Top 12 TV Couples In TV History
I watch a lot of TV. And by that, I watch a lot of the same shows on repeat. One thing about me is that I love a good sitcom and I love a good romance that either takes its sweet time (slow burn!) in the course of 10+ seasons or the ups and downs of two people who cannot communicate their feelings to each other.
There are some GREAT couples in TV history. Like, the writers sat down in a room and created these characters and their romances. The actors got together on set and made history. These actors were like, yeah, we’re meant to date and fall in love on screen. (And most of these remained somewhat professional off-screen!) These are my top 12 TV couples throughout TV history. These are all from popular sitcoms so these aren’t spoilers.
Disclaimer: I initially wrote this to be Top 10 TV Couples in TV History, but then I remembered that we weren’t just blessed with ONE couple from the iconic show New Girl, but TWO. And my opinion on who is the better couple from that show is strictly my own opinion. All of these are my opinions. Thank you.
12. Ross and Rachel, Friends
When I think of my favorite couple from the show Friends, Ross and Rachel do not come to mind. Honestly, they’re not even the second couple that comes to mind. (That will be Princess BananaHammock and Crapbag, thank you very much.) Ross and Rachel are an iconic couple in TV history, though—I can’t deny that. The actors (David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston) had incredible chemistry and were great friends off screen, which played into their on-screen chemistry. Again, I can’t deny that. But the whole “we were on a break” and the constant “will they or won’t they” was just tiring in the end. The accidental pregnancy was a surprise for sure. The ending was a big grand gesture for the Ross and Rachel stans, but overall, this pairing wasn’t stand out to me. However, that being said, one of my favorite Ross and Rachel scenes is the one where Rachel (almost) gets stood up at her high school prom, seen in one of Monica’s old movies, and Ross offers to take her but is seen standing at the top of the stairs in his house, looking sad as he watches Rachel and Monica go off to prom with their dates. It’s the one scene that made Rachel finally kiss Ross. So there are stand out scenes for this iconic Friends couple. But not my favorite.
11. Janine and Gregory, Abbott Elementary
This couple has the potential to be higher on this list, but since they’re so new, they’re at the bottom. However, this slow burn is what put them on this list in the first place. It’s a slow burn, friends to lovers, coworkers to lovers romance with lots of tension and overly friendly, flirty banter. It’s also a workplace romance! I love Janine and Gregory. Both are quirky and awkward (in a good way), which makes them great together—usually, it doesn’t because one has to be quirky and the other not so much (like we see with Jess and Nick from New Girl). Overall, I love this pairing and exciting to see it play out in season three of Abbott Elementary!
10. Marshall and Lily, How I Met Your Mother
It’s been a while since I watched this show, but boy, did I love this couple! Honestly, I was more of a Robin/Barney couple stan. I was always rooting for them since the very beginning. But Marshall and Lily. They’ve been together since literally the first episode with a small break in the first half of season two. (Which was necessary for their individual character developments.) Their wedding is one of my favorite TV episodes.
9. Emma and Killian, Once Upon A Time
Before writing this post, I looked up iconic TV couples in TV history and I was surprised to see this one made the list! I am in the middle of a re-watch of Once Upon A Time, and I’m glad too, because I’m reminded how much I fell in love with the man that is known as Captain Hook—in this show. Killian Jones was one of my first TV crushes. I had the biggest TV crush on that man. Emma and Killian, though? I was rooting for them since the VERY beginning, their very first scene. When Neal came on the screen, I was like, okay—I guess Emma and Neal make sense because they had chemistry and because they have Henry, but no. Emma and Killian have passion. They have banter. They flirt. They don’t hate each other, but they have all this tension between them. I love them.
8. Jess and Nick, New Girl
Wow. I did not expect to put Jess and Nick so low on this list, but here we are. That being said, Nick is one of my favorite characters on TV of all time. But Jess and Nick? I love them in season two and three. I even love their friendship before their relationship—and even a season after their breakup, in season four. Their friends to lovers romance was a MASSIVE buildup to their coming together at the end of season two. That kiss? Jake Johnson heard “kiss” and he changed lives. He changed all of our lives. But their miscommunication? Their inability to share their feelings? Their real fear of not being “compatible”? That was ridiculous. Their breakup episode was ridiculous; all of their “points” towards breaking up did not make any sense at all. And then season four came along and they started to date other people. Then season five rolled along, and Megan Fox came on as Reagan, and ultimately ended up with Nick while Jess was serving on jury duty. That entire storyline was messy. Not because of Megan Fox—but because there was so much miscommunication between Jess and Nick. Will they? Won’t they? Will this ruin our friendship? Y’all have chemistry. There’s love there. There’s passion there. He loves you. You love him. Overall, this is why I put Jess and Nick as a couple at #8. A solid 8.
7. Mindy and Danny, The Mindy Project
This romance had its ups and downs and honestly, sometimes confused me. We know that they get together and that they were enemies and coworkers and then friends. They went from enemies to friends to lovers to friends to co-parents to lovers again. Their relationship was a journey and one journey that I still choose to be on because I love this show and will always watch it when I need a laugh. I did not like it when Danny just went away and left the practice. (I know it was because of the actor and he might’ve done some stuff to get him off the show for a little while.) Overall, I love Mindy and Danny as a couple—and how Danny continued to show up for his friend, Mindy, and his girlfriend, Mindy.
6. Jane and Rafael, Jane the Virgin
#TeamRafael, anyone? It seemed that when I watched this show and would read the fan forums on who was the better man, everyone was Team Michael. And I get it, Michael is a good man. I can see it. I can see why Jane married him. But Rafael? I just think him and Jane have too much chemistry and things in common (Mateo) to just throw that away.
5. Blair and Chuck, Gossip Girl
I’m shocked to put this on my list, but I would also be lying if I said this iconic TV couple isn’t in my top 10 list of favorite TV couples. Their relationship is so toxic yet so romantic. (There, I said it.) Three words, eight letters, I’m yours. Who else melted after hearing that? Personally, not me, but I still loved that line. The writers of this 2007 hit show really hit with that one. I have no notes on their entire romance and storyline throughout the six seasons of this show. No notes. Impeccable.
4. Cece and Schmidt, New Girl
I breathe a long and heavy sigh before I write this. Yes, I put Cece and Schmidt above Jess and Nick. And here’s why. While Jess and Nick explored the ups and downs of their relationship, Cece and Schmidt were the slow and easy buildup to their epic love story ending. Yes, they had their problems. I’m not going to excuse cheating! But Cece forgave him. Schmidt learned his lesson—a lot of lessons, actually. And they came back together, after they reconciled their friendship and were able to be in the same room together. There wasn’t a lot of drama. And partly because Cece and Jess are two different characters like Schmidt and Nick are two different characters. Their wedding? When Schmidt wasn’t even there because he was going to get Cece’s mom? And then they had the wedding reception on the plane and the actual wedding later in the loft? Makes my heart melt. I love how supportive Schmidt was of Cece—he always let her shine. He always let her bejeweled. And Cece loved Schmidt, always loved him, but came to love him in the way that he deserves to be loved.
3. Meredith and Derek, Grey’s Anatomy
MerDer, MerDer, MerDer! This was a BIG relationship with a lot of twists and turns and ups and downs. They got to where they needed to be, but did we really need a lot of those twists? After season nine, Meredith just wanted (and needed) a break. And she got it for a while … until Derek in that one episode. (I won’t even say it.) This was one of those epic love stories that will forever live on in TV history.
2. Lorelai and Luke, Gilmore Girls
Oh, I’m Team Jess, I’m Team Logan, I’m Team Dean (no one says that last one, and if you do, ugh). You know what team I’m on? TEAM LUKE DANES. Luke Danes is the epitome of what a gentleman should be. “In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman.” —Taylor Swift // I think she was talking about Luke Danes here. (She wasn’t.) Yes, their relationship had problems. I’m not going to deny that. But this is TV, it has to have drama and it has to have its problems. You can’t create an iconic TV couple on vibes. (We’ll get to that in the next point.) Overall, their relationship and how they came together will always be memorable.
1.) Chandler and Monica, Friends
We’ve arrived at the final couple on this list, the last and certainly the favorite. Chandler and Monica are THE couple on TV for me. They are what Cece and Schmidt were in the 90s. I love each of these characters, Chandler and Monica, individually, and I think that’s a big reason why I like them so much together. There was a little buildup throughout the early seasons of the show (seasons 1-4) where they’d be a tad too cuddly for friends, but other than that, there wasn’t any buildup to this. It happened one night in London, and then they slowly realized their feelings for each other. I was never a fan of the friends to lovers trope, but I think Chandler and Monica are a reason why I started loving that trope so much. (That, and may I remind you that they technically fall under the brother’s best friend trope.) After their one night in London, they continue to date in secret without the knowledge of the other friends. I love how they did that; they got to know each other as if they were just meeting for the first time, but they also didn’t ignore the history they shared. They moved slowly. They didn’t put any pressure on their relationship. There were a couple of minor freak outs, but not in the way that we expected them to go. People expected Chandler to freak out on his wedding day to Monica, after a false pregnancy scare that everyone thought was Monica’s, and somehow Chandler found out, but turns out he wasn’t freaking out in the first place. This relationship helped Chandler, just like how it helped Monica, too. They complemented each other. They supported one another. (We even see that when they weirdly high-fived each other at random times, LOL.) Overall, they’ll always be my favorite TV couple. The episode where they wake up in London together, in bed, will always make me giddy.
Who are your favorite TV couples? Let me know in the comments below!