Warning! SPOILERS about Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 17 ahead.

Jo and Link’s relationship was at Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 17’s center thanks to their unique wedding, another couple reached an important milestone through their breakup.

Simone and Lucas have gone through a lot since ing as interns at Grey Sloan Memorial in Grey’s Anatomy season 19. From immediately connecting to a romantic relationship between them being as obstructed by Simone’s ex-fiancé reappearing in her life as Simone’s uncertainty, Simone and Lucas’s relationship had all the markings to be one for the ages. Simone even left Trey to run to Lucas, and yet the romantic relationship between Lucas and Simone wasn’t invulnerable. Simone and Lucas broke up at last in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 17, after Dylan’s case highlighted their fundamental differences.

Lucas Finally Breaks Up With Simone After Their Prolonged Fights

Dylan's Case Highlighted How Differently Lucas & Simone Approach Challenges

Grey’s Anatomy season 21 often highlighted how Simone and Lucas were in different places regarding their relationship. There were multiple clues about Lucas and Simone’s disconnection, including in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 14, when Simone was more focused on commiserating with Jules after meeting Dr. Chase again than on Lucas’s news of avoiding remediation of his intern year. Furthermore, Simone chickened out of asking Lucas to move in after he mentioned planning their future together in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 15.

However, it was Amelia’s last impossible case in Grey’s Anatomy season 21 that let Simone and Lucas reach a breaking point. Dylan’s case highlighted Lucas and Simone’s opposing approaches, where if the former looked at a possibility with hope and a refusal not to “go down fighting,” the latter was much more realistic and risk-averse. The two picked fights multiple times over a decision that wouldn’t have been up to them anyway because Dylan’s worsening conditions glaringly emphasized how differently Lucas and Simone approached challenges.

No matter how hurtful for Lucas [being reminded of the Shepherd privilege], Simone wasn’t wrong, and how her previous residency ended proved their opposing backgrounds led them to different outcomes.

Lucas and Simone’s last fight in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 17 pinpointed the crux of the problem when Simone attributed the reason for his being hopeful and willing not to back down to the safety net that being a Shepherd was. Simone highlighting Lucas’s privilege was a gut punch for him because Lucas wanted to make it as a surgeon on his merits, not wanting to be known as a Shepherd in Grey’s Anatomy season 19. No matter how hurtful for Lucas, Simone wasn’t wrong, and how her previous residency ended proved their opposing backgrounds led them to different outcomes.

How Lucas & Simone's Breakup Sets Up A Better Future For Them

Grey's Anatomy Season 21 Revealed They Wanted Different Things From Their Relationship

While breaking up after things were finally going their way might suggest there is no chance for their relationship, Simone blurting out the main difference between them as interns can actually help them in the long run. After all, this was a shadow throughout their relationship, to the point that when Simone finally confided in someone about what had really happened in her last residency program, it was with Jules, not Lucas. Simone’s opinion of Lucas being a Shepherd and what that entails being out in the open lets it be a problem they can try solving together.

The time apart can be beneficial for Lucas and Simone’s relationship. Simone and Lucas were, after all, pushed into a relationship before Simone could understand what she wanted, after a year that had already completely transformed her life. While their feelings for one another were always evident, Simone’s uncertainty about her wishes for her future revealed itself in Grey’s Anatomy season 21 when she didn’t ask Lucas to move in as planned because his plans for them post-residency scared her. Their breakup can thus help Simone figure out what she wants, while also giving Lucas time to understand Simone’s perspective.

Can Lucas & Simone Still Get Back Together In Grey's Anatomy?

Grey's Anatomy Set Up Their Relationship As The One To Watch Among The Interns

Plenty of flings among the interns came and went since their appearance in Grey’s Anatomy season 19, but Lucas and Simone’s relationship remained a constant, even when they weren’t together. Between the drama that surrounded them from their first connection, including stolen kisses and leaving future spouses at the altar, and their evident feelings for one another even during their fights, it’s unlikely that Lucas and Simone’s breakup is definitive. Their history instead hints at Lucas and Simone’s breakup having the best chance to make them even stronger as a couple on Grey’s Anatomy.

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Grey’s Anatomy season 21 airs its season finale on Thursday, May 15, 2025, at 10pm EST on ABC.