8 TV Couples I Find Deeply Problematic, But People Stan Wholeheartedly

I'm sorry to any New Girl fans out there...

1. Jackie and Kelso from That '70s Show

Fox

I would like to start this off by noting that I'm team Hyde and Jackie, hands down. And I also understand they had their own issues.

However, here's the thing about Jackie and Kelso: they have some very sweet, endearing moments between them, but the reason they ultimately do not work out is because neither was willing to change for their relationship. They constantly argue and the biggest thing they have in common is their lack of regard for others, their "good looks," and their sexual chemistry.

They turned into a problematic ship once Michael cheats on her and then it became even worse when Jackie kissed another guy in Season 4. Plus, they were very off and on throughout the first four seasons. Think about it, the reason they were on and off was because, once they initially broke up, it was easy to do it again because there was no true reconciliation or change, and they became more comfortable with hurting one another.

This is not to say they didn't care for each other, but their relationship was toxic. 

2. Jess and Nick from New Girl

Fox

Does this break my New Girl-loving heart to say? Yes.

I LOVE New Girl, but are Nick and Jess a healthy couple? Not really. Sometimes sexual tension, friendship, and care are not enough to make a relationship work.

Just like when they first break up, Nick tells Jess, "no, I don't want to break up, I love you," to which Jess replied, "well, I love you too, but what if that's the only thing we have in common?" which posed a great question that was continuously answered throughout the series.

They truly didn't have anything in common, and Jess was always wanting to change or fix Nick, though he was an adult with autonomy and had gotten this far without her help. By the end of the series, Nick was a completely different person, and Jess was as big a mess as ever. They really, truly were not great for each other, and certainly didn't make one another better. Their relationship worked so much more when they were friends who occasionally flirted.

3. Zuko and Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Nickelodeon

Zuko certainly has redeemable qualities and, in the end, turns out to be a good guy. However, Zuko and Katara only had a couple of pleasant exchanges throughout the series. And their relationship really only seems romantic because they share a similar hurt (hello trauma bonding). The majority of the show was just Zuko hunting down Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph so he could destroy them.

Additionally, it was never even portrayed that either of them were interested in the other. (Same could be said with Katara with Aang, which is a whole other issue, but still).

4. Freddie and Sam from iCarly

Nickelodeon

Let it be known that I do NOT ship Freddie and Carly, either.

However, I think that the ship of Freddie and Sam is ridiculous. Even when they were together, Sam was still mean to Freddie. For the longest time, they constantly argued, Sam beat Freddie up, and Freddie was scared of Sam. Then, they magically kiss and act like the previous years hadn't happened? No thanks.

When are TV shows going to stop portraying that if someone is picking on or harassing another it means they like them? How is that healthy?

5. Colt and Abby from The Ranch

Netflix

Words cannot express how much I HATE Abby by the end of The Ranch.

I don't actually know how many people are rooting for these two but, in the end, their relationship was such a wreck.

Truthfully, their relationship started off broken. Abby was engaged to another man and Colt kept pressuring her to break it off with him, after having been with that guy for YEARS. They shared one kiss and they act like nothing changed in the 15 years they had been apart.

Colt constantly lies to Abby, though he did try to turn that around and showed great remorse for it. However, Abby was constantly belittling Colt, either for mistakes he was already trying to solve, or for just being himself, as he wasn't the brightest character in the bunch, and both of them constantly blame the other for their problems. Abby was so insecure in their relationship that she sabotaged it by being awful to Colt.

Truly, one of the worst ships on this list.

6. Nat and Will on Chicago Med

NBC

These two are not the worst on the list, but they're definitely in the "they would have remained better as friends" category.

I don't have much to say on this, except that there was often jealousy and power plays involved in the relationship, especially if one of them had a lead on a medical case. Maybe it was bad timing initially, but I do think Will made the right move by rejecting Nat in the end.

7. Ryan and Marissa from The O.C.

Fox

Let me be clear, I HATED Marissa and thought that she should have ended up with no one as she was a spoiled, entitled brat.

Their relationship is what I like to call a train wreck. Did they look cute together? Absolutely. But, both Ryan and Marissa were characters who deeply needed individual healing. They were constantly hurting each other.

Marissa played the damsel in distress reallllllly well. She wanted Ryan to rescue her time and time again. And he did because that is the kind of guy Ryan is. But, they got in the way of each other's growth. I don't know that anything would have saved Marissa's downward spiral (and it certainly wasn't Ryan's job to save her), but Ryan had so much character growth. However, every time he was with Marissa, it's like she was dragging him down with her.

8. And finally, Otis and Maeve from Sex Education

Netflix

I know these individuals are the couple that we are supposed to root for, but they were better individually than they are together or flirting, or whatever it is that they were trying to do romantically.

I think Otis started out as a very likable and relatable character, which is a complement to Maeve's rugged, tough personality but, up to the current season, I feel like Otis' character regressed and started becoming kind of a jerk (to women, his friends, and his mom) and I feel like Maeve's growth surpassed that and she became way too good for him. Perhaps my mind will change once the new season comes out but, as of this moment, these two need to stay far away from each other.