TV Romance
Storybrooke Romance! 9 ‘Once Upon a Time’ Couples, Ranked
The Land Without Magic has not been the same since Once Upon a Time — and all the fairytale romances that came with it — debuted on ABC back in 2011.
ABC’s Once Upon a Time revitalized fairytales, reimagining an enchanted forest where the Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) sent every beloved storybook character to the most miserable place in existence: our world. From breathing new life into fairy tale couples to pulling characters from different stories to create unexpected couples, Once Upon a Time proved time and time again that not every happily ever after is as cut and dry as bedtime stories lead us to believe.
While the Evil Queen and Robin Hood, and Sleeping Beauty and Mulan’s love stories may not have been the fairy tale romances we expected, Once Upon a Time proved that they are the fairy tale romances we deserved. Below, you can find Swooon‘s definitive list of the top couples from Once Upon a Time!
Comment below with your favorite Once Upon a Time couple and why they’re the one to beat!
9. Henry & Jacinda
Call me Keke Palmer, because if I saw adult Henry Mills (Andrew J. West) on the street, I would have to say “sorry to this man,” knowing full well that I have no idea who he is.
As a Gen Z kid, I grew up alongside Henry Mills (Jared Gilmore), idolizing him in all of his Operation Cobra glory. As soon as the Season 7 time jump happened, Henry’s character got lost in the sauce (to say it lightly). Watching the truest believer grow up to be the author of his favorite storybook was one thing, but watching him end up with the show’s second take on Cinderella, Jacinda Vidrio (Dania Ramirez), felt like a slap in the face.
8. Rumpelstiltskin & Belle
Growing up is realizing that Once Upon a Time‘s signature age-gap romance, affectionately referred to by fans as Rumbelle, was absolutely not the vibe you once thought it was. From her original imprisonment to her cursed memory (who could forget Lacey?), Belle’s “Tale as Old as Time” could have used a bit more of a modern update than it was given.
There was a time when I thought that Rumpelstiltskin’s Beauty and the Beast romance arc was the epitome of romance. However, no matter how much chemistry Robert Carlyle and Emilie de Ravin had (and trust me, they had a lot), I could not confidently put them any higher on this list than second to last.
7. Mary Margaret & David
Don’t get me wrong, I have adored Mary Margaret and David’s romance from the minute the cursed prince bought both Mary Margaret and his “wife,” Kathryn, cards for Valentine’s Day (messy move, my dude). Learning that Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas got married after falling in love while filming the pilot is simply the icing on the cake.
That being said, no matter how creative the writers got with their storyline, it will always exist within the confines of Snow White, while other Once Upon a Time love stories were completely original. For better or worse, holding true to their promise, “I will always find you,” this couple found themselves in the lower half of this ranking.
6. Regina & Daniel
If I were a repressed storybook character who ran into a hot stable boy, I would probably fall in love with him, too. However, one thing I wouldn’t do is spend the majority of my life attempting to exact revenge on the misguided pre-teen whose good intentions got him killed.
Once Upon a Time featured some flawless one-episode love stories, especially that of Regina (Parrilla) and Daniel (Noah Bean), whose tragic end was the reason behind the Evil Queen’s… evilness. Even though their relationship saw little screen time, every Once Upon a Time fan could agree that Regina and her stable boy’s love was one for the ages.
5. Emma & Neal
Emma Swan’s love life made me the truest believer, at least when it comes to the belief that everyone has more than one soulmate. For the savior herself, one of those soulmates has to be Rumpelstiltskin’s son Baelfire, whom she met as Neal Cassidy (Michael Raymond-James), long before she landed in Storybrooke.
If Neal and Emma’s story were any fairy tale, it would be Bonnie and Clyde, as the con artist couple met while she was trying to steal a car that he had stolen from someone else. Of course, Neal and Emma are the couple that gave us Henry, and the episode “Tallahassee” literally changed lives, but we all know that Emma’s happily ever after belongs in the hands (well, hand) of another.
4. Aurora & Mulan
Trust me, if Aurora (Sarah Bolger) and Mulan (Jamie Chung) ended up together, they would be at the top of this list. At the time, Mulan’s confession to Aurora felt like a love letter to Once Upon a Time fans, nearly giving Disney’s most queer-coded princess and their most patriarchally stifled princess the romance they both deserved.
Today, the duo just seems like a missed opportunity. Still, I’ll always be a sucker for unrequited love, which Mulan’s story certainly gave Once Upon a Time viewers in spades. For that reason, they rank just below the top three.
3. Anastasia & Will
Okay, you caught me! Technically, Will, a.k.a. the Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha) and Anastasia, a.k.a. the Queen of Hearts (Emma Rigby) were featured in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. Another couple caught up in cons, Will and Anastasia, traveled from the enchanted forest to Wonderland, looking to start a new life. However, once they got there, Anastasia completely turned on Will.
From the twist revealing the characters were once in love to their swoonworthy second chance, Will and Anastasia’s romance was not quickly forgotten, unlike the rest of Once Upon a Time‘s ill-fated spinoff series.
2. Emma & Killian
I would like to be the first to thank Once Upon a Time for giving Captain Hook the hottest enemies-to-lovers romance in the entire realm.
It’s common knowledge that Colin O’Donoghue was only supposed to appear in a few episodes of Once Upon a Time. However, the second his character crossed paths with Emma (Jennifer Morrison), everyone knew that Killian Jones was here to stay. And thank goodness for that because the iconic Once Upon a Time musical episode would have been nothing without the Captain’s revenge-filled rock shanty.
1. Regina & Robin
If you’re wondering how wild a Once Upon a Time romance can get, look no further than Regina and Robin Hood (Sean Maguire), who began dating under the assumption that his wife, Marian (Christie Laing), was dead. In a cruel turn of fate, Regina’s sister Zelena (Rebecca Mader) took the form of Marian, causing Robin to leave town with the woman he believed to be his wife. In an even crueler turn of fate, Robin and Marian/Zelena quickly got pregnant.
Regina and Robin were eventually reunited. Their love story ended up not only being Once Upon a Time‘s best, but also their most tragic. From the murder of Daniel to the murder of Robin, Regina could never seem to catch a break in the romance department.
