Grey's Anatomy saw the relationship between Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey, but the age gap between them brought a lot of problems to this couple.

Grey’s Anatomy is no stranger to couples with big age gaps, but the one that stood out the most was Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) and Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) – so how old was Mark compared to Lexie? Created by Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy premiered on ABC in 2005 and has since become one of the most successful and popular medical dramas in TV history. Although Grey’s Anatomy’s quality has decreased over the years, it continues to have a solid fanbase that keeps following the story of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) quite closely.

Grey’s Anatomy follows the basic premise of medical dramas, focusing on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they struggle to balance their personal and professional lives, which end up overlapping and making way for a lot of drama inside and outside the hospital. Leading Grey’s Anatomy since its first episode is Meredith Grey, who started as an intern at Seattle Grace Hospital alongside other fan-favorite characters and has now become head of general surgery at the same hospital, now named Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Through Meredith, viewers have met many other characters close to her, though that also means they have witnessed many tragedies and heartbreaks, as happened with Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey.

Mark Sloan was the Head of Plastic Surgery at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital and Lexie (who was Meredith’s half-sister) was a surgical resident at the same place. Although there was an obvious and significant age difference between them, Mark and Lexie had one of the most unstable yet popular romantic relationships in Grey’s Anatomy, leading to questions about how much older was Mark and if their relationship could have worked had they had more time on the show.

Why Lexie & Sloan Broke Up (Was It The Right Choice?)

Mark Sloan was born in 1968 and Lexie Grey in 1984, so there was an age difference of 16 years between them. The age gap between them was very present in Mark’s mind at the beginning, as he saw “Little Grey” as a “forbidden fruit” because she was Meredith’s sister, Derek’s sister-in-law, and a “fetus”. Derek even forbid them from going out and Mark tried to stay away from Lexie out of loyalty and respect for his long-time friend, but when Lexie arrived at his hotel room, took her clothes off, and said “teach me”, they began a secret relationship.

However, the relationship between Mark and Lexie was one of Grey’s Anatomy’s most unstable ones, and they often broke up and got back together. Lexie and Mark first ended their relationship when Mark’s pregnant 18-year-old daughter, Sloan Riley, arrived and Mark offered her to move in with him. Lexie wasn’t ready to start a family and be a “grandmother”, and as Mark would obviously choose his daughter and her baby over her, they broke up. Lexie and Mark got back together after the shooting at the hospital, but they broke up again. Since the beginning of their relationship, Mark mentioned his intention to marry Lexie on different occasions and to different people, but Lexie never felt ready to take that step. Lexie told Mark at one point that they were at different points in their lives, which made it difficult for them to be together, and Mark’s casual hookups and lies didn’t make it any easier. When the plane crashed, Lexie and Mark weren’t together, but during Lexie’s final moments, Mark confessed his love to her and asked her to marry him, and she passed away after that. The relationship between Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey in Grey’s Anatomy was a complex one, and while the age difference got in the way sometimes, it wasn’t the only issue in their relationship.