Jim and Pam’s romance on The Office was one that will go down in history as one of the most iconic TV relationships of all time. The two went from just a couple of friends who sat next to each other at a paper company to household names who set some seriously impressive standards for love.
The Office has been off the air for years now, but still, its influence endures, and Jim and Pam remain a pairing that fans of the show aspire to in their own real-life relationships. In honor of their unparalleled story, here are some of the best Jim and Pam moments that will still give butterflies to any Office fan.
18. Jim Gets Pam For Secret Santa
Everyone watching The Office knew from the get-go that there was something special between Jim and Pam, but the Secret Santa gift exchange way back in the early days was the first time we saw just how sentimental Jim could be. He’d bought Pam a tea kettle, but that wasn’t all — there was a tiny note inside of it, as well as some other personal goodies. There was some back and forth as Michael Scott tried to turn it into a white elephant exchange — meaning participants could “steal” each other’s gifts — but thankfully, the tea kettle made it back into Pam’s grasp. Viewers never got a glimpse of what he’d written, and neither did Pam, at least at first, as he slid the note into his back pocket after getting cold feet.
17. Pam Drunkenly Kisses Jim At Chili’s
This is the first time Pam and Jim actually share a kiss, and if you’re like me, you screamed the first time you witnessed it. Pam was still very much still with Roy during this time, but luckily he wasn’t there because we know about his ~temper~. Pam probably also wasn’t exactly thinking straight as she kissed Jim, given that she’d been downing drinks like nobody’s business all night in honor of the Dundees. Jim was understandably stunned, but they didn’t discuss it. They just continued to hang out as pals and Pam continued to drink until she fell off a bar stool and was subsequently banned from all Chili’s locations. Ah, young love.
16. Jim Tells Michael He Likes Pam On The Booze Cruise
Telling Michael Scott any of your secrets is arguably never a good thing, but on the Booze Cruise in season two, Jim was feeling vulnerable. Pam and Roy had just set a wedding date in front of everyone, reminding Jim yet again that the woman he wanted to be with was on track to be someone else’s wife, and Michael was there as a shoulder to cry on. It set up some headaches for Jim later, as Michael has some notoriously loose lips, but in the moment, Michael urged him to never give up on something that he felt so strongly about. And so, perhaps we have Michael Scott to thank for the relationship that was to come.
15. Their First Official Kiss
This was one doozy of a season finale, and when Jim finally plants one on Pam, people everywhere swooned. Jim had confronted Pam earlier in the episode, in an emotional moment where he made it clear he didn’t want to just be her friend — he wanted something more. Pam, still engaged to Roy, was stunned and asked him what he expected her to say to that, and ultimately said they couldn’t be together. Despite the initial rejection, Jim persevered, following her upstairs for a kiss. We weren’t able to see what happened immediately after as the screen heartbreakingly cut to black, and those who watched the show while it actually aired on TV back in the good old days were stuck waiting months to find out what happened to their favorite Office couple.
14. Pam’s Speech At Beach Day When She Tells Jim Why She Called Off The Wedding
Pam at Beach Day was a hoot altogether. She was tasked early in the episode by Michael to document the day, take notes, and essentially sit in the background. As the episode went on, though, she became even antsier, and eventually ran across a path of hot coals while mostly everyone else was too scared to do it. Armed with that rush of adrenaline, she ran over to a circle of her co-workers, and let loose. Along with a slew of points she made to the office at large, she also let Jim know that she had called off her wedding because of him and that she knows now that she shouldn’t have been with Roy in the first place. All of this happened in front of Karen, who Jim was dating at the time, so that’s kind of awkward. But it was an important stepping stone on the path to where Jim and Pam needed to go.
13. Jim Interrupts Pam’s Interview To Ask Her On A Date
The shot of Pam’s face after Jim asks her on the first official date is so, so sweet, especially since the moment came right after she was telling the camera that she hoped Jim got the job at corporate in New York, and that they just had never gotten their timing lined up to successfully be together. It looked for a moment as if she was explaining away why they’d never be a couple and giving up on the prospect completely. So when Jim burst through that door, interrupting Pam’s interview in the process, and asked if she was free for dinner — holy moly did I scream.
12. They Go Public With Their Relationship
Once they were finally dating, it was understandable that Jim and Pam would want to keep things under wraps, at least for a little bit. I mean, take a look at who they share that office with. People are all over each other’s personal lives and Michael, in particular, tended to be a little too invested in things that didn’t concern him. But, they finally make a formal announcement to their colleagues, and in a way, it’s all thanks to Toby. Toby, who notoriously crushed on Pam for the duration of the series, filed a “complaint” about PDA after seeing her covertly share a kiss with Jim in the break room. Ultimately, it came out who the complaint had been about, and Michael’s overjoyed reaction was something for the books.
11. Jim And Pam Exchange Gifts As A Couple — The Comic Book And The Bracelet
Pam was extremely excited about gifting Jim “The Adventures Of Jimmy Halpert” — she created a comic book with Jim as the star, complete with their daughter and his bike in the mix. She thought she was going to finally come close to doing a Christmas gift as creative as what Jim usually does — she said he’s always making something special and unique. When the time came to open each other’s presents, Pam went first and discovered that Jim had gone a different route that year. She pulled a gorgeous diamond bracelet out of her box, and as Jim said, “I do make great Christmas gifts, but I couldn’t make that.” Pam was embarrassed about her comic book because she hadn’t spent the same amount of money as he did, but one look at Jim’s face after he opened it let everyone know that he still saw hers as the winner.
10. Jim First Reveals The Engagement Ring To The Camera
During one episode, there was a ton of joking around as far as Jim and Pam getting engaged. They’d been together for a little while at that point, so it wasn’t exactly an outrageous notion. It really came to a head when Jim suggested that they move in together, and Pam said she had made a promise to herself that she wouldn’t live with a guy until she was engaged. “Oh, have I not proposed to you yet?” Jim teased. “Oh, well, that’s coming.” He promises that when it does come, it’s going to “kick her ass,” and then he reveals a wedding ring to the camera when he’s in his private interview. He got it a week after they started dating. Ugh. We don’t deserve Jim Halpert.
9. Jim Proposes At The Gas Station
It takes nearly an entire season for that ring to make another appearance, and Jim struggled to find the perfect moment to propose. Pam had zipped off to New York for her art program, and he had held off, so they didn’t spend the first three months of their engagement living apart. Jim was frustrated as time went on, and they were experiencing the first bumps in the road that long distance can bring. Ultimately, he asked Pam to meet him at the halfway point between New York and Scranton, which was a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Jim dropped to one knee — in the rain! — and said he just couldn’t wait to ask her. If your blood pressure skyrocketed at this moment, you are in good company.
8. Pam Comes Back From New York Early
Pam was still in New York City to participate in that prestigious art program, but as time went on, it put an even greater strain on her relationship with Jim. Not because he was unsupportive or because he didn’t want her to go, but because it meant she was living in a dorm a couple hours away from him, and they didn’t get a ton of time together. The two weathered visits and video calls, but during one episode in particular, they just were not on the same wavelength. And then, to make matters worse, Pam found out she failed one of her courses, and has to stay in New York for another 12 weeks. They’re saddened by this turn of events, but Jim encourages her to keep at it if it’s what she wants. When he leaves the office, though, there she is, saying she didn’t like the program anyway, and it wasn’t worth more time apart from him.
7. Jim And Pam Find Out They’re Having A Baby
While Pam was busy showcasing her amazing volleyball skills at the Dunder Mifflin picnic, working tirelessly to smack spikes down in the faces of Idris Elba (remember when he played Charles, the worst manager in history?), there was something else going on that Pam and Jim had no idea about. She ended up twisting her ankle, prompting Charles to insist she get it checked out at the hospital to protect the company from liability. Jim rushed her off, as they both wanted to come back and continue the game, but after the doctors checked her out, they had some news for her. Viewers didn’t hear what was said to Jim and Pam as they found out they were going to be parents, but that’s OK. Their faces said it all.
6. Jim’s Speech At The Rehearsal Dinner
Jim and Pam’s wedding weekend was full of amazing moments from the get-go. The two-part Niagara Falls arc should go down in history as some of the greatest installments of television in recent history. And to close out the first half, Jim gave a speech that would give anyone butterflies. “Four years ago I was just a guy who had a crush on a girl who had a boyfriend. And I had to do the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do, which was just to wait. Don’t get me wrong, I flirted with her,” he began, adding that he actually knew how to drive stick-shift and how to make a photocopy — he just bugged her for help to spend time with her. “For a really long time that’s all I had. I just had little moments with a girl who saw me as a friend. And a lot of people told me I was crazy to wait this long for a date with a girl I worked with. But I think, even then, I knew that I was waiting for my wife.” Are you kidding me? Try to get through that without crying. Just try.
5. Jim Cuts The Tie At The Wedding After Pam’s Veil Rips
Pam had a stressful wedding weekend. Andy injured himself in a particularly sensitive area as he danced the night before the vows were set to go on, and as a pregnant Pam was the only sober one left, she had to drive him to the hospital in the middle of the night. So in the morning, it’s safe to say she was already a little on edge. Matters were only made worse when her veil caught on a piece of the wall and tore. She called Jim to come calm her down, even though he wasn’t supposed to see her in her dress. As soon as she started telling him that she wasn’t happy with how she looked, he cut his tie in half. There — now they both had imperfections.
4. Jim And Pam Secretly Get Married At Niagara Falls
It wasn’t exactly a secret secret. They invited people to come watch and all that. But when the crowd got to be a little too much for Jim and Pam, they decided to take matters into their own hands and do something that would be just for them. Ditching the onlookers waiting at a church for them to show up, they headed to Niagara Falls themselves, and boarded a boat. The captain of the ship married them, and they got soaking wet. They did return to the church to complete the ceremony for everyone else who had come to support, but the initial vows on the ship are something that they had all to themselves.
3. Jim’s Pep Talk To Dwight About Angela And Pam
In this moment, Jim proved that he was a real friend to Dwight. As Dwight sat in the corner of a stairwell, moaning and crying over the fact that Andy was taking Angela on a date, Jim came to sit with him, and in doing so shared some heartbreaking details about his initial uphill battle to be with the love of his life. “She was with Roy, and I just couldn’t take it. I lost it, Dwight. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t concentrate on anything. Weird stuff, like food had no taste. So my solution was to move away,” he said. “It was awful. It was something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, and that includes you.” Afterward, he headed back upstairs and planted a kiss on Pam, likely appreciating the struggle that brought them together.
2. They Hug Before Jim Goes Away For Business Even Though They’re Fighting
Later on in the series, Jim and Pam went through some seriously rough patches, and if you’re a fan of their relationship, it’s downright difficult to watch. They were in this awkward, uncomfortable semi-fight as Jim was about to head to Philly for work. “I’m really sorry that I have to go, but let’s keep at this,” he told her before heading out the door. They didn’t hug or kiss before Jim took his leave, but Pam noticed that he forgot his umbrella, so she rushed outside to give it to him as he stepped into the taxi. He pulled her in for a hug, and it was one of those moments where you could truly tell they loved each other, despite any suffering their relationship was facing.
1. Pam Sells The House So They Can Move To Philly
In the series finale, Jim and Pam were in a much better place than they were just a season or so before. Jim had turned down a career opportunity in Philadelphia so that he didn’t uproot their family from Scranton, and that just wasn’t sitting well with Pam. “I know that you had to make this choice and you had to give something up for me, but I never want you to have to give up anything,” she told him. “I just thought if I could get us an offer, there wouldn’t be anything standing in our way, and I could come to you with this big Jim gesture, and show you all at once just how much I love you and how much I really do believe in your future.” This is the last big “Jim and Pam” moment that fans were left with before the series came to a close for good, and it was one that set up the couple for years of happiness to come, making it clear that this iconic romance was one for the ages.