Elisabeth Finch, the former “Grey’s Anatomy” writer whose personal and professional life imploded after she was revealed to be a compulsive liar, addressed Peacock’s docuseries on her downfall, saying Tuesday that “nothing erases the trauma I’ve caused.”
The “Anatomy of Lies” subject apologized in an Instagram post that revealed she’s “making amends and expressing my genuine remorse as best I can when people are ready,” and that she’s been seeking mental health treatment for “nearly three years” following the bombshell 2022 Vanity Fair exposé about her lies.
Many of her falsehoods inspired her acclaimed work as a writer and executive producer on “Grey’s Anatomy” — among them that she was living with a rare form of bone cancer. Her personal relationships also inspired plot points in the long-running ABC medical drama.
“Anatomy of Lies” features interviews with those in Finch’s personal and professional circles impacted by her compulsive lying, including her ex-wife, Jennifer Dawn, whom the writer addressed directly in Tuesday’s Instagram post.
Read the text in full below:
“I’ve given no one any reason to believe a word I say. I lied about so much; things so many people have been devastated by in real life. ‘I’m sorry’ feels like the smallest words compared to what I’ve done, yet they are the truest. I trapped myself in the addiction of lies, betraying and traumatizing my closest family, friends and colleagues. I’m making amends and expressing my genuine remorse as best I can when people are ready. And I’ve accepted the fact that some may never be. I’ve been receiving mental health treatment for nearly three years, and I work hard every day to sustain a life where the truth matters more than anything.
“The truth is, I married a woman with whom I fell deeply, truly in love. Jennifer Dawn had five kids I came to love as my own quickly, fiercely, unconditionally — and still do to this day. Days into us first dating, she got down on one knee and proposed with pieces of lavender strung together into a ring. The biggest mistake of my life (alongside lying about cancer in the first place) was saying ‘yes’ to Jennifer’s proposal before I was honest with her.
“The truth is, there is no excuse, no justification — nothing will ever make my lies to anyone OK. Nothing erases the trauma I caused — the fear, the pain, the anger, the tears, the time. And nothing matters more to me than holding myself accountable in every way. I will continue to repair whatever damage I can and ensure I am not the worst things I’ve done. I recognize all of this will take time for people to believe.
“I will work and wait as long as it takes.”
“Anatomy of Lies” is now streaming on Peacock.
