Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter are the on-again, off-again couple of the century, quite literally. The two have been together during the 40s, before Captain America was lost to time. They returned to one another before Peggy tragically died.

They finally reunited again when Cap traveled back in time to be with her. But there are many occasions where perhaps they should have called it quits. Here are five times in the MCU that Peggy should have dumped Steve, and five times he should have done the same to Agent Carter.

DUMPED HER: NOT REACHING OUT SOONER

When Steve arrived in the 21st century it became very obvious as Captain America himself surfaced once again for the whole world. However, it seems that it took a number of years for Peggy Carter to actually get someone to reach out to him.

The man of her past was alive again and she knows what it would mean for him to see her. Yet it seems she wasted some of that time by not contacting him, when he may not have been able to even know if she was actually alive, before finding her at a very sad time.

DUMPED HIM: DATING NIECE

It seems fairly obvious, but we couldn’t miss out on the fact that Steve briefly dated Peggy’s own niece. Due to some time travel shenanigans, Rogers could actually be related to this Carter in the future, making it weirder.

What’s more, it’s odd anyway that Steve could have moved on to any woman in the world, but chose the niece of the lady he once fell in love with. We doubt Peggy would be too happy to know the pair even shared a kiss.

DUMPED HER: INITIAL DOUBT

Peggy Carter majorly doubted Steve Rogers before his transformation. Although she thought he had heart, she still believed that he might not have what it takes to be the hero they needed him to be ⁠— even if she said some inspirational words from time to time.

What’s more, Peggy only seemed more romantically attracted to him once he had beefed up. This in itself is a bit of a rejection of the initial Steve. However, since then she’s put her full faith in him, especially once he suited up for battle.

DUMPED HIM: KISSING IN FRONT OF HER

Unfortunately for Steve, one of the receptionists working in the WWII bunker had quite the attraction to the young Mr. Rogers and decided to smooch him ⁠— which he seemed to reciprocate ⁠— just as Peggy Carter walked past.

This really annoyed Peggy, and it’s a surprise that she didn’t get rid of him for these actions. Not only does it show he is attracted to someone else but he also did it in the work place where he knows that Agent Carter will be stationed.

DUMPED HER: SHOOTING AT HIM

Straight after this encounter, Peggy got some revenge by shooting at Rogers. However, even this action was pretty dangerous and reckless as someone could have genuinely got hurt. She didn’t even warn Steve at first.

What’s more, the shield he was using was a prototype so there was no way of knowing whether it would actually save him or not. On top of that, the bullets could have ricocheted, and in such a tight environment there’s no telling what damage they could have done.

DUMPED HIM: TIME TRAVEL

The time travel decision is a pretty controversial one for a number of reasons. Firstly, Peggy Carter had already been married so what Steve was essentially doing is stealing someone else’s wife before they even got to marry the lovely Agent Carter.

Secondly, Carter always saw Steve as a hero. Although she wanted him to live his own life ,she may have also taken issue with the fact that he left. At least he chose a replacement to carry on, though.

DUMPED HER: MOVING ON

Peggy Carter did move on after Steve fell into the water. We saw it on her own TV show and we also know that she got married to someone else. It took her a long time to be able to get to that point, but when she finally did she was happy.

Perhaps Steve should have never got back with her because he knew that she was finally happy and that a part of her could always love someone else. In theory, this could weaken the relationship especially since he knows he isn’t supposed to be the one.

DUMPED HIM: CRASHING INTO WATER

Steve made the very heroic choice to crash a ship into the water in order to save the world. But as many people have since pointed out, there were plenty of other options for him; he didn’t have to just crash the craft.

Peggy could have rightly been annoyed at this selflessness. The fact is, he still chose to leave her behind. Although she is very capable by herself, it still hurts to know that he perhaps had a different choice, yet decided not to take it.

DUMPED HER: REVEALING SECRETS

Peggy Carter did a number of interviews after WWII about Captain America. She revealed several details about Steve Rogers even in the museum. Steve had no choice about this and we question how much she said.

She could have divulged any number of personal details that he would not have been comfortable sharing. Yet she allowed them all to be published for the whole world to digest.

DUMPED HIM: IGNORING ORDERS

For some time, Captain America was known for following order. Peggy was also the type of soldier to follow protocol, although she did question a lot of the decisions made. However, Steve completely broke this trust.

On a number of occasions during the Second World War, he completely ignored the rules and went off on his own, putting himself in danger. This should have made Peggy mad at him for spitting at what she believes in, but it only endeared her to him further.