Katherine Heigl has reflected on her sudden exit from Grey's Anatomy.

The Firefly Lane actress, 42, admitted her departure could have been handled differently, but life is filled with momentary lapses in judgement.

"I don't think you get through life without any regrets," she told People of her time on the show. "But you can create some purpose from it."

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In 2008, Katherine Heigl pulled out of the Emmys race for Grey's. At the time, she said she didn't deserve a nomination because the writing for her character wasn't good enough in Season 4.

"I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organisation, I withdrew my name from contention," she said in an official statement.

Heigl earned the unflattering title of being "difficult", and eventually left her role as Izzie Stevens in 2010.

"I know there's a better way to deal with those things than I did," she told the outlet. "I could have handled it with more grace."

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Heigl said that she didn't regret her decision to leave, but she did regret the "heightened drama" that unfolded upon her exit. The actress has subsequently learned how to prioritise self-care.

"If I'd known anything about meditation then, or had been talking to a therapist or someone to help me through some of the fear that I was steeped in, I think I would have been more calm in how I approached what boundaries I needed to create to thrive," she continued.

"I certainly regret not learning earlier how to manage my anxiety better. Living at that heightened level of anxiety ... created a defensiveness in me and wariness and assuming that people were against me. I let my mind run rampant without the tools to properly manage that."

Heigl recently shared her thoughts on Grey's storyline where her character reunited with Alex Karev (Justin Chambers).

"Wasn't he with someone?" Heigl told Entertainment Tonight on January 27, referencing Alex's wife Jo (Camilla Luddington). "Listen, isn't that an a---hole move?"

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Katherine Heigl recalls her controversial exit from Grey's Anatomy - 9TheFIX