Let’s be real, we don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy for the surgeries. We watch it for the romance—whether it’s elevator kisses, on-call room hookups, interrupted weddings, or declarations in the rain. Grey’s Anatomy knows how to make us cry, no doubt about it, but it also knows how to make us believe in true love—no easy feat in today’s dating app world.
So, the best way to pay tribute to this show as it dives deeper into Season 21 (yep, Grey’s Anatomy can legally drink now!) is to look back at the most loved-up moments. Whether they were happy or sad, spontaneous or sweet, these romantic Grey’s Anatomy scenes remind us why we even bother with this crazy thing called love. Did we miss your favorite moment? Drop it in the comments below!
17. Cristina and Owen’s icy first kiss (Season 5 Episode 2)
Say what you want about Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Cristina’s (Sandra Oh) later relationship—or Owen as a character—but this episode was packed with chemistry. Their first meeting happens when Owen brings patients into the OR, and Cristina ends up injured by an icicle (new fear unlocked). Owen carefully checks that the icicle hasn’t hit anything vital before removing it, and afterward, they share a steamy, tension-filled kiss. And to top it all off, Taylor Swift’s “White Horse” plays in the background, making the scene even more iconic.
16. Callie and Arizona’s elevator kiss (Season 6 Episode 22)
Calzona is such a tough couple to watch sometimes—they’re such a core part of the show but also hurt each other so deeply. Still, no list of the most romantic Grey’s Anatomy moments would be complete without them. Here’s a sweet memory of the pair: The two have been struggling up to this point, with Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) unsure about commitment and Callie (Sara Ramírez) feeling torn between her career and future. But in this moment, all Callie had to do was say Arizona’s name, and Arizona turned around and kissed her passionately. It wasn’t just a kiss—it was a bold, clear statement from Arizona, saying she was all in and that their love was worth fighting for. And, boy, did they fight for it a lot.
15. “I didn’t get married.” (Season 19 Episode 19)
Bet you didn’t think we’d include a late-season couple on this list! Sure, nothing beats the Golden Age of Grey’s Anatomy, but recent seasons still have a few romantic moments worth mentioning. One of them is between Simone Griffith (Alexis Floyd) and Lucas Adams (Niko Terho), who also happens to be Derek’s nephew! These two had a steamy situationship that got cut short when her fiancé, Trey Delgado, came back into the picture.
Fast forward to Simone’s wedding day. Her grandmother, who struggles with dementia, mistakes her for Simone’s mom and tells her not to marry Trey. Simone then realizes her deceased mom left her fiancé for Simone’s dad, and paired with a dead robin metaphor (classic Grey’s), she decides not to go through with the wedding. In full bridal glory, she rushes to the hospital to find Lucas. She walks up to him and simply says, “I didn’t get married,” and he replies, “You didn’t get married.” We were gasping for air at this point. It’s such a tender, quietly shocking moment, and honestly, it feels like something Derek and Meredith could have said to each other back in the day.
14. Ben drops everything, including hot dogs (Season 14 Episode 11)
Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is having a heart attack, and no one believes her. It’s giving major flashbacks to that frustrating episode with McDreamy (RIP). Worst of all, she refuses to call her husband, Ben (Jason George). But when complications arise, Bailey finally asks Richard to call Ben, admitting she wants to see him.
Cue Ben, who’s casually buying hot dogs when he gets the call. He immediately drops everything (literally) and starts sprinting to the hospital, dodging red lights and everything else in his path to get to Bailey. It’s a superhero moment, to say the least.
Ben and Bailey have so many beautiful moments, but this movie-perfect scene of him racing to be by her side—and how it ultimately helps them better understand each other’s struggles—just sums them up perfectly as a couple. They might be the only real competition for MerDer on the show.
13. “My Funny Valentine” (Season 8 Episode 12)
Okay, get your tissues ready because this scene is guaranteed to wreck you. Adele (Loretta Devine) and Richard (James Pickens Jr.) may have been more of a back burner romance for most of the show—with their long marriage and Richard’s affair with Ellis Grey (yep, Meredith’s mom)—but everything shifts when Adele is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. It’s especially tragic since this is the same disease that took Ellis, Richard’s second love.
In this scene, Adele becomes disoriented and interrupts one of Richard’s surgeries. To calm her, he starts singing “My Funny Valentine,” their wedding song, and you can see her visibly relax. It’s such a sweet, heartbreaking moment that perfectly captures the pain of loving someone you’re slowly losing while still knowing exactly how to comfort them.
And just when you think you’re done crying, Miranda dances to the same song at her wedding, while Richard watches, knowing Adele has just passed away. An absolute gut punch.
12. Richard and Ellis’ imaginary life together (Season 3 Episode 14)
Ellis Grey (Kate Burton) wakes up completely lucid, and the last thing she remembers is fighting with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) before she leaves for her Euro trip. Meredith has to break the news about her Alzheimer’s and, as you’d expect, it doesn’t go over well.
Richard (Pickens Jr.) comes to see Ellis, and she opens up about all of her regrets. Now, Richard has always said he doesn’t regret choosing Adele, but in this moment, he doesn’t bring it up. Instead, he holds Ellis and paints a picture of the life they could’ve had together. A beautiful, ordinary life together. He tells her how she would’ve become Chief, given Meredith some siblings, and they’d have bought that house they once dreamed about.
Ellis is calmed by this. Eventually, she slips back out of her lucidity. This moment is so much quieter and softer than most romances on the show, but it’s incredibly powerful—Richard giving the woman he loved exactly what she needed in her final lucid moment.
11. Link admits his feelings for Jo (Season 19 Episode 20)
We’re still waiting for Alex (Justin Chambers) and Jo (Camilla Luddington) in the restaurant (Taylor Swift fans will get it), but if we can’t have Jolex, we’ll settle for JoLink. This is the classic friends-to-lovers trope, and it definitely took its sweet time! These two have known each other since college, been through a lot together, and even hooked up by this point.
Link (Chris Carmack) finally confesses his love in true Grey’s Anatomy style—with a monologue worthy of Shakespeare—saying that he’s told her “I love you” a hundred times in his head, and now he’s saying it out loud. He mentions knowing he loves her when she reads by the fireplace and when she sings to her daughter. They kiss in the rain, and they’re finally together… at least for a while. With Grey’s Anatomy, you simply need to take what you can get!
10. Alex’s breakdown to Izzie (Season 6 Episode 1)
Alex and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) definitely didn’t have it easy on the show, and things didn’t get much better even after her cancer went into remission. Izzie is craving physical intimacy from her new husband and getting frustrated with how distant he’s been. In this powerful scene, she confronts him, trying to break down the walls between them.
But Alex finally opens up about how deeply hurt he was by Izzie’s actions, one of the biggest being when she “died” in his arms. He says, “You made me love you, you made me let you in, and then you freaking died in my arms!” They both share their pain and insecurity, and in the end, they manage to connect. It’s not a scene of lust or passion—it’s about finding comfort and understanding in each other’s presence. And it’s so damn beautiful.
9. Lexie’s confession to Mark (Season 8 Episode 22)
They left the show over a decade ago, but we will never ever neglect to mention Lexie (Chyler Leigh) and Mark (Eric Dane). Lexie runs into Mark outside the hospital and finally admits that she’s still in love with him. She just spills her guts to him, her voice cracking while his eyes soften as she lays her heart on the line. What makes this moment even more gut-wrenching is how relatable it is—just how wild it feels to be so consumed by someone. Lexie says, “I can’t think about anything or anybody, and I can’t sleep, I can’t breathe, I can’t eat. And I love you. I just love you all the time.” She compares him to a disease, and that’s how love feels when you’re trapped in the throes of it. Oh, and the fact that the plane crash happens literally two episodes later… that makes it hit even harder.
8. Meredith’s house of candles (Season 4 Episode 17)
Get ready for the first of many MerDer moments, and yep, we’re still waiting in that hospital room. In this scene, Meredith has set up a house of candles for Derek o symbolize the home they’ll build together. She’s pushing past her hard-earned fear of commitment, saying, “I got all whole and healed!” She’s a bit embarrassed by the whole thing, but Derek just walks through the candles and kisses her. The most romantic part? When Meredith tells him, “I believe that we can be extraordinary together rather than ordinary apart.” If you’re not tearing up right now, you might need to get checked.
7. Alex doesn’t want an “out” with Jo (Season 16 Episode 1)
No character on Grey’s Anatomy has gone through as much growth as Alex Karev, and that growth definitely came with a lot of [failed] relationships. Alex had his fair share of unstable partners, like Ava/Rebecca (Elizabeth Reaser), the patient with an identity crisis who tried to kill herself. So, when Jo falls into a depressive episode after being rejected by her birth mom, she gives Alex an “out” since they were never legally married.
Alex meets her at the treatment facility when she leaves and tells her he doesn’t want that “out”—he just wants to be with her. She reminds him she’s not magically cured, but he promises he’ll stick with her through it all. He proposes again, and she says yes. They get married for a second time on Halloween.
No matter how this relationship eventually ends, this moment always makes us tear up. Loving someone is always going to come with battles, but Alex shows us that it’s so worth it to be with the person you love.
6. Lexie’s last moments with Mark (Season 8 Episode 24)
We’d like to apologize in advance for putting you through this again. We’re not sure we can get through this without crying our eyes out, but we’ll try. Lexie is seriously injured in the plane crash, and Mark initially refuses to admit she’s dying, trying to move the literal chunk of the plane instead. But eventually, he realizes (or at least acknowledges) that she needs him in that moment. They both admit their love for each other, and Mark talks about their future together—the kids they’ll have, the life they’ll share… and okay, we need a minute to sob into a pillow. This is too much. No one said romantic moments were always happy ones!
5. Jackson interrupts April’s wedding (Season 10 Episode 12)
Okay, a wedding objection might be a bit of a cliché, but we’ll make an exception for this heartwarming moment. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) and April Kepner (Sarah Drew) had put their brief romance behind them, and she was about to marry Matthew (Justin Bruening), an EMT who shared her Christian values. Jackson apologizes to his date, Stephanie, before standing up, only to quickly sit back down. Then, he gets up again and says, “I love you, April. I always have. I love everything about you, even the things I don’t like, I love.” Isn’t that something we’re all looking for, someone who loves the parts of us they might not like? You just know his mentor, Mark Sloan, would’ve been the one pushing him to stand up in the first place.
4. The Post-It note wedding (Season 5 Episode 24)
Struggling to find the time for a trip to City Hall, Derek decides he and Meredith don’t need a traditional wedding. Instead, they head to the locker room and write their vows on a Post-It note, promising to love each other forever. Their vows include things like “To love each other even when we hate each other” and “To take care of each other when we’re old, smelly, and senile.” They sign it, and later frame it at home. Look, rationally we know that wouldn’t have all fit on a single Post-it, but we’re happy to pretend for this cute moment. It swapped white gowns for white coats, but it was perfect for MerDer.
3. An unexpected bride (Season 5 Episode 22)
It’s Meredith and Derek’s wedding… except it’s not. This big, traditional wedding was actually planned by Izzie to distract herself from her cancer, but she’s just gotten some really bad news. Meredith and Derek realize this was Izzie’s wedding all along, not theirs, so they surprise her by giving it to her. Alex and Izzie get married just before she heads into a dangerous surgery. Alex’s vows about this being the day his life truly begins always manage to make us ugly cry. And if your eyes aren’t welling up when Izzie stumbles down the aisle and George walks her the rest of the way, you’re just not human.
2. Meredith and Derek’s elevator proposal (Season 5 Episode 19)
Wow, Season 5 is really hitting us in the feels! Forget about flash mobs and diamond rings, all we want is this Derek and Meredith elevator proposal. As a brain surgeon, Derek’s all about the little details, and he totally nails it with his proposal to Meredith. He decorates the elevator with scans from their surgeries together, even going all the way back to Katie Bryce in Episode 1. Who knew that proposing surrounded by CT scans and MRIs would turn out to be the most romantic thing ever? He walks her through all of the moments that really symbolize their life together at the hospital. “I love you, Meredith Grey. And I wanna spend the rest of my life with you,” Derek says, and it hits even harder knowing he did exactly that…
1. Izzie refuses to leave Denny (Season 2 Episode 27)
This might be the most controversial opinion on this list, but it’s our “hear me out” moment. Izzie has just gone to Denny’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) room to show off her prom dress, hours after he proposed, only to find him dead. She refuses to leave his side, and her friends try to convince her to go. It shows the raw pain of losing someone you loved, the disbelief, and how alone you can feel in that moment.
But here’s what really cements its top spot on this list of romantic Grey’s Anatomy scenes. Alex, clearly in love with Izzie, tries to reason with her: “Now I know you love him, but he also loved you. And a guy who loves you like that doesn’t want you to do this to yourself.” He’s speaking from his own heart, putting aside his feelings for Izzie to be there for her as a friend first. As Izzie sobs, Alex picks her up and carries her off Denny’s bed. She lets him, wrapping her arms around him, crying into his shoulder. Alex’s face says it all—he’s in pain, just seeing the woman he loves in so much hurt. This is our top romantic moment, as it marks the real beginning of Alex and Izzie, and it’s a kind of selflessness you can only find in true, agonizing love.
