Worst TV Couples of All Time: ‘The Bear,’ ‘Riverdale’ and More (2024)

From The Bear to Riverdale, not every TV couple can stick the landing when it comes to selling a believable love story.Fans of the iconic Archie Comics were in for a wild ride when The CW adapted the story into a teen drama. The series, which premiered in 2017, followed a group of friends who came together to uncover the dark secrets that exist within their town. Along the way, the core four characters ended up in various love triangles.According to creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, he wanted to introduce a cohesive story that didn't make the audience root for a divide in the friend group.“It was much more important for me to have Betty and Veronica be real friends, not bitchy frenemies,” he explained to The Wrap in 2017. “The truth is, Archie, Betty and Veronica will all have romantic story lines that don’t lock us into the love triangle — not at all during season 1, at least.”Meanwhile, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series had its own set of issues with the relationship at the center of the show. Viewers were meant to fall in love with Ricky (Joshua Bassett) and Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) — until the duo got back together in the first season finale. Since rekindling their romance, Ricky and Nini couldn't get to a place that felt right for them and ultimately parted ways.During season 3, Nini made the move to California following Rodrigo's offscreen success in her music career. Ricky, for his part, faced his feelings for Gina (Sofia Wylie) after several seasons of uncertainty."My evolving thought is that Ricky and Gina are really in love for the first time together because they've experienced some of the world. They've gotten a little pushed down. So much happens and it's beautiful to be able to write this relationship — no holds barred," creator TimFederle exclusively told Us Weekly in August 2023. "I remember we had this thing in the writers room where we always tried to answer the question, 'But why Ricky for Gina?' Because E.J. is this amazing guy — who I think the audience will see is starting to land in a really good place in his life. And what we said is, 'Ricky always makes Gina laugh."Scroll down for more of our least favorite TV couples:

It's never a good thing when your audience is over the couple you're trying to sell on screen. It's even worse when the show digs their heels into the story line despite it not hitting. The Bear faced that problem with Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Claire (Molly Gordon) but decided to stand by their decison instead of letting the lackluster pair go.

After rekindling their romance in the season 1 finale, Ricky and Nini could never beat the obstacles thrown their way. From Nini's first move to them falling out of sync, HSMTMTS couldn't prove that the couple had what it took to make their relationship work.

In fact, Ricky and Nini were able to find their respective happy places as soon as they decided to part ways. Ricky ultimately fell in love for the first time with Gina — and the couple ended the series in a commited relationship.

Riverdale's attempt to explore Veronica (Camila Mendes) and Archie (KJ Apa)'s romance to its full extent instead felt like they were overstaying their welcome. The pair were clearly better off moving on from the high school romance — especially after Archie started to grow closer to Betty (Lili Reinhart).

The Vampire Diaries was known for the way it casually played musical chairs with its ‘ships — and Steroline were no different. For many longtime viewers, Stefan (Paul Wesley)'s interest in Caroline (Candice Accola) felt phoned in after his first choice, Elena (Nina Dobrev), decided to be with his brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder).

Meanwhile, Caroline appeared to be settling for someone who could never put her first. (Having Stefan die for Damon and Elena shortly after his wedding to Caroline didn't exactly help anyone's case.)

There is nothing quite as disappointing as trying to make an unlikable character appeal to the audience by attaching them to the fan favorite. For Bellamy (Bob Morley), his confusing romance with Echo (Tasya Teles) became a problem for viewers ever since its big reveal in the season 5 premiere.

The 100 spent the next two seasons trying to avoid giving the relationship screen time instead of simply breaking the characters up.

The Idol made headlines amid claims of a toxic work environment before it even premiered on HBO. After viewers got a glimpse at Tedros (The Weeknd) and Jocelyn's (Lily-Rose Depp) chemistry, things another bad turn as the fictional couple were ultimately mocked for their controversial sex scenes and cringy story lines.

Although The Weeknd tried to defend the depiction of a tumultuous Hollywood relationship, fans were simply not having it.

While Tell Me Lies centers around Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White)'s toxic connection, some of the audience didn't love sitting through so many scenes of them together. The twosome made each other and everyone around them miserable — only to keep the cycle going another seven years after their initial meeting in college.

After wrapping up Ted (Josh Radnor) and Robin (Cobie Smulders)'s romantic arc earlier in the series, fans were shocked by the last minute development in the finale. It was even harder to root for the duo's happily ever after when the entire last season of HIMYM centered around Robin's wedding to Barney (Neil Patrick Harris).

Whether Team Kelso or Team Hyde, That '70s Show fans were quite outspoken about not liking Jackie (Mila Kunis)'s endgame in season 8. Although the Netflix spinoff may fix the narrative by pairing Jackie off with Kelso (Ashton Kutcher), it may be too late for some viewers.

Over the years, viewers have heavily debated the iconic sitcom's central couple. For some, Rachel (Jennifer Aniston)'s decision to get off the plane in the series finale was romantic. On the flip side, others thought her choice felt like a missed opportunity to break away from Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel's ups and downs.

Since it was always meant to be Pacey (Joshua Jackson), watching Joey (Katie Holmes)'s romance with Dawson (James Van Der Beek) still leaves a lot to be desired. Not only does Joey seem unhappy with Dawson, but the audience couldn't quite understand why the relationship was worth all that trouble.

Following their time on Pretty Little Liars, Ezra (Ian Harding) and Aria (Lucy Hale)'s love story continued to live on with mentions in the spinoff Pretty Little Lies: Original Sin. However, some people weren't interested in watching a high school teacher start a relationship with a student under nefarious circ*mstances.

Gossip Girl ended with Chuck (Ed Westwick) and Blair (Leighton Meester) together, but the journey didn't sell every fan on the destination. After putting Blair through so much, many viewers were more interested in seeing her find a future with someone who didn't previously sell her in exchange for a hotel.

After finding love with Steve (David Eigenberg) on Sex and the City, Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) pulled the plug on their 18-year marriage because of her connection with Che (Sara Ramirez). Viewers, however, were disappointed in how Miranda's coming out story became centered around her new partner.

Miranda and Che ultimately couldn't make it work after realizing how different their lives were. The pair called it quits during season 2 of the hit Max series.

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