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The Vampire Diaries: Popular Couples Ranked

Katherine G

March 10, 2017

The CW

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The Vampire Diaries has become one of the most watched shows on The CW network. The series first aired back in 2009 and has now won numerous awards, nominations, and even earned a spin-off series. Sadly, it came to an end after the series finale on March 10, 2017. The Vampire Diaries enjoyed eight successful seasons and surprisingly managed to thrive even after lead actress Nina Dobrev left the show. Because the show was so fast moving, fans saw a lot of characters come and go, and plenty of relationships — some good, some bad. Here’s a definitive ranking of the 12 most popular couples on the series from worst to best!

12. The Salvatore Brothers and Katherine Pierce

We’re pretty sure not a single fan would be surprised to see the love triangle between Damon, Stefan and Katherine Pierce land in the worst ranked spot on this list. The relationship started long before either Damon or Stefan became vampires; in fact, she’s the one who turned them both into vampires and pitted them against each other. She was no doubt one of the biggest villains in the entire series and had been manipulating both Stefan and Damon from day one when she started a romantic relationship with them both. She later claimed to have only loved Stefan and that she never loved Damon which makes her relationship with them even worse!

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11. Caroline Forbes and Alaric Saltzman

This relationship was extremely weird which is why it lands in one of the worst spots on this list. For the majority of the show, their relationship was completely platonic. In fact, they never even really had a close relationship at all with hardly any one-on-one moments together. He was her teacher and she was his student. But when Alaric’s former fiancee, Jo died and her unborn twins were transferred into Caroline’s womb, Alaric ended up falling for her. Caroline helped Alaric raise the twins and took on a motherly role to them. During a flash forward in season seven, they were engaged, but their relationship didn’t last long because Caroline was still in love with Stefan. She only maintained a relationship with Alaric for their twins.

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10. Stefan Salvatore and Rebekah Mikaelson

The relationship between Stefan and Rebekah happened a long time ago, but when she re-emerged in Mystic Falls it was clear she still had feelings for him. Unfortunately for her, he’d fallen in love with Elena, and Rebekah would soon realize he was willing to do anything to protect her. Their relationship lands as one of the worst because even though it is implied the two might have been in love a century prior, Rebekah turned out to be pretty evil. She had her moments when we felt sorry for her, but it was hard to sympathize with her for long. It was pretty clear these two only bonded over being vampires, but their personalities were far from similar. Her relationship with the kind-hearted Stefan would never have worked.

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9. Jeremy Gilbert and Bonnie Bennett

The relationship between Jeremy and Bonnie was off and on for a long time and was never really popular among fans. We thought it was weird Bonnie would start dating her best friend’s younger brother, especially when Elena was so close with Jeremy. It seemed like the universe didn’t like these two being together either because each time they made progress in their relationship, there would be another set back — it got really annoying! Plus, Jeremy was such a whiny character, Bonnie needed to be paired up with someone who was a little more interesting because sometimes their storylines fell flat. They were basically already broken up at the time, but the two ended their relationship for good after he saved her from the Prison World in season six.

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8. Stefan Salvatore and Valerie

This relationship originally came to be a long time ago, but it was first introduced in the series in season seven when they were reunited after being separated for decades. A long time ago, Stefan and Valerie were together and were even expecting a child together, but Lily Salvatore’s ex-boyfriend Julian caused Valerie to have a miscarriage. When she comes back into the picture in the present day, things between them are still complicated because now Stefan has feelings for Caroline. Eventually, Stefan and Caroline drift apart, which means Valerie and Stefan hook up again, but Valerie quickly realizes things between them will never be the same and he still has feelings for Caroline. Sometimes relationships from the past should just stay in the past.

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7. Caroline Forbes and Klaus Mikaelson

Caroline fought long and hard to resist Klaus, but in the end, he won her over. Although many people didn’t like Klaus, he showed a much softer and empathetic side around Caroline. This proved he was capable of love and that he actually cared about her. Klaus wanted to be with her so badly that he once told her he wanted to be her last love and that he would wait for her no matter how long that might take. She eventually gave into her feelings for him and afterward he told her to come find him in the future when she’s ready, which she later tried to do in season seven.

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6. Bonnie Bennett and Enzo

Bonnie Bennett and Enzo were another weird couple to emerge from season seven. Their relationship started out really rocky as Enzo threatened her then-boyfriend Jeremy to force her to help him find Wes. Later in the season, he haunted her from the other side when he died, but also worked with her to help find a way to bring himself and her friends back from the dead. In season seven, viewers were shocked to see Bonnie and Enzo kissing in a flash forward because it seemed to come out of nowhere. It turns out, Enzo and Bonnie developed a relationship while hiding from the Armory in a cabin. It might seem strange to put these two mid-way through the list because Enzo doesn’t have the greatest reputation, but we must admit these two were a pretty steamy couple! It was nice to see Bonnie with someone who has a little more spunk than mopey Jeremy.

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5. Stefan Salvatore and Caroline Forbes

The relationship between Stefan and Caroline took a long time to get going because it evolved out of a longstanding friendship. Throughout their time as friends, Stefan was always very protective of Caroline, almost like an older brother. Even though we never thought they had much chemistry, these two were the perfect pair on paper. They were both compassionate, and good people who encouraged one another to do the right thing. It was nice to see them both find love with each other after their relationships with Elena and Tyler. Similar to many other couples on this show, Stefan and Caroline had a lot of hiccups along the way, but it seems they were destined to be together as they eventually ended up engaged and then married.

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4. Alaric and Jo

Alaric and Jo enjoyed a whirlwind romance and they were actually really cute together! When he first met Jo in season six, she was a “retired” witch who was working as a doctor. Soon they got entangled in a whole crazy storyline involving the Gemini Coven and her evil twin brother, Kai. Not too long into their relationship, Alaric and Jo found out they were expecting and planned to get married, but before they had a chance to exchange vows, Kai showed up and killed Jo and the babies. Luckily, the babies were saved and expelled into Caroline’s womb, but Alaric spent a great deal of time mourning Jo’s death. We’re pretty sure if she hadn’t died, these two would have been together for the long haul.

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3. Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood

Yet another couple who started as enemies, Tyler Lockwood and Caroline Forbes might have been an odd couple at first considering they never liked each other all that much in the beginning, but once they got together we couldn’t picture them apart! Things between the two didn’t last long, but they had a ton of chemistry that could never again be replicated with any of their following relationships. Their love blossomed after Caroline helped Tyler in his early days of being a werewolf, but when Klaus started to get close to her it tore them apart. Their relationship was beyond repair when Caroline slept with Klaus, but we secretly hoped they’d one day work it out.

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2. Stefan Salvatore and Elena Gilbert

When Elena and Damon finally got together it became clear those two had a lot more chemistry, but that didn’t stop a lot of people from really holding onto the relationship between Stefan and Elena. It might seem like forever ago now, but these two did share a pretty hot and heavy relationship for the first few seasons. She was the reason he held onto his humanity, even after being kidnapped by Silas. We felt so bad for Stefan when Elena started having feelings for Damon and even chose him after the sire bond was broken. The fact that he gave his blessing for them to be together and remained friends with her afterward truly showed how much he loved her. Their relationship will always be adored by fans of The Vampire Diaries!

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1. Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert

It took several seasons for this relationship to blossom, but it was well worth the wait. At first, it was hard for some fans to get on board with their relationship because we were led to believe Stefan and Elena were soul mates and promoted as the main couple on the show. It felt like a betrayal when she went from one brother to the next, but once we saw these two together after such a long build up — our minds changed. The Vampire Diaries went from being all about Elena and Stefan to the Elena and Damon show. Their chemistry was undeniable (probably because for a period of time, these two were dating off camera) and it was clear he needed her much more than Stefan needed her. She made the notoriously evil Damon a better man and their romance quickly became one of the reasons the show was so successful.

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Katherine G

Katherine is the Managing Editor for Health and Parenting, but she has a soft spot for entertainment. She loves binging shows on Netflix, reality TV is a guilty pleasure, and country music is her go-to playlist. When she's not writing, she's spending time outdoors, especially with her puppy Zoey!