Top 30 Good-Girl-Bad-Boy Couples In Movies & Television

There’s a reason the trope of the bad boy and good girl pairing endures in movies and tv shows. For audiences, there’s always been something alluring about the bad boy. He’s suave, dark, aloof, and enchanting. But they don’t all carry around the trademark leather jacket, and it’s more often that their actions speak louder than words. Bad boys can bring good girls out of their shells in fictional stories. Good girls can also help bad boys find some purpose in life.

That’s exactly what happens in some of the best good-girl-bad-boy pairings in movies and television. There’s the iconic Gossip Girl couple of Chuck and Blair, for example. That pairing is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to couples in media. While this style of pairing is most prevalent in teen projects, it can also be found in some of the family-friendly stories of Disney movies, and even in some of the adult pairings in modern television. The best examples of the pairing endure conflict and drive the story forward, often bringing out the best in one another as they do.

30 Joey & Pacey – Dawson’s Creek (1998-2003)

Though Joey (Katie Holmes) is considered to be from the “wrong side of the Creek” by some in the first two seasons of Dawson’s Creek, she’s still the good girl. She’s a good student who has a part-time job and has one goal: getting out of Capeside. Pacey (Joshua Jackson), on the other hand, is a class clown who isn’t afraid to skip school or steal his dad’s police cruiser. He’s not the typical bad boy, and Pacey’s arc is all about growing into a dependable man in spite of how everyone else sees him. Joey and Pacey don’t even get together until the third season of the show, and their on-again-off-again relationship becomes one of the best emotional storylines of the show through to the finale.

RELATED: The Best Relationship In Each Season Of Dawson’s Creek

29 Leilana & Troy – Reality Bites (1994)

Even for the early 1990s, Reality Bites isn’t the usual rom-com. It takes on some more difficult subjects, like coming out and the AIDS crisis, which weren’t typically seen in movies of the time period. In addition to the heavier subject matter though, it also had a romance between a good girl and a bad boy, played by Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke, Lailana (Ryder) is a valedictorian on her way to becoming a filmmaker while Troy (Hawke) is a failed musician breaking the rules, and yet, they seem to fit together perfectly.

28 Emma & Spinner – Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001 – 2015)

Emma (Miriam McDonald) and Spinner (Shane Kippel) didn’t actually get together during the time when they were high school students in the Degrassi sequel series, and there’s definitely a contingent of fans who dislike that these two had a surprise wedding without the usual dramatic build-up.

Emma spends most of her formative years as a crusader for environmental causes while Spinner causes trouble in the popular crowd. She is always drawn to the bad boys though. After a wild night together, they get married on a whim but decide to see where the relationship goes. It’s a happy ending for their characters who have gone through so much drama in their teen years.

27 Sakura & Sasuke – Naruto Franchise (2002-)

The Naruto franchise began in a manga, and it’s still ongoing with the Boruto manga and anime series. The original series focuses on Naruto Uzumaki, but it also features his teammates Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura is the perfect student and someone who always follows the rule book. Sasuke, on the other hand, is someone who is willing to break all the rules if it gets him closer to enough power to avenge the death of his family. Sakura, even after Sasuke goes down the darkest of paths, loves him completely. Eventually, the two grow up to have a daughter together and find their paths, but it’s a dark road to get there.

26 Hannah & Jacob – Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

The central story of Crazy, Stupid, Love actually isn’t Hannah and Jacob’s. Instead, it’s of a divorced Cal, played by Steve Carell, who gets back into the dating scene. He has to learn how to make a relationship work again, but he ends up reuniting with his ex-wife as a result. Of course, a pickup artist named Jacob (Ryan Gosling) is who helped him get back into the dating game, and then ends up dating his daughter Hannah (Emma Stone). Cal tries to do everything to keep the pair apart, but Jacob believes Hannah makes him a better person, which is often at the crux of the good-bad-boy romances in movies.

25 Bronwyn & Nate – One Of Us Is Lying (2021–2022)

One of Peacock’s first teen dramas, One Of Us Is Lying, is based on the best-selling teen novel of the same name. Described as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, the show is full of tons of mystery and soon-to-be iconic bad-boy good-girl pairing. Brownyn (Marianly Tejeda) is a straight-A student and a good daughter who would never do anything wrong. Meanwhile, Nate (Cooper van Grootel) is the resident bad boy and drug dealer on campus who only does that crime to pay for rent. These two might seem like an unlikely pair but they quickly bond over being suspected murderers and team up to protect one another.

24 Jane & Richie – Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies (2023)

Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies is the Grease prequel series from Paramount+ that the audience didn’t even know they wanted. While it centers on just how the Pink Ladies and T-Birds become some of the most popular kids in school, at the center of the story is Jane (Marisa Davila). Jane is a good girl who has always followed the rules and done what her parents expected of her – until her reputation is ruined by a rumor.

Jane meets Richie (Johnathan Nieves) when she decides to stand up for herself and try to combat the lies spread about her. However, Richie doesn’t believe the rumors. As the leader of the T-Birds, he’s labeled a bad boy whether he deserves the label or not. Both of them know what it’s like to be judged unfairly and find common ground as a result. They prove that the labels given to this particular trope of a pairing can sometimes exist in a gray area.

23 Rory & Jess – Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)

Rory (Alexis Bledel) has three main love interests over the course of the Gilmore Girls series, and two of them are bad boys. Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia) remains a fan favorite largely because the two bonded over their shared interest in literature and writing.

Rory and Jess meet while they’re both in high school and still figuring out their paths in life. While Jess is going through a hard time because his familial relationships are on the rocks, he becomes someone Rory can verbally spar with, but also someone she can discuss her favorite books with and who doesn’t misunderstand her pop culture references. They’re actually incredibly well-suited to one another, but they meet at the wrong point in their lives, breaking up and going their separate ways.

22 Veronica & Logan – Veronica Mars (2004-2007, 2019)

Veronica’s (Kristen Bell) friendship with Wallace (Percy Daggs III) might be the heart of the show, but her relationship with Logan (Jason Dohring) is a surprising addition to Veronica Mars that becomes one of the best parts of their character arcs. Veronica and Logan have a history long before they get together – as frenemies since Veronica is no longer one of the popular kids when the series picks up and Logan used to date her best friend.

The two are incredibly antagonistic when the story begins, but they grow to respect one another and share their most vulnerable sides with one another. Logan describes their relationship as truly “epic,” in one of the most memorable lines from the show, and he’s not wrong. Their relationship is so strong that they end up back together in the revival movie and plan a life together in Season 4. By then, their roles are flipped with Logan taking on the good guy role and Veronica as the more rebellious in the pairing. The audience roots for them in both incarnations.

21 Lissa & Christian – Vampire Academy (2022)

Christian (Andre Dae Kim) is really only a bad boy in Peacock’s Vampire Academy because society labels him as such. He studies subjects that society deems heretical, but he does it in the name of understanding vampire history. Christian’s parents, who abandon society to become strigoi are partially responsible for saddling him with the bad boy reputation as well.

Lissa (Daniela Nieves), on the other hand, learns quickly how to play by the rules as she’s an extended member of the royal family. She only begins to truly break the rules after the deaths of her parents, and it’s Christian who helps her find the loopholes to exploit. The two find kindred spirits in one another, and the bond they form really sells the emotions of the show to the audience.

20 Jasmine & Aladdin – Aladdin (1992, 2019)

When it comes to bad boys and good girls in movies, few couples are as iconic as Aladdin and Jasmine. In both Disney’s animated movie and the live-action remake, Aladdin is a bad boy because of circumstance, not choice. He squats in abandoned buildings and picks pockets to get by. He’s also willing to tell a pretty big lie in order to get a princess to pay attention to him. Jasmine, on the other hand, is also a good girl because of circumstances. She’s lived a sheltered life in the palace, but she still wants what’s best for her people.

The two of them prove that good girls and bad boys don’t always fit neatly into those categories. Aladdin steals food and gives it to starving children. Jasmine is outspoken and refuses to follow societal rules if it means she can’t help her kingdom. They make for a great pairing, learning from one another and making for a compassionate ruling couple. Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott’s live-action portrayals demonstrate this even better than their animated counterparts as the characters have more of a chance to be fleshed out.

19 Sabrina & Nick – Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina (2018-2020)

When Sabrina Spellman (Kiernan Shipka) has the opportunity to attend a school just for witches, she becomes torn between the world of magic and the mortal world she’s known all her life. That’s reflected in her relationship with Nicholas Scratch (Gavin Leatherwood) in Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina.

Nick is presented as the bad boy who does whatever he wants, while Sabrina is someone who has always been the good girl staying just on the side of the rules. Nick helps Sabrina fit in the magical world, and she introduces him to the mortal world, and they find a way to meet in the middle with Nick tabling some of his bad behavior and Sabrina finding loopholes that allow her to break the rules. It makes them a great fit.

18 Carmen & Johnny – Cobra Kai (2018-2023)

While the good girl and bad boy pairing is a trope most often reserved for teenage pairings in movies and TV, Cobra Kai gives a great example of it in their adult characters. The Netflix sequel series to the Karate Kid movies sees Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) teaching a whole new generation about martial arts, despite him having a penchant for using violence to solve his problems and his breaking the law on a regular basis.

Carmen (Vanessa Rubio) is the mom of his first student, and the two hit it off when she realizes just how much Johnny cares about her son and how hard he really is trying to get his life together. Johnny might have some bad boy tendencies, like calling his students names, but he has a good heart, and that’s what allows Carmen – and the audience – to see the good in him.

17 Haley & Nathan – One Tree Hill (2003-2012)

As far as iconic teen drama couples go, Nathan (James Lafferty) and Haley (Bethany Joy Lenz) from One Tree Hill are as iconic as they come. Needing good grades to continue to play basketball, bad-boy jock Nathan gets paired up with goody-two-shoes Haley for tutoring sessions. To make matters even more complicated Haley is best friends with Nathan’s estranged half-brother.

Opposites attract and Nathan and Haley end up bringing out the best in each other despite starting as a bad-boy, good-girl couple. They even managed to make it through teen pregnancy together and have one of the best marriages on TV which rarely happens when two characters get married in high school.

16 Belle & The Beast – Beauty And The Beast (1991)

When it comes to Disney animated bad-boy, good-girl pairings Belle (Paige O’Hara) and The Beast (Robby Benson) may not be at the top of the list, but they are certainly memorable. After all, The Beast was literally transformed into a beast for refusing to help the enchantress. He spends most of his time being angry and throwing tantrums. Meanwhile, Belle is soft and smart, preferring to read books that deal with the provincial town. Eventually, Belle and The Beast learn to love each other and Belle even helps bring out his softer side.

RELATED: Belle’s Greatest Quotes From Beauty And The Beast

There have been several remakes of the story, from the Vanessa Hudgens movie Beastly, which takes on a modern teen version of the story, to adapting the couple for the Once Upon A Time television series, to Emma Watson’s live-action remake. Each version of the story has encouraged the pairing to look beyond the stereotypes they’re faced with to get to know the person underneath.

15 Jess & Justin – 13 Reasons Why (2017-2020)

13 Reasons Why may have been a controversial Netflix teen drama, but it did give fans one of the best good-girl, bad-boy teen couples of all time. At the start of the series Jess (Alisha Boe) is a smart and kind character who even steps in to befriend Hannah (Katherine Langford) when she moves to town. On the other hand, Justin (Brandon Flynn) is a mischievous jock with a troubled home life that doesn’t always speak up when he should.

Though these two might be considered toxic at times, they were always there for each other during the bad parts of their lives. In a way, they almost switch roles too with Jess becoming a “bad-girl” in later seasons leading a revolution and Justin becoming a “good-boy” thanks to the help of Clay (Dylan Minnette).

14 John B & Sarah – Outer Banks (2020- )

Netflix’s Outer Banks premiered at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic giving teen audiences an escape when they needed it most. It also gave them a new good-girl, bad-boy couple to ship relentlessly. John B. (Chase Stokes) is your typical wild-child bad-boy. Having lost his father, John B. fends for himself which often means he and his friends are up to no good. Meanwhile, Sarah (Madelyn Cline) comes from a well-off family who humor her and her need to make the world a better place. These two better each other and corrupt each other making them one of the best Outer Banks relationships.

13 Phoebe & Cole – Charmed (1998-2006)

The classic show Charmed from 1998 still holds up as being one of the best mystery/supernatural shows to air on television. The show also gave fans a riveting relationship between Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) and Cole (Julian McMahon). Phoebe may have had her bad girl moments, but compared to Cole she was an angel.

Phoebe and her sisters dedicate themselves to using their powers to rid the world of evil. She also happens to fall in love with Cole, a half-demon. Cole is known in the demon world as the demonic assassin Belthazor and is sent to kill the Charmed Ones. Fans had high hopes that Cole would change his ways to live a good life with Phoebe, but he ultimately stays on the dark side. Their relationship makes for the main will-they-won’t-they pairing for most of the show’s run as the two face conflict after conflict and Phoebe grows as a witch because of it.

12 Claire & John – The Breakfast Club (1985)

Is Claire (Molly Ringwald) considered a good girl? She is but isn’t at the same time. In The Breakfast Club, she and other students get Saturday detention and Claire is described as a snobbish princess, who eats sushi and can put on lipstick hands-free.

She’s not exactly ‘good’ and Claire admits to feeling peer pressure from others. As the movie progresses, Claire and John develop some sparks. John is known as the ‘”Criminal” who’s always in trouble. To break her ‘pristine’ image Claire kisses John. Many movie fans recall the scene when John pumps his fist in the air after Claire kisses him again before parting ways.

11 Rapunzel & Flynn – Tangled (2010)

There’s no arguing that Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) is the proclaimed bad boy of Disney animated movies. He got the title because he’s tagged as a thief in the movie who steals the royal princess’s crown. Flynn also isn’t well-liked among other thieves and bandits. While hiding from bandits, Flynn seeks refuge in Rapunzel’s tower. Rapunzel has been hidden from the outside world and is the definition of being ‘pure.’ These two make bad-boy-good-girl couple work well but in a more sweet and magical way. Flynn changes his ways for true love and Rapunzel has her eyes opened to the world outside of her tower.