Here at TV Guide, we love love more than just about anything. Half the reason we watch TV is to stare at two beautiful idiots as they gaze adoringly into each other's eyes, and the other half is to get the cathartic release of second-hand heartbreak when they break up because the courseof true love never did run smooth.
Maybe that's why we're so obsessed with Freeform and its many millennial-targeted TV shows. When it comes to shipping and romance, Freeform has the best of the best, whether it's a forbidden romance between a Shadowhunter and a Downworlder or the sex-positive romance between two journalists trying to make it in New York City.
With so many amazing ships to chose from, it's hard to know which one is best, but TV Guide editors Megan Vick and Lindsay MacDonald put their heads together to come up with a definitive ranking of the best 25 Freeform ships! Can you guess who took the number one spot?
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25. Daphne & Wilke (Switched at Birth)
Daphne (Katie LeClerc) had a variety of love interests over the course of Switched at Birth, but the one that made our hearts flutter the most for her was Wilke (Austin Butler). It was a typical case of getting the do-gooder to loosen up a little and make the reckless prankster realize he didn't need to write himself off the way that everyone else had. These two had really great potential, but Wilke pushed it just a little too far and got himself sent off to military school instead of proving that he and Daphne had a teen love for the ages.
24. Maddie & Wes (Recovery Road)
It is inadvisable to start a relationship when you are in rehab, but if you're going to do it, pick a hottie like Wes (Sebastian De Souza)! Recovery Road lasted just one season, so Maddie (Jessica Sula) and Wes didn't get to reach their full potential, but the time they did spend together was electric, complicated and heartbreaking -- the stuff all the best ships are made of.
23. Ryn, Maddie & Ben (Siren)
Bear with us on this one. Love triangles are great fun, but honestly, they're getting a little tired. As a siren, Ryn's (Eline Powell) sexuality is very fluid (sorry, couldn't resist that pun), and she seems to have developed a deep love for both Maddie (Fola Evans-Akingbola) and Ben (Alex Rowe) during her time on land. In fact, she's even kissed them both! It's easy to understand how that might cause tension in Maddie and Ben's relationship, but wouldn't it just be so much better for everyone if they all just decided to be together? Fans are already shipping this polyamorous relationship, and so are we!
22. Paige & Rainer (Famous in Love)
For Paige (Bella Thorne), the well-intentioned (and slightly naive) ingenue, there was really no better love interest than Rainer (Carter Jenkins), the emotionally vulnerable bad boy with big eyes and bigger hair. Sure, they didn't quite manage to make it across the "happily ever after" finish line before the show was canceled, but given that Season 2 ended with a Rage studio lot kiss, we're going to pretend they just road that bike straight off into the sunset together afterward.
21. Riley & Danny (Baby Daddy)
We know there are Riley (Chelsea Kane) and Ben (Jean-Luc Bilodeau) shippers out there -- and that their chemistry was undeniable -- but Riley and Danny (Derek Theler) were meant to be together. And Danny was the one who ended up putting a ring on it. He was always the one who Riley made her way back to, and they made a beautiful family together.
20. Callie & Aaron (The Fosters)
The Fosters was no stranger to breaking ground, and Callie (Maia Mitchell) and Aaron's (Elliot Fletcher) relationship was no different. They had the first sex scene between a cis-gendered female lead and a trans man on television. But more than breaking representation boundaries, Callie and Aaron are on this list because they challenged each other in the best ways. Aaron did his best to try and stop Callie from getting into trouble, like when she would ride in cars with murderers or accidentally become a prostitute for a minute. He showed her there were better, smarter ways to fight for what you believe in. He's a large part of the reason why Callie ended up becoming a lawyer and thus their relationship will always hold a special place in our hearts.
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19. Cameron & Kirsten (Stitchers)
When you grow up believing you are essentially allergic to feelings and then get a job where you start taking on the last emotions of the dead, it's only natural that your new potential for empathy would lead to a workplace affair! That sentence probably made no sense, but Stitchers was an out there kind of show. The moral of the story is that Kirsten (Emma Ishta) didn't know how to feel for anyone, but working with Cameron (Kyle Harris) in the Stitchers program helped her to become a better person. Once she got the hang of the whole feelings thing, they developed quite the compelling workplace romance, which often meant invading other people's minds to save each other. Yeah, it's still a weird show.
18. Zoey & Luca (grown-ish)
Zoey (Yara Shahidi) had three suitors at the end of Season 1, but she inevitably chose the guy who never wanted her to be anything but herself. Yeah, Luca (Luka Sabbat) is the epitome of chill, but it's obvious that Zoey brings out a spark in him that only art can. He keeps her grounded when she starts spinning out of control, and let's face it, you are never going to see another couple this straight-up beautiful together. They hit a major rough spot at the end of Season 2, but nobody on this show truly understands the artistic spirit like these two.
17. Jane & Pinstripe (The Bold Type)
Ah, the ever-changing, ever-frustrating love/hate relationship that is Janestripe. These two crazy kids couldn't ever seem to get on the same page with each other, but their chemistry is so electric that it sometimes barely matters. As a young writer in need of a mentor, it's obvious why Jane (Katie Stevens) fell for Pinstripe's (Dan Jeannotte) worldly, witty ways. Now if they can just manage to spend some quality time together without drama blowing up their lives, they could totally be endgame.
16. Simon & Maia (Shadowhunters)
Though there is a special place reserved in our hearts for Sizzy, there's no denying that Maia (Alisha Wainwright) and Simon (Alberto Rosende) were good for each other in very important ways. As a young adult who already went through the whole "I got turned into a supernatural monster, what now?" thing, Maia was a great, stabilizing influence on Simon, and Simon obviously helped Maia heal from some old (and still very open) wounds from her relationship with Jordan. Though ultimately Saia wasn't a romance for the ages, there's something to be said for loves that come around at just the right time.
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15. Gabby & Josh (Young and Hungry)
As unlikely a duo as Gabby ( Emily Osment) and Josh (Jonathan Sadowski) were, they somehow managed to eke out a happy ending that was both hilarious and touching. What made this dysfunctional couple so entertaining to watch is that even though they were both so crazy (and both so prone to making a mess of their own lives), his crazy somehow managed to fit perfectly together with her crazy. It was a modern-day love story for the accident-prone and socially awkward!
14. Tyrone and Tandy (Marvel's Cloak & Dagger)
Tyrone (Aubrey Joseph) and Tandy (Olivia Holt) haven't gotten romantic yet on Marvel's Cloak & Dagger, but they're called the Divine Pairing for a reason, and that's because the fates want them to be together as much as we do. They come from different worlds, but they understand each other on a level that no one else they know can touch. The chemistry is undeniable, and it's only a matter of time before saving the world by uniting their powers is going to cause them to unite in other ways. When it happens we know it's going to be just as explosive as light and dark coming together.
13. Jesus & Emma (The Fosters)
When it comes to making progress in a relationship, there are few ships on this list that can compete with Jesus and Emma. They were very young when they first fell in love, but they still developed a bond that saw them through wrestling fights, traumatic brain injuries and long-distance relationships during college. Jesus (Noah Centineo) showed Emma (Amanda Leighton) how to have a good time and that not everything had to be about school and grades. Meanwhile, Emma helped Jesus see the potential in himself that might have gone undiscovered if they hadn't fallen for each other. After six years together through their adolescence, they broke up to have adult relationships with other people. It was a good, level-headed decision, but there's still a strong hope they'll find their way back to each other -- maybe on Good Trouble?
12. Sutton & Richard (The Bold Type)
Dating an older guy is always complicated, but dating an older guy who also happens to be on the board of the magazine where you work? That's a sticky situation if ever there was one. Richard (Sam Page) and Sutton (Meghann Fahy) have had their ups and downs, but ultimately their relationship is too strong to be cowed by judgy interns or age gaps. Just you wait, they'll be New York City's most lovable power couple in no time!
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11. Spencer & Toby (Pretty Little Liars)
This one is for the nerd lovers out there. Spencer (Troian Bellisario) and Toby (Keegan Allen) were probably the most stable of the Pretty Little Liar couples -- as stable as you can be when you're being stalked by a manipulative sociopath -- and their couple hobbies included reading and playing Scrabble. And you know, trying to one-up the aforementioned sociopath. Even with the insanity, it was easy to see these two sharing coffee and doing the New York Times crossword puzzle together on a Sunday afternoon.
10. Callie & Brandon (The Fosters)
Listen, we know they were adopted brother and sisters, but that wasn't always the case! You knew at the beginning of The Fosters that Brandon (David Lambert) and Callie were meant to be together. That belief was so strong that a Brallie reunion was even teased in the show's series finale, but ultimately Callie's need for a family was greater than her need for Brandon as a boyfriend. Still, he was one of the first people to show her that she could trust others and made her feel like she belonged in the Adams-Foster household. Who knows if Callie would have stayed at the house and become the well-adjusted adult she became if Brandon wasn't her first love. For that reason, we can (mostly) overlook the overlap of their relationship with the adoption proceedings.
9. Aria & Ezra (Pretty Little Liars)
Ezria gets points for being the OG ship of Pretty Little Liars, but they also lose points for being problematic AF. Sorry, there's no way to slice this to make it OK for an adult English teacher to sleep with a 16-year-old student. Knowing he purposefully seduced her in order to write a book about her best friend's disappearance only makes things worse. However, when Aria did become of age, the chemistry between the two was undeniable. They were ride-or-die until the end of the show, which is all we can ask for from a best ship, even with a bit of scandal on the side. The two eventually got married, and had a baby they named after Aria's mom. In the words of Lucy Hale: Aww!
8. Simon & Izzy (Shadowhunters)
Izzy (Emeraude Toubia) and Simon have both had other romances over the course of Shadowhunters three seasons, but that didn't mean Sizzy wasn't always been in the back of our minds. Even as a vampire and a Shadowhunter, Simon and Izzy built a beautiful friendship on a foundation of trust, and they pretty much became each others' rocks. Ultimately, that strong bond and deep trust flourished into a wonderful (and super sexy) romance just as Shadowhunters was coming to and end. We got our Sizzy endgame and that makes it all worth it!
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7. Hanna & Caleb (Pretty Little Liars)
Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Caleb (Tyler Blackburn) were the epitome of opposites attract. She was the aspiring fashionista who yearned to belong and he was the hacker outsider who hated fitting in. It made no sense that they should want to be together, but once sparks flew between the two, you knew they couldn't be with anyone else. They tried a few times, of course, but at the end of the day Hanna and Caleb were like two magnets that couldn't be kept apart. It's for the best because who else was going to put up with their wiseass comments but the other one?
6. Emily & Allison (Pretty Little Liars)
Pretty Little Liars took its sweet time giving its most dedicated fans the ship they yearned for the most, but at the end of the day, Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Alison (Sasha Pieterse) found their way back to one another and started a family! That's the most normal kind of happy ending anyone on this show could hope for. While Emily was prone to falling for any wayward lesbian who made her way through Rosewood, her heart was always drawn to Alison. And it was only when Alison was able to come to grips with her own feelings for Emily that we felt like we could truly trust her. Unfortunately, their marriage was short-lived, as the couple filed for divorce early in The Perfectionists' first season, but their little family still holds a special place in our hearts.
5. Clary & Jace (Shadowhunters)
Clary (Katherine McNamara) and Jace's (Dominic Sherwood) romance was a bit of a whirlwind, wasn't it? Their immediate connection and chemistry was put on hold for a while during the brief period they thought they were actually brother and sister (we're still having nightmares about that, BTW), but eventually they found out it was OK for them to bang. And it's a good thing too, because it's hard not to want two people so perfect for one another and so deeply in love to be together. Ultimately, these two were separated by Clary's memory wipe in the series finale of Shadowhunters, but that one final scene in which they met again gave us the hope we needed that their love could overcome anything the Angel threw at it.
4. Kat & Adena (The Bold Type)
Kat (Aisha Dee) and Adena (Nikohl Boosheri) have had their issues on The Bold Type, but that's part of what makes their love story so wonderful to watch. Kat is still learning about her sexuality and Adena selflessly gave her the freedom and the trust to do that, knowing how important that journey is for a young woman. In return, Kat recognized that though their relationship was good for Adena romantically, it may not be so great for her artistically. It takes a lot for a person to realize that your partner's happiness and passions have to come first sometimes, even if it could put your relationship in jeopardy. Even if this ultimately leads to a breakup, it's so nice to see two hot, badass women having the emotional maturity to put their partner first, no matter what. *SOBS*
3. Stef & Lena (The Fosters)
Oh yeah, there are parents on a list of Freeform ships, and we stand by this couple wholeheartedly. The love between Stef (Teri Polo) and Lena (Sherri Saum) on The Fosters was the heart of the show. It feels weird to say that when the show premiered it was shocking to see an interracial lesbian couple raising a family on TV because over the course of five seasons the two women showed us just how powerful love can be. They had their ups and downs, from Lena's flirtation with her boss to Stef's breast cancer scare, but at the end of the day they proved that love can conquer all. Out of everyone on this list, they are the epitome of relationship goals for their bravery, vulnerability and compassion. Plus, even with five kids making them want to tear their hair out, they still found ways to keep the spice alive, and we respect that so much.
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2. Bay & Emmett (Switched at Birth)
Disclaimer: Bay (Vanessa Marano) and Emmett (Sean Berdy) were not together during the final season of Switched at Birth, which was the only season to actually air on the network known as Freeform. But we curated at this list, and since Switched is still technically a Freeform show, we're not ignoring its best and heartwarming ship. Bay and Emmett started out as complete opposites, but their love not only brought them together but also helped bridged the hearing and deaf communities in the show. Their romance had all the angst of a first love, but it was also emblematic of what made the show as a whole so special. The show was canceled with only enough time for the writers to write a series finale rather than a full final season arc, so while Bay and Travis (Ryan Lane) were good together, deep in our hearts we have to believe that Bay and Emmett were the true endgame.
1. Magnus & Alec (Shadowhunters)
Is it any wonder Malec tops this list as the best Freeform ship of all time? Their love story turned Shadowhunters from a binge-worthy show into a viral sensation that made even the most diehard fandoms seem like underachievers. The electric chemistry between Magnus (Harry Shum Jr.) and Alec (Matthew Daddario) is only the tip of the iceberg here; under the surface there's a deeply devoted, unbreakable connection between two people who should have been enemies but turned into soulmates. There's simply no ship on Freeform (or possibly on TV at all) that can hold a candle to Malec, and we'll ship them until the day we die.