why did lexie leave grey's anatomy

Lexie Grey left Grey's Anatomy because the actress Chyler Leigh chose to leave the show. She made the decision to exit after season 8. The reasons included wanting to spend more time with her family, as the work on the show involved long days and her family lived on the other side of the country. Additionally, Leigh felt that Lexie's character had grown as much as she could within the show. The show's creator Shonda Rhimes worked with Leigh to give Lexie's story appropriate closure, which led to the character's dramatic and emotional death in a plane crash in the season 8 finale. Lexie's death was impactful, showing her final moments with Mark Sloan, another character who also left the show around the same time. This exit was carefully crafted to give closure to both characters' arcs rather than being just a shock plot device.