Love Doctors
13 Most Devastating ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Relationship Moments, Ranked
Grey’s Anatomy has left us captivated with fascinating surgeries and traumatized us with life-threatening weather events, a plane crash, a hospital shooting, and more. However, the relationships are at the core of the long-running ABC medical drama — the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Over the last 20 seasons, many romances have graced the halls of Grey Sloan, giving us plenty of moments to swoon over. While we love to root for romance, no one does heartbreak like Grey’s Anatomy.
Swooon is taking a look back at the show’s most devastating relationship moments, so grab those tissues and prepare to cry all the tears.
Which Grey’s Anatomy relationship moment broke your heart the most? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
13. Bonnie's sacrifice (Season 2 Episode 6)
Something about the Season 2 episode “Into You Like a Train” will always stick with us. Strangers Bonnie (Monica Keena) and Tom (Bruce A. Young) bonded (literally) after a metal pole impaled them both in a train crash. The doctors soon realized they would only be able to save Tom. Bonnie accepted her fate but wondered about her fiancé, who had been delayed in getting to her because of the storm. Instead of waiting for her fiancé to arrive and risk Tom’s life, she put on a brave face and said she didn’t want her love to see her like this. Her final request was for Derek (Patrick Dempsey) to relay her last words to her Danny. Bonnie had everything at her fingertips — life, love and a future — and it was ripped away from her in a matter of seconds. She couldn’t even say goodbye to the love of her life!
12. Amelia rejects Link (Season 17 Episode 17)
Link (Chris Carmack) had the sweetest beach proposal planned out at Maggie (Kelly McCreary) and Winston’s (Anthony Hill) wedding. He had Zola, Ellis, and Bailey hold out rings for Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) to choose from as Link got down on one knee. Link’s proposal turned to heartbreak when he saw the look in Amelia’s eyes that told him everything: She didn’t want to marry him. Rejection in front of the kids? Absolutely horrible!
11. Callie and Arizona's custody battle (Season 12 Episode 22)
Callie (Sara Ramírez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) went through it. After everything they endured, especially the aftermath of the plane crash and Arizona’s cheating, their relationship continued to take a downward turn in Season 12. Knowing their love for each other, it was brutal to watch these two on opposing sides in a custody battle for Sofia.
10. Alex watches Izzie code (Season 5 Episode 24)
Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) kept his emotions mostly bottled up in those early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. However, Izzie (Katherine Heigl) nearly dying of cancer almost broke him. As he watched the doctors try to revive his love merely inches away, the stricken Alex looked like he wouldn’t survive the hour. And with Greg Laswell’s “Off I Go” playing? Cue the sobbing.
9. Bailey's pregnancy loss (Season 16 Episode 9)
Bailey (Chandra Wilson) found out she was pregnant in Season 16, but she sadly miscarried. Once Ben (Jason George) learned the news, he raced to his wife’s side to support her and mourn the loss. Grey’s Anatomy is known for its big and bold episodes, but this poignant and tragic moment for Bailey and Ben will always make you cry.
8. Jo realizes Alex left her (Season 16 Episode 15)
We’ll never be okay with how Alex left the series because it felt so out of character for him. Jo’s (Camilla Luddington) complete and utter heartbreak when she figured out that Alex just flat-out left her was hard to watch. After everything Jo had been through, Alex abandoning her was just cruel. Thankfully, Link was there to comfort her in the moment, but he couldn’t dull the pain of how much Alex hurt Jo.
7. 'No one's loved me yet' (Season 6 Episode 24)
Sarah Drew deserved all the accolades for her performance in the Season 6 finale. Our hearts broke for April when she begged for her life in front of the shooter and told him her most personal secret.
“No one’s loved me yet” might be one of the most devastating Grey’s Anatomy lines in the history of the show. In a moment when she could have said anything, her yearning to be loved rose to the forefront of her mind.
6. Derek slut-shames Meredith (Season 2 Episode 24)
Derek was McDreamy, but he was also McSlutShamer. He chose Addison (Kate Walsh) but still wanted to dangle Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) around. When he realized Meredith was actually moving on, he became his worst self and hurt Meredith in the process. He basically called her a “whore” for sleeping with other men (she was single!), prompting Meredith to let him have it. “I make no apologies for how I chose to repair what you broke,” she told him. MerDer had plenty of iconic moments, but this was by far the worst.
5. Jackson and April's baby dies (Season 11 Episode 11)
Poor April and Jackson (Jesse Williams). After discovering their unborn son had a rare, genetic disorder that would ultimately be fatal, they chose to terminate the pregnancy by inducing labor. April gave birth to their son, Samuel, and held him in his final moments. “He squeezed my finger… and then he let go,” a broken April said. Their little family was wrecked by this tragedy.
4. Burke leaves Cristina on their wedding day (Season 3 Episode 25)
Burke (Isaiah Washington) should never be forgiven for this. The audacity to leave Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) on their wedding day. Granted, there were a lot of mixed feelings about these nuptials, mostly on Cristina’s side, but she was there. She wore the wedding dress. She was going to go through the motions because she loved Burke. When she returned to their apartment, Cristina realized he was gone.
His clothes were still there, but he’d taken all the things that mattered to him — his trumpet, lucky scrub cap, etc. — everything but Cristina. The realization that she was both “free” from the relationship and destroyed by Burke’s departure was agonizing.
3. Meredith thinks Derek is dead (Season 6 Episode 24)
The Season 6 finale was full of shocking and heartbreaking moments as the doctors attempted to survive a hospital shooting. The shooter threatened to kill Meredith and then shot Owen (Kevin McKidd) in order to force Cristina and Jackson to let Derek die on the table.
In the worst (but smartest) fake-out ever, Jackson made it seem like Derek died so the shooter would leave them alone. In the moment, Meredith actually thought the love of her life took his final breaths right in front of her, causing her to scream his name and collapse on the floor.
While Derek’s actual death in Season 11 was devastating, this episode was the first time we truly saw how shattered Meredith would be if she lost him. Plus, she was pregnant and then miscarried soon after. The MerDer fandom just couldn’t win in the Season 6 finale.
2. Izzie cries over Denny's death (Season 2 Episode 27)
Izzie and Denny’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) romance was doomed the moment she cut his LVAD wire. He got the heart transplant only to die from a stroke caused by a blood clot. Izzie had her whole life with Denny mapped out, but fate had other plans. Watching Izzie weep in Denny’s hospital bed and mourning the life and love she’d never get to have with him will never not be devastating. Add on Alex picking her up in her ball gown and cradling her in his arms, and you’ve got one of Grey’s Anatomy’s most gut-wrenching and iconic scenes ever.
1. Lexie and Mark's goodbye (Season 8, Episode 24)
Lexie’s (Chyler Leigh) death was just cruel. Didn’t the Grey family endure enough? The Season 6 plane crash left the doctors onboard fighting for their lives, and unfortunately, Lexie perished in the woods.
Little Grey was brave until the very end. She knew her fate before Mark (Eric Dane) was able to accept it. She begged him to hold her hand in her final moments, and at first he refused. When he finally did, Mark told Lexie all the things they’d do when they made it out: marriage, kids, everything their hearts desired.
“We’re supposed to end up together. We’re meant to be,” Mark whispered. Lexie’s final words were, “Meant to be.” These two were cheated out of a happy ending. After Lexie’s death, Mark wouldn’t let go of her hand. The wounds he sustained in the crash aided in his death, but Mark Sloan died of a broken heart. Mark and Lexie deserved better.
