It is essential for a movie or TV series to deliver an interesting story in order to reach the audience. But there is an element that is even more important when it comes to attracting people: characters. If they are properly constructed, they manage to captivate the audience's heart, who closely follow their evolution. Thus, many movie and TV series characters have turned into favorites, with millions of people cheering for their adventures, watching them grow, make mistakes, and even fall in love.
Throughout the history of film and television, many couples have won over viewers. Many of us wished to experience a romance like Harry and Sally's, or to go through a short but passionate affair like Jack and Rose's in Titanic. With TV series, which often run for several seasons, this situation becomes magnified: these characters are not just with us for a couple of hours, they become part of our lives and remain with us for a long time. If a movie manages to get the audience hooked on the love affair of the main characters, a TV series can take this to the extreme. Thus, fans of TV show couples follow the characters in their day-to-day lives, following every major step in their relationship.
Many characters in TV series are destined to find each other and consolidate as a solid couple from the very first chapter. A few examples of this are Lily and Marshall, from How I Met Your Mother, or Jim and Pam from The Office. And, even though the latter struggled a bit more to get together, their chemistry transcended the screen from the very beginning of the series. However, there are other famous TV series couples that took a bumpier road, splitting up and getting back together many times over the course of the series. As such, here are the best on-again-off-again-relationships in TV history.
8 Haley and Dylan — Modern Family
Haley and Dylan's relationship completely won the audience over, because who didn't experience that kind of love as a teenager? Over the course of Modern Family's 11 seasons, these characters went through both happy and difficult times, and their relationship grew immensely from their first teenage hook-ups. As in love as these characters were, they broke up several times, and Haley tried dating other men. Eventually, however, they both realized they were right for each other, and moved forward in their relationship. By the series finale, they became parents to twins Poppy and George.
7 Kelly and Ryan — The Office
There is no couple in TV series history as mismatched as Kelly and Ryan from The Office, and perhaps that's why audiences were so hooked on this bizarre relationship. They started dating on Valentine's Day Eve back in 2006, and from that point on, they broke up and made up hundreds of times. Kelly was totally in love with him, determined to make up the wildest stories just to keep him with her. Ryan, on the other hand, believed he was somehow better than Kelly, and acted manipulative throughout their relationship, losing his temper when she went out with other men, but neglecting her when she was by his side (something Screen Rant lists as one of the things that didn't make sense about their relationship). By the end of the series, Kelly was in love with Ravi, a very respectable man who was genuinely interested in her, but upon seeing Ryan at Angela and Dwight's wedding, she once again fell for him, and the two ran off together, leaving Ryan's baby with Ravi.
6 Luke and Lorelai — Gilmore Girls
Luke and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls were friends for a very long time before dating, although it was obvious from the first episode that they were destined to be together. After a long time of meeting as diner owner and client, the two decided to give love a chance and went on a first date, although they eventually broke up and dated other people. For the series finale, Luke and Lorelai gave their relationship another shot, but audiences had to wait until 2016, when Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life premiered, to witness the long-awaited marriage of these characters.
5 Robin and Barney — How I Met Your Mother
After a lot of back and forth on How I Met Your Mother, Robin ended up paired with Ted. However, there is one other person with whom Robin had a relationship that made much more sense: Barney. While at first these two characters were friends, over the seasons they started developing feelings for each other. Yet, their relationship was impacted by Ted's feelings for Robin, so they grew apart several times. Eventually, these two got back together, and they even got married. But their relationship deteriorated: Robin's job was causing problems, they were fighting all the time, and they decided to split up and just be friends. This made fans very angry, especially after the series finale featured Ted and Robin giving each other a second chance.
4 Miranda and Steve — Sex and the City
Miranda and Steve met in a bar during Sex and the City's second season, and from that point on, they embarked on a relationship that spanned across two spin-off movies and the sequel-series And Just Like That. After dating for a while, and breaking off the relationship several times, Miranda got pregnant and they both co-parented until they rediscovered the spark between them. Eventually, Steve cheated on Miranda, something that was very difficult to overcome, but they did. However, in And Just Like That, Miranda realized that her feelings for Steve were no longer the same, so she filed for divorce (a storyline that drew complaints from viewers).
3 Meredith and Derek — Grey’s Anatomy
Meredith and Derek's relationship on Grey's Anatomy is one of the sweetest in the history of TV series. However, just like all the others on this list, it had its ups and downs. The two met at the bar and spent one night together, but things didn't come to fruition, and soon after they decided to cut ties. Meredith went on to date other men, though her feelings remained intact, and when she found out Derek was married, she felt utterly devastated. Eventually, they both figured out that they were right for each other, and Derek left his wife to be with Meredith. They had a beautiful relationship and three loving children, but tragedy struck the family, as Derek died of a head injury after an accident.
2 Blair and Chuck — Gossip Girl
Looking back, it makes perfect sense that Blair and Chuck from Gossip Girl would become a couple, even though it may not have seemed that way in the first few seasons of the series. The two grew up together on the Upper East Side, and used to be friends, though as time went on, they started developing feelings for each other. Their relationship was quite tumultuous, especially since they were teenagers with very strong personalities, but to the fans' delight, they both ended up married and had a little boy named Henry.
1 Rachel and Ross — Friends
Friends' Rachel and Ross definitely snatch the top spot on this ranking, and their relationship was discussed by millions of viewers, who still wonder whether they were on a break. Since the series pilot it was obvious that Ross had feelings for Rachel, but it took her a little longer to figure out how she felt about him. Their relationship was pretty unstable, and in fact, they both dated other people during different periods, and even got married and divorced after a crazy night in Las Vegas. Eventually, they both had a daughter named Emma, and by the end of the series they moved into Ross' apartment together. Despite being one of the most iconic couples of the series, many viewers still wish for Rachel to end up with Joey.