Patrick Dempsey on His New Fragrance Campaign — Costarring His Wife

Courtesy Avon

His second fragrance with Avon, Patrick Dempsey 2 is just launching across America, but Grey’s Anatomy‘s McDreamy tells PEOPLE that the inspiration for the follow-up fragrance was surprisingly close-to-home. “The first was about the individual, following your passion and all of that,” he explains of last year’s Unscripted, so for the second fragrance he thought, “Why not take it to the next step and go, ‘this is about two people and the power of the relationship.’” When ad execs suggested that he bring in a model to star with him in the campaign, he rejected the idea outright, telling them, “I don’t feel comfortable having a model in [the ads]. I’m married, and that’s not something I want to project.” His solution? “Why can’t I just use my wife and make it about that?” And they did just that, with Patrick’s spouse of ten years, Avon Creative Color Director Jillian Dempsey, modeling by his side in the sunset beach shots for Patrick’s mandarin, spiced wood and green fig fragrance. So just how was it mixing work and home life? “It was a nice moment for us to be together,” he says. Patrick Dempsey 2 cologne starts at $30 for a 2.5-oz. bottle. Tell us: What do you think of Patrick and Jillian’s husband-and-wife campaign? Will you buy Patrick Dempsey 2 for the McDreamy in your life? –Katherine Kluznik Rentmeester