We all know bad on-screen couples exist. And some of us are very opinionated about it. Including me. Almost every show has at least one bad couple. The one that can either be written off as a short-lived failure. Or one that can ruin the entire show. So, here’s my list of what I’ve deemed the worst TV couples.
10. Serena and Tripp from ‘Gossip Girl’
At the beginning of Tripp and Serena’s relationship, it was, admittingly, nice. Tripp was a grown-up and someone Serena genuinely admired. But he was married. However, once they actually go for it and have an affair, it all goes downhill. Tripp doesn’t want to sacrifice his political career. His wife, Maureen, wants to keep up appearances. And all Serena wanted was to be with him. While all of those things alone don’t seem all that bad, the car accident where Tripp abandons Serena is unforgivable.
9. Lorelai and Christopher from ‘Gilmore Girls’
Even though Christopher is Rory’s father, he and Lorelai didn’t work very well. It makes sense that they were together as teenagers but it just didn’t work as adults. I think we all know that Luke and Lorelai are the Gilmore Girls couple to beat here.
8. Rory and Dean from ‘Gilmore Girls’
Dean was Rory’s first love and he was, admittingly, a great first boyfriend. And I did always feel bad for Dean because Rory was clearly into Jess but stayed with Dean anyway. But in season four when Dean’s married to Lindsay and they sleep together anyway, it poisoned the well, so to speak. Lindsay kicks Dean out in a very dramatic fashion, Lorelai’s visibly disappointed in Rory, and the usually-cheery town of Stars Hollow has understandably mixed feelings about it.
7. Joey and Rachel from ‘Friends’
I love Joey, and I love Rachel from Friends. But when they actually put them together in the last season, it just didn’t feel right. I’m not a huge fan of Ross and Rachel either but I think it’s clear that these two worked much better as friends.
6. Scott and Malia from ‘Teen Wolf’
At the end of Teen Wolf, it was like the writers just put these two together because they were the only single people left on the show. They’re both werewolves but putting them together just didn’t make any sense. But it did happen at the very end of the series. So, at the very least, we didn’t have to see them together for long.
5. Dan and Rachel from ‘Gossip Girl’
She was his teacher. And Dan is who I’d describe as being the logical one on the show (for the most part). But Dan, at this point, is in high school so his morals and hormones are a little shaky at this point. But Rachel, the adult in this situation, should’ve known better. Fortunately, this relationship from Gossip Girl is very short-lived.
4. Ezra and Aria from ‘Pretty Little Liars”
Not to be redundant, but he, is also, her teacher. Ezra hooking up with Aria before he knew she was his student was one thing but continuing the relationship is another. And then there’s the fact that Ezra apparently spent a lot of those years more obsessed with writing a book about Ali (who he also hooked up with). Not to mention he’s pretty much a stalker all those years as well. Why Pretty Little Liars continued this relationship is beyond me.
3. Brandon and Callie from ‘The Fosters’
Callie was this close to getting adopted as Brandon’s foster sister and they slept together anyway. She still got adopted but Brandon and Callie sleeping together just made things, understandably, awkward. Don’t get me wrong, though, I loved The Fosters. I’ve always admire how diverse it was and how well it portrayed love, in all forms. But continuing to romanticize Brandon and Callie’s relationship just wasn’t the right choice in my opinion.
2. Ted and Robin from ‘How I Met Your Mother’
I could go on and on about why Ted and Robin shouldn’t be together if I’m being completely honest. I feel like the writers spent most of How I Met Your Mother giving us reasons why they don’t belong together. And why Barney and Robin belong together. But then they turn it around in the last season, or more specifically, the last two episodes, to fit what they’d planned from the beginning.
To start, Ted wanted to get married and have kids. Robin clearly didn’t and instead wanted to be a great (and famous) reporter. Barney was weirdly a perfect fit. But then, the finale happened and Barney and Robin got divorced and Tracy (AKA, the mother) died. Thus leaving Ted with the kids he’d always wanted and Robin with the career she’d always wanted. So, when it got to the end, instead of being each other’s soulmates (which is really what Ted was looking for all these years), they became each other’s consolation prizes. Which ultimately resulted in an utterly disappointing finale to what was an incredible show.
1. Oliver and Felicity from ‘Arrow’
Part of why “Olicity” (their famous ship name) comes at number one on this list is because of how toxic the fandom became. The other part involves how the writers pandered to said fandom. Then, they started writing the show like a badly written fanfiction. When Oliver and Felicity were friends and they had some sexual tension, it was fine. I wasn’t super into it but it was bearable. Then, they gave in to it and Arrow went downhill from there.