Relationship Timeline
Breaking Down Jo & Link’s ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Romance With Camilla Luddington and Chris Carmack
Grey’s Anatomy has had plenty of doctor couples running through the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, but no pairing feels as natural as Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Link (Chris Carmack). They met in college and became friends before work and life pulled them onto different paths.
But the universe (or just Shondaland) has a funny way of playing with fate. Link walked back into Jo’s life when he came to Seattle to be the Head of Orthopedic Surgery. Even with years of distance, Jo and Link’s friendship naturally clicked back into place.
For years, Jo and Link were just friends. They supported each other through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. But that slow burn of chemistry just couldn’t be snuffed out. When they finally acted on their feelings, a JoLink endgame was inevitable.
Season 21 is already a big one for Jo and Link, so Swooon is looking back at their relationship through the seasons with the help of Luddington and Carmack. Check out our timeline below and get the actors’ insight into JoLink’s biggest moments.
Grey’s Anatomy, Season 21, Thursdays, 10/9c, ABC
Jo Wilson and Atticus Lincoln relationship timeline. (Swooon)
Link comes to Grey Sloan (Season 15, Episode 4)
Link didn’t join the Grey’s Anatomy fun until Season 15. When Jo realized Link was working at Grey Sloan, she was thrilled about working with her college pal. Their very first scene together established such a strong friendship foundation that has only grown stronger.
“I think what was really cool about that day, too, is we were just meeting, but these characters had a lot of history,” Luddington said. “I remember very soon after we shot that scene, our showrunner at the time, Krista Vernoff, telling me, ‘You guys just have this natural chemistry that works and gives off the impression that you guys know each other, have known each other.'”
Carmack loved that Jo and Link’s friendship got the opportunity to grow without questions of romance. “We really had a nice long time to sort of settle into the dynamic of the friendship before it ever bloomed into a romance, and that was nice. I think that did a lot for our chemistry and how we get along. Even when we have romantic scenes, I think the friendship is just so layered and lived in that it’s the first thing you see,” he noted.
Link supports Jo (Season 15, Episode 20)
Link has such green flag energy. He showed his love and support for Jo after her visit with her biological mother. He arrived at her door with chicken soup and got her mind off the pain. Link didn’t need anything in return. He just wanted to make sure his friend was okay.
Jo realizes Alex left her (Season 16, Episode 15)
The way Karev left Seattle will never be forgiven. We don’t care that it meant Karev and Izzie reunited. The way Karev treated Jo was just awful. Link, ever the supportive friend, checked in on Jo in the midst of the Karev drama. When Jo realized Karev was gone, Link was there.
“One of the moments of their friendship that I love so much was actually when Jo was reading the letter from Karev,” Luddington recalled. “I think you’re [addressing Carmack] the one that gave it to me… We had a conversation after that was basically like, ‘You’re the bravest or strongest person I know.’ Even that moment of her biggest breakup, I love that it was him in it with her.”
The actress also admitted that Jo and Karev had “really bad” communication. “There were a lot of secrets that they both concealed from each other,” she pointed out. “I think moving into this relationship with Link, I see it in the dialogue, I see it in the storyline, she’s way more open and vulnerable with him. I think it comes from a level of friendship but just much more trusting. I think that has helped inform her in this relationship. There’s growth there with Link that there was not with Alex.”
Link's crush revealed (Season 18, Episode 7)
After their relationships with Karev and Amelia ended, things started to shift for Jo and Link. He revealed his early crush on Jo in Season 18. Carmack said Link was “ready” to address his feelings for Jo after his Amelia breakup.
He added, “If he hadn’t had been through Amelia, and he hadn’t had that relationship and become a father, he would have run away from those feelings and said, ‘I’m too scared. I’m not going to screw this up. I love Jo too much. I’m going to shove this down and shut it up.’ But because he was in a place where he really could make a play for something substantial and something long-lasting, he had the courage where he could act on those feelings and know that he could really swing for the fences with it.”
Jo and Link's first time (Season 18, Episode 9)
Finally! After seasons of slow burn, Jo and Link hooked up in Season 18. They were already living together, so it was only a matter of time. The heat between them ignited, and from that point on, JoLink’s relationship was never the same. Their love story had been brewing for seasons, but this is when the tide truly turned.
Link and Jo's big fight (Season 18, Episode 17)
When Swooon brought up Jo and Link’s fight, Luddington had totally forgotten about it! After their initial hookup, Jo and Link had a slight friends-with-benefits situation, but Jo eventually started pushing Link away due to her overwhelming feelings for him.
In this stockroom showdown that started out over a patient, Link called out Jo for using him. Jo confessed she fell in love with Link and thought that Link didn’t feel the same way, which was why she asked him to move out. She wanted to protect their friendship.
“It’s wild when you say these things because the truth is that we have so much life that’s lived on the show since then that it’s like that was a completely other time,” Luddington said when addressing this JoLink argument. “All those things make for great TV, and they are complicated, and life is complicated, and these two were friends who don’t want to mess it up and all the things. I’m selfishly happy as an actress that it’s landed where it’s landed because I feel like it feels right for the character. I’m always Team Jo.”
Link confesses his love (Season 19, Episode 20)
Link got his Grey’s Anatomy leading man monologue in Season 19 when he finally confessed his love for Jo. For Carmack, he was ready for a game-changing romantic moment.
“When you get a monologue like that after all of the years of being on the show and this relationship that has built itself so beautifully episode after episode, it doesn’t actually feel like a lot of pressure as much as it feels like a release of pressure,” Carmack told Swooon. “It’s been building towards this, and it was a beautifully written monologue that Krista had for me. Debbie [Allen] was directing, and there was rain, and Camilla was there and so beautiful and gracious that I knew I had the cards stacked in my favor for that one. It turned out really great.”
Link and Jo expecting twins (Season 21, Episode 4)
Jo and Link had discussed expanding their family, so it was only a matter of time. In Season 21, they got a double dose of happy news they were expecting not one but two babies.
“That kind of news takes time to process. I think in that time, in true Grey’s fashion, it kind of sends things into a bit of a tailspin,” Luddington said. When the JoLink babies arrive, they will be the first set of Grey’s Anatomy twins!
