Best of 2024 Romantic Relationships

Best of 2024: Romantic Relationships features spoilers for various shows. Please be advised if there’s something you don’t want to know.

While TV was in a weird, quiet lull, romantic relationships never once stopped providing the entertainment we needed—the angst, the longing gazes, the heartbreaking breakups, earned reunions, and even the ships that are burning so slowly, we might still be here wanting them next year. In a year where everything is too chaotic, at least we have our ships to tirelessly root for and scream about.

For more end-of-the-year coverage, be sure to check out our Best of 2024: Performances, the Best of 2024: Romantic Scenes, the Best of 2024: Found Families, and the Best of 2024: TV Episodes.

Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley
My Lady Jane

What can I say about My Lady Jane’s Jane Grey and Guildford Dudley that I haven’t already through multiple deep dives and scene breakdowns? Plenty because they’re the couple of the year. While most of the entries in our Best of 2024 romantic relationships list are by chance, these two are purposely the number one choice because they’ve rewired our brain chemistry in a way that we’re perpetually better for. Jane and Guildford take the arranged marriage trope to new heights, delivering a love story so compelling that Emily Bader and Edward Bluemel should teach a master class on chemistry.

Jane and Guildford are so fiercely hot together, but what sticks out is how tender they are—how vulnerable and in awe of each other to the point where that adoration is felt even when they aren’t in the same frame. The way they look out for each other, bicker and banter, and then open up about their most painful wounds makes them an indescribable duo. So much of the reason they gleam is because even while the show isn’t afraid of being wildly over-the-top, it’s still brimming with tremendous heart. Their struggles hit hard because as they work through grief and their feelings of inadequacy, they come out stronger, once again reminding viewers that the best types of relationships are the ones where both parties shine a spotlight on the other.

There’s nothing Jane and Guildford wouldn’t do for each other—run through fire, risk death, change into a horse while everyone’s watching. They’re it for each other—a breathtaking display of what it means for two people who are used to fending for themselves finding the one person who’ll hold them through everything. In short, they’re perfect, and with the number of lists they’ll end up on this year, I sure hope that someone at Prime Video is smart enough to reverse the show’s cancelation.

Hetty Woodstone and Trevor Lefkowitz
Ghosts

Ghosts‘ Hetty and Trevor still aren’t back together, yet it doesn’t stop Rebecca Wisocky and Asher Grodman from giving the fans everything they want. Whether it’s Hetty clinging to Trevor for a math problem or the two of them running while holding hands, the robber baroness and finance bro still very much want each other, and so do we.

But all of my personal pining aside, it’s worth noting how the development we get with their characters this season could allow them to become an even stronger couple should the fates allow them back together. Hetty and Trevor are two halves of a coin in that their morals are so vastly similar, and their loyalty is unquestionably unmatched. There’s no denying how fiercely the two of them care for those around them (as well as each other), and much of it is due to the fact that they see one another as they really are. Flaws and all, plus the charged, ever-growing chemistry, can allow them to lean on each other in a way that they both desperately need. (Or maybe I just need it. Who knows.) They’re just two complicated (and hot) little freaks who should be allowed to be even bigger freaks together. 

Janine Teagues and Gregory Eddie
Abbott Elementary

Abbott Elementary’s Gregory and Janine are no strangers in these lists, but this is the first time their relationship is canon. We spent a good chunk of time wondering if the slow burn would turn into anything, and the show doesn’t disappoint with the kind of jaw-dropping season finale and kiss that still gives me butterflies. But this year, we also get a few of their firsts—their first time doing couple’s costumes on Halloween and their first Christmas. 

And amid all this, we see constant proof of why they were worth rooting for all these years. Gregory and Janine are lovely together. They’re two nerdy peas in a pod, realizing they can love each other in ways no one else could. Watching the small but monumental ways they take care of each other makes so many moments on the show more exciting. Sometimes, when a couple gets together after years of pining, the shows don’t allow us to get the more lovey-dovey moments we’re hoping for, yet that’s thankfully not the case, and Abbott instead allows us to see all the ways that they belong in the list of all the greats.

Evan Buckley and Eddie Diaz
9-1-1

For Evan “Buck” Buckey and Eddie Diaz of 9-1-1, it’s always felt like a matter of when, not if. Some could, after all, categorize what they have as friendship. And it is friendship. That’s why it works because it’s friendship, first and foremost. Because they have the best foundation. But it isn’t just friendship; it never has been. Unless, you know, you consider your best friend being the most important person in your life, the first one you turn to when you feel happy or sad, normal. And if you do, then you are probably in the middle of a friends-to-lovers romance, which is what Buddie truly is, deep down.

And it’s not because they couldn’t work without each other, no. They’ve got a somewhat co-dependent friendship going on, have had that for years, but if push came to shove, these two could figure out a way to go on without each other. It’s that they don’t want to. It’s that when things have gotten hard and when they’ve had to make the decision, they’ve chosen to be not just in each other’s lives but in each other’s corner, over and over again. Not because having each other is the thing that will solve all their problems but because the best relationships are about knowing you have someone who has your back, no questions asked. And that’s what Buck and Eddie do for each other — they have each other’s back, always. Now that they’re both single, it’s time for the show to truly examine if there’s any way anyone else could be for them what they have been for each other for seven years. We think the answer is no. And hey, the best romances are born out of the best friendships. [BY: Lissete Lanuza Sáenz]

Stella Kidd and Kelly Severide
Chicago Fire

In the same way that Firehouse 51 will always be featured in our found families list, no Best of 2024 romantic relationships list would be legitimate with Chicago Fire’s Stella Kidd and Kelly Severide. As an example within the show and on TV in general, the two of them are unmatched. It’s hard to imagine a TV space where an episode doesn’t open up with them in a steamy makeout scene or a horrific scare doesn’t lead to a powerful, perfect hug. Stellaride is the type of couple whose love is never once dull, and even the seemingly small exchanges hold a plethora of depth.

While there aren’t huge developments between the two of them other than potentially discussing future children, what we get is still incredible. Like in Trying, it allows us to see the organic moments that come after the honeymoon phase. Things aren’t always perfect; there’s tension sometimes and irritations here and there, yet they’re the type of couple who consistently show how the other person makes them better and stronger.

Nathan Grant and Elizabeth Thornton
When Calls the Heart

When Calls the Heart Season 11 finally brings Elizabeth Thornton and Nathan Grant together in such a way that I still can’t talk about it without choking up a little. How Elizabeth slowly masters some of her fears of loss and takes a risk by listening to her heart is awe-inspiring. Nathan’s patience with her and the unwavering commitment he’s had to waiting is simultaneously a breathtakingly beautiful thing that ensures this love is forever. They both know how haunting and heartbreaking loss can be (in different ways, but still), so now that they’re finally together, their relationship can explore how transparency can make them stronger individually and as a couple. 

They also have one of the best first kisses to date, in a scene that marks a true homecoming with a beautiful display of what it means to love someone with your whole heart. The connection between Elizabeth and Nathan is the kind that doesn’t dim what’s come before but elevates it. Elizabeth has two great loves in her life, three in all honesty, with how Lucas helped her, and that’s the kind of gorgeous thing a character like her deserves. She deserves someone who’ll be in her corner, fighting for her through everything while also being the safe place she can come home to, and that’s exactly who Nathan is. He’s home. And for Nathan, Elizabeth awakens everything inside of him that’s been quiet—blazing through him in a way that makes him a better person and a better father. 

Sydney Adamu and Carmy Berzatto
The Bear

In a season where things have never looked more bleak for our sexy stress monsters — where the distance between Carmy and Sydney feels insurmountable — we also witness some of the most intimate and revealing beats between the two. It seems that the further they are pulled apart — Carmy in an obsessive focus on earning Sydney a star, and Sydney boxed out and ignored by Carmy’s emotional blinders — the more their own worlds tit off-kilter, unintentional mutually assured destruction: The Bear is on its last legs, Carmy has abandoned any attempt at providing amusement or enjoyment, and Sydney’s serious panic attacks have her questioning herself, her career, and her place at The Bear.

Regardless of your views on Sydney and Carmy as a romantic pair, you’d be hard-pressed to ignore the season’s greatest triumph: the reveal of the indisputable Red Thread of Fate that ties them together — the thread that represents an unbreakable destiny to and with another person, someone you will always, inevitably find your way to. Whether a thread tied at the fingers or a paupiette of hamachi with blood orange reduction, in that moment, the entire thrust of the show slots into place. Carmy loses a brother, has already lost himself, and an order sent out in protest places Syd firmly in his world. His inspiration and passion for his work drive her, and she, in turn, shows up at The Original Beef of Chicagoland, fire resume in hand, and Carmy remembers, for a moment, what this is all for. [BY: Sarah Tompkins]

Lucy Chen and Tim Bradford
The Rookie

While Chenford might not be together right now, they’re still one of our Best of 2024 romantic relationships as two people we know care deeply about each other. Even while they’re split, driven apart by Tim’s inability to let Lucy in and his need to protect her, the two of them are still looking out for each other. They’re still partners—still a team and two people who’ll do anything to ensure the other person is safe.

I’m all for this separation era leading to their second chance romance down the line, but it’s also necessary to state that this time apart doesn’t feel like it’s fabricated for drama but rather to give the characters one final push for individual growth before they come together as a couple again. Tim holds so much guilt and is used to handling things on his own to pay the price of any fallout, yet what he needs to grasp is that someone like Lucy will happily fight every battle with him. She’ll stand firm with him through changes, big or small, and be the strength he needs in the same way he’d be there for her. They’re it for each other, and that means being there through thick and thin.

Nikki Newman and Jason Ross
Trying

Every TV viewer who loves romance deserves a steady couple they can always believe in. The kind of couple whose trials will never result in separation but the type of honest communication that serves as an example of what relationships look like. I’m fortunate to have a few of them, but perhaps the most underrated are Trying’s Nikki Newman and Jason Ross. The show’s latest season gave us a glimpse of the future where they’ve been parents for quite some time, and their bond is stronger than ever.

A specific episode also showcases what it’s like when the two of them haven’t spent alone time in a while, resulting in what I still believe is the most romantic declaration of the year from Jason. Time and again, but especially during a season as challenging as this, Nikki and Jason have proven that they’re a steadfast team. The love they have for each other only ever grows. Trying is an incredibly unique series, and their relationship continues to be one of the primary reasons why. It’s all about what happens after the first kiss, the first kid(s), their marriage, trials, and tribulations—we thankfully see every moment in their journey, and it makes the show a refreshing balm I’ll always want more of.

Nick Nelson and Charlie Spring
Heartstopper

Heartstopper remains a wholesome balm on TV, and thank goodness that Nick and Charlie are still going strong. The third season is heavier than the first and second as it dives into Charlie’s eating disorder, but it does an exceptional job of taking on the matter with grace and care. Through this journey, it shows how difficult it is for young people to navigate through anything in high school, let alone some of these heartaches that even adults haven’t fully grasped. Still, with every episode, the show gives viewers a heartfelt depiction of what it means for love to endure.

Nick and Charlie both care about each other so deeply that some adults don’t cross to the level of transparency they’re already at. This detail allows them to pass through challenges with a lot of love, patience, and grace. I’m so in awe of how Nick and Charlie deal with everything and simultaneously take their relationship to the next level. It not only makes Heartstopper exceptional, but it’s crucial for younger generations to have healthy depictions of love in a way that’s restorative and inspiring. 

Osha Aniseya and Qimir
The Acolyte

While all Star Wars movies have featured at least one prominent romance, the same cannot be said for the franchise’s foray into TV — your ship of choice notwithstanding. A shame, really, for a franchise whose most memorable lines and visuals, in part, stem from the romantic arcs. The exception, however, came in the form of this summer’s The Acolyte, with Osha Aniseya and Qimir heating things up week-to-week with the romance that tragically never quite was thanks to a premature cancellation, just as things were taking off for the two of them — and for the galaxy at large.

From the beginning, though they were — unknown to Osha — on opposite sides of a murder investigation, there was an intriguing energy between them. Osha’s attempt to disguise herself as her estranged twin Mae to get information out of Qimir fails, not because Osha lets something slip, but because from the beginning, Qimir could sense she was someone else. Things really come to a head when Qimir reveals himself to be the Sith the Jedi were hunting all along in a brutal fight that leaves most of the Jedi crew dead and leaves Osha separated from her master. Like The Last Jedi before it, the best thing The Acolyte does with this budding relationship is give the characters a chance to talk things out. So much so that by the end of Osha’s first day on the remote island Qimir takes her to, the two realize it’s not so much that they’re on two sides of a conflict but are rather two sides of the same coin.

What makes this relationship so refreshing is that the series actually devoted time to developing it. Qimir offers Osha a chance at honesty, which is more than anyone else in her life can say at that point. For Qimir, Osha represents the chance to have a student motivated by the same things he is — by anger, yes, but also by passion and all those other feelings the Jedi would have them brush aside. The two are byproducts of a system gone wrong, and a system on the verge of collapse, and it’s this that unites them, too. They are one another’s equals in the Force, and there’s no telling what might have happened with them had the series not been canceled. At least we’ll always have that final handhold. [BY: Arezou Amin] 

Vex’ahlia and Percy De Rolo
The Legend of Vox Machina

The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 was wonderful for everyone’s character development as it put our heroes through the wringer and none more than Vex and Percy. After their growing attraction sprinkled throughout the previous seasons, they finally admit their feelings. Well Percy does, then Vex doesn’t allow herself to admit her feelings. Vex insists on a fling and Percy goes along with her wishes. They are so fun and funny to watch, even with the slight angst of them being on different pages. But then, Percy dies, and Vex isn’t okay.  

Vex goes on her own quest for vengeance, mirroring Percy from Season 1, which shows how far they both have come. Percy dies because he gave his enemy a chance, and still, Vex is too afraid to admit her feelings (only those feelings were there whether or not she acknowledges them, and she does not stop fighting for Percy). Thanks to Vex, Keyleth, and Pike, Percy was resurrected in a gorgeous, heartfelt scene. Vex and Percy’s reunion is beautiful, and we know he can lean on Vex and Trinket throughout his recovery. [BY: Jenna G]

Rick Grimes and Michonne
The Ones Who Live

The Ones Who Live is a love letter to everything Rick and Michonne have been through, and thank God, it’s a happy one. Trials and heartaches follow wherever characters in The Walking Dead universe go, and none of that changes in this spinoff. The beginning is rough, tragic, and it’s hard to believe we’ll get to a place where we could see them both wholeheartedly happy. Yet, I guess I should’ve never doubted the way these two would always fight a little harder and claw their way out of anything to get to one another.

Rick’s dejection in the beginning and Michonne’s rage connect in a gorgeous way that results in the two of them healing to become better partners and parents. As mentioned in my review of the finale: “Still, here, “love doesn’t die,” and that’s a sentiment Michonne has believed in fervently for quite some time now. It’s what the entirety of their survival is about—love for humanity, partnerships, and a mother’s love for her children. It’s why Rick and Michonne had to survive. It’s why they had to make it back into each other’s arms, refusing to let go and basking in one another’s adoration like their lives depended on it.”

Rupert Campbell Black and Taggie O’Hara
Rivals

Relationships with considerable age gaps are tough to root for at times, yet it’s nearly impossible not to be utterly charmed by everything we get with Rupert Campbell-Black and Taggie O’Hara in Rivals. For many reasons, he’s the worst type of man who deserves a woman like her, but as the series gives him ample room to evolve and grapple with his mistakes, he becomes the one man who’s truly worthy of her. As he understands her value and sees her for who she truly is, Taggie becomes his entire world, and so much of Rupert’s actions are then inspired by how she’ll see him. 

How Taggie’s goodness and Rupert’s complexities bleed and turn into something that could result in both of them becoming better versions of themselves is a detail I’ll always value in fictional relationships. At some point, everyone needs a push to bring their best foot forward, and while Taggie ultimately does this for Rupert, his faith in her gives her the courage to stand up for herself. It gives her the strength to be vulnerable and transparent, taking for herself what she not only wants but what she deserves. While the season ends with their kiss, it’ll be so riveting how the challenges allow them to grow closer and find new ways of ensuring the other is taken care of.

James Beaufort and Ruby Bell
Maxton Hall

Maxton Hall can be a very dramatic show, but James and Ruby are the heart that grounds it. They are a classic trope done superbly, rivals to lovers with a large difference in social standing, so it was a no-brainer that we’d add them to our Best of 2024 romantic relationships list. They start off on the wrong foot and are at each other’s throats in the beginning, but when they work together, their perception of each other changes. The journey these two go on is full of ups and downs, yet the genuine interest that grows between them feels natural. It’s thoroughly enthralling to watch the change that takes over them both, resulting in some of the most tender scenes we’ve watched all year.

I don’t think I will ever be over the pool scene. Will anyone really? The panic James displays when Ruby is underwater and then the way he takes care care of her will live in my mind rent-free. The two of them allow each other to learn more about themselves and be more present in their lives. Even though the end of the season ends with turmoil, they know that there are real feelings shared between them. But navigating what comes next will be hard, and I can’t wait to see what next season brings. [BY: Jenna G]

Honorable Mentions: Kate Sharma and Anthony Bridgerton (Bridgerton), Jay and Sam Arondekar (Ghosts), Noah Roklov and Joanne (Nobody Wants This), Lee and Rosemary Coulter (When Calls the Heart), Keyleth and Vax’ildan’ (The Legend of Vox Machina).

Who are some of your Best of 2024 Romantic Relationships? Let us know in the comments below.