You know, sometimes TV show writers just get things wrong. Sometimes they go in a really wrong direction and pair up two characters that have no reason to be together. They’re so awkward that you can barely even stand to watch when they share scenes. Seriously, it’s almost like some of these couples got together simply because they were both characters on the same television show. A lot of the following pairings have a total lack of chemistry and nothing in common (/sometimes, it’s both). In other words, they should never have gotten together in the first place.
For every Jim and Pam or Chandler and Monica, there are other TV couples that really should’ve never hooked up in the first place, like at all. Though these duos may have been fun to watch at some points, they were mostly awkward and just totally mismatched in the grand scheme of things. Take a look through to see all of the odd couples that should have never even gotten to that relationship stage.
1. Rachel & Joey – Friends
Rachel and Joey may have been funny together, but there was no reason they should have even tried to make a romantic relationship work. It was so weird to see them together after they had been such good friends for seasons. Even Rachel and Joey themselves knew they probably shouldn’t have coupled up. Their chemistry was totally off, which was exemplified by the fact that they could barely even kiss. They ended up calling things off for the sake of their friendship — and that was definitely the right call.
There was just no chance for the pair. It’s not like anything was ever going to get in the way of the Ross and Rachel endgame.
2. Mindy & Danny – The Mindy Project
Ok, we’ll admit it: Mindy and Danny had some cute moments. They had an adorable son Leo together and even had their own will they/won’t they thing going on at the beginning of the series. They also, you know, ended up together in the series finale of The Mindy Project (spoiler alert!). But, they shouldn’t have.
They originally broke up in season four after Danny couldn’t find it in himself to support Mindy’s career path. Instead, he wanted her to be a stay-at-home mother, which isn’t what she wanted. If he couldn’t support the mother of his child in her career path, he didn’t deserve to be with her, at all. Sorry not sorry, but their season four break-up should have stuck.
3. Archie & Ms. Grundy – Riverdale
Hopefully there are no Archie and Miss Grundy shippers out there because this pairing was wrong on so many levels. First of all, Archie’s a sophomore in high school for goodness sakes! Miss Grundy is a teacher at his school who is at least a decade older than him. It’s not okay and this wasn’t any kind of love story by any means.
This “relationship,” if you can even call it that, was handled very weirdly on the show. Aside from the adults (mainly Archie’s dad, Fred Andrews), the characters didn’t treat the actual crime at hand here with the seriousness that it deserved, with Veronica and Jughead treating it way too flippantly. Eventually, the pair did break things off (at the urging of Fred). So thankfully, Archie and Grundy are a thing of the past and the world saw her for what she really was — a predator.
4. Mellie & Fitz – Scandal
Mellie and Fitz may have been married, but everyone knew from day one that Fitz and Olivia were (and are) the real love story of Scandal. However, when Mellie found out about her husband’s affair, they still tried to make things work. Well, at least for appearance’s sake since they were still the President and First Lady.
They got back together and had another baby, Teddy, to try and make it appear as though things were picture perfect. But, we all knew it was never going to work. The First couple should have ended way before then; the spark just wasn’t there with these two. Fitz would always have eyes for Olivia. If they had broken up sooner and dealt with the Presidential fallout, they both would have been happier for it in the long-run.
5. Jackie & Fez – That ’70s Show
Jackie and Fez are the kind of TV relationship you get when you put all of the That ’70s Show characters’ names in a bag and pick out two at random. That’s how well they work together AKA they shouldn’t have been a thing in the first place.
Jackie previously dated Kelso and Hyde on the series. Neither one of those guys were great for her, either, but that didn’t mean that she needed to be paired up with Fez, with whom she had no discernible chemistry. The show would have been better off by allowing Jackie to be single, carefree, and focused on her blossoming media career. Instead… she had this awkward and forced romance with Fez.
6. Wes & Laurel – How to Get Away With Murder
Don’t get us wrong, Wes and Laurel were cute together… as friends. Before they sparked up a relationship, the two were such good friends, almost best friends. They always had each other’s backs, especially within the sometimes-contentious Keating 5. Wes and Laurel also seemed to be more akin to brother and sister than anything romantic. So, their romantic turn (which, spoiler alert, occurred shortly before Wes unfortunately passed) was totally random and, dare we say, unnecessary.
A nice friendship doesn’t always translate into a good romantic relationship, nor does it have to. What’s with these TV shows forcing characters together just for the sake of it? It’s cool to just let people be friends sometimes.
7. Elena & Stefan – The Vampire Diaries
Elena and Stefan were kind of cute. In comparison to Elena’s intense chemistry with Stefan’s brother Damon, Stelena’s relationship was pretty vanilla. There was nothing exactly wrong with Elena and Stefan’s relationship. It’s just that there wasn’t a lot going on there that was right. They had a typical boyfriend/girlfriend relationship (plus all of the supernatural craziness, of course). And that doesn’t necessarily make for exciting TV.
Thankfully, the writers on The Vampire Diaries knew to cut this couple loose eventually, in favor of some better pairings. Elena finally started dating Damon (and ended up with him in the series finale of the show) and Stefan married longtime friend Caroline.
8. Cookie & Lucious – Empire
The Lyon family is always involved in their fair share of drama, Cookie and Lucious included. The pair’s on and off relationship throughout Empire has been toxic. Every time they get back together, they reinforce exactly why they never should’ve reunited.
The couple, who shares three sons, was married but divorced while Cookie was serving a lengthy prison sentence. Lucious, a terrible human being in many senses of the word, built his entertainment business with the help of Cookie. Their divorce status didn’t stop them from getting back together briefly, in a romantic sense. However, Cookie soon realized that Lucious was cheating on his girlfriend to be with her and called things off. And thankfully she did because this relationship should never have happened in the first place. Cookie deserves way better.
9. Angela & Andy – The Office
Angela and Andy were never meant to be together, any fan of The Office could tell. Angela even appeared to outright hate Andy at times. Yet, he still proposed to her and the two almost got married… if her affair with Dwight didn’t get in the way. Andy may have been uber-annoying at times, but even he didn’t deserve the treatment he got from Angela. He deserved way, way better (hey, Erin!). And Angela should have gotten back with Dwight properly before causing all of the, admittedly funny, drama to occur after Andy found out about the affair.
Their unfortunate relationship was fun to watch, though. So, maybe that’s why they were paired up together.
10. House & Cuddy – House
House and Cuddy had a will they/won’t they thing going on for about five seasons of House before they finally got together. However, almost as soon as they started dating, it was apparent that they should have stuck with their will they/won’t they deal. House is funny at times, but when you think about it, he’s actually a sarcastic jerk. That doesn’t translate into great boyfriend material. And Cuddy was a single mother who simultaneously ran a hospital. She had no time to deal with her boyfriend’s BS. Cuddy needed someone to support her and House needed free reign on everything in life. Neither of them were going to get that in a relationship with each other.
11. Kate & Jack – Lost
Kate and Jack may have been the OG couple in Lost, but that doesn’t mean they should have been together. They did have a spark and made a great team at various points during the series, such as when they did try to make a relationship work as they co-parented Claire’s child.
But, they mainly shouldn’t have been together because they were better suited for other people. Kate and Sawyer were a way better match for each other. They had the same kind of feisty personality that made their relationship super intense in the best way. And the always-reliable Jack seemed better suited for Juliet (even if things didn’t work out picture perfect for them).
12. Jon & Daenerys – Game of Thrones
Well, alright. Jon and Daenerys are cute. They both have that whole tragic past, dead lover, save-the-world thing in common. But… they’re related! That fact kind of trumps everything else. In the season seven finale of Game of Thrones it was revealed that Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. And, since Rhaegar is Daenerys’s brother, that makes Dany Jon’s aunt. It’s weird. And yes, it is still weird even within a fantasy world filled with dragons and ice zombies.
This pair could have been a dominant force sans the romance connection. Now, if they ever find out about Jon’s past, there will always be this sense of weirdness between them.
13. Buffy & Spike – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Buffy and Spike were just plain toxic for one another. They may have been lovey-dovey at times, but we’re not buying it. Buffy’s true love was Angel. Sorry, that’s not up for discussion. And it’s almost like Buffy was paired off with Spike because he was the only cool, moody vampire left on the show after Angel got his own spin-off.
One of the biggest drawbacks of the Spuffy relationship doesn’t even have to do with chemistry or former beaus. Spike became a totally different character once he was with Buffy. Pre-Spuffy, Spike leaned into his bad boy side and had a dynamic and dark edge to him that he kind of lost once he got together with Buffy. There’s also the whole he-tried-to-rape-her thing when she finally broke their relationship off. Sure, he’s a vampire without a soul. Yes, we know he’s killed people. But that was too much — even for him.
14. Barney & Robin – How I Met Your Mother
Barney and Robin are another TV couple who seem to have been paired together just for the sake of it. Did the two have anything in common? No. Did they even seem like good friends before their romantic relationship? Again, no. So, why were they even together? Oh, because they were both single at the time and Robin and Ted were in one of their “off” phases.
This relationship even had Barney and Robin getting married in the final season of How I Met Your Mother because for some inexplicable reason they considered each other soulmates. Of course, in the series finale, it was revealed that the pair got a divorce. Yep, they got a divorce after the entire last season took place during their wedding weekend. Just, why did this relationship-to-nowhere even happen?
15. Sookie & Alcide – True Blood
Sookie and Alcide were just fine together. They were the Elena and Stefan of the True Blood-world, normal, sweet, and consequently unexciting. It was alright for Sookie to have a nice change of pace after being in a love triangle with a couple of vampires. But, that normalcy could never last, nor should it have to. Who wants to see a normal, bland relationship on TV? It’s nice for the characters but doesn’t help the drama factor that these shows desperately need. And the Sookie and Alcide relationship definitely didn’t offer much in the way of excitement. The two ultimately didn’t get their happy ending, after all, due to his unfortunate demise in the series’ final season.
16. Scott & Malia – Teen Wolf
Did anyone actually ship Scalia? This pairing was one of those the-show’s-wrapping-up-and-we-need-the-main-character-to-be-with-someone type things, and unfortunately, this couple just didn’t work. For one, Scott was SUPPOSED to be with Allison Argent in the end — but Crystal Reed had to go ahead and quit the show, so that was a no-go. Then he had a kind-of-okay thing going with Kira. But then Arden Cho left the show, too. Our main reason for hating this couple is because Malia was Stiles’s first time, and it seems a little bizarre that Scott would date his best friend’s ex. Sure Stydia was endgame, but it’s weird, right?
17. Blair & Dan – Gossip Girl
Blair and Dan’s relationship makes all of the other relationships on this list look completely amazing. Who in the world thought that it would be a good idea for these two to date? These two had nothing in common except for single status. This pairing was so crazy that it almost seems like someone made it up in some odd fan-fiction account. However, it, unfortunately, did happen.
Hot take: I’m not even a Blair and Chuck fan. But, even I know they were better made for each other than whatever this Blair and Dan relationship was. It was the most random of all ill-suited TV relationships. Thankfully, the two only dated for a short amount of time. Even that short period of time was way too long!