Why Rebecca & Greg Split On 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend'

Warning, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fans: heartbreaking spoilers ahead. In Friday’s episode of The CW show, Rebecca (Rachel Bloom) actually says goodbye to Greg (Santino Fontana). And according to executive producer Aline Brosh McKenna, he’s gone for good. What’s even worse is that she and Bloom have known this was coming for quite some time now. So did the man himself. “Santino was on board with us, so we worked with him to figure out the exact timing. He was fine with it and really embraced it,” McKenna says. Although the brains behind the operation give Greg some epic songs on his way out and recognize the fan love for him, “obligation to tell the story” trumps all. McKenna explains why Greg’s departure not only gives his character justice, but gives the story justice as well.

“It’s one of those things that allows the show to evolve,” she says. “[Rachel and I] try to get inside out and upside down with the tropes… but sort of deconstruct them at the same time.” In case fans don’t realize, McKenna says Greg is a purposefully-placed trope in the show, one that audiences are no stranger to. “Greg is very much the nice guy who’s overlooked,” she says. So, that means he gets the boot?! I need answers now.

“That’s a John Cryer, that’s a Tom Hanks, that’s a trope that’s been in rom-coms a lot,” she says. But things between Greg and Rebecca weren’t working, and pretending they were just doesn’t seem right to show runners. “If you play that too long, people start to seem like they’re not smart and not understanding of their circumstances,” she explains. “We always knew there would be a point where he would come to realize that her obsession was such that he would not be able to be with her.”

And Greg could only fight for so long. “There was a limited number of times we could have him go back to… trying, trying, trying.” And although the show isn’t about the beloved Greg, his character still needs to fit into the overarching theme. “[It]’s about the pursuit of happiness and ultimately this character’s happiness would be elsewhere.”

But beyond making Greg’s journey seem realistic and fair, Rebecca has hers to figure out, too. With a makeover, new living situation, and aspirations to be “Miss Douche,” she has a lot of evolving to do post-Greg. “She’s literally a douching product. She’s trying to cleanse, flush herself out, inside and outside, so she embraces this really radical thing,” says McKenna.

Turns out, the quest for love is just a sliver of that. “The show isn’t about the search for romantic love so much as it is about her personal happiness and satisfaction. So she’s still on that path,” McKenna says. “The search for her identity, happiness, friendship, love, success, redefining success—that continues.”

And so, the show must go on even after Greg won America’s heart. “That’s where we go on from here. A lot of changes,” says McKenna. Such is life, though. And honestly, I’m excited to see where this journey takes Rebecca. Obviously, beyond Miss Douche.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend airs Friday nights at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.