Dirty Dancing: Did “Baby” and Johnny Stay Together?


There are few movies that I absolutely adore but, if I had to name one, I’d have to say that “Dirty Dancing”, 1987 with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey has to be my all time favourite.  Having watched the movie several dozen times, I know the lines before they are said and often quote them during opportunistic moments to be comical.

For those of you who know the movie, I’m sure that you have the same question that most of us were left with…

“What happened after that final night at Kellerman’s?  Did Baby and Johnny stay together or did they go their own separate ways?”

While it could have gone either way, I think the majority of us wanted to believe that Baby and Johnny did continue on after that and ended up happily wed with babes on their knees and adoring grandparents by the babies’ sides.

The other way it could have gone could have been that it was simply what it appeared to be…a “summer romance” that ended or faded away shortly after that Labour Day Weekend where Johnny went back to dancing or into the trade of painting and plastering and Baby went to college then, into the Peace Corps, Daddy still loving her.

There’s really 2 reasons why it might have been left open ended like this.

The first and most likely reason is that the writers and producers decided to take artistic license and leave it up to the viewer’s imaginations thus, making it whatever the viewer wanted it to be.  Nice way to please everyone, isn’t it?

The second reason might have more to do with the idea that if they left it open ended, there was room for a potential future sequel where fans of the movie could catch up with Johnny and Baby to find out whether they were together or had drifted apart and were coming back together again.

Either way, there was the possibility that everyone could be pleased.

Frankly, I always held the ending that Johnny and Baby did continue their romance beyond that summer.  That’s just my imagination, of course but then again, this was a fictional piece from someone else’s imagination.

What I didn’t know until about an hour prior to writing this piece was that there was an ending that gave up that answer.  They chose to leave it on the cutting room floor for likely the reasons that I have given above.

To watch this deleted scene with the answer, WATCH HERE.

Ending this here as there will never be a sequel done to Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze since he had sadly passed away in Sept. of 2009 with Pancreatic Cancer, I will leave all Dirty Dancing Fans with this famous and probably the best, most beloved and remembered scene in the entire movie, filled with symbolism and romance that still sweeps women’s hearts away….THE FINAL DANCE SCENE TO “DIRTY DANCING”.

14 thoughts on “Dirty Dancing: Did “Baby” and Johnny Stay Together?

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  1. the writer has already stated that they stay together. according to the interview given baby would be all those years next to Johnny and would be like a social activist


    1. Thank you, Ana. I think that the writer/director/producer or whatever, must have left that scene on the cutting room floor (so to speak) in order to keep viewers guessing or making up their own minds as to what really happened. Maybe, they were hoping for a sequel down the road *if it did well* but, it wasn’t expected that the movie would do as well as it did. It was considered a “B” movie at the time from what I understand. Thank you for the input and comment! ::)


  2. I always enjoyed the movie and I am totally okay with the way it ended. As much as my inner romantic side would like to think that Johnny Castle and Baby stayed together forever, it just doesn’t read as very believable. I think their relationship would’ve continued burning for several months and eventually would have burned out. You have to remember the character of Baby and her goals of college, peace corps, making a difference in the world, etc. etc. These two individuals would have had some great times, great sex, but eventually it would not have been enough, at least not for a person like Baby. If I am wrong and they did end up staying together forever and forever, I believe a person like Baby would have looked back over the years with regret that she did not accomplish some of the things she wanted to do. Just one individuals humble opinion. The main thing is Dirty Dancing is a great summer fun fling movie.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Daniel, I totally agree with you on all that you’ve said here and why. :).

      I also cannot see that “Baby” would have been happy in a life that entailed a “painter and plasterer” (what “Johnny”) was saying he could do. I also think that this “romance” would have fizzled out even if she had have stayed out of the Peace Corps. It all did make for a great movie though of “young love”, didn’t it?

      I wonder if Patrick Swayze had have lived, would they have ever done a sequel for years down the road? Maybe, Johnny could have owned his own dance studio and “Baby” was some type of politician where they rekindled their romance again??? Who knows? However, like you…while I’ve always wondered, it was great that they left it up to the viewer’s imagination to create whatever outcome the viewer wanted to see out of it. :).

      Thank you so much for commenting. I’ve seen this movie (worn out 2 DVDs now) and know the lines before they say them. LOL.


    1. Yes, Jd, there was a second Dirty Dancing where Patrick Swayze makes a guest appearance as a dancing instructor. However, “Havana Nights” as the movie is entitled, didn’t seem to indicate a “Baby & Johnny” type of situation or what happened there between those 2. Here, the 2 main characters are totally un-related to Baby & Johnny and Patrick Swayze is merely a “dance instructor” rather than Johnny Castle…to the best of my knowledge anyway.

      Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights is a totally unrelated couple that have nothing to do with the original to the best of my knowledge.

      Readers: Correct me if I am wrong, please.

      Thank you for your comment Jd. Much appreciated. 🙂


    1. It’s quite hard to say whether they continued staying together but, the cut scene suggests that they intended on being together. How long that would have lasted….is anyone’s guess and left open to imagination.


    1. Interesting idea but, I think that the movie was based more or less on the idea of summer flings already being in existence for many decades already. It also brought in the idea of social classes and how they can work and mix. However, loads of movies have been made on these premises. Honestly, I think it was just a great musical and dance platform for the story. From what I understand, they did it very low budget and didn’t believe it would take off. It did and it more than made back what it put out to make it. It’s still a favourite by many.


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