Young Love
6 Disney Channel Couples That Should Have Been Endgame
Producing iconic love stories like High School Musical and Austin & Ally, it’s safe to say Disney Channel gave us some phenomenal couples throughout the years. While we’ll be the first to say that some of the best young love stories blossomed on Disney Channel, that doesn’t mean their iconic DCOMs and original series didn’t have their fair share of missed opportunities in the romance department.
For every Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), there’s an equally iconic Disney duo that didn’t make it to the finish line. From the queer couples that could have— nay, should have—been to the couples so perfect for each other that we honestly forgot they didn’t end up together, we’ve come to learn that not every Disney love story has a happy ending. But that doesn’t mean we can’t dream.
In the name of love, we’re heading back to our younger days, when rushing home after school to plopping in front of the TV to watch Disney Channel was the pinnacle of our existence. This time around, we’re giving seven not-couples, who just happen to have outstanding chemistry, their time in the sun.
Without any further ado, here are the Disney Channel couples that absolutely should have ended up together.
Disney fans, let us know if you see our vision in the comments below, and be sure to leave your Disney Channel romance hot takes below because it’s about time we let Disney know that this is what our dreams are made of.
Charlie & Mo, Lemonade Mouth
We don’t know about you, but we find it a little hard to believe that Mo (Naomi Scott) wrote a banger breakup song like “She’s So Gone,” only to get back together with the guy who inspired it. Watching back the beloved DCOM, it’s blatantly clear that Mo’s perfect match is Lemonade Mouth‘s adorkable drummer, Charlie (Blake Michael). From the silly little run Charlie does towards Mo when he sees that she’s sad to their dance during “More Than a Band,” it’s impossible to watch Lemonade Mouth without shipping Charlie and Mo. Sure, we respect that Mo kindly rejected Charlie when he finally did ask her out and know that it was important for Disney to teach kids how to deal with rejection, but that doesn’t change how badly Disney fumbled the ball with this couple. Then again, maybe it’s best Charlie and Mo didn’t end up together because Blake Michael was only 13-14 when filming the movie.
Harper & Justin, Wizards of Waverly Place
If you’ve read our Disney Channel couples ranking, you know how we feel about Justin (David Henrie) and his vampire girlfriend, Juliet (Bridgit Mendler). However, if we’re looking at Wizards of Waverly Place as a whole, it’s clear that Justin’s best relationship arc would have been with Alex’s best friend, Harper (Jennifer Stone). We love a best friend’s brother romance, and Harper’s longtime crush on Justin would have been the perfect setup for a phenomenal love story between Wizards’ most iconic nerds. Plus, Justin’s wife, Giada (Mimi Gianopulos), in the spinoff series looks so similar to Harper, it’s impossible not to notice the missed opportunity.
Ryan & Chad, High School Musical 2
You mean to tell me that Disney Channel’s most queer-coded character switched outfits with another guy and that isn’t supposed to suggest something? Doubtful, at best. High School Musical 2 tried to set up Ryan (Lucas Grabeel) as an alternative love interest for Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), but everyone who’s seen Ryan’s iconic duet with Chad (Corbin Bleu) knows that they have far more chemistry than Ryan and Gabriella. Honestly, Ryan and Chad could have had the best romance of the entire High School Musical series if Disney Channel had stepped up to bat for a LGBTQIA+ couple in 2007. Happy Pride Month, Ryan and Chad, we saw you then and, boy, do we see you now.
Alex & Stevie, Wizards of Waverly Place
Speaking of iconic queer couples that could have been, we couldn’t make a list of Disney Channel couples that should have been without including Alex (Selena Gomez) and Stevie (Hayley Kiyoko). No, we’re not just saying this because Kiyoko is a queer icon. From an image of Alex and Stevie alone, the duo emanated so much chemistry that it was natural to see them as a romantic pairing. Much like Justin and Juliet, we adored Alex’s romance with her werewolf boyfriend, Mason (Gregg Sulkin), but Alex’s romance with another rebellious wizard would have been unmatched.
Ricky & Nini, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
Okay, fine, you caught us. Technically High School Musical: The Musical: The Series is not a Disney Channel show, but if Disney+’s HSMTMTS isn’t the Disney Channel’s spiritual successor, we don’t know what is. No shade to all the Ricky (Joshua Bassett) and Gina (Sofia Wylie) fans out there, but Ricky and Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) should have been endgame. As OG fans, we’re endlessly proud of Rodrigo’s rapid rise to fame and have eaten up every scrap of info we could find about her and Bassett’s “drivers license” breakup. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t mourn the love story that their character’s Ricky and Nini deserved.
Linda & Doofenshmirtz, Phineas and Ferb
If there’s one thing we know about Lindana, it’s that she wants to have fun. Sure, teenage Heinz Doofenshmertz (Dan Povenmire) may not have been that fun during their first date, but we think he is loads of fun now. Now that Phineas and Ferb is back, we couldn’t help looking back at the iconic episode where Doof tells Perry that he used to date Lindana, a.k.a. Phineas’ mom, Linda (Caroline Rhea). If this ’80s couple got together, things would look a lot different in the tri-state area, and we don’t want to eliminate the marriage that brought Phineas and Ferb together. But, if Doof wanted to make an Alternate Universe-inator to give us the love story that could have been, we would definitely not object.
