Scandal Final Season: Before Season 7 Premiere, How Many Times Have Olivia and Fitz Broken Up?

How many times have Olivia and Fitz broken up?
Tony Goldwyn (L) and Kerry Washington of the television show 'Scandal' speak onstage during the Disney-ABC portion of the 2017 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at Langham Hotel on January 10, 2017 in Pasadena,... Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

It's been a long road for Scandal's star-crossed lovers, Olivia Pope and former President Fitzgerald Grant III. So long that, like us, you've probably forgotten a few of the juicy twists and turns in their on-again, off-again (etc., etc.) affair. As the ABC show begins its seventh and final season, we offer this parting gift: A vaguely comprehensive timeline of the political thriller's operatic breakups and makeups. Thank you, Shonda Rhimes, for this utterly delicious and completely implausible affair to remember.

The beginning: Kerry Washington's impossibly chic crisis manager and Tony Goldwyn's impossibly handsome president were introduced to viewers on April 5, 2012. Olivia and Fitz had history (she worked on his campaign) and palpable heat, but it wasn't until episode 6 that our hopes were confirmed. Flashbacks revealed hot hotel sex on the campaign trail!

Almost breakup #1 (season 1 finale): Fitz gets caught in a scandal that includes a sex tape. The moans heard are attributed to a deceased campaign aid. In fact, they belong to Olivia! She quits her new job at the White House, and he considers resigning so they can live in peace. But, oh no: We're just getting started.

Actual breakup #1 (season 2, episode 3): The second season begins with canoodling and flirtatious phone calls, but during a trip to Camp David, a jealous Fitz questions Olivia about her relationship with ex-fiance Edison (Norm Lewis). Olivia tells him: "I am not yours. I don't show up places because you want me. This is over." Somehow, she pulls off this moment of outrage and heartbreak wearing duck boots.

Makeup #1 (season 2, episode 8): Fitz gets shot and spends a few episodes in a coma—always a good way to engender sympathy. Olivia snuggles up to him in in his hospital bed, despite her on-again relationship with Edison. When Fitz finally wakes up (in episode 10), guess whose name he calls? He asks the First Lady, Mellie (did we mention that he has a wife of over 20 years?), for a divorce.

Actual breakup #2 (season 2, episode 13): It's Fitz's turn to end the relationship, which happens after he learns Olivia was part of a team of people who rigged the election in his favor. Olivia has, naturally, just turned down Edison's proposal as she waits for Fitz's divorce to be final. At a funeral for a Supreme Court justice he had secretly killed, Fitz tells Olivia: "Screwing your mistress is one thing, but marrying her? It's political suicide really." Ouch.

Almost makeup #1 (season 2, episode 14): Fitz sees Olivia for the first time in six months at a christening, and they are soon going at it in a hallway closet. Five episode later, it's over. This time Olivia's in the hospital and Fitz is confessing his love. She loves him too but she "can't do this anymore." But, of course, she can.

Makeup #2 (season 2, episode 20): Fitz and Olivia have sex in a shower as the First Lady tell the country, on national television, that her husband has been unfaithful.

Breakup #2 (season 2, episode 22): The romance is off again: Olivia discovers the truth about that Supreme Court justice. Best breakup excuse ever?

Makeup #3 (season 3, episode 8): After weeks of Olivia ignoring his calls, Fitz sends a chopper to pick her up. The pretense for the trip: Fitz wants to talk about her father, the commander of a deadly mercenary group (a real piece of work). In fact, Fitz wants to show her the home he's built for them in Vermont—a place where they can live out their Leave it to Beaver fantasy: he runs for local office while she stays home and makes jam.

Breakup #4 (season 3 finale): Fitz moves forward with the divorce—until Olivia convinces him to stay with Mellie. Turns out she had been raped by Fitz's father (another piece of work) early in their marriage.

Makeup #4 (season 4 finale): After a big showdown between Fitz and Olivia's latest boyfriend, NSA head Jake Ballard (Scott Foley), Olivia makes her choice: Fitz. Amazingly, that sticks for a good chunk of season five. The divorce is happening, and the country has (somehow) accepted his relationship with Olivia. But when she is asked to testify against Ftiz regarding leaked videos circling back to season 3 (it's a long story), they are pressured to wed so she can refuse to take the stand. Neither, of course, wants to get married in this way. Also, it would be way too easy.

Breakup #5 (season 5, episode 9): Olivia has moved into the White House as official First Girlfriend, but turns out life with Fitz isn't the idyll she imagined. Olivia abruptly moves out, telling Fitz there's no jam in their future. She then terminates the pregnancy she's been hiding from him.

A Happy Ending?

Fitz spent season 6 finishing up his second term, while Olivia worked on Mellie's presidential campaign. Yes, Mellie is running for president! Not only that, she's hired her husband's former mistress as her chief of staff! (Nothing absurd about that plotline!) Little happens for the couple beyond a fantasy sequence (in episode 10), offering a glimpse of what a Fitz-Olivia marriage might look like. And then, in the last scene of the last episode, Olivia rushes out to kiss Fitz goodbye as he officially leaves the White House.

Will season 7 reopen the door to happily ever after for Olivia and Fitz? Don't get too excited. This is Scandal, after all.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Michigan native, Janice Williams is a graduate of Oakland University where she studied journalism and communication. Upon relocating to New ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go