What happened to Izzie and Alex on Grey's Anatomy? Relationship explored

Grey's Anatomy is known for serving its fans with heart-touching love stories, that are formed between doctors working together at the Grey Sloan.

While Meredith and Derek remain one of Grey's Anatomy's most loved couples, the relationship between Justin Chambers' Alex Karev and Katherine Heigl's Izzie Stevens is just as memorable as the lead couple.

The two shared their fair share of troubles on the show, with Alex's cheating in the initial seasons to Izzie's cancer diagnosis, her firing, and their eventual happy ending after Chambers left the show.

But despite being away from each other and finding love in other people, Izzie and Alex ended up together and built a family with their twins on Grey's Anatomy.

More about Izzie and Alex's relationship in the medical procedural in our story.

Alex and Izzie met as interns and didn't get along in Grey's Anatomy Season 1

Alex and Izzie met at Grey Sloan Hospital as interns, and there was no inclination that sparks would fly between them.

In fact, the two were cold towards each other, and this rivalry worsened after Alex circulated Izzie's erotic modeling photos, which she did to pay for her Medical School.

However, the two formed a friendship and started getting along as friends. In time, their feelings grew for each other, and the two started sleeping together.

While Alex feels that Izzie is not completely committed to their relationship, he sleeps with Nurse Olivia Harper in Season 2, Episode 10, which leads to his eventual breakup. Izzie takes a liking to cardiothoracic patient Denny Duquette.

Exploring Izzie's cancer storyline in their relationship in Grey's Anatomy

However, Denny dies when Izzie cuts his LVAD wire to move up the organ recipient list in Season 2, Episode 21. She was devasted by his loss.

While Alex and Izzie date other people, the couple started dating each other again in Season 5. But soon after, Izzie starts having intimate hallucinations about her dead ex-boyfriend Denny, and she is diagnosed with IV metastatic melanoma, giving her only a 5% chance of survival.

A sick Izzie busies herself with planning Meredith and Derek's wedding, but Meredith surprises Izzie and Alex by getting them married instead, with everything according to Izzie's plan.

The two get married in Season 5 Episode 22, shortly after which Izzie survives surgery, and the two start a new life by moving into Derek's trailer.

Alex and Izzie finally get their happy ending in Grey's Anatomy after facing many obstacles

Fans of the couple were heartbroken when Izzie was fired from her job in Season 6, Episode 5 after she messed with a patient's dialysis. She believed that Alex was partially responsible for her getting fired. She blamed him and left Seattle without saying goodbye.

After Izzie leaves for good, Alex develops feelings for a fellow doctor, Jo Wilson, and the two get married in Season 14, Episode 24. While this felt like the end for Alex and Izzie, he soon learns that Izzie used her frozen embryos from the cancer treatment to give birth to two twins, Eli and Alexis, who are his.

After realizing he has a family with Izzie, he ends his marriage with Jo and moves out of Seattle to be with her and his kids. After a journey of about 16 seasons, Alex and Izzie finally got their happy ending with their twins.

Karev and Izzie’s journey came full circle, evolving from quarrelsome interns to accomplished surgeons building a family together. Like most stories on Grey’s Anatomy, their path was filled with plenty of drama and a few detours into other relationships along the way. Yet, in the end, they became another unforgettable love story in the show’s history.