Jen Tells Mark She Is Leaving Him | ER

With the distance between their jobs putting a strain on their family, and with Mark reluctant to leave the hospital, Jen decides their relationship cannot work anymore.
From "Sleepless in Chicago" (Season 1 Episode 18)
First broadcast February 23rd, 1995

[@GrayNeko]

Anthony Edwards is criminally underrated as an actor. His portrayal of Mark Greene was so nuanced, so understated, and yet so powerful. This was a man with a kind heart, a fearsome will and a ferocious mind. But he never came off as anything but that guy you'd love to have as a neighbor, have over for beers and brats on a weekend. I do not know how he did this! If, God forbid, I'm ever bleeding out and dying and there's only 30 minutes to save my life, I want someone like Mark Greene working on me.

[@romcelreath]

If you come home and find your wife sitting in the dark waiting for you there's trouble coming.

[@knightwind6628]

There are three things all wise men fear: The sea in a storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man, but there is also a fourth, the most dangerous one, and that is a wife sitting in the dark by herself waiting for you. ✌️👀

[@joemckim1183]

@@knightwind6628 All Mark wanted to do was eat his box of fried chicken at the end of a long day.

[@tamekkaknuth9612]

And in a calm soft voice.

[@qazmko22]

Their relationship feels so real... as for Dr. Greene he needs to realize Rachel's childhood is time he will never get back and once it's gone it's gone. Ask any billionaire you want... ALL of them wish they could go back in time and spend it with their families... I wish Mark would have seen that it would have saved his marriage.

[@jenniferdegrote3298]

Always wanted Mark with Susan💗

[@lanetracarther7282]

Ah, a classic case of spouses' jobs colliding with each other. Each has a great career, but in different places. Neither was wrong in this scenario. Dr. Greene knew where he wanted to be in his career, and his spouse didn't want to be the wife that "stuck around". She had her own career plans. I understood this!

[@clydeferguson519]

And she always got her way. She wouldn't even stick around long enough to listen to him when he was trying to tell her that Rachael would be taken care of when he was gone.

[@SimonPetrikov12]

@@clydeferguson519 because she was trying to deny the reality of the situation as much as possible. Her denial makes sense and shows how deeply she's affected

[@sexyhomeowner9345]

@@clydeferguson519 That's denial. She didn't want to accept he's dying.

[@rebeccaabel4589]

I dont understand why people would marry a doctor besides the financial security. As a physician especially an ER physician or surgeon you dont have a life. Well he passed away

[@brothergaryii]

Sometimes people get divorce because of long-distance jobs. That's one of the dangers of marriage.

[@tommiegirl2441]

Tough scene. I do see where Jen was coming from. It was less about the job itself than it was about wanting him to be a partner and a teammate in their marriage. And maybe because I have family in the medical profession I see things on the bias, but those are the hazards when you marry a doctor - particularly an ER doc. They work long and ridiculous shifts, to say nothing of being on call - and I think Jen didn't get that. I think she believed that things would eventually get easier, and that he would have the time to give her. She didn't understand that his getting on at County was just the start. But I don't fault her for wanting to follow her dreams, too. They were just not compatible, no matter how they cared for each other.

[@qazmko22]

He always had the option to take a higher paying job with lower hours... I wish he would have seen that.

[@redengineer4380]

@@qazmko22 That's kind of like saying "I know you like being a pilot, but how about you be a lawyer instead?"

[@ssmith6963]

There has to be give and take. She sacrificed all the years he was in training and she wanted him to sacrifice for her career. Doctors change locations all of the time and he wasn't willing to do that so there you are. When they met for the last time before he died he said they both made choices. I must say I don't fault her here. She wanted to pursue her dreams too, he just thought didn't want to budge.

[@madirishgirl76]

S Smith she was too blame she wanted ething her way living halfway would have been better she shouldnt have wanted him to leave hos job 4her she knew what she was getting herself into marrying a doctor

[@ssmith6963]

@@madirishgirl76 You really never know unless you are entrenched in the situation. Also her dreams may have changed. He admitted they both made choices. He was unwilling to change his job. Doctors change job locations all the time. I don't blame her for all of it. She was cold and he deserved better but she also deserved to seek her own dreams and not be the dutiful wife. She stuck by him during residency. He could have changed jobs and they may have been married longer. It's a good thing they divorced because he deserved a more compassionate softer person. They were both to blame and grew apart.

[@ngrp27]

​@@madirishgirl76he knew what he was getting into when he married someone who wants to be a lawyer too.

[@ngrp27]

​@@ssmith6963she deserve better too. She studied at night so Mark can do his career, while having a baby. She was 'cold' because she was realizong that she was making all the sacrifices for the family and she wanted something for herself for once. Something that Mark didn't seem to realize.

[@joejoerunya8908]

You could see this coming though. She sacrificed a lot for his medical career, and she wanted the same for her law career

[@ronniestar8762]

i know alot of people didnt like her character but i get her frustration, shed put her career and goals on hold for him and he wasnt prepared to do the same

[@2charliep]

Never took to Jen, she always struck me as a “glass half empty” type.

[@Maria.9094]

Me either. Mark was kind and she was so cold.

[@jennyoneill8879]

She gets remarried anyways

[@EuroForUkraine]

..or "eyes half empty". Her face is always so blank! And her voice is nothing but flat line...

[@jeneanicole4261]

@@Maria.9094 I think she was tired of always putting him and his career first. She put him through med school and when it was her turn to pursue what she wanted, he couldn't handle it.

[@jennyoneill8879]

Then she moved to st Louis right??

[@Joeybsmooth]

Milwaukee and Chicago is only a hour and half a part. I use to drive that everyday to work. Either that is just a bad excuse or she just wanted to leave him and that is all she had

[@lauraschoenborn3544]

It sounds like a bad excuse but think about Rachel, with an hour and a half commute each way, and Mark being an ER Doc it would be too much and Rachel would pretty much grow up neglected. Not saying that she didn't anyways but still.

[@Deborahtunes]

@@lauraschoenborn3544 ~ And leaving Mark would bring Rachel closer to her father? That excuse didn't make sense either...

[@Deborahtunes]

It was an excuse to leave him. I think Jen was just being selfish, and wanted someone else...

[@nicholasmaude6906]

On the now defunct Mighty Big TV/Television Without Pity website in an episode where we last see Jen she was described as Vulcan Jen as she looked a lot like T'Pol from Star Trek: Enterprise;).

[@simonmarshall19]

My friends son grew up in Milwaukee and his father was from Sequim Washington

[@Bar-B.]

OMG... I would´ve done literally EVERYTHING for that man if I had him as a husband!!! Never understood that chick...

[@Deborahtunes]

Some women are selfish, Jen was one of them. Her argument here about Mark not seeing enough of Rachel makes no sense, being that she leaves him. I think she just wanted what she wanted and that's it...

[@YaYa-ke1zr]

I think the key thing she said was that he has never given up anything for her ... so that was going to be the only thing that was going to make this right for her: for him to give up that job. She wasn’t interested in working anything out or compromising for the family or greater good. It was either he walk away from the job or she walks away from him.

[@sarcasticallyrearranged]

Or she's supposed to leave her job because apparently, his job and what he wants matters more than his wife and daughters needs.

[@timothylampel815]

She was too independent

[@fmewl]

If you remember all series of ER they argued before and Jen said that she left a college because of Mark and daughter, they didn’t have enough money too much years but she supported him and was with him. When finally she graduated her college and found a job - Mark didn’t support her.

[@aztekdragon1637]

I like how young he looks better

[@stepcollazo8134]

For a relationship or a marriage to work has to work for both of us

[@hugopirela5694]

One of his last words to Jen was "I wouldnt change anything" referring to their marriage. I'm sure it was the tumor talking..

[@sexyhomeowner9345]

Lol

[@v.gorski3050]

No......... he said that to ease some of her guilt about the screwed up marriage . He was giving her a break. That is the core of Mark Greene.

[@hugopirela5694]

@@v.gorski3050 well that too

[@scottyk200]

I need to brush up on my US geography. I’d no idea the two cities were so close.

[@JessicaMartinez-uo1ti]

Kenosha!

[@isaacjones748]

"You want me to commute 2 hours a day" WHAT lady 1 hour each way is literally nothing especially in a country the size of AMERICA, I live in the UK 2 hours commute is nothing! Get a grip man, jeez

[@sct4040]

Isaac Jones It take me an hour, door to door, commuting to work daily from Queens to Manhattan. It's a grind, but did it for decades. Should I not work? That's a stupid excuse.

[@lauraschoenborn3544]

The problem is both Mark and Jen had demanding jobs, plus a child to think about. When both parties in the marriage are commuting to demanding jobs, to top it off a child who is barely 5 years old. Jen in season 1 was not only trying to get her career on the road, but also trying to raise her daughter.

[@nicoleackerman205]

You poor poor person that sounds awful just for a job.

[@HoldenNY22]

I think the Producers- the Show runners thought it would be more interesting to have Mark Greene as a Bachelor- dating different Woman and having different relationships then just being a married Man. He did date Olivia Benson from Law and Order:SVU.

[@giordanotirelli6028]

Happy birthday at christine harnos from italian boy live in rome and I m fan of er

[@robertromero9488]

Never marry a lawyer. Snakes

[@MrCraigblaze]

Where I seen Dr Mark's wife from ?? XD

[@sexyhomeowner9345]

She was in Dazed and Confused.

[@MrCraigblaze]

@@sexyhomeowner9345 is this Gina Girshon

[@sexyhomeowner9345]

@@MrCraigblaze No, lol, Christine Harnos.

[@MrCraigblaze]

@@sexyhomeowner9345 oh yes now she looks fimailar..xd

[@HoldenNY22]

I think this was a worse blow, a worse hit for Mark Green than when Mark was beaten up in the BAthroo by an unknown assaulter

[@Deborahtunes]

She's griping about Rachel not seeing her father enough, but yet she leaves him? Oh yes Jen, that's a sure way for your daughter and her father to be together more often...

[@sarcasticallyrearranged]

Why should she always be the one who gives up everything? He refused to budge and insisted on staying in Chicago when he easily could’ve had a job in Milwaukee.

[@Deborahtunes]

@@sarcasticallyrearranged ~ Because that's what happens when you become a mother. Jen put her career before her child...

[@JamieAug]

@@Deborahtunes Why is it all on her? Mark's a father.

[@melindoranightsilver9298]

@@Deborahtunes There are PLENTY of working mothers out there. Why does the father have little to no accountability? Mark even admitted to Rachel in "On the Beach" that he knew Rachel, "got stuck with a bastard for a father who was never around and then got remarried and had a baby." He also placed some blame on Jen as well because she worked a lot. He blamed both sides for her acting out. But let's go with your theory that Jen never should have gone back to school and became a lawyer. 1) She would have ended up resenting Mark anyway because her dreams got pushed to the side which isn't fair. Both sides need to be fulfilled. 2) Since in this scenario, they would still be in Chicago, that means that Mark would remain at County because he never wanted to do private practice. He STILL wouldn't have been around enough. That was the entire reason why Benton switched jobs. The judge wanted him to have a job where the hours were more stable and Reese could have a parent. We also know how much Greene resented his own father for years. You think Mark not being around because he was too busy wouldn't have been an issue? Hell, Jen may have ended up divorcing him anyway.

[@Deborahtunes]

@@melindoranightsilver9298 ~ She knew she was marrying a doctor. And it was her choice to have a child. If she couldn't handle it, she should have never done either...

[@melissaconnellyjones2622]

I love Dr Greene but, he's being a jerk here. She sacrificed and put her dreams and ambitions on hold to support him through college, medical school and residentcy. It's finally her turn and he can't reciprocate because his career is more important than her.

[@blue_wild_girl]

excuse me, she's a fuck*** selfish during the whole show...Mark cares about her and she leaves him, c'mon!! (she leaved him for another man)

[@santiagoquagliaroli8763]

Listen, when you are in a relationship and you sacrifice or put your career / dreams on hold, you do it because you love, because you keep your relationship and the other person before your needs (I'm not saying that is a good thing, in fact you could argue that it's a little fucked up, but it is what it is) so when you take these compromises you don't do it wanting something in return or because your turn will come somewhere along the way. You do it selflessly. What's really selfish is to say oh, I sacrificed a lot for your happiness, so now it's your turn, so now that you've just had your dream job and you're good at it, drop it all because it's my turn. Why would you want to do that? Why would you want to live like this? All I'm saying is that the decision must come before committing to a relationship. How much are you willing to give up? And are you willing to make sacrifices without expecting anything in return? Because that's what sacrifice means: "an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy." Edit: typo

[@elizabethkelly5911]

Chance to be reasonable to him to the father so they can be together and his daughter won't be without him she shouldn't have to leave Mark for another guy be reusable and talk things out and making a family back together again he needs his wife and his daughter it's making him to his job and even it that was his dream used to be for his side you're his wife and he loves his daughter very much you guys should be living together if you have to commute to your job and so do it

[@thehistoryfreak13]

honestly this really wasnt about their jobs to Jen. SHe wanted Mark to be around more. to be available more. If he had left the hospital she probably wouldnt have left him. that being said i dont agree with her. She gave up on the marriage way too soon considering they stil had feelings for one another. i never saw any issue with a compromise. But also she did have a point about Mark being kind of selfish. it was season 2 that i was annoyed most when she cheated on him even though he moved to milwaukee for her

[@missydehart6920]

Never liked her. Not once.

[@elizabethkelly5911]

Yes he wants her

[@giordanotirelli6028]

Today jen alias christine harnos 55 years

[@elizabethkelly5911]

Rachel wants to be for father don't take her away from him work things out

[@Lehmann108]

I never liked her character.

[@Deborahtunes]

Me neither. She was too selfish...

[@memali2939]

@@Deborahtunes pff how

[@jarrodbarkley9061]

Never liked her.

[@gta4224]

sadly this would be all my relationships i am selfish like mark...

[@brianekay4149]

You’re not selfish. You have to do the best for you and if your job is where are you love and you are the best at, then that’s okay.

[@samwilson5472]

Mark would have hated his new job

[@andrewfessick8571]

Is it just me or is jen not that bad?

[@MrCraigblaze]

Maybe for him ?? XD

[@CCEkeke]

She cheated on him during their marriage.

[@Mourtzouphlos240]

It is just you.

[@chiedu90069]

LOL it's not just you. Season 1 Mark was a bit of an asshole. He expected Jen just be around and not pursue a serious career even though she put him through med school. But Season 2 Jen was the asshole when she cheated on Mark.

[@xxwhispersxx2856]

She had every right to end their relationship but it should have been completely ended before she got with someone else.

[@nickthepostpunk5766]

I never liked Jen: she always struck me as selfish and cold - in that sense she was the complete opposite of Mark, who was my favourite character.

[@rafsolo]

She is putting then blame on Mark, but it seems like she caused the split first by getting a new job somewhere else. Am I reading that right? If so, Mark could have done better. And he did. I'm not saying Mark is completely innocent, but it's not fair to put all of the blame on him. Plus, he should have considered making the commute from Milwaukee to Chicago instead of making her do the driving

[@melindoranightsilver9298]

Most law school career counselors will instruct you not to turn down a clerkship offer from a judge. She put her name out there and she got lucky. It's not easy getting an interview as a law clerk for a judge. It was a huge opportunity that she couldn't really pass up. The fact that the judge wanted her a 2nd year means she impressed the judge, their secretaries and other people-and yes, other people who work for the judge will critique you from interview and during your time working for that judge. Both lawyer and doctor, especially an er doctor are demanding jobs. Rachel already wasn't seeing a lot of Mark before Jen took the job. It wasn't just about her job, she wanted him around more. Had he taken the Private Practice job, he could have had better hours and time to devite to the family. He didn't want to do that.

[@alwaysgrateful1011]

KVR. KND.

[@giordanotirelli6028]

Happy birthday at christine harnos from italian boy live in rome and I m fan of er