17 TV Couples We Think Broke Up After Their Shows Ended
There are some endgame TV couples that we can’t imagine would’ve stayed together in the long run. Whether they’re toxic for each other, they’ve broken up too many times before, or their lifestyles simply aren’t compatible, when we imagine certain characters’ off-screen future, they’ve broken up with the significant other that they technically ended up with.
In some cases — including Never Have I Ever‘s Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and Ben (Jaren Lewison) — we reluctantly think a TV couple has broken up since their show ended. We actually loved them together, but we just have to be realistic that they wouldn’t work at a different point in their lives.
In addition to couples that left things on a rocky note (Tell Me Lies is a prime example), we’ve also included characters that got a perfectly happy ending, Gossip Girl‘s Dan (Penn Badgley) and Serena (Blake Lively) among them. They may have been happy in the final episode, but these couples had future breakups on the horizon.
Keep reading for all 17 couples we imagine wouldn’t stick it out together. When you get to the end, let us know your takes in the comments section.
Devi & Ben, Never Have I Ever
I truly hate saying it, but I can’t imagine people as ambitious as Devi and Ben maintaining their relationship throughout all of college. I know we see Devi and Ben happy and cuddling together in Devi’s Princeton dorm room, but the narrator literally says that they’re together “for now.” Maybe I’m a pessimist — or a realist — but I think they grow apart before graduation. Let it be known that just because I don’t think they last doesn’t mean Devi and Ben’s enemies-to-lovers arc isn’t one for the ages. — Morgan Pryor
Ross & Rachel, Friends
Let’s be honest: It doesn’t matter that Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) say “no more messing up” and that they are “done being stupid” when they get back together in the series finale. There’s no way those two don’t split up and get back together at least one more time within their first year as a couple again. It just feels like it’s only a matter of time before something from their past comes between them again …and they end up on another “break.” With how long it takes them to get to where they are in the finale, there’s still a long way to go with these two. After all, she was going to move to Paris and gave up a pretty sweet job to stay with him. That alone could easily be a source of conflict. If you told us that, if we checked in with them now, 22 years after the finale, and they were just happily co-parenting, we’d believe it. —Meredith Jacobs
Shiv & Tom, Succession
It was never really a love story for Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) in Succession, and it certainly isn’t by the end of the series, as Tom takes the top job at Waystar-Royco, foisting Shiv and her brothers from power. Even if they have a baby on the way, I suspect these two will have a truly epic (and expensive) divorce down the line, with more friction to follow within the media company as a result. — Amanda Bell
Lane & Zack, Gilmore Girls
Lane (Keiko Agena) and Zack (Todd Lowe) were always an unlikely duo, and while that is often endearing, these two just never seemed meant to be. Adam Brody played Lane’s original love interest, Dave, and they were a much better fit. When he left the show, the coupling of Lane and Zack simply seemed too forced, and fans were never able to get over it. — Alyssa Norwin
Meadow & Patrick, The Sopranos
Patrick Parisi’s (Daniel Sauli) father is probably responsible for the death of Meadow’s (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) father in some way or another. Patsy (Dan Grimaldi) held a grudge against Tony (James Gandolfini) all series over the murder of his twin, Spoons. Plus, it seemed Patrick’s brother was in some kind of trouble that would’ve made him Tony’s target, and things were going to pot with the family all around by the end. So, I don’t see these two lasting very long after the fade-to-black finish of the series. Even if Meadow did follow in her mother’s footsteps and marry into this thing with Patrick, she’s too smart not to figure it out eventually. — Amanda Bell
Talk about impulsive. Sometimes people have a drunken Vegas wedding, fall in love for real, get married again, and it works out, but not in my Degrassi world. That’s not and never will be Emma Nelson (Miriam McDonald). Opposites attract, sure, but Emma and Spinner (Shane Kippel) have nothing in common, and they’re still hung up on other people. Emma is still carrying a torch for Sean (Daniel Clark) and always will until they get another shot, and Spinner’s relationship with Jane (Paula Brancati) just doesn’t feel over. In my mind, Spinner and Emma get divorced after six months, once she realizes he hasn’t been recycling. — Avery Thompson
The Riverdale Quad
I wish Riverdale could have gone on for one more season just to see how spectacularly this polyamorous quad between Archie (KJ Apa), Veronica (Camila Mendes), Betty (Lili Reinhart), and Jughead (Cole Sprouse) would have exploded.
Okay, so Archie is definitely the one who would have been content his whole life with this quad, but the rest of them? Jealousy will be passed around like Jingle Jangle. Can you imagine Jughead’s reaction to seeing Archie and Betty kiss again? Jughead will BUG out. — Avery Thompson
David & Patrick, Schitt's Creek
Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know it hurts to think of this, but as heartwarming and beautiful as David (Dan Levy) and Patrick (Noah Reid) are in Schitt’s Creek, let’s be honest: They’ve still totally set themselves up for eventual failure. Chances are, David will someday resent Patrick for keeping him rooted in the titular podunk town while his parents and sister flit off to live the kind of lifestyle he’d long been accustomed to. Plus, there’s the fact that Patrick has never experienced a relationship with another man, which is bound to give him questions in the long run (especially since David spent their wedding day getting serviced by someone else, ahem). And they work together, which is often a recipe for disaster for even the strongest of couples. Put simply, the way the series ended, I don’t feel completely confident in the longevity of this romance, as adorable as it was. — Amanda Bell
Roger & Marie, Mad Men
When Mad Men ends, Roger (John Slattery) and Marie (Julia Ormond) are good for each other. They’re both at similar points in their lives and ready for a fresh start. They match each other’s freak. But do I see them keeping this exact version of their relationship up forever? No, I do not. Once they get well into the 1970s, these two are definitely going to break up, get back together, break up, and then decide to have an open relationship. — Avery Thompson
Aria & Ezra, Pretty Little Liars
Considering Pretty Little Liars never should have had a teacher/student relationship to begin with, Aria (Lucy Hale) and Ezra (Ian Harding) are definitely not a match made in heaven. — Alyssa Norwin
Stephen & Lydia, Tell Me Lies
Let’s be real … Stephen DiMarco (Jackson White) will never last in a relationship with anyone. The only reason he probably even got together with Lydia (Natalee Linez) to begin with was to mess with Lucy’s (Grace Van Patten) head, and even though he went as far as proposing, their relationship was anything but stable.
We know he cheats on Lydia with Lucy during the weekend of Bree (Catherine Missal) and Evan’s (Branden Cook) wedding, and that’s likely not the first time he’s been unfaithful. She’ll learn … even if it’s the hard way. — Alyssa Norwin
Ted & Robin, How I Met Your Mother
Sorry, kids, there is no way Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) and Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) could make it work on or after How I Met Your Mother. While Ted may finally be in a place to make yet another grand gesture to Robin, years after — Spoiler Alert! — his wife, Tracy (Cristin Milioti) passed away, we never get to see Robin’s perspective on the whole situation. Robin has always been career focused, and honestly, if she couldn’t make it work with Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), who matches that energy, why would a committed relationship with Ted be any better? What makes now any different from all the other times that Ted has tried and failed to give his blue french horn to Robin? — Rebecca Perlmutter
Haley & Dylan, Modern Family
Modern Family missed the mark on this one big time. Haley (Sarah Hyland) deserved so much better than Dylan (Reid Ewing), and everyone knows it. Fans have been adamant that Haley was much better suited to be with Andy (Adam DeVine), and we’re sure the entire family would agree that there are better matches for Haley out there, even if Andy is no longer in the picture. Haley, if you’re still on line for your happily ever after, STAY ON LINE! —Rebecca Perlmutter
Cory & Topanga, Boy Meets World
How many couples who fall in love in high school and eventually get married actually stay together? Not that many…
Cory (Ben Savage) and Topanga (Danielle Fishel) never experience any life apart from each other. They needed those individual journeys, especially Topanga. She gives up Yale for him! And what’s worse is that Cory let her. If he truly loved her, he would have whined a bit and then made a plan to make it work. Once the kids are out of the house, Topanga totally asks Cory for a divorce. — Avery Thompson
Seth & Summer, The O.C.
Opposites might attract, but it doesn’t mean they stay together. With Seth (Adam Brody) and Summer (Rachel Bilson), the two are still leagues apart in terms of interests and attitudes. Their young-love passion might’ve been enough to overcome their differences and get them to the wedding aisle by the end of the series, but once the lavender haze fades and the realities of adulthood set in, what are they really left with together? – Amanda Bell
Dan & Serena, Gossip Girl
Dan and Serena are the epitome of a doomed endgame couple. They shouldn’t even be endgame. Dan’s true love is Blair (Leighton Meester), and Serena’s is Nate (Chace Crawford). Facts are facts.
Dan falls for an idealized version of Serena that never existed, and Serena loves Dan, yes, but she’s too oblivious to see that he settled with her. (Seriously, what he writes about her in his book? YIKES.) They’re both bad for each other, plain and simple. They likely stayed married for a decade or so, only to have a nasty and very public split where Serena goes on a paparazzi-filled trip to Ibiza with Carter Baizen, and Dan writes a scathing novel about their marriage. — Avery Thompson
Tyra & Tim,
Tyra, you are supposed to get out of Dillon, Texas! Tyra Collette (Adrianne Palicki) and Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) are dating in the Friday Night Lights pilot and broken up by Episode 3. In the finale, the two seemingly wind up together. “I’ve been in love with you since I was five years old,” she tells Tim. Tyra, please go finish college and live your dreams, I beg you. Tim replies, “Maybe one day our dreams can merge together.” I’m not so sure.
I love Tim Riggins, of course. He’s sweet, handsome, and funny. He’s just not right for Tyra. Plus, Tim will always be hung up on Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly). — Leah Williams
