Ricky and Lucy (Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball), I Love Lucy
Arguably the first super-couple of TV, the kooky Ricky and Lucy were all the more irresistible thanks to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's real-life marriage. The two, who even incorporated Ball's pregnancy into the show (Ball and her TV alter ego gave birth on the same day), brought the wackiness week in and week out with Lucy's screw-ups and Ricky's bilingual outbursts of exasperation. You don't have to 'splain it to us why you watched.
2 of 25 ABC Archive/Getty Images
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David and Maddie (Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd), Moonlighting
When former model Maddie Hayes meets David Addison, the schlub running her detective agency, sparks fly. In fact, they burn the whole damn house down with their sexual tension. They raise will-they-or-won't-they to an artform. And then unfortunately... they did it. The audience fled, the ratings plummeted, and it was forever written in the prime-time rule book that protagonists must never canoodle. Thanks a lot, Dave and Maddie! (We'll always have Blue Moon.)
3 of 25 Getty Images
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Ross and Rachel (David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston), Friends
Probably the most iconic TV couple in recent memory — who can forget their first kiss in Central Perk? — Ross and Rachel brought the laughs, tears, and delivered the infamous "we were on a break" line over a 10-year span. They dated other people, he married someone else (and accidentally said Rachel's name in his vows), they drunkenly married each other before getting an annulment… and then they had a baby. Only after that did they finally get together once and for all. As our friend Phoebe Buffay would say: "He's her lobster."
4 of 25 CBs Archive/Landov
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George and Louise (Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford) in The Jeffersons
The posturing bantam rooster was yet another husband whose spouse lovingly tolerated his antics and blather. Still, the love between the dry-cleaning entrepreneur and his "Weezie" was unmistakable as they shared their "deluxe apartment in the sky." The most successful spin-off of All in the Family, the show was the longest-running series with a predominantly black cast in U.S. TV history.
5 of 25 Bill Records/NBC
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Eric and Tami (Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton) in Friday Night Lights
No amount of drama in Dillon, Texas can split up this powerhouse couple. Whether they're dealing with their adolescent daughter Julie or being fired from a job, Eric and Tami always have each other’s backs in the most adorably loving way possible.
6 of 25 ABC/Kobal Collection
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Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt), Mad About You
In the 1990s, these newlyweds charmed viewers with how they coped with travails big and small, within their relationship and with everyone around them. Unlike many TV couples, they broke up – but reunited happily. Hunt won four consecutive Emmys as best actress in a comedy.
7 of 25 Darren Star Productions/Kobal Collection
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Carrie and Mr. Big (Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth), Sex and the City
Carrie and Big's on-again, off-again romance — chockfull of affairs, cold feet and stolen kisses — gave every Sex and the City fan headaches and heartbreak through the years. But was there ever any doubt that they were "abso-f------lutely" meant to be together?
8 of 25 ABC/Koball Collection
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Luke and Laura (Anthony Geary and Genie Francis), General Hospital
The best-known supercouple in the history of daytime soaps. Like most couples, they overcame plenty of obstacles — including the fact that a drunken Luke actually raped Laura. Still, this General Hospitial duo was destined for love. They dominated the '80s, and their wedding drew 30 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode in American soap opera history.
9 of 25 ABC Archive/Getty Images
Dan and Roseanne (John Goodman and Roseanne Barr), Roseanne
This blue-collar couple (and family) broke all the rules in television when they showed their marriage was not perfect. But through it all, Roseanne and Dan stuck together and never let any problem, big or small, tear them apart.
10 of 25 CBS Archive/Landov
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Ralph and Alice (Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows), The Honeymooners
The blustery bus driver would threaten to send his wife "to the moon" with his fist, but of course he never meant it. And he always realized the error of his get-rich-quick ways — finally hugging and kissing his patient, though sometimes acerbic, wife and telling her, "Baby, you're the greatest."
11 of 25 CBS Archive/Landov
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Cliff and Clair (Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad) , The Cosby Show
At first glance, Cliff and Clair may seem so boring in a TV world populated by will-they-or-wont they couples and on-again-off-again relationships. But that's precisely what makes them so great. Their union was never idealized, a la the Cleavers, but you know they were madly in love with each other and always made time for one another all the while juggling their busy careers and five kids.
12 of 25 Paramount/Kobal Collection
Sam and Diane (Shelley Long and Ted Danson), Cheers
Yes, the prim and proper Diane was completely mismatched with the baseball player-turned-bar owner and ladies' man, but the duo's intense and tempestuous relationship showed that there was love there underneath all the bickering, affairs, break-ups and marriage proposals. Makes you wonder what could've been had Shelley Long not left midway through the series.
13 of 25 Jack Rowand/The CW
Lois and Clark (Erica Durance and Tom Welling), Smallville
Even though it took 10 seasons to finally bring these two to their inevitable coupling, it was worth the wait. For a love story as classic as Lois and Clark's to end any other way would have been superhumanly stupid.
14 of 25 Richard Cartwright/ABC Photo Archive/Getty Images
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Sydney and Vaughn (Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan), Alias
Dating is hard enough. But the bright side for us common folk is that we don't have to worry about espionage groups keeping us apart, not to mention trying to kill us, like Sydney and Vaughn did. Let's not even mention the lost two years, fake identity, kidnapping and wife/saboteur. At least they end up happily ever after with their daughter-in-spy-training.
15 of 25 Bruce Birmelin/The CW
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Luke and Lorelai (Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson), Gilmore Girls
How can you not be with a guy who serves you breakfast (and lots and lots of coffee) every morning? Luke and Lorelai were believable as sparring partners, and even moreso as a couple. Things unraveled toward the end, but the series finale gave us hope that L&L were on their way to rekindling their romance.
16 of 25 Getty Images
Doug and Carol (George Clooney and Julianna Margulies), ER
Carol was supposed to die in the pilot. Thank goodness producers changed her fate or we would've missed out on one of the most complicated and compelling small-screen romances. The playboy doc had his way with many women, but it was always Carol, who saw beyond his bravado, to whom he kept coming back. George Clooney and Julianna Margulies' off-the-charts chemistry was also hard to deny. The actor's surprise return in Margulies' final episode was one of TV's best-kept secrets and made for the sweetest swan song ever.
17 of 25 Dean Hendler/NBC
Jim and Pam (John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer), The Office
Who doesn't love a good ol' Office romance? Sure, there were some obstacles in the way — Pam's engagement, Jim's transfer to Stamford — but the slow burn of their intra-office crush, marked by inside jokes and pranks, made their union all the more squeal-worthy. Now that they're married with a baby, it's clear that Jam is as sweet as ever.
18 of 25 Aaron Spelling Productions/Everett Collection
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David and Donna (Brian Austin Green and Tori Spelling), Beverly Hills, 90210
While the Dylan/Brenda/Kelly/Brandon quadrangle was good for drama, in the end, it was David and Donna who wed in the series finale and gave the long-running show a happy and stable relationship... until the CW's return to 90210 broke them up.
19 of 25 Everett Collection
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Zack and Kelly (Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Amber Thiessen), Saved By the Bell
One of the all-time classics, this relationship spanned high school and college on two different shows. From their first days of going steady to a painful prom-night breakup, we always knew these two would get married. We just didn't know it would be in Vegas after being chased up and down the strip by mobsters in a two-hour TV movie finale. (Yeah, unlike this couple, the show kind of lost its way.)
20 of 25 Getty Images
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Pacey and Joey (Joshua Jackson and Katie Holmes), Dawson's Creek
Poor Dawson. For a guy whose name is in the show title, things didn't really work out for him. The teen drama ultimately revolved around Joey (Holmes is the only regular to have appeared in every episode of the series) and Dawson never got the girl in the end. Not that we're complaining. Pacey and Joey's relationship always had more spark and sizzle than Dawson and Joey's angst-ridden infatuation. Besides, Dawson never took Jo for a summer-long sail on a boat called True Love. Swoon!
21 of 25 Adam Taylor/ABC
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Meredith and Derek (Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey), Grey's Anatomy
Mer and Der's road to happiness hasn't been easy. First, she (unknowingly) slept with her new boss, his estranged wife popped back into town and started working at Seattle Grace, and then there was the laundry list of miscommunication issues between them. But then again, maybe it's all in line with a duo so unconventional they got married via a Post-It.
22 of 25 ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images
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Kevin and Winnie (Fred Savage and Danica McKellar), The Wonder Years
No couple exemplifies the charm and magic of childhood romances like Kevin and Winnie did. Their first kiss under a tree, after the death of her brother in Vietnam, is an indelible part of TV history. Ultimately, they did not end up together — their romance forever preserved in innocence.
23 of 25 Randy Holmes/ABC
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Kevin and Scotty (Matthew Rhys and Luke MacFarlane), Brothers & Sisters
Easily the most entertaining couple on the ABC drama, Kevin and Scotty bring out the best in each other -- in the "opposites attract" sort of way. They're constantly working through their problems together, including their most recent roadblock, Scotty's infidelity, which makes you believe that at least one Walker is capable of having a functional relationship.
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Homer and Marge, The Simpsons
No matter how many things Homer screws up, Marge is always there for her man. And having a marriage that lasts more than 20 years is quite an accomplishment, even in TV Land. Do you think your parents would still be together if you and your siblings never outgrew their rebellious phases?
25 of 25 Giovanni Rufino/The CW
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Chuck and Blair (Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester), Gossip Girl
No two people deserve each other more than the scheming and vindictive Chuck and Blair. Together, you don’t want them on your bad side, but somehow when these two are a couple, they bring out the best in each other.