Top 10 best and worst TV Boyfriends/Husbands

  This post's a bit different as it's 10 fictional men who I think are the best boyfriends/husbands ever and 10 who have the odd nice moment but on the whole, are not the nicest or most respectful partners, in my opinion. (not all of them are main characters so there's not a lot known about some of them).

 Please be polite if you disagree and hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment/reply with some of your fave or least fave TV boyfriends. 

  

  

 

  

Top 10 best TV boyfriends of all time

10-Chandler Bing (Friends)-Although he’s very flawed and hasn't always been a great guy and is probs the least progressive on the best boyfriends list as the ‘Friends’ men are kinda sexist, he’s my fave ‘Friends’ man as while he frequently messes up and isn’t always the best boyfriend, he matures over time. For instance, while they don’t get off to the best of starts, it’s undeniable that Monica and Chandler belong together as he gradually becomes a better person and they support each other during difficult times as Monica's generosity regularly shines through. Also, for the most part, they have such a healthy, wholesome relationship and one of the best love stories on the show without question. For instance, I don’t know how anyone could hold back tears at their proposal and Chandler’s ‘mother without a baby’ speech. 

9-Mike Chang (Glee)- The least problematic guy on ‘Glee’.* Even if he’s not nearly as supportive of Tina as he could be in ‘Props’, Mike is definitely still one of the show’s best boyfriends and is a total catch too, as he’s cute, smart, sweet and shy and a brilliant dancer, and despite what people say, he CAN sing, haha. 

8-Raymond Holt (Brooklyn 99)-Raymond Jacob Holt is such a loyal, decent, stoic man who’s often open to learning, growing and admitting his mistakes and apologising when he's in the wrong or when he's a bit petty, hurtful or self-centred. He would also do anything to support and protect the man he loves, even during disagreements, and is always there to defend and look out for his husband. 

 7-Patrick Brewer (Schitt’s Creek)-Patrick can be a little judgemental but is generally so kind as well as being very devoted and is super supportive and accepting of David while helping him to grow and accept himself. They’re such a sweet, fantastic couple and are so in love.

 6-Chris Traeger (Parks and Rec)-Chris is so respectful and kind even when he's feeling low and has such a positive influence on everyone in his life that Ann didn’t even realise that he was trying to break up with her. He’s also incredibly helpful during her pregnancy and will be a great Dad, as he’s so kind and supportive whether they’re a couple or not.

5-Terry Jeffords (Brooklyn 99)-A total family man.  :) Terry is such a strong, supportive, kind, super devoted husband and father who makes mistakes but always tries his best and prioritises his family, while also looking out for his friends and work family.

 4-Niles Crane (Frasier)- Niles doesn’t hide how much he adores Daphne and (for the most part) is respectful about his attraction and devotion to her (well, more respectful than Frasier who def has some inappropriate moments) and apologises when he’s an ass and you can tell that he’s truly been head over heels in love with her and everything about her from their first meeting to the finale(and will be forever.) In fact, much of the show is pretty underrated as while it is by no means a flawless show, in some respects, it's dated better than most other sitcoms of the time.

3-Chidi Anagonye (The Good Place)-Chidi is selfless, thoughtful, decent, smart, respectful, helpful, supportive, sweet and kind as well as being a true gentleman who's not perfect but is proud when Eleanor grows while still loving her for her. It's also sweet that despite being a relatable, indecisive king, he was sure about his feelings for Eleanor and respected her and her feelings and wishes.

2-Ben Wyatt (Parks and Rec)-Ben is such an amazing boyfriend/husband. 😊 He’s so sweet and romantic and is always there to make Leslie feel better and give her the most thoughtful, heartfelt gifts and surprises. Not to mention that the way that he champions Leslie, consistently supports her and takes her side and prioritises her career and happiness is something that everyone deserves from their partner and you feel that he deserves his happiness and personal and professional wins and successes too. They're an amazing team with how generous and supportive Leslie is too. <3

      HM- Jonah Simms (Superstore)-He’s not always as supportive as he could be and wasn’t a great boyfriend to Kelly and there were times that I didn’t feel that he was as ‘all in’ with his relationship with Amy as the show wanted us to think he was (whereas I think Amy was a lot more invested than the show often framed it) but he does really love her and treats her so well as he's a really decent, genuinely great person. He’s also such a respectful, kind, stand-up dude who’ll make a great Dad and, along with Jake Peralta and Ben Wyatt, he's one of the only white sitcom men that I trust, especially because of the blatant, gross sexism of some of the 'Superstore' men. /Winston Bishop (New Girl)-I'm a bit conflicted about the men in this show but for the most part, Winnie is really sweet with Aly and is a deeply caring, loving partner and is just a great character, generally./Marcus (Brooklyn 99)-So cute, romantic and kind-super dreamy!/Joe Meagle (Parks +Rec)-Such a kind, friendly, sweet guy who truly loves Donna./Andy Bailey (Modern Family)-While cheating is never ok (so this def doesn't justify it and I can't rank him too high for this reason), it’s clear that Andy was a very devoted, loyal partner to Beth for years and is very romantic and caring as he was willing to give up his dream job for Haley. (I still wish Haley and Andy were endgame and I always will.)    

(I also like Abed Nadir from 'Community', Gregory Eddie from 'Abbott Elementary' and Timmy Yoon from 'Blockbuster' and would have put them on this list/honourable mentions.)*updates/edited

1-Jake Peralta (Brooklyn 99)- The king of heart eyes with just the biggest, kindest heart. 😊 <3 Jake’s BY FAR the best and the most loving, selfless, feminist, respectful TV boyfriend/husband ever (like it's not even close and not just because most suck, Jake's without a doubt the best by more than a country mile, imo.) In fact, as well as being an incredibly kind and wonderfully supportive, romantic, perfect husband, he’s also INCREDIBLY generous, compassionate, forgiving, empathetic and understanding even when, as is often the case, there's nothing in it for him as he goes through a LOT in this show and despite all the huge sacrifices he makes and the betrayals, intense trauma and pain he endures, he’s always there for Amy and his friends to champion, encourage and support them in a way that sets him apart and puts basically all other fictional and real straight white men to shame (I don't think any men love more or more deeply and selflessly than him. <3 <3) For instance, he remains optimistic and grateful despite getting hurt so much and not only does he not get to win and not get everything he wants but he continually lifts up others to ensure that they get to achieve their dreams. The fact that he’s now the world’s best Dad after having a bad Dad himself is so heart-warming and wholesome. He’s also so caring and thoughtful and has so much love in his heart as the ‘family’ speech he gave to Amy is 1000% the most beautiful thing that I’ve ever heard and is the nicest, most perfect thing that he could have said. <3   

*With Cooter being the worst in the show but he's not a main character and I'm not talking about side/recurring characters for every show.

Top 10 worst and overrated TV boyfriends/husbands 

10-Ted Mosby (How I Met Your Mother)-Ted may consider himself a romantic but most of his actions come off as creepy, as he doesn’t really respect boundaries and before getting together with Tracy, he often treated his girlfriends and friends very badly. He’s also a cheater as well as being transphobic, selfish, problematic, hypocritical and rude as he made Robin get rid of her dogs even though he lied and kept his stuff from ex-girlfriends and he knew how much the dogs meant to Robin.

 9-Howard Wolowitz (The Big Bang Theory)- The fact that Howard’s not the worst on ‘TBBT’, despite making racist jokes and being arguably one of the creepiest, perviest and sleaziest men in recent sitcom history really says something about the men in this show and their gross sexism and patriarchal sense of entitlement. Even after marrying Bernadette, he remains fairly perverted, sexist and lazy, as he refuses to help with any domestic tasks even when Bernadette's pregnant and expects (and often gets) regular support from her without supporting her in return, even though he's sometimes quite disrespectful towards her. Also, even though he improves, you don’t want to root for someone who regularly insults the other characters (including his own mother and best friend) and sexually harasses and objectifies almost every woman he meets, especially as he isn’t really a very decent person and never has to face any consequences or apologise for his predatory behaviour and keeps getting rewarded by getting exciting job opportunities and getting to meet celebs and personal heroes as he’s just very lucky and gets things handed to him.

8-Noah (Puck) Puckerman (Glee)-Puck might also kinda improve but most of the time, he was a very problematic bully who treated a lot of people terribly. It’s also really creepy and uncomfortable that he expressed interest in some very young girls and that he cheated with Rachel and Quinn when they were dating his best friend, Finn and it’s even worse that he got Quinn drunk to pressure her to have unprotected sex and was rude about her weight when she was pregnant with his child and seemed to lose interest in her for a bit when she wouldn’t sleep with him again.

 7- Leonard Hofstadter (The Big Bang Theory)-He’s not the worst on the show and has some nice moments but he still cheated, violated Penny’s privacy, insulted her intelligence, took advantage of her when she was drunk and upset, hid money from her, called himself a great partner despite being ok with Penny staying in a job that she was unhappy with and was only ‘nice’ to get sex when they were going out even though she does a lot of thoughtful things for him and gets into his interests. In fact, he even tried to emotionally manipulate Penny into having sex and doing what he wanted and often seemed more interested in the idea of getting together with the ‘pretty girl’, rather than being a supportive partner or liking her for her and literally referred to a woman that he cheated on his girlfriend with as ‘stuff’ that he ‘wanted to do’.

6- Ross Geller (Friends)- Ross is frequently selfish, conceited and entitled, creepy, controlling and possessive and has some antiquated, bigoted views on gender roles and sexuality, so there are some pretty big red flags right there. He's ok sometimes and does get marginally better for a bit at certain points during Rachel’s pregnancy but sadly he doesn’t keep it up as more often than not he’s a pretty bad partner as he cheats on Rachel (after his obsessive jealousy of her co-worker) and doesn’t respect her or her career at all, so it really doesn’t sit right that she gives up her dream job and chance of a lifetime to be with him at the end whereas he doesn’t have to make any sacrifices, changes or compromises. 

5-Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)-Womanizer doesn’t even begin to cover it, he often views women as not much more than ‘conquests’ and demonstrates very offensive, perverted, misogynistic attitudes. He even refers to a time that ‘he sold a woman’, which literally, what the hell?! Marshall may be really quite problematic himself at times but he’s the only leading man in HIMYM who comes close to being an almost decent guy and a good boyfriend and is a lot better than the other main guys.

4-Teddy Ramos née Wells (Brooklyn 99)-Didn’t expect to put someone from this show here but he really is just the worst (much like how Dave in 'Parks and Rec' is truly awful and super selfish for trying to break up Leslie and Ben.) He’s dull and selfish when he’s with Amy as he stresses her out, only ever talks about Pillsners and doesn’t engage in her interests (unlike Jake). He also shows no respect for Peraltiago’s committed relationship or for the women he dates after Amy by continuing to try to pursue Amy and sabotage her relationship with Jake. 

3- Danny Castellano (The Mindy Project)- He becomes really controlling and abusive towards Mindy and doesn’t show her or her career any respect at all. In fact, with everything from his sexism, his uncomfortable views on LBGTQIA + people and the way that he tries to pressure and coerce Mindy into major things and control her body, it all adds up to him just being the absolute worst as he's awful to Mindy and doesn’t let her have agency or really ever let do what she wants or feels is right for her. 

 2- Will Schuester (Glee)-Will’s just so creepy and inappropriate and lacks emotional maturity when it comes to relationships. Also, as well as being weirdly close with his students, his treatment of Emma (the guidance counsellor and his main love interest) isn’t always the best either, as he tries to get back with her when she’s with Carl and he’s not much better when they're together either as he’s selfish about their wedding and doesn’t help Emma plan it even though she’s super stressed and overwhelmed. He also seems to expect Emma to drop everything to let him follow his dreams and rarely takes her feelings, hopes or what she wants into account even though she's always supported him and put his dreams first. He also never faces consequences for his mistakes or selfish, inappropriate actions as he still always get what he wants.

(Dis)honourable mentions- Schmidt (New Girl)- Oddly enough, he very nearly made it onto the best list (especially as I was tempted to put Ray (Everybody loves Raymond) or Derek Shepherd (Grey's Anatomy) here as based on what I've heard, they're both far worse than Schmidt) but I was torn as all the 'NG' men say some great and some problematic things. In fact, even though Schmece are such a good couple by the later seasons as Schmidt improves SO SO much and becomes a very devoted and caring husband and dad, it can't be denied that he used to be a player and a pretty selfish, borderline sexist douche. In fact, he sabotaged Cece’s wedding, immediately cheated on her and tried to stop her from getting a breast reduction. In general, his objectification of Cece with regards to her looks and heritage in the early seasons can be pretty uncomfortable, especially as Cece is such a loving, thoughtful partner to him./Raj Koothrappali (The Big Bang Theory)-There aren’t really any good boyfriends on this show and ironically, he could have been one of the better ‘TBBT’ boyfriends but he’s still problematic as he’s pretty sexist when he’s drunk and can be a bit rude, creepy and possessive./Blaine Anderson (Glee)-There are hardly any good boyfriends on ‘Glee’ but he cheated, tried to pressure Kurt to have sex when he didn’t want to and dated Kurt’s former bully. (I still like Klaine, though.)/ Frasier Crane (Frasier)- As much as there's arguably a lot to like about this show, it has plenty of issues too and Frasier can be a little creepy and disrespectful with regard to his attitudes towards women and dating./Finn Hudson (Glee)-Cheated on and with Quinn, lied about sleeping with Santana and broke up with Rachel to date Brittany and Santana because they were more popular and 'conventionally' attractive. He also used offensive language and outed Santana.

1-Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory)-It's interesting that the top picks for the absolute best TV boyfriend and the worst both have love interests called Amy. Despite describing himself as a genius, Sheldon doesn’t seem to know how to treat anyone well as he's incredibly cruel, controlling, hypocritical, entitled, ungrateful, narcissistic, disrespectful, bigoted and misogynistic and just gets everything he wants without ever having to sacrifice or compromise or put anyone else first (much like the other sexist asshole ‘TBBT’ men) and is so incredibly rude and insulting to everyone, including his ‘friends’. If that wasn’t bad enough, his wife, Amy, often fares the worst as he repeatedly insults her, dismisses her field and doesn't respect her accomplishments. On top of that, he also doesn’t consider her feelings and never really lets her have anything the way she wants it. He also doesn’t respect her or listen to her, gives her gifts solely to upset her and denies her kindness, love or affection and yet somehow she’s smitten and puts him first when he never does that for her or for anyone else?! Even someone as unbelievably patient as Amy would find this kind of treatment beyond insulting. She deserves soo much better and it's infuriating that she was written to not only put up with it but to be incredibly patient and selfless.