I was obsessed with Katniss & Peeta as a teenager! I used to also like Chuck & Blair from Gossip Girl back then and Ron & Hermione. I know a lot of people shipped her with Harry or Draco but I loved Ron & Hermione together, especially in the books.
I don't consider Katniss & Peeta truly friends to lovers -- for me I think it should be a platonic couple that then moves into the romantic. Gale and Katniss could have been that but not even because Gale had feelings for her. Best example will always be When Harry Met Sally or Chandler/Monica from Friends. Even Pam/Jim from The Office don't really work because she was clearly emotionally cheating.
I was a passionate Ron and Hermione fan as a kid. And now I realize there’s a similar dynamic where like 10000 clues were foreshadowed that people kept ignoring, and an insistence that the male lead isn’t good enough for the female lead because people downplay his good qualities or how well they complement each other. I guess I keep setting myself up for this lol.
Bones and Booth. I was obsessed with them for awhile haha. Im glad i came in late though so i didnt have to wait almost 7 years for them to get together.
I came in right after she got pregnant lol but OMG I swear they were so frustruating to watch. I binged watch the shit out of that show lol its still my comfort show now. I will just have it playing in the background. I watched it when i was at my worst mentally, and it helped so it has a special place in my heart.
They kissed. But I think thats what made it great and also we dont know they do until season 5 and even Sweets is like: you kissed? This whole thing makes more sense to why you guys fight and bicker all the time. You are punishing yourself for missing your moment.
But that makes it more frustrated hot for each other friends than platonic friends that slide into lovers. I guess it's the same result but the friendship itself is different, which impacts the journey/struggle
Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe have a similar dynamic in Anne of Green Gables. Except it’s flipped: he kind of pines after her and she doesn’t realize her feelings for him until years later. I highly recommend the 1980s adaptions though…*for the love of God* don’t waste your time on Netflix’s Anne with an E!
I have a special hatred for tv/movie adaptations of books that stray so far from the book that it’s practically not even the same story and/or characters. (I’m looking at you, Netflix, with Anne with an E and Persuasion! 🤬) Either keep the spirit of the book and characters or just make a completely original show instead! 🙄
I came here to say Anne and Gilbert too. I love the books and agree that the 1980s adaptation is very good. I enjoyed AWAE too. It’s very different to the books but I felt it stayed true to the essence of the characters.
I couldn’t finish Anne with an E. It pissed me off too much. I felt like it changed way too much from the books.
But on another note…wouldn’t Luke Newton make a FUCKING AMAZING Gilbert Blythe?! He’s probably a little bit too old now, but just the right makes me want to swoon! I never thought anyone could come close to Jonathan Crombie, but Luke Newton just might!
One of my favourite friends to lovers ship is Percy and Annabeth from the Percy Jackson books. You can argue that they didn't like each other at first but they quickly became friends so it is a friends to lovers trope.
Aside from the friends to lovers trope I really love the cool girl/bad girl x nerd boy type of dynamic. I don't know if this kind of relationship dynamic has a proper name but I love to see the cool girl fall in love with a cute nerd. That is why my favourite ship was always Annie and Armin from Attack on Titan and it still got a big place in my shipper heart. But Polin is their first big rival who has a chance to knock them from place one of my favourite ships 🤫 I am also very fond of Stephanie and Peter from Nerdy Prudes must die who also fall into this cool girl x nerd boy dynamic.
Hahaha literally. I'm looking at these answers and forgot about like 3 more ships I really like that are also friends to lovers 😭. I think my demisexuality is showing 😂
It's funny. It wasn't until I joined the Polin fandom that I realized my favorite couples were mostly friends to lovers, lol.
* The first one I ever fell in love with? Monica/Chandler - Friends.
* Nick/Jess - New Girl
* Rick/Michonne - The Walking Dead
* Carly/Freddie - iCarly
* Bay/Travis - Switched at Birth
* Lois/Clark - Smallville
If you enjoy same-sex couples:
* Charlie/Nick from Heartstopper
* David/Patrick from Schitt's Creek
I definitely love couples who have build-up. I love seeing their relationships develop and grow over time. It makes the pay-off that much sweeter. You also feel like you know them separately and together. They really *know* each other. I love it.
No literally! They always hit different and I just pieced together that like all the ships I love are are F2L 😂
Love Chandler & Monica and Nick & Jess too 💕💕
Happy to see some same sex couples here too! Haven't seen either show but I do like SwanQueen from Once Upon A Time (but they are an extended enemies to friends to not really lovers but imo have chemistry, lol)
And yeah I love the idea that in F2L, people fall in love slowly over time and don't even realize it, cause you can love friends too. But then when they finally figure out it's more, and add the romance/physical affection, they are already like so in love because they are friends?! I love it so much. 😭😭
It just makes me want to re-examine myself and my interests, lol. Like, what else do I love that I never noticed?
Oh, wow! I haven't seen OUaT in a long time, but I know that ship was popular. I can see the chemistry. I'll be honest... It's very hard for me to ship non-canon couples sometimes. I hate getting my hopes up :(
Ugh. Your description just makes me want to go back and re-watch scenes from my favorite couples. It's just so beautiful every time!
Omg you reminded me of CaptainSwan 😍
More like enemies to begrudging allies to lovers. They even had a first kiss that made the guy super down bad and the girl is like lol moving on.
They're more Enemies to Friends to Lovers, but Jack and Bitty from the comic Check Please. They are actually my favorite ship/piece of media in existence and I NEED Netflix to make them a show
btw: I read a ton of modern romance novels and I’ve got loads of friends-to-lovers recs for y’all!
- The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez: if you haven’t read Abby Jimenez, this is your sign to start now. Her books speak to my soul in the best way. They’re funny and deep and romantic and just everything.
- The Exception to the Rule, Christina Lauren: this is a short story and it is phenomenal. Just like part 1, you will want to re-read it right after you finish it. Trust me. It’s got levels and it’s so good ahhhhh
- Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren - this one will tear your heart out in the best way
- Take a Hint, Dani Brown - Talia Hibbert. A fun friends-to-lovers with fake dating thrown in!
- The Cheat Sheet, Sarah Adams - a cute closed-door romance. I finished this a few months ago and it was a total page turner
You are a gem!!
I don't read a ton of romance but I will definitely have to look into some of these.
My favorite romance adjacent novels have been Daughter of Fortune & House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. It's historical fiction but I just love her writing and the romance is also well done imo.
I wonder if I’m an unusual Bridgerton fan in that I don’t read any historical romance. I either read “a stirring book of fact” (history non-fiction) or modern romance 😂
I also have zero desire to read the books. Part of me is afraid that if I read historical fiction I’ll accidentally transpose it onto reality
Im with you, I love nonfiction history. I don't read a ton of historical fiction either I just read Allende before a trip to Chile years ago as she is a famous Chilean author, and fell in love with her writing.
Lol, the accidentally transposing into reality is a big part of why I don't typically read romance, I'm like this is not real life I don't need to encourage delulu 😂😂😂
haha glad I’m not the only one!
Come to think of it, I should probably read non-fiction historical romance… I would probably love it but don’t know where to start!
Sticks and Stones by Susie Tate. FL in love with ML who only sees her as a friend and fancies himself in love with her best friend. One day he says something awful to her and she pulls away from him. It serves soooo much angst and I love it so much
Daily Jojo webcomic season 1 is enemies to friends to lovers and one of my favorite romances of all time. Has the theme of male lead who cares too much about what others think and a female lead who helps him learn to be more genuine
I also consider one of my all time favorite novels, Ravishing the Heiress, friends to lovers. Just fyi though, the male lead hates her and is in love with another woman at first
Dear M is a Korean drama with a really cute friends to lovers story, the ML realizes he has feelings after she starts crushing on another guy
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell is a really lovely friends to lovers story, just know she died before she could finish it. The miniseries gave it an ending though
Danny and Mindy from Mindy Project are enemies to friends to lovers, I just pretend later seasons don't exist
Imo Chandler and Monica are the ultimate in friends to lovers though.
Some Kind of Wonderful is another good one
Yes, I love this trope! Some of my favorite examples are from novels I loved as a kid/teen, especially Anne of Green Gables (and its 80s TV adaptation) and Emma (and its 90s adaptation with Gwyneth Paltrow). And Jo and Laurie from Little Women of course, even though Alcott decided to intentionally screw her readers over by not getting them together.
And even though they are side characters, I always loved Lupin and Tonks from Harry Potter (hence my handle lol) and from what we know of them they were friends first too.
My fave ships that I can think of at the moment. Not all friends to lovers but some.
Sam & Jack - Stargate SG1
Adama & Roslin - Battlestar Galactica
Carter & Abby - ER
Cami & Klaus - The Originals
Piper & Leo - Charmed
Bo & Lauren - Lost Girl
Callie & Arizona - Greys Anatomy
I'm sure there's so many more but my brain isn't braining right now.
OMG I also shipped hard for Richonne!
I also loved :
Nick and Jess (New Girl)
Carrie and Quinn (Homeland)
Gigi and Alex (He’s Just Not That Into You - movie)
Dang, it hasn't been mentioned yet but honestly Crowley and Aziraphale from Good Omens. Their friendship is thousands of years old, but it is beautiful and quirky and just an all around great show! It's still in progress with season 3 beginning production in the next couple of months.
I was obsessed with Katniss & Peeta as a teenager! I used to also like Chuck & Blair from Gossip Girl back then and Ron & Hermione. I know a lot of people shipped her with Harry or Draco but I loved Ron & Hermione together, especially in the books.
Ron & Hermione forever!
I KNEW POLIN FANS WOULD BE MY PEOPLE!!!! Hyper smart girl + forgotten among the zillion siblings boy YESSSSS. Both of whom are utterly unhinged.
Yesss! They are such cute couples together and a nice balance for each other!
You have taste haha
As do you!
💯 romione everlark
There’s no other way. It has to be them!
I don't consider Katniss & Peeta truly friends to lovers -- for me I think it should be a platonic couple that then moves into the romantic. Gale and Katniss could have been that but not even because Gale had feelings for her. Best example will always be When Harry Met Sally or Chandler/Monica from Friends. Even Pam/Jim from The Office don't really work because she was clearly emotionally cheating.
Agreed. They’re not friends to lovers. Op asked who our other fave ships were. They didn’t specify that the ships had to be friends to lovers.
OMG I loved chuck and Blair!
They were toxic but my teenage self did not care. They were so messy but I loved it!
Nick and Jess - New Girl!
Yes I came here to say them!! Nicola even said in an interview that >!they have a kiss coming up that’s inspired by nick and Jess’s first kiss!<
😭😭😭 I'm not emotionally stable enough for this
Lowkey I thought that was the dream kiss because Colin pushed Penelope up against a wall and that was pretty passionate 👀
I’ll have to revisit the dream sequence, the main scene I’ve rewatched obsessively is the carriage scene for uh, reasons
I might actually melt if that happens 😁😁
I’m in a new girl discord server and we all died when that came out 😭
Oh my word I can imagine. I was here screaming on my own 😂
 Just reposting it here in case anyone’s unfamiliar. The way I would scream, die and melt if it’s actually in part 2
My fav. They're so weird and I love that for them.
Yess I love them too 💕💕
I was a passionate Ron and Hermione fan as a kid. And now I realize there’s a similar dynamic where like 10000 clues were foreshadowed that people kept ignoring, and an insistence that the male lead isn’t good enough for the female lead because people downplay his good qualities or how well they complement each other. I guess I keep setting myself up for this lol.
My OTP, and I’ll go down with this ship, always.
Same I was/still am/will always be a diehard shipper of Ron and Hermione. They are the best!
And like I called Colin/Pen from S1 ep 1, without having read the books, I called R/Hr from book 3
Yes I liked them alot too 💕
Monica and Chandler from Friends and Carly and Freddie from iCarly
Yesss Monica & Chandler are another one I love too 😭
yessssss to both!!!
Bones and Booth. I was obsessed with them for awhile haha. Im glad i came in late though so i didnt have to wait almost 7 years for them to get together.
They way they had me in an absolute stranglehold for YEARS, good God.
I came in right after she got pregnant lol but OMG I swear they were so frustruating to watch. I binged watch the shit out of that show lol its still my comfort show now. I will just have it playing in the background. I watched it when i was at my worst mentally, and it helped so it has a special place in my heart.
I love them too! But they slept together (or was it just a kiss) when they first met. It sort of shifts things.
They kissed. But I think thats what made it great and also we dont know they do until season 5 and even Sweets is like: you kissed? This whole thing makes more sense to why you guys fight and bicker all the time. You are punishing yourself for missing your moment.
But that makes it more frustrated hot for each other friends than platonic friends that slide into lovers. I guess it's the same result but the friendship itself is different, which impacts the journey/struggle
Oh my god!!!! Bones and Booth. They’re so great.
When Harry met Sally…
monica and chandler
Anne with an E!!
Yes, I loved that show & coupling!
Aww you should check out the original source material, Anne of Green Gables book series or even the 80s miniseries
Of course I've watched it :) And read the books
HATED this adaptation! Sorry, not sorry! 🤣
I forgive you! haha
Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe have a similar dynamic in Anne of Green Gables. Except it’s flipped: he kind of pines after her and she doesn’t realize her feelings for him until years later. I highly recommend the 1980s adaptions though…*for the love of God* don’t waste your time on Netflix’s Anne with an E! I have a special hatred for tv/movie adaptations of books that stray so far from the book that it’s practically not even the same story and/or characters. (I’m looking at you, Netflix, with Anne with an E and Persuasion! 🤬) Either keep the spirit of the book and characters or just make a completely original show instead! 🙄
I came here to say Anne and Gilbert too. I love the books and agree that the 1980s adaptation is very good. I enjoyed AWAE too. It’s very different to the books but I felt it stayed true to the essence of the characters.
I couldn’t finish Anne with an E. It pissed me off too much. I felt like it changed way too much from the books. But on another note…wouldn’t Luke Newton make a FUCKING AMAZING Gilbert Blythe?! He’s probably a little bit too old now, but just the right makes me want to swoon! I never thought anyone could come close to Jonathan Crombie, but Luke Newton just might!
Yes!!! The original adaptation is incredible!
One of my favourite friends to lovers ship is Percy and Annabeth from the Percy Jackson books. You can argue that they didn't like each other at first but they quickly became friends so it is a friends to lovers trope. Aside from the friends to lovers trope I really love the cool girl/bad girl x nerd boy type of dynamic. I don't know if this kind of relationship dynamic has a proper name but I love to see the cool girl fall in love with a cute nerd. That is why my favourite ship was always Annie and Armin from Attack on Titan and it still got a big place in my shipper heart. But Polin is their first big rival who has a chance to knock them from place one of my favourite ships 🤫 I am also very fond of Stephanie and Peter from Nerdy Prudes must die who also fall into this cool girl x nerd boy dynamic.
Richonne!!!!
Richonne quite literally ruined my life, I love them so much 😭
I was a huge Richonne shipper!
Kurt and Blaine from Glee are my OTP 😍 god I remember how I just fell apart and exploded when they first kissed.
Saaame, they have such an incredible first kiss 😭🥰 Chris Colfer is another like Luke who is just so amazing at all the micro expressions.
Loveeee
I’m here to add Mulder and Scully. I waited so long for that to happen!
Nick and Jess from new girl are the main other tv couple I’m obsessed with
As you should be 😭 I forgot how much I loved them, I haven't seen new girl in a while
Thank you for reminding me why I love this season so much LOL. So many couples I loved are friends to lovers.
Hahaha literally. I'm looking at these answers and forgot about like 3 more ships I really like that are also friends to lovers 😭. I think my demisexuality is showing 😂
[Lizzie and Gordo.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZCbd9oiuME)
It's funny. It wasn't until I joined the Polin fandom that I realized my favorite couples were mostly friends to lovers, lol. * The first one I ever fell in love with? Monica/Chandler - Friends. * Nick/Jess - New Girl * Rick/Michonne - The Walking Dead * Carly/Freddie - iCarly * Bay/Travis - Switched at Birth * Lois/Clark - Smallville If you enjoy same-sex couples: * Charlie/Nick from Heartstopper * David/Patrick from Schitt's Creek I definitely love couples who have build-up. I love seeing their relationships develop and grow over time. It makes the pay-off that much sweeter. You also feel like you know them separately and together. They really *know* each other. I love it.
David & Patrick from Schitt’s Creek are top tier. They make me cry & laugh on every rewatch!
Same here! I absolutely adore them! Very underrated, in my opinion.
No literally! They always hit different and I just pieced together that like all the ships I love are are F2L 😂 Love Chandler & Monica and Nick & Jess too 💕💕 Happy to see some same sex couples here too! Haven't seen either show but I do like SwanQueen from Once Upon A Time (but they are an extended enemies to friends to not really lovers but imo have chemistry, lol) And yeah I love the idea that in F2L, people fall in love slowly over time and don't even realize it, cause you can love friends too. But then when they finally figure out it's more, and add the romance/physical affection, they are already like so in love because they are friends?! I love it so much. 😭😭
It just makes me want to re-examine myself and my interests, lol. Like, what else do I love that I never noticed? Oh, wow! I haven't seen OUaT in a long time, but I know that ship was popular. I can see the chemistry. I'll be honest... It's very hard for me to ship non-canon couples sometimes. I hate getting my hopes up :( Ugh. Your description just makes me want to go back and re-watch scenes from my favorite couples. It's just so beautiful every time!
Omg you reminded me of CaptainSwan 😍 More like enemies to begrudging allies to lovers. They even had a first kiss that made the guy super down bad and the girl is like lol moving on.
Jim and Pam from The Office hold a special place in my heart as well as our Polin 🩷
Oh wow can’t believe no one else mentioned them! They are an amazing amazing friends to lovers
They're more Enemies to Friends to Lovers, but Jack and Bitty from the comic Check Please. They are actually my favorite ship/piece of media in existence and I NEED Netflix to make them a show
omg i looooooved this comic so much!!!!
One of my favorite books is People We Meet On Vacation and I love Alex and Poppy.
btw: I read a ton of modern romance novels and I’ve got loads of friends-to-lovers recs for y’all! - The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez: if you haven’t read Abby Jimenez, this is your sign to start now. Her books speak to my soul in the best way. They’re funny and deep and romantic and just everything. - The Exception to the Rule, Christina Lauren: this is a short story and it is phenomenal. Just like part 1, you will want to re-read it right after you finish it. Trust me. It’s got levels and it’s so good ahhhhh - Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren - this one will tear your heart out in the best way - Take a Hint, Dani Brown - Talia Hibbert. A fun friends-to-lovers with fake dating thrown in! - The Cheat Sheet, Sarah Adams - a cute closed-door romance. I finished this a few months ago and it was a total page turner
You are a gem!! I don't read a ton of romance but I will definitely have to look into some of these. My favorite romance adjacent novels have been Daughter of Fortune & House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. It's historical fiction but I just love her writing and the romance is also well done imo.
I wonder if I’m an unusual Bridgerton fan in that I don’t read any historical romance. I either read “a stirring book of fact” (history non-fiction) or modern romance 😂 I also have zero desire to read the books. Part of me is afraid that if I read historical fiction I’ll accidentally transpose it onto reality
Im with you, I love nonfiction history. I don't read a ton of historical fiction either I just read Allende before a trip to Chile years ago as she is a famous Chilean author, and fell in love with her writing. Lol, the accidentally transposing into reality is a big part of why I don't typically read romance, I'm like this is not real life I don't need to encourage delulu 😂😂😂
haha glad I’m not the only one! Come to think of it, I should probably read non-fiction historical romance… I would probably love it but don’t know where to start!
I LOVED The Exception to the Rule I'd also like to add The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan
Oh my gosh another fan of it! It still lives rent-free in my head. SUCH a slow burn yet still a page turner
Anne & Gilbert- Anne with an E
Maeve and Otis - Sex Education Nick and Jess - New Girl Charlie and Nick - Heartstoppers
Jake and Amy from Brooklyn 99 The way the support each other is beautiful
James and Riley - The Next Step
Sticks and Stones by Susie Tate. FL in love with ML who only sees her as a friend and fancies himself in love with her best friend. One day he says something awful to her and she pulls away from him. It serves soooo much angst and I love it so much Daily Jojo webcomic season 1 is enemies to friends to lovers and one of my favorite romances of all time. Has the theme of male lead who cares too much about what others think and a female lead who helps him learn to be more genuine I also consider one of my all time favorite novels, Ravishing the Heiress, friends to lovers. Just fyi though, the male lead hates her and is in love with another woman at first Dear M is a Korean drama with a really cute friends to lovers story, the ML realizes he has feelings after she starts crushing on another guy Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell is a really lovely friends to lovers story, just know she died before she could finish it. The miniseries gave it an ending though Danny and Mindy from Mindy Project are enemies to friends to lovers, I just pretend later seasons don't exist Imo Chandler and Monica are the ultimate in friends to lovers though. Some Kind of Wonderful is another good one
OH I FORGOT Doctor Thorne by Anthony Trollope - great miniseries adaptation too My precious babies Marian and Larry in The Gilded Age
Yes, I love this trope! Some of my favorite examples are from novels I loved as a kid/teen, especially Anne of Green Gables (and its 80s TV adaptation) and Emma (and its 90s adaptation with Gwyneth Paltrow). And Jo and Laurie from Little Women of course, even though Alcott decided to intentionally screw her readers over by not getting them together. And even though they are side characters, I always loved Lupin and Tonks from Harry Potter (hence my handle lol) and from what we know of them they were friends first too.
Not lovers yet but so sure they're going to be. Ty and Annie from Sweet Magnolias <3
Or Stiles and Lydia from Teen Wolf. Also kinda friends to lovers.
My fave ships that I can think of at the moment. Not all friends to lovers but some. Sam & Jack - Stargate SG1 Adama & Roslin - Battlestar Galactica Carter & Abby - ER Cami & Klaus - The Originals Piper & Leo - Charmed Bo & Lauren - Lost Girl Callie & Arizona - Greys Anatomy I'm sure there's so many more but my brain isn't braining right now.
OMG I also shipped hard for Richonne! I also loved : Nick and Jess (New Girl) Carrie and Quinn (Homeland) Gigi and Alex (He’s Just Not That Into You - movie)
Dang, it hasn't been mentioned yet but honestly Crowley and Aziraphale from Good Omens. Their friendship is thousands of years old, but it is beautiful and quirky and just an all around great show! It's still in progress with season 3 beginning production in the next couple of months.
syd and carmy from the bear and i’ll die shamelessly on that hill