Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) has had many loves in her life. Over the years, Grey’s Anatomy has explored the character’s past and present partners. While her love story with Owen (Kevin McKidd) has always been a focal point of Teddy’s journey, fans have never quite forgotten Henry Burton (Scott Foley), whom Teddy married (and later fell in love with) in Season 7 so he could have health insurance.
“It’s so interesting because I really feel like Teddy and Owen are the life partners, like ‘the one,’ right? But the relationship with Scott Foley’s character, Henry, was just absolutely incredible,” Raver told TV Insider as she looked back at Teddy’s relationships. “It was such an interesting moment because it really tells you a lot about Teddy. I mean, that was in a moment of, oh, he doesn’t have health insurance. I’m going to figure it out and problem solve and and save this guy, right?”
Love can blossom in unexpected ways, and that’s exactly what happened between Teddy and Henry. While trying to save his life, they found themselves in this “incredible romance of falling in love.” Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be. Henry died during surgery in Season 8. Cristina (Sandra Oh), who looked to Teddy as a mentor, was the one to break the devastating news.
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“When you talk about love story for me, like, Teddy and Cristina is the biggest love story and in the most platonic way,” Raver noted. The actress felt like Teddy and Cristina were “learning from each other” as they worked together and praised Oh for her “extraordinary” performance when Cristina told Teddy that Henry was dead.
Some Grey’s Anatomy fans might not remember that Teddy and Mark (Eric Dane) had a brief and very casual fling at one point. “I totally forgot about it,” Raver admitted.
One of Teddy’s lowest points during her time on Grey’s Anatomy was her affair with Tom Koracick (Greg Germann). Teddy was pregnant with Owen’s child and cheated on him with Tom. “I think everyone, maybe not to that extent, can understand making bad choices. When you explode your life with a bad choice, then there’s consequences,” Raver said.
While that period was tough for Teddy—never forget Owen discovering the affair via a voice message that Teddy accidentally sent—Raver pointed out that it was an “amazing growth period for Teddy.” Owen forgave Teddy, and they became stronger in spite of it all.
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“I think as humans, I think forgiveness is an extraordinary and difficult but freeing and amazing thing,” the 24 alum said. “I think that that’s why they’re so close now because they’ve been through so much together and that they were able to find forgiveness, which makes the relationship even more romantic.”
In Season 16, fans learned that Teddy was bisexual. A young Teddy had a relationship with her best friend, Allison (Sherri Saum), while living in New York. Allison died on 9/11 while working in the South Tower, and the last person she tried to call was Teddy. This insight into Teddy’s past was an illuminating moment for the character.
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“I love that Teddy is able to feel strong and confident in who she loves and that she has this sort of this incredible history of being able to experience that love and different kinds of love and that there’s not a judgment on any part,” Raver told TV Insider.
After years of will-they-won’t-they and countless obstacles, Teddy and Owen’s love prevailed. They remain a powerful unit inside and outside the hospital.
“I think Teddy and Owen are just really an amazing example of love and then also of doing the work,” Raver explained. “I think we see in big movies that it’s just sort of this fall in love and it’s romantic and it’s incredible and it’s this and it’s that. But then it’s also this incredible deep friendship of having to navigate through the ups and downs in life and that they’re lucky enough to have partners in one another where they can get through hard times [and] can enjoy the good times.”
For Raver, Teddy and Owen were endgame from the start. “They really are madly in love, and they really have been from the moment [they met],” she said.
Grey’s Anatomy, Season 21, Fall 2024, ABC
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