Back when Chyler Leigh was debuting as Lexie Grey on "Grey's Anatomy," the Hallmark star opened up about her troubled past and strained maternal relationship. Leigh's childhood had its share of struggles, with her parents filing for bankruptcy when she was eight, and their eventual divorce estranging her from her father for six years. However, drug and alcohol abuse in her teen years specifically put a toll on her familial relationships.

After moving to LA with her mom in 1999, Leigh met her future husband Nathan West during an audition for the failed TV show "Saving Grace" and eventually left home to live with him. Together, to two began experimenting with drugs and alcohol, telling People that they "did everything but LSD and shooting up." Bordering on malnourishment due to the chronic drug abuse, Leigh was eventually confronted by a director on a movie set and was forced to face the negative effects her habit was having on her body.

She and Nathan committed to getting clean, crediting their sobriety to their newly ignited faith and their mutual support. While the two made efforts to mend burned bridges with their family members, Leigh's relationship with her mom remained fractured. "As a mother, I feel sorry for her because I know how much I love my kids," she shared in 2008, not having spoken to her mother in four years. "And I know how much she loves me."