Dr. Owen Hunt and Dr. Teddy Altman’s friends-to-lovers arc spanned many seasons of Grey’s Anatomy.
Teddy (Kim Raver) arrived at Seattle Grace Hospital in 2009’s season 6 as the new cardiothoracic chief, where she reunited with former military comrade Owen (Kevin McKidd). As the two doctors worked side by side, they eventually found love and had a family together.
Teddy and Owen’s marriage, however, faltered by season 22 when they divorced. Season 22 is also Raver and McKidd’s last as main cast members.
Keep scrolling to revisit Owen and Teddy’s journey:
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Military Comrades
Teddy and Owen began their careers as doctors in the military, meeting when they were both stationed in Iraq alongside fellow surgeons Megan Hunt (Abigail Spencer) and Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson). While Megan (a.k.a. Owen’s sister) and Riggs sparked a romance, Teddy had unrequited feelings for Owen, who was engaged to a woman named Beth at the time.
Return Home
After Owen’s deployment concluded, he returned home to Seattle and began working as the head of trauma at Seattle Grace in season 5. He soon sparked a romance with medical resident Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh). They got married in season 7.
Owen later arranged for Teddy to accept a job at Grey Sloan as the head of the cardio team, the department in which Cristina worked. Teddy ultimately married chronically ill patient Henry Burton (Scott Foley), who was in need of health insurance.
Henry died in Cristina’s operating room in season 8, nearly one season before she and Owen coincidentally divorced. Owen ended his marriage after learning that Cristina did not want to have children.
Moving On
In the years after his divorce from Cristina, Owen found another connection with Dr. Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone). They were briefly married, which ended over Amelia’s own indecision about having kids. After his second divorce, Owen adopted son Leo as a single father.
As for Teddy, Raver left after season 8 before returning full-time in 2019’s season 15. It was revealed that Teddy had been overseeing the military’s surgical team from a base in Germany.
From Friends to Lovers
Owen realized in season 14 that he had feelings for his longtime friend, flying to Germany to confess his feelings. Owen and Teddy hooked up, conceiving daughter Allison.
Once Teddy arrived back at Seattle Grace (now renamed Grey Sloan Memorial), she actually dated Dr. Tom Koracick (Greg Germann) before returning Owen’s affections. They ultimately got married after their daughter’s birth.
A Strain on Their Marriage
Owen and Teddy’s relationship faltered in season 19 after he nearly lost his medical license for illegally prescribing veterans with drugs for physician-assisted deaths. Teddy had been named chief of surgery at the time.
“He and Teddy are still working. You can see them starting to work their way back toward being one, and they’ve had a rough time,” McKidd exclusively told Us Weekly in April 2023. “I think we’re gonna see them really sort of bend down into this really supportive, loving couple.”
He added at the time, “She’s the chief, he’s the head of trauma. He’s now able to support her because … he knows what it takes to do that job. So he becomes her rock in a sense as the season moves on.”
Owen was the chief between seasons 8 through 11.
Trying Something New
Owen and Teddy’s relationship continued to struggle throughout season 21, leading them to consider an open marriage.
“Teddy and Owen have been arguing for so long and they’re not getting along,” Raver told Us in April 2025. “When we were talking with Meg [Marinis, the showrunner], it came from a place where Owen and Teddy love each other so deeply that they’re not ready to walk away from the relationship. So what do you do?”
Owen and Teddy had respective flings with Nora (Floriana Lima) and Cass (Sophia Bush).
The End of the Road — Or Is It?
Teddy and Owen ultimately realized in season 22 that an open marriage wasn’t working, so they agreed to be monogamous. The same issues soon crept in, leading Teddy to file for divorce from Owen.
Shortly after finally signing divorce papers, Teddy and Owen hooked up again.