The halls of Grey Sloan Memorial have been filled with beautiful, funny and generally adorable relationships since day one of Grey’s Anatomy. Sometimes, however, it’s fun to watch the doctors get it on for a quick, hot make-out session in an on-call room. For these reasons, Mark Sloan endeared himself to fans, proving himself capable of forming meaningful connections as well as possessing an uncanny ability to make anyone go weak at the knees.
On the other hand, not all of Mark’s trysts went down well with viewers, and some of them definitely left a sour taste. One thing we can all be sure of though is that there’s a reason why Meredith christened him ‘McSteamy’. We’ve ranked his relationships to see which pairing came out on top.
Leah Murphy’s Mom
There’s no hiding the fact that out of all of Season 9’s new interns, Leah Murphy was the least popular. She was whiny, stroppy and she wasn’t afraid to hide the fact that she was only looking out for herself. If the rest of her fellow interns couldn’t stand her, it was extremely unlikely that the viewers would accept her with open arms.
Early in Season 10, Murphy revealed that part of the reason she was even accepted into the surgical program at Grey Sloan was that her mom had been in a relationship with Mark Sloan in the past. That particular relationship led to viewers having to put up with Dr. Murphy for 2 whole years.
Reed Adamson
Although her eventual fate was undoubtedly tragic, Reed Adamson was not an especially popular character during her time on Grey’s. Like many of the other Mercy West residents, she was irritating and, unlike April and Jackson, she never got the opportunity to explore beyond her two-dimensional personality.
Instead, she became the woman that picked fights with certain cancer-ridden doctors and slept her way around the hospital, including Alex Karev. However, when she hooked up with Mark, it put an end to the short but sweet romance he had with Teddy. Admittedly, both parties were at fault here but still.
The Nurses
During his early days on Grey’s Anatomy, Mark also did more than his fair share of sleeping around. He enjoyed sex and wasn’t afraid to admit it. This was all well and good but it seemed he was giving the nurses a slightly false impression as to what their particular relationships meant to him.
He got away with this behavior for a season and a half until the majority of the nursing staff went on strike to protest against his womanizing ways. This shamed Mark but not as much as Dr. Bailey’s frank and hilarious speech declaring that he was a whore. Honestly, Dr. Bailey is the only reason this entry isn’t higher up on the list.
Amelia Shepherd
Like a lot of Mark’s relationships, this one was merely sexual. Amelia had come to visit her brother Derek who was injured during the shooting in the previous season. Meanwhile, Mark was still hurting and vulnerable after his split from Lexie and both doctors just needed a little bit of love.
It was nice for the viewers watching as well, as this McSteamy scene allowed for a break from all the drama following the recovery of Seattle Grace Mercy West. After all, seeing these two hook up was exactly what the doctor ordered. However, it never progressed past a physical attraction and that was the right move.
Cristina Yang
Okay, so this technically never happened. Cristina Yang does not get lovestruck. Unfortunately for Mark, he didn’t realize this during an early season 5 episode in which Derek asked him to occupy Cristina so he could get some uninterrupted time with Meredith during the night.
Mark accepted and spent the entire episode flirting with Dr. Yang and getting absolutely no response. Eventually, he confronted her regarding his attempts at seduction. Completely oblivious to all Mark’s efforts, Cristina simply bursts into laughter and walks away, leaving Mark flustered and in denial. It’s probably one of the funniest scenes in the show’s history and therefore totally deserving of its place on this list.
Julia Canner
Mark seemed genuinely happy during his relationship with Julia with the couple even discussing having children, a long-established desire of Mark’s. For her part, Julia was another badass surgeon who was kind and clearly cared for Mark. However, their relationship did appear to be quite boring at times, as there were never really any obstacles for the two to face.
That, coupled with the fact that Julia herself was mainly an obstacle in the way of Mark and Lexie getting back together meant viewers didn’t quite warm up to her as much as they perhaps should have. In the end, Mark admitted that he had always been in love with Lexie.
Teddy Altman
As mentioned earlier on, Teddy and Mark shared a brief fling together that was never really going to last a long time. That’s not to say it wasn’t cute. Both surgeons had recently been rejected by their respective love interests and were trying to get back on their feet. Interestingly, the roles were reversed here, with Mark wanting a more mature and real relationship and Teddy just keen for some good, old fashioned fun in bed.
After a short while, they both realized what they could give the other and settled into a sweet but short-lived relationship. Teddy even assisted with the birth of Mark’s grandson.
Addison Montgomery
There is no denying that Mark and Addison shared some amazing chemistry. Yes, Addison was always going to be more in love with Derek but there was definitely a part of her that had real feelings for her husband’s best friend. Mark also seemed to genuinely care about Addison, expressing his desire to become a real couple in Season 3.
What hurt this relationship however was that honesty was absent on both sides. Addison aborted Mark’s baby without giving him a say in the matter and Mark cheated on Addison after they continued with their relationship once Derek found out.
Callie Torres
What began as an affair motivated by revenge soon became one of the best friendships on Grey’s Anatomy. Mark and Callie never fell in love with each other, despite them both using the other for sex multiple times, and they were always there for one another. Plus, their chemistry was off the charts! It was during one of their many ‘interactions’ that their daughter, Sofia, was conceived, providing Callie and Mark with the child they always wanted.
It was clear they also loved each other as friends, as evidenced when Callie was in a car crash and when Mark’s life support was switched off. Their relationship is sorely missed to this day.
Lexie Grey
There was never any doubt as to who would take the top spot in this list. Despite being a fairly short-lasting couple in the world of Grey’s, Mark and Lexie were ultimate relationship goals. From the moment they first got together, it was obvious that they cared deeply for one another and watching their relationship grow was one of the highlights of the earlier seasons.
Yes, they broke up often but that only made fans that more desperate to see them back together again. When Lexie passed away during the plane crash, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Sadly, Mark also succumbed to his injuries shortly after. We can only hope that they found some happiness together wherever they ended up.
