'Grey's Anatomy's' Sara Ramirez, Jessica Capshaw on Callie and Arizona's Devastating Decision

ABC

"Grey's Anatomy's" Jessica Capshaw, left, and Sara Ramirez

[Warning: This story contains major spoilers from the "Bend & Break" episode of Grey's Anatomy.]

ABC's Grey's Anatomy delivered one hell of a gut-punch Thursday, when one of TV's most influential couples was forced to turn the microscope on themselves and rip off the Band-Aid that was holding their relationship together.

During the hour, Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) finally sat down in couple's therapy to address the issues that have been rapidly piling up since Arizona returned from Africa to learn that Callie had slept with Mark and was pregnant. Among them: Arizona's infidelity, their current impasse about adding a second child to their family and more.

The episode, which spanned more than 30 days, featured incredible flashbacks to the couple's early days: their first date, first kiss and more as Grey's continued to mine from its rich past. But the end result was a real blow when Callie, who thanks to an in-home separation, learned that she no longer wanted to try and mend her marriage. Instead, Callie voted for herself after recognizing the couple had become codependent and lost their individuality along the way. Arizona, on the other hand, had the opposite reaction and realizes that the break helped her see how rich and amazing her life with Callie was.

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The Hollywood Reporter caught up with stars Ramirez and Capshaw during a recent set visit to discuss the fan-favorite couple's split and what they'd like the diehard fans who saw themselves in the couple and found the courage to come out to know.

How did you respond when you learned that Callie and Arizona would be breaking up?

Capshaw: The conversation about their issues started with the infidelity, and [showrunner] Shonda Rhimes was very honest and said they had a 50-50 chance. I knew Callie and Arizona weren't back together and happy by the end of last season even though it seemed like they were. I got so many responses from people asking why they weren't in therapy and that might have been because they hadn't really dealt with it yet. With this episode, you see what's broken, what needs to be fixed and if it can be fixed. Both of them are very honest about who they really are. It is a shock at the end because they take this break.

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'Grey's Anatomy's' Sara Ramirez, Jessica Capshaw on Callie and Arizona's Devastating Decision