If you were a TV fan in the ‘90s, then you undoubtedly not only had a favorite show, but also a favorite couple on that show — the One True Pairing that you rooted for no matter what. While there are certainly some examples of TV shows where couples started out together and remained a beacon of a great relationship throughout the series (like Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, for example), what really got your heart a-hammering for your OTP was if they were on-again off-again or otherwise full of capital D Drama. Everybody loves some drama.
We’d argue that the first couple you ever rooted for as an OTP if you grew up in the ‘90s is included in the list below, but if we’re wrong, feel free to let us know in the comments!
Zack and Kelly - Saved by the Bell (1989-1992)
From the very beginning of Saved by the Bell, our kinda horrible hero Zack Morris was pining after the perky and popular Kelly Kapowski. And, if you remember, he wasn’t the only one — Slater was also into Kelly when the show first started. But it quickly became clear that Zack and Kelly had that certain something, and when they finally got together, all of our dreams came true. Until, at least, Kelly went and broke up with Zack for that jerk Jeff. How dare you break up our OTP, Jeff! Ugh! The saga of Zack and Kelly was not over, though, as they eventually reunited in The College Years and got married in a TV special.
Want more Saved by the Bell? Check out our article: The Most Awesome-est Episodes of Saved by the Bell
Ross and Rachel - Friends (1994-2004)
Look, you may argue that, in the end, Chandler and Monica became the much more likable couple on Friends, but Ross and Rachel are the true OG OTP on that show and you can’t say otherwise. Ross pined after Rachel for so long, and when she finally realized she liked him too, well he’d gone and gotten a girlfriend. That set the bar for their relationship throughout the entire series, from on-again to off-again and back again. Were they actually well suited for each other? That’s debatable, but they certainly provided the drama, and some of the best episodes of the show revolve around their relationship.
Buffy and Angel - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
Can you get any more star-crossed than a vampire slayer who falls in love with a vampire? Now, some of you may be bigger fans of Buffy and Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but if you watched the show from the beginning, there’s no way you weren’t rooting for Buffy and Angel. Their relationship was truly heartbreaking. I mean, if you haven’t seen season two of the show and the epic storyline revolving around Buffy and Angel, you’re truly missing out — it’s one of the best seasons of TV out there. Though Buffy moved on and had relationships with others, including Spike, her heart always really belonged to Angel.
Kevin and Winnie - The Wonder Years (1988-1993)
Now if your style was more along the sweet lines than the overly dramatic, then your first OTP might have been Kevin and Winnie in The Wonder Years. The show was about that time in life where you’re in between being a kid and being an adult, and that’s often when crushes and first kisses and all of that come in. So, it was no wonder (ha ha) that the heart of the series was often centered around Kevin and Winnie and their on-again, off-again relationship. Though in many sitcoms, the show will opt to have their OTP end up together, in true-to-form realness, The Wonder Years did not end with Kevin and Winnie together, giving it that rare bittersweet feeling that makes you a little happy and a little sad at the same time.
Cory and Topanga - Boy Meets World (1993-2000)
A spiritual descendant of The Wonder Years, Boy Meets World featured its own One True Pairing to rival all others with Cory and Topanga. These two also met in elementary school, and while Cory thought Topanga was a little weird at first, they eventually realized their mutual feelings for one another. Things weren’t rosy all the time for them, though, as Cory began to doubt their relationship and actually kinda cheated on Topanga at that damn ski lodge. They broke up for a time, but eventually repaired things and went on to get married. The show did a rare thing and actually showed what it was like to be a very young married couple rather than just ending with their wedding, which was a nice change of pace.
Dylan and Brenda - Beverly Hills 90210 (1990-2000)
Now look, you might have been more of a Dylan and Kelly fan, but if you were watching Beverly Hills 90210 from the beginning, it would be hard not to root for Dylan and Brenda to get together. They had a whirlwind romance full of passion and seemed to really get each other, and honestly Brenda was just a much more interesting character than Kelly, despite being on the show for way less time. Dylan and Brenda got together and broke up many times throughout the series’ run, many times offscreen, and in the end called it quits for good.
Angela and Jordan - My So-Called Life (1994-1995)
If some real teenage angst was more your style in the ‘90s, then you probably were super into the saga of Angela and Jordan on My So-Called Life. Angela was very into Jordan in the beginning, and he seemed pretty indifferent to her at first, but eventually started to realize he had feelings for her as well. It was definitely a rocky relationship in the short-lived life of the show, but despite Angela’s friend Brian seeming like the better choice for her, everyone was rooting for the dreamy blue-eyed Jordan Catalano.
Pacey and Joey - Dawson’s Creek (1998-2003)
In the beginning of Dawson’s Creek, Joey and Pacey are anything but romantic toward one another — in fact, they are quite antagonistic toward each other. Of course, we all know that such intense feelings often mean there’s more beneath the surface, and eventually they began to fall for one another after Joey got over Dawson. It certainly felt like in the beginning of the show that Dawson and Joey were going to be the endgame couple, but it soon became clear that Pacey and Joey had way more chemistry.
Mulder and Scully - The X-Files (1993-2002)
Though some people were really against any romantic relationship between Mulder and Scully on The X-Files, the rest of us were secretly hoping they might develop feelings for each other. The biggest slow-burn on this list, it took many, many years before our erstwhile agents let themselves succumb to their feelings for one another. The believer and the skeptic eventually ended up having a child together, breaking up, and getting back together in the reboot season many years later.
Doug and Carol - ER (1994-2009)
If you were more into medical shows in the ‘90s, then your OTP probably came in the form of Doug Ross and Carol Hathaway on ER. Apart, both Nurse Hathaway and Dr. Ross were something of a mess, but together, their messiness melded in just the right way. And George Clooney was like yeah duh — he agreed to come back to the show for an episode on the final season to show how the two of them were meant to be together.
Well? Did we get it right? Was your first One True Pairing on our list? Let us know in the comments!
- Kevin and Winnie’s first kiss on The Wonder Years was also the real-life first kiss for both Fred Savage and Danica McKellar. McKellar has said that they both had a mutual crush on each other at the time, and that the anticipation for the kiss was huge.
- Though you may think that Shannen Doherty herself chose to leave Beverly Hills 90210 at the end of season three, in fact she was written out of the show at the request of producers. Why? Apparently there was some backstage drama between her and Jennie Garth, and Tori Spelling pushed her father, Aaron Spelling, who was a producer on the show, to get Doherty removed.
- Though what would become the series finale of My So-Called Life ended on a cliffhanger of whether Angela had chosen Jordan or Brian, it was later revealed by producers that she would’ve chosen Jordan, and that would have started a long-standing relationship between the two.
- Carol Hathaway was supposed to die in the pilot episode of ER after her suicide attempt, but her character tested so well with audiences that she was kept on.
- If you want to see where these characters wound up later on, many of these couples ended up on reboots or spinoffs of their original series, including Zack and Kelly on the new Saved by the Bell, Cory and Topanga on Girl Meets World, Mulder and Scully in a new season of The X-Files in 2018, and some further developments in the Brenda/Dylan/Kelly love triangle were revealed in the 2008-2013 CW show 90210.
- Kevin and Winnie’s first kiss on The Wonder Years was also the real-life first kiss for both Fred Savage and Danica McKellar. McKellar has said that they both had a mutual crush on each other at the time, and that the anticipation for the kiss was huge.
- Though you may think that Shannen Doherty herself chose to leave Beverly Hills 90210 at the end of season three, in fact she was written out of the show at the request of producers. Why? Apparently there was some backstage drama between her and Jennie Garth, and Tori Spelling pushed her father, Aaron Spelling, who was a producer on the show, to get Doherty removed.
- Though what would become the series finale of My So-Called Life ended on a cliffhanger of whether Angela had chosen Jordan or Brian, it was later revealed by producers that she would’ve chosen Jordan, and that would have started a long-standing relationship between the two.
- Carol Hathaway was supposed to die in the pilot episode of ER after her suicide attempt, but her character tested so well with audiences that she was kept on.
- If you want to see where these characters wound up later on, many of these couples ended up on reboots or spinoffs of their original series, including Zack and Kelly on the new Saved by the Bell, Cory and Topanga on Girl Meets World, Mulder and Scully in a new season of The X-Files in 2018, and some further developments in the Brenda/Dylan/Kelly love triangle were revealed in the 2008-2013 CW show 90210.
