Not all fairytales end with romance. The huntsman doesn't wake granny up with a kiss in the end of Red Riding Hood, nor does the wolf marry any of the three little piggies. Still, over the course of many centuries, we have come to remember fairytales more for their romantic aspects than for anything else. From Sleeping Beauty being awoken from her long slumber by her true love’s kiss to Cinderella finding her one and only at a royal ball when all she wanted was a free night to party, these tales as old as time renew themselves over and over again, presenting us with ideal happily ever afters that make our hearts beat faster.
It is no wonder, then, that a show like Once Upon a Time relied so heavily on romance. From 2011 to 2018, the ABC series had the task of breathing new life into fairytales, ancient myths, and children’s stories that live in our collective hearts and minds. Set in a small town inhabited by cursed fairy tale characters like Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle), Once Upon a Time had many of its main plots revolving around love stories both well-known and entirely new. It wasn’t rare for show runners Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis to put the old storybooks aside and create new and improved pairings that not even the Brothers Grimm could see coming. After all, who would’ve known that Oz’s own Dorothy Gale (Teri Reeves) and Red Riding Hood (Meghan Ory) could have such chemistry? To honor all the wonderful fairytale romances Once Upon a Time has given us, here’s a list of the show’s ten best couples, ranked from adorable to properly breathtaking.
10. Henry and Violet
There is nothing particularly fairytale-like about first love, and, yet, there’s no denying the magic of feeling your heart beat faster for someone else for the very first time. Henry (Jared Gilmore) and Violet’s (Olivia Steele Falconer) romance is as awkward as it gets, complete with Henry's moms watching the kids’ first kiss. It is also one of Once Upon a Time’s most adorable and heartwarming stories. Watching Henry guide Violet through the basics of the Land Without Magic, teaching her all about movies and jukeboxes, is nothing short of endearing, and Violet offers Henry some much-needed help growing up and becoming the hero he needs to become. Unfortunately, Henry and Violet’s love isn’t meant to last, but teenage love rarely is. Still, whatever fate had in store for them, at least they could move on happily knowing that their first shot at romance was filled with kindness and joy.
9. Henry and Cinderella
Henry and Cinderella (Dania Ramirez) are the central couple of Once Upon a Time Season 7’s soft reboot. All grown up and played by Andrew J. West, Henry sets off to find a story for himself and ends up crashing his motorcycle into Cinderella’s carriage in the Wish Realm. The two soon hit it off, but, unfortunately, there's a new curse on the way. Henry and Cinderella’s tale is an epic story of devotion and sacrifice to rival that of Snow White and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas), even if the details don’t always scream romance. Their meet-cute is a traffic accident turned bike theft, for crying out loud! What follows is a will-they-won’t-they for the ages as Henry and Cinderella’s daughter, Lucy (Alison Fernandez), sets off to restore her father’s faith in magic. Sure, Henry and Cinderella’s story might have been brief, but it was also unforgettable.
8. Emma and Neal
Much like her son, Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison) didn’t get her happily ever after with her first love. However, that doesn’t mean that she and Neal Cassidy (Michael-Raymon James) didn’t share a wonderful story. The couple lived a Bonnie and Clyde-like life minus the bullets back in their youth and were split up by Enchanted Forest shenanigans. Years later, they meet again. With his own backstory regarding magic and inter-realm traveling, Neal takes some time to find his way back to Emma’s good side, but the two eventually go back to seeing eye-to-eye. However, there are still secrets between them, and Captain Hook’s (Colin O’Donoghue) arrival only makes everything more complicated. With time, they become more like friends and allies than the lovers they once were. And, after Neal’s heroic sacrifice, it becomes clear that the two of them were never meant to be. Still, their lovers-to-enemies-to-friends story goes to show that true love never ends, it simply changes.
7. Dorothy and Ruby
Once Upon a Time is full of single episode love stories that are just as heartwarming or heartbreaking than season-long romances. There’s Grumpy (Lee Arenberg) and Nova (Acker), Regina (Lana Parrilla) and Daniel (Noah Bean), and, of course, the greatest of them all, Dorothy and Ruby. Storybrooke’s werewolf version of Red Riding Hood and the young woman from Kansas meet in the Season 5 episode “Ruby Slippers” while Ruby and Mulan (Jamie Chung) make their way across Oz. At first, Dorothy isn’t exactly charmed by her future girlfriend and even accuses her of being a witch. But, be it due to forced familiarity or Dorothy’s love of dogs, Ruby slowly begins to grow on her. When Zelena puts Dorothy under the sleeping curse, there is only one person that can wake her with a true love’s kiss. And, as soon as Dorothy is awake, she and Ruby waste no time before kissing passionately once again, drawing sighs from both the audience and the denizens of Oz.
6. Zelena and Hades
Once Upon a Time wants you to know that bad people have feelings, too. Against all odds, two of the show’s biggest villains, Zelena, the Wicked Witch (Rebecca Mader), and Hades, the King of the Underworld (Greg Germann) fall in love, and their romance is as delightful to watch as their wicked deeds. Zelena slowly learns to trust the man behind all that blue fire, and Hades' selflessness and devotion to his lover grows to a point in which he offers her the entire Underworld. Alas, Hades eventually shows his true colors by trying to take over Storybrooke. Faced with the choice between the man she loves and her family, Zelena saves Regina and turns against Hades. It’s a sad ending for two characters that forced sadness upon so many, but managed to find some joy in each other’s arms.
5. Robin and Alice
Zelena’s daughter with Robin Hood (Sean Maguire), Robin shares her first kiss with Alice just as the new curse is about to hit the Wish Realm, shipping all fairytale characters to the Seattle neighborhood of Hyperion Heights. But the two women cross paths once more in the Land Without Magic and fall in love all over again under the guises of Margot and Tilly. Their feelings for one another prompt them to become better people and find the courage they need to fight the evil that has taken over their lives. Robin and Alice were not the first LGBTQIA+ love story in Once Upon a Time, but they were first same-sex couple that had a whole season devoted to them. Their engagement was a fitting ending for a show that, in its first few seasons, was often accused of queerbaiting for shying away from developing fan favorite same-sex relationships like Aurora (Sarah Bolger) and Mulan.
4. Snow White and Prince Charming
Whether in their original Enchanted Forest forms or as Mary Margaret and David Nolan, Snow White and Prince Charming are the quintessential fairytale couple. From the legendary curse that threw Snow into a deep slumber to the loss of their only daughter to yet another curse that turned Charming into a comatose man in a magic-less world, their love does indeed conquer all. And the fact that, in Once Upon a Time, Snow White and Prince Charming’s story doesn’t end with a kiss only serves to make it even more believable and wondrous. Over the course of six seasons, Snow and Charming show us that true love is based in communication and mutual respect. It’s something that takes work and that should never be taken for granted. Together, Snow White and Prince Charming recover from their past traumas and find ways to live their lives to the fullest, forging a relationship with Emma, learning to be grandparents to Henry, and, finally, parenting baby Neal from scratch.
3. Regina and Robin Hood
Being the Evil Queen has its price. For Regina, it was the chance of living a true love story with the man she was destined to be with. But, sometimes, the people we lose have a way of coming back. Despite all the dark magic, the former flames, and the resentful sisters on their path, Robin Hood and Regina manage to share all the love they feel for one another, and their passion is of the utmost importance for how the show ends. After all, it is through her love for Robin that Regina learns what it means to be an actual good person. Sadly, their story doesn’t have a happy ending, with Robin getting killed by Hades in Season 5. They are reunited in a dream in Season 7, but it’s not the same. Still, at least Regina is able to get some closure.
2. Rumpelstiltskin and Belle
Mr. Gold is probably the shadiest man to have ever walked the streets of Storybrooke. Meanwhile, his Enchanted Forest counterpart, Rumpelstiltskin, is one of the front-runners in the race for most evil magic-wielder in the entire land. And it is precisely because of all these things that his love for the kindly bookworm princess Belle (Emilie de Ravin) is so captivating. If there’s one pure thing is Mr. Gold’s life, it’s what he feels for Belle, and the best thing is that she loves him back with the same intensity. But this doesn’t make their story any simpler. Giving into his feelings might mean the end of Rumpelstiltskin's magic, and the Dark One isn’t a man to choose his heart over power. Rumple (as Belle affectionately calls him) and Belle’s tale is one of tragedy, deceit, and tough choices, and it is incredibly satisfying to see these two finally get their happy ending after facing so many hardships. The only thing that keeps Rumpelstiltskin and Belle from being number one in this list is the poor treatment given by the show to de Ravin’s character. Throughout numerous seasons, it felt like the show runners didn’t know what to do with her apart from having her orbit Rumple. It’s a pity, because getting to know who Belle really is outside her relationship with Rumple would certainly make all of us love them both even more.
1. Emma Swan and Captain Hook
Killian Jones was an infamous pirate when he first met Emma Swan. And, make no mistake, his intentions towards her were far from being pure. But what began as mere treachery and distrust soon turned into unstoppable physical attraction and, then, love. Emma and Hook’s love story is the epitome of the enemies-to-lovers trope, not to mention a hell of a redemption arc. From the get-go, it is clear that they have nothing but the utmost respect for one another, albeit as nothing but worthy foes, and even when she thought Hook was a no-good piece of trash, Emma knew that there was something there - even if that something was just his open shirt and his raspy voice. Over the course of the show’s seven seasons, Emma and Hook overcame challenges ranging from dark curses to meeting the parents, and they came out the other side loving each other more than ever. Their happily ever after is truly the most well-deserved of the entire series.