rhimes eventually makes her accept her character’s rough storyline. After all, the unfortunate events sooner or later have turned into a positive throughout every season of Grey’s Anatomy.

While talking about her character, Pompeo also revealed a few spoilers concerning Meredith. As the aftermath of her attack continues to play out, it appears Meredith might be undergoing therapy sessions as part of her recovery process, states Melty.

“So, after the attack, she goes into therapy, which is an idea that Shonda and I discussed. And then in therapy, she starts exploring what it means to be alone, and [how] she’s never alone, and how alone does she want to be? Everyone else thinks it’s time for Meredith to move on and start dating again. And so Meredith has to explore that opportunity of, ‘OK, what does dating again look like, and how do you do that?'”

Which makes sense given the fact that Richard (James Pickens) talked to Meredith in the Grey’s Anatomy midseason premiere about the power of forgiveness, then she goes on to forgive her attacker yet isn’t ready to forgive Amelia (Caterina Scorsone). Perhaps some of that will come out in her therapy sessions.

And on another issue revolving around Meredith is her future love life which, ever since the death of Derek, has been in shambles. Now, Pompeo confirms that Meredith is moving forward with her love life for the first time since Derek died.

“We’re moving toward Meredith dating again, so everyone has to get ready for it. I can tell you that I’ve shot a few scenes, and I’m very happy and excited with the way this is unfolding. It’s exciting for Meredith, and it’s some happiness, some light.”

So who might be Meredith’s next beau? At first, many believed that person could be Dr. Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson), who filled Grey Sloan Memorial’s vacancy. That belief escalated when Meredith and Riggs first met in the elevator, the same spot where Derick and Meredith shared many romance-heavy scenes, including his proposal. But in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in November of last year, Henderson warned fans that even though it’s been a year since Derek’s death and that while she will eventually get back to dating, it is still a long way off.

Meanwhile, some fans believe that Alex’s growing relationship with Meredith could turn romantic, and Pompeo was quick to tease their relationship by saying, “I don’t know how much I can really say – because I don’t want to get fired!”

As for TV’s other favorite fictional doctors, Melty reports that Kevin McKidd said the beef between his character Owen and Nathan Riggs will soon be revealed, and his relationship with Amelia will be put to the test.

And in an interview with Parade, Jason George (Dr. Ben Warren), shed some more light on the relationship between Owen and Riggs saying, “We find out that there was a relationship with his sister. Owen’s mother loves Nathan still, so it is much more complex than we thought.”

So while fans can’t wait to see how things soon play out between Owen, Riggs, and Amelia and whether they can get past their differences, it seems they’ll have to wait a little longer to see Meredith’s future unfold.

For now, fans will just have to be patient and keep watching each new episode every week.

Grey’s Anatomy airs on Thursday’s at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Tell us! Who do you think Meredith Grey should date? Let us know in the comments, and check out the preview for the next all-new episode of Grey’s Anatomy below.

[Image via ABC]