Grey's Anatomy's Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) has a loyal band of friends and family around her – and she’s also had her fair share of love triangles in her time.

RELATED:The Best Romantic Shows on Netflix Right Now

Starting the show with a love affair with soulmate Derek (Patrick Dempsey), Meredith learns the hard way that a happily ever after might not be what she expected. From awkward one-night stands to grand declarations of romance, Meredith is slowly but surely on the path to finding her Mr. Right.

11. Steve Murphy

Steve Grey’s Anatomy

While trying to get over Derek, Meredith meets and later has a one-night stand with Steve (Sunkrish Bala). It’s a near nightmare scenario when Steve shows up at the hospital the next day with Priapism.

Things gradually get more and more humiliating for Meredith as Derek is called in to perform surgery on Steve. This encounter is nothing less than a disaster, and Steve is never seen nor mentioned again.

10. George O’Malley

George Grey’s Anatomy

From the pilot, George (TR Knight) is deeply infatuated by Meredith. He has the cliché schoolboy crush on his new friend, taking pride whenever Derek lets her down, and tries to offer a comforting shoulder with the hope she will see that he is everything she deserves and more.

When Meredith is heartbroken over Derek, she turns to George for a drunken night of awkward, regrettable passion – or lack of. It backfires miserably on George and makes for an extremely uncomfortable encounter after Meredith starts sobbing uncontrollably. Despite George growing a little hostile towards her in the aftermath, they eventually make up and stick to be what they know best: friends.

9. John

John Grey’s Anatomy

How I Met Your Mother’s unlucky with love’s own, Josh Radnor, has a minor guest-starring role in season 15 as John. He and Meredith have a run in with each other on a blind date – set up for other people.

They hit it off with Meredith rescheduling her entire day to spend more time with John after sensing something may be there. This alone is a huge deal for her considering how in demand she is at the hospital, and her recent misfortune with love. Blissful ignorance is soon shattered though when John reveals he has no interest in children and unintentionally insults Meredith. This is one match Meredith finds herself desperate to diffuse.

8. William Thorpe

William Grey’s Anatomy

Fans may recall William (Scott Elrod) as Meredith’s rebound of sorts in season 2. He senses there could be something worth pursuing, and they go on a few dates.

RELATED: 7 Celebrities Who Guest Starred On 'Grey's Anatomy' That Fans May Not Remember

The thing about William is that he’s not an awful person. He is patient with Meredith, giving her space when she needs it, but he is the classic case of right person, wrong time. Maybe in another life these two could have worked something out.

7. Atticus Lincoln

Link Grey’s Anatomy

Link (Chris Carmack) is unwittingly thrust into yet another of Meredith’s love triangles – this time, the new ortho ‘god’ and DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) are battling for her affection. Link proves to be a hit with everyone in the family, including the kids.

With DeLuca’s Italian charm in his way, the spark between Link and Meredith fizzles out before it can even ignite. While Link is a sweetheart, it’s hard to imagine things working out with Meredith. The chemistry just isn’t there, but he does find his own love story shortly after.

6. Nick Marsh

Nick Grey’s Anatomy

Meredith’s latest object of affection is Scott Speedman’s renowned charismatic transplant surgeon, Nick Marsh. First appearing in season 14 as a patient, it looks like sparks fly with Meredith, but he is very quickly phased out as soon as he’s introduced.

RELATED: 'Grey's Anatomy': 10 Most Nerve-Wracking Episodes

Nick returns in season 18 and finds that the chemistry between him and Meredith is still there. Now, the pair have struck up a long-distance relationship which seems to be going well. The only question here is whether they can withstand the test of time.

5. Nathan Riggs

Riggs Grey’s Anatomy

Riggs (Martin Henderson) comes onto the series with a lot of baggage – nearly enough to rival Meredith’s if anyone’s counting. Like the general surgeon, Riggs lost his soulmate and the love of his life, Megan (Abigail Spencer), when she went missing while deployed.

After Derek’s death, Meredith opts to avoid romance but falls into an entanglement of complication with Riggs. The two grow closer and closer as Meredith becomes more comfortable in opening herself up to love again. She and Riggs are looking promising for a hot second until Megan returns.

4. Cormac Hayes

Hayes Grey’s Anatomy

Following the departure of Justin Chambers’ fan-favorite Alex Karev, the pediatrics ward was in need of a new surgeon. Meredith’s bestie and proclaimed ‘person’ Cristina (Sandra Oh) sends a two-in-one – experienced doctor for Grey Sloan and potential love interest for Meredith – package with Irishman, Hayes (Richard Flood).

Hayes shares a lot in common with Meredith. Both are widowed, both are single parents, and both are doctors. The pair have a couple of interactions together, but nothing overly flirtatious. Technically, nothing ever does happen between them; however, his entrance is implicated alongside Meredith’s love life. This could have been the show’s next best power couple if they had been able to settle down, but they are plagued by COVID-19 comas and a shock departure when Hayes resigns and exits the series.

3. Finn Dandridge

Finn Grey’s Anatomy

Finn (Chris O’Donnell) is the first semi-serious relationship Meredith embarks on after Addison (Kate Walsh) arrives and drops a major bombshell; Derek breaks things off with the leading lady to fix his marriage while Meredith glams it up with the single life.

RELATED: 'Grey's Anatomy': 16 Essential Episodes to Celebrate the Show's 16th Anniversary

Chris O’Donnell’s veterinary is a sweet guy. He dotes on Meredith, despite knowing that her heart ultimately lies with Derek. Of all of her love interests, Finn is maybe one of the few men who is worthy of more than she could give. In hindsight, he never really stands a chance against Derek, but he doesn’t deserve to be cheated on – especially at a prom he had taken Meredith to.

2. Andrew DeLuca

DeLuca Grey’s Anatomy

The romantic pairing of Meredith and DeLuca has been met with a mixed reception from fans. After sharing a brief smooch – drunkenly on DeLuca’s part – the Italian stud falls head over heels for his attending, and spends the first half of season 15 making grand, swoon-worthy gestures towards her.

DeLuca is nothing but considerate, respectful and selfless around Meredith. He always puts her and her kids first. The resident is even willing to go to prison to protect her, and they’d only been dating for a short while at that point. Despite breaking up, Meredith and DeLuca are still there for one another and clearly share a lot of love. Sadly, their romance is not meant to be when DeLuca is fatally stabbed; however, they do share one last moment on the purgatory beach where they find closure for their short-lived relationship.

1. Derek Shepherd

Derek Grey’s Anatomy

While this dynamic duo has their ups and downs with each other, Derek and Meredith (or ‘Merder’) are the IT couple of Grey Sloan for a whole decade. Sure, their relationship could be pretty unhealthy at times, but they stood by one another through it at all.

Derek is Meredith’s greatest love, there’s no question about it. Their romance is a whirlwind from the very first episode. They’ve been on quite the journey. Tackling ex-wives, various love triangles, and gut-wrenching tragedies, it seems nothing could ever come between them – until Derek’s death. Yet, years down the line, Meredith still considers him her McDreamy.

NEXT: 'Grey's Anatomy': The 9 Best Relationships, Ranked