“Why do you love this show so much?” Honestly, we kind of hate to hear that question when our friends and family are asking about Grey’s Anatomy. That’s because we have to make up a bunch of stuff on the spot, telling them that we love the complex plots, the deep characterization, and the familiar setting.
The honest answer, though, is that we love Grey’s Anatomy for a completely different reason: the steamy sex scenes that leave us glued to the TV. Our skin is usually sweating when those scenes end, and (full confession here), we’ve started recording episodes just so we can go back and enjoy those scenes again and again (and, maybe after a long shower, again).
Want to track down the show’s sexiest scenes? Or maybe you want to see if your favorite naughty hook-up made the list? We’ve got you covered either way. Keep reading to discover the steamiest sex scenes in Grey’s Anatomy!
Meredith and McDreamy
Sure, that really cute doctor played by Patrick Dempsey has a proper name: Derek Shepherd. Early on, though, fans gave him an appropriate nickname that really stuck: “McDreamy.” Frankly, fans often dreamed about getting it on with this delectable doctor, and they got to see what that looked like when he hooked up with Meredith Grey, the show’s titular doctor.
In the Season 2 episode “Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response,” the two of them hook up in the last place you’d expect: the medical exam room. Maybe that’s fitting, though, as they were certainly examining each other’s bodies! And if you have a fear of hospitals, this steamy scene might help you get over it.
Cristina and Owen
Pop quiz, hot shot: what do you want from a TV sex scene? These scenes are usually short and fast, recreating the reckless spontaneity of, say, sleeping with your coworker. Sometimes, though, we want something a little more intimate, and that’s why we love the sex scene between Christina Yang and Owen Hunt in the Season 5 episode “Elevator Love Letter.”
Compared to the show’s usual frenzied love scenes, this one involves the characters making slow and passionate love to one another. The whole thing felt like a cathartic release, especially after Owen’s PTSD experience in the previous episode. Good luck taking your eyes off this one before it’s over!
Izzie and Alex
Here’s the thing about Grey’s Anatomy sex scenes: while most of them are hot enough on their own, some of them become even steamier when you go back and watch them again. That’s because knowing where these characters end up can make their earlier hook-ups that much more rewarding. A prime example of this is the Season 2 hookup between Alex Karev and Izzie Stevens.
You see, when Alex left the show in Season 16, we discover that he actually reconciled with Izzie, whose actor (Katherine Heigl) had left the show a decade ago. The two get a happily ever after that mostly occurs offscreen. Once you know that, their earlier hookup in the episode “As We Know It” takes on special meaning because it is helping to set up their romantic endgame with one another.
Callie and McSteamy
Part of the fun of TV shows is discovering who your surrogate character is. That is, who is it on the show that you wish you could become? For many fans of Grey’s Anatomy, the answer is Callie Torres. Being a main character is nice, of course, but what many fans are jealous of is that she hooked up with one of the hottest guys on the show!
Earlier, we described how Patrick Dempsey’s cute doctor landed the coveted nickname “McDreamy.” Well, Torres ended up hooking up with Mark Sloan, the owner of his own proud fan nickname, “McSteamy.” It’s certainly a well-earned name, as you can tell in the Season 4 episode “Freedom.” There, Torres and McSteamy hook up, and he blows her away with killer dirty talk and some obviously skilled oral sex. Trust us: your entire room will be very steamy by the time this episode is over!
Callie and Arizona
Previously, we touched on how much we love TV sex scenes that emphasize the characters’ slow and passionate lovemaking. However, there’s something to be sad for spontaneously naughty moments. And that’s why we lowkey love the hookup between Callie Torres and Arizona Robbins in the Season 6 Grey’s Anatomy episode “Blink.”
That episode is appropriately titled because the moment we’re going to describe is…well…a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment. In this episode, Lexie walks into the shower and discovers the last thing she expected to see: Callie and Arizona hooking up in the shower. Some might call the scene a little exploitative, but we can’t deny that it got our pulse pounding like nothing else!