17 Unforgettable Love Triangles that Had Us Screaming at Our TVs

Elena Gilbert and the Salvatore Brothers

Elena Gilbert took us on a wild ride with her sweeping love for the Salvatore brothers, and honestly, we don’t blame her.

Who do you choose: Stefan, the handsome, brooding baby brother with a big heart but was nicknamed “The Ripper” because of his sadistic ways; or Damon, the handsome older brother who is so impulsive and so devious he has enemies from centuries back still coming after him?

(Elena picks Damon!)

‘TSITP’: Jeremiah, Belly and Conrad

Not since the great Team Edward or Team Jacob debate of the early 2010s have people been this divided over a love triangle. The Summer I Turned Pretty has had fans going back and forth on social media all summer, with different sectors of the fandom advocating for their best fighter between the Fisher brothers.

Unlike other shows where there’s a clear better choice — the “bad boy” vs. “good boy” — it seems fans see the merit in Belly’s indecisiveness because even on the surface, both brothers are good people, their flaws just often get in the way.

(Belly chooses Conrad!)

‘Beverly Hills: 90210’: Dylan, Kelly and Brenda

The Dylan, Kelly and Brenda trifecta practically invented the love triangle trope on TV. Dylan was locked in with Brenda at the start of Beverly Hills, 90210, even though he always had a semi-flirty relationship with Kelly. However, one summer, while Brenda was in Paris, things escalated between her boyfriend and her best friend, and, let’s just say, the crash-out was valid.

(Dylan chooses Kelly!)

‘Scandal’: Olivia, Fitz and Jake

Maturing is realizing Olivia Pope actually needed to be single because her and Fitz’s love affair was an actual threat to the health of the nation. First of all, he was married. So there’s the first indicator that maybe this wasn’t such a great match. And then when things began to take off for her and Jake (or any other man, really), he’d get jealous. Red flag.

Jake’s biggest crime — outside of, you know, all the murders — was that he was a competitive masochist. Olivia was never going to “stand in the sun” with him and she showed that multiple times throughout the course of the show’s seven seasons. He just couldn’t accept it.

(Olivia somewhat ambiguously chooses Fitz!)

Pam Beesly, Jim Halpert and Roy Anderson from ‘The Office’

No one can deny that Pam and Jim were definitely endgame. However, their beginnings were messy. So messy, in fact, that not only did they cause heartbreak for Pam’s fiancé Roy, but Jim’s girlfriend Karen was also caught in the crossfire. It all turned out okay, as everyone got their happily ever after (Jim and Pam especially), so in a weird way, this was a great love story all around.

‘The Office: Dwight, Angela and the Senator

Another chaotic couple! Angela Martin’s relationship with Dwight Schrute was easy to root for, given just how idiosyncratic they both were.

However, their breakup in season 4 led her into a relationship with Andy … though she was cheating with Dwight the whole time.

After that engagement fell through, she later married Senator Robert Lipton, on whom she also cheated with Dwight. In a turn of events, the senator, who was closeted, cheated on her with fellow accountant Oscar Martinez.

It was a lot of drama for a show billed as a comedy.

‘One Tree Hill:’ Peyton, Lucas and Brooke

Though many viewers could have predicted the Leyton (Lucas and Peyton) endgame in One Tree Hill, Brucas (Brooke and Lucas), certainly gave them a run for our money. Lucas’ nearly lifelong crush on Peyton was bound to win, though, because having the high school star basketball player end up with the head cheerleader would have been a touch too cliché.

(Lucas chooses Peyton!)

‘Dawson’s Creek’: Pacey, Joey and Dawson

When pictures surfaced of Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson filming a new project in N.Y.C. in July, Dawson’s Creek fans were immediately overtaken with nostalgic excitement, simply because of the way they feel about their characters, Pacey and Joey. That’s enough to let us know that, even though Joey’s relationship with Dawson seemed destined to be (and Dawson’s crying face would become iconic), Pacey was always going to be the right choice for her.

(Joey chooses Pacey!)

Carrie Bradshaw, Big, Aidan Shaw — Sex and the City

If it were up to us, Carrie Bradshaw would serve a little time for her crimes against Aidan Shaw in season 3 of Sex and the City.

The columnist had long chased Mr. Big, so when he went and married someone else, she had a chance for a clean break — and she took it. Carrie moved on with Aidan, but when Big’s relationship began to fall apart, she found herself back in his web, participating in the affair that ultimately ended his marriage.

(Carrie chooses Big … and then Aidan, after Big dies … and then, nobody!)

‘Friends’: Rachel Green, Ross Geller and Julie

Before there was Rachel-Ross-Julie, there was Ross-Rachel-Paolo and then later there was Rachel-Ross-Emily and a very weird turn of Ross-Rachel-Joey that didn’t really need to happen, if you ask any Friends fan.

The point is, there were so many iterations of love triangles when it came to the Rachel and Ross love story, one wonders if this couple would ever truly make it. Their journey remains one of the best-told sitcom love stories, though.

(Rachel gets off the plane and chooses Ross!)

‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Meredith, Dereck and Addison

Sure, Derek didn’t really have any plans on getting back together with his ex-wife, Addison, because she had cheated with his childhood best friend, but the fact that he launched an entire relationship with Meredith without letting her know he had been married led us down a will they/won’t they dramatic spiral that only Shonda Rhimes can cook up.

(Derek did pick, choose, love Meredith!)

‘Gilmore Girls’: Rory with Dean, Jess and Logan

We saw Rory go through different iterations of love over the course of Gilmore Girls, and she’s never fully untangled from any of them. There was Dean, her first love, who fans later chided for his controlling behavior; then there was Jess, who was as charming as he was unstable, so, no bueno; and then Logan, her college love, who perhaps challenged her the most, but whose marriage proposal she turns down in A Year in the Life.

(Rory chooses … none? Herself?)

‘The Game’: Derwin Davis, Melanie Barnet, Janay Brice

After his affair with Drew Sidora tore them apart, it finally seemed like Melanie and Derwin were going to be able to restore their relationship in The Game.

That is, until it was revealed in the season 3 finale that Janay was pregnant with Derwin’s first child. It was a gut-wrenching moment for those who had watched the Melanie and Derwin from their humble beginnings, mostly because they had come so far together, but also because listening to Chris Brown and Jordin Sparks’ “No Air” was never the same.

(Melanie and Derwin end up together!)

‘Insecure’: Issa, Lawrence and Condola

Fans still hold a big grudge against Condola, who got pregnant in season 4 of Insecure, right when it seemed like Lawrence and Issa were going to get back together and everything would return to normal.

But perhaps even more upsetting was that Issa stayed with him in the finale, a plot point show creator Issa Rae says doesn’t sit well with fans to this day.

“People have told me to reshoot, which is crazy, because they didn’t like the decision that Issa makes in the end,” Rae told PEOPLE in January.

‘Game of Thrones’: Jamie, Brienne of Tarth and Cersei

In any other universe, it would be abhorrent to see a sister fall in love with her brother, but in Game of Thrones, it was only like, the third weirdest thing to happen that episode.

We were first introduced to Jamie Lannister and his sister Cersei’s relationship in season 1. However, as things unfold, he is forced to leave his homestead, and he meets Lady Brienne of Tarth along his journey. The two were a very slow burn that had audiences rooting for them, even though we all knew Cersei would have Brienne’s head on a stake before that happened.

(Jamie chooses Cersei!)

‘Gossip Girl’: Serena, Dan and Nate

Another trio where everyone should have just remained single. Sure, hopeless romantics would go for the tortured soul, brooding type in Dan, but the fact that he slept with Serena’s frenemy, Blair Waldorf, and he’s Gossip Girl, should be an indicator that he was no Prince Charming. And of course, Nate’s complicated history with Serena and their ongoing other love triangle with Blair makes them doomed as well.

(Serena chooses Dan!)

‘Jane the Virgin’: Jane, Michael, Rafael

The back and forth between this trio always had our heads spinning. It was enough that Michael and Rafael didn’t get along. But then Jane also had Rafael’s baby while engaged to Michael, which was a choice. But we knew things would only get wilder between these three when Rafael then named Michael the godfather to the kid. In the finale, she marries Rafael, so to say this was a rollercoaster is an understatement.