The Split season 3 ending explained—who does Hannah choose and is this the last we’ll see of the Defoe sisters?

The Split season 3 ending delivers all the tear-jerking, joyful and unexpected moments fans have come to expect as Hannah’s final choice is revealed.

After pouring over all the details you might’ve missed in a The Split season 2 recap, viewers likely had more than a few questions they hoped would be answered in season 3. Following the Defoe family of lawyers, The Split handles the difficult subject of divorce and marriage. Not least when it comes to the main characters whose personal lives were all at breaking point in The Split season 3. 

With so many moments to disentangle and Hannah’s divorce from husband Nathan not yet finalized, anyone who’s binge-watched their way through season 3 on BBC iPlayer has experienced the full emotional rollercoaster that is the final episode.  

Here we explain The Split season 3 ending and reveal whether or not there’ll be a season 4 after these emotional events…

*Warning: spoilers ahead!*

The Split season 3 ending explained 

Fans of the best romance books and an age-old classic ‘will they-won’t they’ plot have been kept on tenterhooks until The Split season 3 ending when it comes to fan-favorites Hannah and Nathan. The long-term couple are proud parents to three children and after so many happy years together their relationship finally broke when Hannah’s affair with her colleague Christie was revealed to her devastated husband in season 2.

Throughout The Split season 3 their emotions (and no doubt many fans’) have been all over the place as the lawyers come to terms with going through their own divorce. In the opening episode we learnt that Nathan had moved on with the oh-so-smug-seeming Kate. So much so that it was revealed in a private conversation between him and brother-in-law James that Kate was pregnant. 

Though his residual feelings for Hannah and hers for him weren’t easy to control and ahead of The Split season 3 ending, Nathan told Kate he loved his ex-wife. Based on this, many viewers might have expected him and Hannah to get back together. 

But in a show focused on divorce—and often difficult divorces at that—the final episode chose to show how not all divorces have to be bitter. 

Hannah visited Kate and told her that whilst she could do worse than Nathan, she might just find she can’t do any better. Describing the difficulty of letting go, the high-flying lawyer admitted it isn’t easy, but that doesn’t mean the feelings are there any more, suggesting Nathan was just afraid to move on. 

Heeding her advice Kate is welcomed into the Stern family and is invited over, making up with Nathan who couldn’t be happier to be with her. Meanwhile, Rose finally achieves a sense of peace after meeting the man who received her late husband James’ heart. 

The youngest Defoe sibling had been widowed in The Split season 3 premiere and has been struggling with her grief ever since, but now has begun to pick up the pieces of her life again. The remaining Defoe sister, Nina, also got her own happy ending as company director Zander Hale refused to accept her resignation after her mother discovered his estranged husband Tyler had defrauded Christie’s client out of hundreds of thousands of pounds. 

Nina had been having an affair with Tyler behind Zander's back throughout The Split season 3. Ahead of the finale, she'd transferred money to him too, believing that she and Tyler were going to start a new life together before his betrayal of both her and Zander was revealed. 

Although heartbroken by the deception, she has the support of Zander and her family as she attempts to move forward with her daughter Cora.

Whilst wedding bells are in the air for the sisters’ mom, Ruth. After turning down her old friend Ronnie’s proposal initially, the couple finally tie the knot surrounded by all their loved ones.

Ultimately in a show about marriage and divorce and love, The Split season 3 is the perfect blend of all the highs and lows that accompany these powerful themes.

What happens to The Split’s Hannah and Christie in the finale?  

There’s nothing quite like the dramatic return of a former cast member to spice things up, as we’ve seen in everything from Shetland series 6 to Line of Duty’s returning cast member Anna Maxwell Martin. 

In The Split season 3 ending it’s Hannah’s old flame Christie. Her affair with him sparked the beginning of the end for her marriage to Nathan and he reappeared ahead of the finale where they reignited their passion. 

Asking her to move with him to New York, Christie showed his commitment to Hannah and their relationship. But despite the romance of it, he didn’t seem to be properly considering all she’d have to leave behind if she chose to put him first.

In The Split season 3 ending, Hannah and Christie have one final conversation—her from her office in London and him from his New York apartment. After confessing her love for him, Hannah revealed that sadly it’s just not enough, giving him quite some thinking to do.

“I want life, not a fantasy,” she told him. “It’ll never be just the two of us. And my life’s here in London with my family. So if you want that too…” 

Leaving the ball very much in Christie’s court, Hannah asked him to think about it for a bit before giving her an answer. Unfortunately, this means that viewers don’t have a final answer either! As The Split season 3 ending draws to a close and fans begin to anticipate the credits, it’s still not known if Christie ever called her back with an answer.

And whilst he didn’t attend Ruth and Ronnie’s wedding like the rest of the family, including Kate, it could be that he just needed a bit more thinking time. Either way, whatever has happened between Hannah and Christie, she’s reached a point of utter contentment with her life by the closing scene.  

Will The Split return for season 4?

Anyone hoping to see the Defoe family’s stories explored even further will sadly be left disappointed as there will not be a season 4 of The Split. Last year the BBC announced that The Split season 3 would be the final installment of the popular legal drama. 

But now you know the importance and twists and turns of The Split season 3 ending, why not go back and re-watch the show from the very beginning to see the storyline transitions? All episodes of The Split seasons 1-3 are available to watch now on BBC iPlayer and season 3 continues to air at 9pm on Mondays on BBC One.