10 Best ‘Will They/Won’t They’ TV Couples

If there is one TV trope that will forever take fans on emotional roller coasters, it is the will-they-won’t-they couple.

For many seasons, TV writers can pull at the heartstrings of TV fans’ feeble hearts by giving their favorite pairing subtle flirtatious moments, or the remote possibility of an eventual coupling, only for it to not actually happen until many years later.

It’s torture, but it is entertainment gold.

To pay tribute to the best star-crossed lovers in the crowded television landscape, scroll through to see some of our favorite will-they-won’t-they couples.

Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler

Yes, we know Elliot isn’t even on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit anymore, but we are secretly hoping he comes back in the eventual series finale (or sooner) and swoops Olivia off her feet. The raw chemistry between the two leads made it impossible for us not to root for them to get together, despite all the obstacles they had in their way.

We’ll take Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni’s real life friendship, and constant stream of selfies for now, but we’re hoping they are end game.

Olivia and Fitz

Scandal ended its seven season run with a surprisingly vague ending, showing the political fixer’s stunning portrait in the National Gallery sometime in the future. As for the show’s core couple, Olivia and Fitz are last seen meeting on the streets of D.C. after they successfully stop Cyrus’ evil plan to take over the White House.

In a dream world Olivia eventually became president of the U.S., with Fitz by her side as her First Husband.

Rafael and Jane

Jane the Virgin‘s central love triangle as given us more anxiety than pretty much any other couple on television. At first extremely committed to Michael Cordero, Jane Villanueva’s life changed when she was accidentally inseminated with Rafael’s baby.

Eventually Jane picks to commit to Michael and the two got married and lived happily for some time, until a heart condition took Michael’s life. Now, with Rafael and Jane finally getting their act together and preparing to tie the knot, the series once again there a curve ball by bringing Michael back from the dead at the last second in the season 4 finale.

We will have to wait until midseason to find out what happens next.

Buffy and Spike

There is nothing more perfect that when sworn enemies end up falling in love, which is exactly what happened between Buffy The Vampire Slayer‘s Buffy and Spike.

While not many diehard fans loved the pairing, the banter, fight scenes and chemistry solidified the couple as one of the most unpredictable almost-couples in TV.

Sam and Diane

The original will-they-won’t-they couple title goes to Cheers‘ Sam and Diane. Their complicated love story might have been the beginning to the trope, and it still breaks our hearts.

The show pushed them together, pulled them apart, made fans laugh and cry. Will we ever get over their first kiss in Season 1? Probably not.

Jess and Nick

New Girl‘s It Couple had a special connection from day one. Despite the ups and downs od roommate drama the couple eventually got together in season two, but after their dynamic took the show in a different direction, the writers pulled them apart for a few more seasons before they got back together and eventually married at the end of the series.

Gotta love those two.

Alex and Piper

Orange Is The New Black‘s core couple has not had it easy during their time in prison.

From finding out Alex was the one who got her locked up in the first place, to riots sending Litchfield to chaos, it has been quite a journey to the couple getting engaged in the last season finale. But with all inmates being sent to maximum security prison in season 6, who knows how the relationship will change going forward.

Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd

Grey’s Anatomy kickstarted this romance with a fateful one night stand. The chance encounter was the unlikely beginning to one of television’s greatest will-they-won’t-they couple.

From their candle house to their post-it note wedding, the pair felt like couple goals, even starting an adorable family with their two kids among the chaos going on at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. The couple lived in bliss for a few seasons until Patrick Dempsey decided to leave the show and was killed off in one of the most heartbreaking episodes the show has ever done.

Nancy and Jonathan

Sorry Steve, but Stranger Things‘ It couple will always be Nancy and Jonathan.

The two bonded over their search for Will and Barb in the Upside Down and actually found that they have more in common than they originally thought. Season 2 brought them together again when they went in search of clues about the mysterious Hawkins lab. While their relationship has not been allowed to flourish too much, it’s likely the couple will get their share of screen time in the upcoming third season.

Mr. Big and Carrie

This Sex and the City couple was so prone to succumb to their fear of commitment, they even needed two movies after the show to figure out their issues.

The perpetually on-again-off-again couple brought out the best and worst in each other, infuriating fans and pushing them to root for them to work it out all at the same time. Yes, they were perfect for each other, and we loved having to see them take many years to figure it out.