Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) were going through a rough patch in their relationship at the end of season 10 of Grey's Anatomy. And, now the series creator hinted that a breakup isn't out of the question.

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"I'm not going to say that Meredith and Derek are never going to break up," Shonda Rhimes told TVLine.com in a new interview. "I'm not going to say that simply because we're writing a story and we're on this long, long journey. I've learned never to say absolutes about anything anymore. People always say, 'Seven seasons ago you said...' Well, I didn't think we'd still be here."

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When the show returns in the fall, Meredith and her husband will deal with his decision to head to Washington, D.C. for a new job offer. The fact that Derek is leaving Seattle clearly won't be easy for Meredith to understand or deal with.

Yet, Rhimes also said that she wants the characters to fight for their marriage and work through their problems.

"I was not interested in telling the story of a really good marriage that breaks up because of this," she explains. "There's work involved in keeping an amazing marriage amazing, and I would personally like to watch what happens when [they try] to fight through it."

Season 11 of Grey's Anatomy premieres on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 8/7c on ABC.

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