‘The Vampire Diaries’: Ranking All the Show’s Romances From Worst to Best
Vampires, werewolves, witches, sirens, doppelgangers, hybrids — The Vampire Diaries is filled with supernatural beings with awesome powers. But even the strongest among them is vulnerable to love.
Romance has been at the core of TVD since the first episode, which showed the blossoming relationship between human Elena Gilbert and vampire Stefan Salvatore. Over eight seasons, all of the characters have fallen in and out of love, found themselves in love triangles (and squares), broken each other’s hearts, turned from friends to lovers, and even gotten married. There have been steamy hook-ups, passionate arguments, tender declarations, and tearful vows.
Here’s our ranking of the romances of The Vampire Diaries.
18. Caroline and Alaric
She was in love with someone else. He was still grieving his almost-bride, Jo. And both were really just in it for their kids. This engagement was never going to end up at the altar.
17. Valerie and Stefan
The innocent romance they shared in the 1860s never got off the ground, and when they reunited in the modern day, it was only because Stefan had to go on the run — and away from his true love, Caroline.
16. Caroline and Matt
This schoolgirl crush on her best friend’s ex was doomed from the start, since Caroline was always jealous of his former relationship with Elena. And then she turned into a vampire, and pushed him away.
15. Rebekah and Matt
Poor Matt. The guy just can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to love. Rebekah was drawn to his humanity and kindness, and they had fun on a trip around the world. And while they liked each other, it was never going to last.
14. Jenna and Alaric
Elena’s aunt died too soon for this sweet romance to get off the ground. But Ric’s feelings for her were strong enough to become a surrogate parent to Elena and Jeremy.
13. Bonnie and Jeremy
Dating your best friend’s little brother can be awkward, which was exactly the case with this pair. Their chemistry was so low that they spent most of their relationship separated after Bonnie died (to bring Jeremy back to life) and went to the Other Side. Even when she returned from the prison world, their romance had fizzled, and Jeremy left town.
12. Rebekah and Stefan
The flirtatious energy between them didn’t change from their initial romance in the 1920s to when they teamed up to find the cure, but modern-day (and non-Ripper) Stefan simply didn’t have feelings for Rebekah.
11. Katherine and Damon
When they first met in the 1860s, Damon fell head over heels in love for Katherine, but she simply used Damon as a sexual object (she was in love with Stefan). The heat between them then turned into a burning rage.
10. Katherine and Stefan
Like her doppelganger, Katherine had plenty of passion with Stefan. She even thought she loved him, but ultimately, she was just too selfish and evil to make anything last with him.
9. Anna and Jeremy
The two loners bonded — basically because they were both using each other (she needed his blood for her mother, he wanted to get close to Vicki). But they fell for each other, anyway, and Jeremy even called her the love of his life.
8. Jo and Alaric
After so many failed chances at finding love, Alaric finally met his match in the strong-willed, kind, caring doctor. Their future was so bright — she was pregnant with twins, they were going to get married — until their story was ended early by Jo’s evil twin, Kai.
7. Mary Louise and Nora
The first same-sex couple on the show stuck with their love through the decades, and when the Heretics emerged in the modern day, they could finally express it through marriage. Alas, they both died, but at least they went out together.
6. Caroline and Tyler
They had chemistry in spades, and the doomed nature of their relationship — he was a werewolf, she was a vampire — gave them a Romeo and Juliet vibe. But ultimately, Tyler never stuck around town long enough to make anything of it.
5. Elena and Stefan
The original couple that started it all — they were soulmates, destined to be together, doppelgangers who would find each other again and again through time. Their love was pure, but fate has a funny sense of humor, sometimes, and Elena’s attraction to darkness (in the form of Stefan’s brother, Damon) was too strong.
4. Caroline and Klaus
The ultimate bad boy found his softer side around Caroline, after healing her from Tyler’s hybrid bite. He opened up to her in a way he never had, and when he moved to New Orleans, even left her a message saying he was thinking about her still. Even after Caroline began a relationship Stefan, it was clear that she’d always have a place in her heart for Klaus.
3. Bonnie and Enzo
Sometimes, the unlikeliest relationships are the most romantic. She hated him at first (he threatened her then-boyfriend, Jeremy), but he stepped up to protect her from the Armory. In their cabin, their love grew. Even when he was forced to work for the sirens, Enzo held onto his feelings for her, while she did everything in her power to save him. Their love was so strong that even his death couldn’t keep them apart.
2. Caroline and Stefan
From best friends to husband and wife — no other relationship has been as solid, nurturing, and loyal as Steroline. He helped her transition into a vampire with morals and supported her through her mother’s death; she never gave up on him, even when he turned off his humanity to serve Cade. Their love was built, as Stefan said in his wedding vows, “Day by day, bit by bit, year by year.” And with a foundation like that, it seems meant to last until death parts them.
1. Elena and Damon
Stefan may have been Elena’s fated soulmate, but it was Damon who really completed her, and vice versa. They brought out the best in each other: She made him want to be a better man, and he pushed her to take chances. Passion, fire, fighting, heartache, longing, really hot sex — Elena and Damon’s sizzling, roller-coaster romance was truly epic.
The Vampire Diaries airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on the CW.
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