The couples on Greys Anatomy. RANKED!!!

Am I cheating a little because Mark and Addison were never, at any point “official” official? Sure. But Mark and Addison are such an integral, iconic Grey’s pairing that it felt wrong not to include them. Plus, they were straight fire together.

Teddy and Henry are your typical “boy has chronic illness and no health insurance, boy meets doctor with health insurance, boy and doctor get married for insurance reasons, boy and doctor fall in love, boy dies” tragic romance story. They get precious little time together, but even so, they are one of the most supportive, loving couples in the show’s history.

Justin Chambers abruptly left the series in season 16 and there were only so many ways to write off his character. Knowing that, however, didn’t make it any easier to see him ditch some well-earned character development and the wife he promised to always be there for in order to start a life with Izzie Stevens!!

Does anyone not tear up just thinking about the time when Adele, suffering from Alzheimer’s, is having an episode in the hospital, and Richard, in the middle of surgery, sings “My Funny Valentine” to her while she stands crying in the OR gallery, in order to calm her down?

When Meredith first met transplant surgeon Nick in season 14, she saves his life after he has some complications from a recent kidney transplant. But he does something important for her, too: Through their day of flirty banter and heart-to-hearts, she, for the first time, feels like there could be love after Derek. But it’s not their time. They don’t cross paths again until season 18. The connection is instant. The chemistry, undeniable. To see Meredith this happy again is pretty freaking great.

The doomed doctor-patient love story of Izzie and Denny helped make Grey’s Anatomy what it was back in the early days. Millions of people know what an LVAD wire is because of Izzie and Denny. Their chemistry was so palpable and their tragic ending was so obvious that you couldn’t help but get wrapped up in their romance. Their entire relationship happens inside the hospital walls, but it feels so fully realized that you kind of forget.

This relationship is a tough one. It’s one of the longest on Grey’s Anatomy. It is the show’s first long-term same-sex couple. Callie and Arizona make each other better people … until they don’t. The two are never the same after Arizona loses her leg in the plane crash. They fight admirably to save their marriage, but only end up hurting each other over and over again.

Mark and Lexie are undoubtedly Grey’s Anatomy’s star-crossed lovers. They are each other’s destiny, but just can’t seem to work out the timing. It remains tragically off until the very end. After years of their on again-off again relationship, Lexie works up enough courage to give her big “I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I can’t breathe” speech to Mark to finally win him back, only to die days later in a plane crash. Mark follows soon after. So, in this life, they never work out.

We do get to see their love (and heartbreak) on display in flashbacks, but the true testament to their connection comes when Ellis, afflicted with Alzheimer’s, sees Richard at the hospital and lights up. Richard is the only person who can calm her. When she returns to the hospital in a rare lucid episode, they get to say things they weren’t able to before. Richard doesn’t regret staying with Adele, but he also understands that telling Ellis this won’t help her situation. Instead, he holds her and tells her about the wonderful, happy life they would have had together.

Come at me! Cristina and Burke are only together for around two seasons before he dramatically leaves Cristina on their wedding day (let’s be honest: Burke was always a drama queen), but they are such a part of one another and such a part of this show, they blow so many other couples out of the water.

Everyone is encouraged to go back and watch “Moment of Truth” in season eight, when Richard and Catherine sleep together for the first time. A hot sex scene featuring two characters over 50? Very refreshing, Grey’s! Richard and Catherine are such a great couple because they are so evenly matched.

On this list we are pro-Japril always and forever. Their hookup in the bathroom during their oral boards in season eight is one of the hottest scenes in Grey’s Anatomy history, period. It also doesn’t get much swoonier than Jackson standing up and professing his love for April at her wedding. “Say it loud and go from there!” They were broken people after the tragic loss of their son, Samuel, but survived a kitchen table C-section (hello, Harriet!) and remained each other’s best friends even as they went on to date other people.

When Izzie walked away from Alex and Seattle Grace back in season six, if you had said that one day the two would reunite, you would’ve sounded batshit crazy. And yet here we are. What a world! Sure, Izzie and Alex ending up together — with two kids — only happened because of an unpredictable real world situation (but for why, Justin Chambers?) and yet, it still feels right.

Miranda and Ben are both the longest running and arguably the best example of marriage Grey’s Anatomy has. Yes, they’ve had some low points — Bailey’s OCD, Ben doling out a fatal C-section, all the church-and-state stuff, the miscarriage, Ben’s decision to become a firefighter leading to a brief separation — but they always bounce back.

As if anyone else had a chance. Meredith and Derek are so much a foundational part of Grey’s Anatomy that when Derek died in season 11, people were fearful of how the show would go on without them together. I mean, obviously Meredith is a badass and doesn’t need a man, so the show is just fine (and sometimes better!) without its most iconic couple. But that doesn’t mean we weren’t blessed to watch them fall in love for 11 seasons.