This tidbit isn't new. In fact, it was reported by USA Today over a year ago. But it was new to the Insider, and we thought we would share it with you, because it offers some insight into Ellen Pompeo's background, along with her perspective on life.

Over a patio dinner of filet mignon and Alaskan halibut in L.A., Pompeo, the Grey's Anatomy star, chatted up producer Billy Gerber, who recently filmed the big-screen Dukes of Hazzard remake.

Pompeo mentioned having read Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink, about trusting our instincts, and chatted about how things seem to be interconnected.

For instance, when she first met her boyfriend of several years, music producer Chris Ivery (right) at a grocery store, she was more focused on food than romance.

But two days later, they met again, started dating, and discovered they grew up 10 miles from each other -- and that Ivery knew Pompeo's father.

Ellen hails from Everett, Massachusetts, just north of Boston.

Another coincidence? The Hollywood home she and Ivery rent (or at least rented at the time this article was first published) is just 10 doors down from her Grey's Anatomy true love, Patrick Dempsey. Ivery and Dempsey like to race scooters together down their street.

"It's a very small world," Pompeo said.

Steve Marsi is the Managing Editor of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Google+ or email him here.