15 Grey’s Anatomy couples ranked on their relationship functionality

3. Meredith and Derek

You may be wondering why the couple that literally started it all isn’t at the very top of the list. And the simple answer to such a query has nothing to do with how much we loved these two together (and still do, when rewatching single-digit seasons).

Meredith and Derek were together for a long time. It started with a would-have-been one night stand — the aftermath of which serves as our introduction to both characters at the very beginning of the pilot episode — and ended with one of the most heartbreaking deaths we have yet been forced to endure (so far).

Back then, Meredith was young, reckless, and arguably self-destructive, especially when it came to starting things off with Derek. Him not telling her that he was still married when they got together wasn’t her fault, but the way she handled it could hardly be considered healthy.

Over the years, both treated each other rather poorly in different ways for varying reasons. It took them a while to truly find themselves and figure out what a relationship with the other truly meant. They started out about as dysfunctional as you can get, but they evolved.

By the time Derek died, they had built a family together, and a love that wasn’t easily going to break. They still had their ups and downs, but they had also made promises they fully intended to keep.

Any couple that can learn from their mistakes and grow both together and a part is truly going to last as long as both shall live.