15 ‘One Tree Hill’ Couples, Ranked
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Finding love in Tree Hill was not for the weak-willed.
The WB/CW’s One Tree Hill put its characters through the wringer of vengeful exes, natural disasters, medical conditions, kidnappings, and just about every other kind of soapy drama that could visit the small North Carolina town. Finding a partner was, at times, a contact sport, battling off your best friend for the person you liked. Sometimes, it was an endurance test in outwitting the other points in a love triangle.
In other words, none of the couples in Tree Hill that captivated viewers for nine seasons had it easy. But really, what true love ever is?
With news that One Tree Hill may be getting the revival treatment at Netflix, cue up Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Want to Be,” and let’s rank 15 of the most notable couples in the show’s history.
Who do you think is the best OTH couple? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
15. Dan and Literally Anybody
Let’s begin by getting the ickiness out of the way. Dan Scott (Paul Johansson) never saw a relationship he couldn’t screw up. His wife Deb (Barbara Alyn Woods), his kids, his brother Keith (Craig Sheffer), and generally anyone within a five-mile radius could probably raise their hands and say they were victimized by Dan Scott. The self-serving nature of his entire being made him a walking red flag. By the time he started dating his kids’ former classmate Rachel (Danneel Ackles) — and you know, murdered his brother — the man was a lost cause in love and life.
14. Nathan and Peyton
Watching One Tree Hill now, you have to brace yourself for those early episodes where they tried to make us believe that Nathan Scott (James Lafferty) and Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton) were ever something that might last. In a way, they were foundational to the series — the basketball jock and cheerleader who should make the perfect couple on the outside. But once the show peeled back those layers, their relationship was nothing more than a vicious cycle of cheating, breaking up, making up and roleplaying the tropes of high school. Thankfully, they grew up and moved on pretty quickly.
13. Skills and Deb
Like Nathan, we were also shocked when it became clear that his buddy Skills (Antwon Tanner) was messaging with and eventually hooking up with Nathan’s mom, Deb. This was definitely during Deb’s defiant and wild years. But as was the case with many of the characters after Season 5’s five-year flash forward, there was a tenderness to watching these two navigate what — if anything — was truly possible between them. Skills wanted kids and Deb had already put that part of her life behind her. People can want different things, but what was a scandalous pairing at first ended up being a good match for the moment.
12. Chase and Mia
Bar manager and former Clean Teen Chase (Stephen Colletti) fell hard for musician Mia Catalano (Kate Voegele), which led to a sweet but tortured relationship. Life got in the way of these two — her dreams of singer-songwriter stardom and his simmering feelings for Alex (Jana Kramer). The two circled back into each other’s orbits for several seasons, but a life on the road and a life in the Army didn’t make for everlasting bedfellows.
11. Brooke and Chase
Chase came to Tree Hill with a broken heart, and colliding with Brooke (Sophia Bush) probably wasn’t the best thing for him right out of the gate. It’s why the very public revelation that she had made a sex tape with Nathan while he was still dating her best friend, Peyton, was a bridge too far for him. He even retreated to the rather flimsy ranks of the Clean Teens for a bit before they reunited, but he eventually lost his virginity to Brooke. These two weren’t the most memorable couple, but there was a charm to the mismatch of their personalities, even if it was more miss than match.
10. Brooke and Lucas
The first time Brooke and Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) actually sat down and got to know each other, they were tending to the shared love of their lives — Peyton (who had been drugged). Brooke set her sights on Lucas the second he stepped foot on the basketball court, but their gradual and then all-consuming relationship became an important stepping stone for both of them. Through all the drama, they came out the other side understanding they weren’t meant to be. Imagine telling these two as teenagers that Lucas would eventually write in his book that he came to trust and confide in Brooke as a friend?
9. Andy and Karen
Poor Andy (Kieren Hutchinson). Initially, it was a little odd that he was hooking up with his older student, Karen (Moira Kelly), but these two were adults. What ultimately hurt Andy the most was that he wasn’t Keith. The tragic end to Karen and Keith’s love story was something from which audiences never recovered. That being said, having Andy there to love Karen and help raise Lily, her daughter with Keith, was a beautiful second act for her love life.
8. Bevin and Skills
There’s something special about supporting characters finding love in the background of the drama and chaos of other people’s stories. Not every relationship has to suck up all the air in the room, and Skills and Bevin (Bevin Prince) were the perfect example of this. They dated in high school (let’s not forget she won him in the boy draft!), and then, as so many did, they went their separate ways. Life went on. She married and had a kid. But in the finale, it was strongly implied that their close proximity in the final shot meant they were giving it another go, and we couldn’t be happier for them. Plus, she showed him The Notebook for the first time!
7. Brooke and Julian
Everything’s bigger in the movies, and when film director Julian Baker (Austin Nichols) rolled into town, that was indeed what happened with his relationships. First, he dated Peyton before he found himself undeniably drawn to Brooke. They were endgame from the beginning, even if there were hurdles along the way. His ingénue actress Alex went to great lengths to express her love for him, something that complicated his relationship with Brooke. But like any good movie romance, they found their way back to each other and metaphorically rode off into the sunset with their twin sons, Davis and Jude.
6. Millie and Mouth
Inarguably the sweetest couple to ever walk the streets of Tree Hill, Mouth (Lee Norris) and Mille (Lisa Goldstein) still weren’t immune to the drama — Gigi! Owen! Cocaine! But in the end, none of it mattered. Among all the couples in the series, these two felt inevitable even when they were feuding. You just didn’t have to worry about Mouth and Millie. They would work it out, and then for a time, they would greet you every day on Mouth and Millie in the Morning.
5. Clay and Quinn
Despite only arriving in Season 7, few couples went through as much as Quinn (Shantel VanSanten) and Clay (Robert Buckley). It’s like the writers wanted to quickly catch them up to the trauma quota the rest of the cast had been working on for years. First and foremost, he was mourning the death of his wife Sara when they met, which subdued their sparks almost immediately. She was also moving past her own failed marriage at the time. Then, when they finally found some common ground, they were literally shot by his stalker and briefly existed in a kind of dream-like purgatory together (yes, the later seasons were that kind of weird). If that doesn’t forge an inseparable bond, nothing will. When Logan, the son he literally forgot about after Sara’s death, finally called Quinn “mom” and they immediately went to wed, tell us you didn’t weep for Clay and Quinn.
4. Lucas and Peyton
The merry-go-round of Peyton and Lucas’ relationship is exhausting in hindsight. They weren’t the only ones who went through the motions for seasons, but thankfully, it ended with them together and leaving Tree Hill behind for a life hopefully free of the drama that defined so much of their story. When you’re young, you need a healthy dose of reality to clear away the fog of adolescence, and Lucas and Peyton’s various journeys did just that. By the time they were adults, they could more honestly find what made them a good match beyond hormones. Their moody minds meshed so well, and it was poignant that Burton and Murray left the show together after Season 6 to keep this story and their family with daughter Sawyer intact.
3. Jake and Peyton
A fleeting moment in the early seasons of the show was this achingly perfect pairing of the defiantly wayward Peyton and the empathetically genuine Jake (Bryan Greenberg). Again, so much worked against them — vengeful exes, jail time, Savannah heat! He became a single father after his high-school girlfriend Nicki (Emmanuelle Vaugier) abandoned their daughter, Jenny. His fight for custody led him to Savannah. When Peyton was in a state of perpetual personal crisis, she retreated south to be with them. Ultimately, his crusade to be a good father and Peyton’s conflicted feelings about Lucas led to their downfall, and Jake and Jenny literally disappeared from the show. But we could make the case that, had the stars aligned a little better, Jake should have been her endgame.
2. Keith and Karen
Tragedy makes the heart grow fonder, and that is certainly the case for Karen and Keith.
In a show about the revolving door of teenage relationships, the most resonant love was the one shared between two adults who knew something their younger counterparts hadn’t yet learned — true love takes time. Keith and Karen had that kind of young love that never subsided but rather ripened with age. We still try to find solace in the bittersweet fact that they did get some time together — and eventually, a daughter named Lily — before he was stolen from her and us by his own brother.
1. Haley and Nathan
In no world were Nathan and Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz) not No. 1 on this list. It may seem wholly unoriginal, but the bedrock of One Tree Hill is Naley’s series-spanning love story that saw its ups, downs, and multiple kidnappings.
The show began as a minefield of soapy teen love, but Nathan and Haley were different from the moment they got together. As the show matured, they were the north star in what it looked like to be an adult. Their marriage and family became the heartbeat of the show, and One Tree Hill isn’t the same without them together.
Sure, there is only one Tree Hill. But there is also only one Naley.
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