Young Love
Ranking 10 DCOM Couples From Least to Most Likely to Still Be Together
From the moment Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez took the stage to sing “The Start of Something New” on New Year’s Eve in 2005, we knew we believed in love.
Okay, well, maybe our road to loving love stories wasn’t that instantaneous, but here at Swooon, we’ll be the first to admit that whether you grew up watching Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century in 1999 or Descendants in 2015, the Disney Channel Original Movie enjoyer to rom-com aficionado pipeline is the real deal.
Launched on April 18, 1983, Disney Channel has raised generations with iconic characters, such as PRNDL-driving London Tipton (Brenda Song) and wand-wielding Alex Russo (Selena Gomez), as well as absolute bangers like “Determinate” from Lemonade Mouth and “If We Were a Movie” from Hannah Montana. However, Disney Channel’s most influential contribution to pop culture, for us, has to be their original movies.
Affectionately referred to as DCOMs by fans, Disney Channel Original Movies have introduced youngsters everywhere to epic love stories since day one. But not all DCOM couples are created equal, and we’re convinced that no matter how much we loved watching them fall in love, quite a few of our favorite couples don’t have what it takes to stay together long-term.
Without further ado, here are our favorite couples from Disney Channel Original Movies ranked from the most likely to have broken up a long time ago to the couple we’re certain stays together forever.
Do you agree with our ranking? Comment below with your hottest take on DCOM couples and who you think had the messiest breakup.
10. Zenon & Greg from Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century
Status: Broke Up in The Zequel
When Greg (Gregory Smith) first meets Zenon (Kirsten Storms), a teenage girl who just moved from a space station back down to Earth, he can’t help but fall in love. The two share an adorably awkward friends-to-lovers relationship. Zenon moves back to space at the end of the movie, and the couple canonically dates for two years. However, at the beginning of Zenon: The Zequel, we learn that Greg can no longer handle the long distance, so he breaks up with Zenon while they’re ZapChatting. For giving us the cruel prediction that dating in 2051 will be no better than dating in 2025, we’ve ranked Zenon and Greg as the most likely couple to break up and never, ever, get back together.
9. Miley & Travis, Hannah Montana: The Movie
Status: Just a Fling
We know that Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus) has the best of both worlds, but we’re pretty certain that neither of those worlds has room for her love interest, Travis Brody, from the Hannah Montana: The Movie. In the film, Miley heads back to her hometown to remember her roots. During her time in the country, sparks fly between Miley and her childhood friend Travis, played by Lucas Till, who lives rent-free in our minds as the guy from the “You Belong With Me” music video. But, unfortunately, we never see him after the movie, so for all we know, right now, Hannah Montana is headlining Coachella, and Travis is just sitting in a barn somewhere.
8. Galleria & Derek, The Cheetah Girls
Status: She Got Too Famous For Him
Did you know that Raven-Symoné‘s character in The Cheetah Girls dated Kyle Schmid from NCIS: Origins? When the Cheetah Girls break up, Galleria (Symoné) turns to Derek (Schmid), who tells her that being a “true artist” means “you have to walk alone sometimes.” While the Cheetah Girls reunite, and Galleria does share a kiss with Derek at the end of the movie, we have to agree with him. We’re certain that by the time Galleria grows up to be a major musical artist, she’ll have outgrown this relationship.
7. Jessica & Christopher, StarStruck
Status: Broke Under Pressure
Jessica Olsen (Danielle Campbell) goes from hating pop sensation Christopher Wilde (Sterling Knight) from afar to falling in love with him and slow dancing with him, in his shades, at her school dance. However, throughout their enemies-to-lovers arc, Jessica and Christopher’s banter borders on arguing, and run-ins with fans and paparazzi have already caused them to break up once. We would love to see Christopher and Jessica stay together, but we fear that, given his fame, there is too much working against them for them to maintain a successful relationship. On the bright side, you just know a Christopher Wilde breakup album would slap.
6. Mitchie & Shane, Camp Rock
Status: Situationship City
Mitchie (Demi Lovato) and Shane (Joe Jonas) are so on-again, off-again, it’s hard to keep up. While Camp Rock‘s main duo claims they “Wouldn’t Change a Thing” about their relationship, we would beg to differ. In Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, we see that Mitchie and Shane are (frankly) terrible at making time for each other. We’re sure that Mitchie’s blossoming career and Shane’s Connect 3 fame will only add to that difficulty, even if both of them are too stubborn to admit it. Instead of permanently calling it quits, they’ll have a messy, years-long situationship, but ultimately, they will both find a healthier relationship with someone else.
5. Mack & Brady, Teen Beach Movie
Status: Unhappily Married
Honestly, getting stuck in a musical seems pretty traumatic. Their time in Wet Side Story definitely bonded Mack (Maia Mitchell) and Brady (Ross Lynch) for life, so we don’t particularly see how either one of them would move on from their relationship. In Teen Beach 2, Mack and Brady don’t prioritize each other, causing a rift in their relationship. While the couple only breaks up long enough to give us the most underrated DCOM ballad, Lynch’s “On My Own,” we believe that the characters may be a little too different to stay content with each other for the long run. Do they get married? Probably. Should they? Probably not.
4. Olivia & Wen, Lemonade Mouth
Status: Second Chance Romance
If you’ve seen the chemistry between Lemonade Mouth’s lead singer Olivia (Bridgit Mendler) and pianist/rapper Wen (Adam Hicks), you’ll agree that they are definitely “More Than a Band.” Our theory is that Lemonade Mouth (and the couple) stay together throughout high school, but everyone goes their separate ways for college. If you were to ask Wen, he would definitely say Olivia is the one that got away. When fans finally convince Lemonade Mouth to reunite, Olivia and Wen rekindle their relationship, and this time they’re in it for the long haul. Disney, please consider this our formal request for Lemonade Mouth 2.
3. Mary and Izzy, Jump In!
Status: Together Forever
It’s about time more recognize that Jump In! is one of the most underrated DCOM love stories. Mary (Keke Palmer) has a secret crush on her neighbor Izzy (Corbin Bleu), so she jumps at the chance to ask him to sub for a member of her double-dutch team. Mary and Izzy have a history, growing up next door to one another, and many viewers think the movie hints at them having a previous romantic history. With chemistry like Palmer and Bleu’s, we think Mary and Izzy have a solid chance of staying together. Otherwise, the whole neighbor thing would get really awkward pretty fast.
2. Mal & Ben, Descendants
Status: Proven True Love
While their relationship may have begun as a farce, Mal (Dove Cameron) and Ben (Mitchell Hope) are the only DCOM couple where we can prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are each other’s true love. In Descendants 2, this is confirmed when Mal saves Ben with True Love’s Kiss, and in Descendants: The Royal Wedding, we even see them get married. No speculation here; we can confirm that Mal and Ben are endgame.
1. Troy & Gabriella, High School Musical
Status: Made For Each Other
We don’t need True Love’s Kiss to prove that Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) deserve the top spot on our list. Troy and Gabriella find themselves as they fall in love with each other, growing their passions from just basketball or academics to singing together. Even though miscommunication and growing pains in High School Musical 2 cause them to temporarily split, a flaw we found discounted other couples, Troy and Gabriella are incredibly mature about their differences and grow stronger because of them. When it comes to Disney Channel Original Movies, it’s clear that Troy and Gabriella are the couple to beat.
