Top 35 Good-Girl-Bad-Boy Couples In Movies & Television

An enduring trope is seen in bad boy and good girl movies that highlights one of the most intriguing romantic pairings. For audiences, there’s always been something alluring about the bad boy. He’s dangerous and unpredictable, but he has a softer side that makes it all the more effective when the audience sees him fall in love. By contrast, good girls sometimes live lives that are too sheltered and secure but offer a sweet and innocent personality. Together, these boys and girls offer each other romance and purpose.

That’s the setup for many good-girl-bad-boy pairings in movies and television and has resulted in some memorable examples of the trope. While this kind of pairing is most prevalent in teen projects, it can also be found in some of the best Disney couples, and even in some of the adult pairings on 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.

35 Zack Siler & Laney Boggs – She’s All That (1999)

Played By Freddie Prinze Jr. & Rachael Leigh Cook

She’s All That is a 1999 rom-com referenced and spoofed many times since its release. In the movie, Freddie Prinze Jr. stars as Zack Slater, a popular high school jock. When he learns his girlfriend cheated on him, he claims he can make any girl in the school fall in love with him. When his friends make fun of him for it, he bets them he can take any random girl and turn her into the prom queen in six weeks. His friends choose an awkward, unpopular girl named Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook).

The movie sees Prinze Jr. playing an arrogant and selfish high school jock, and his only reason for dating Laney is to prove he can make any girl popular with his magic. It is insulting and wrong on every level. However, as with films of this sort, Laney proves to be a strong-willed young woman who manages to change Zack for the better.

She helps turn him into a kinder and more considerate person in the end, forcing him to understand how he was wrong and to grow as a person. A remake arrived in 2021 with He’s All That, and the comedy Not Another Teen Movie spoofed the storyline, helping to cement it in pop culture history.

34 Han Solo & Princess Leia – Star Wars (1977)

Played By Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

The film that began the Star Wars franchise, Episode IV – A New Hope tells the story of wistful Force-sensitive Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who longs to leave his home planet of Tatooine to fight the evil Empire. After inheriting his Jedi father’s weapon, a lightsaber, Luke sets off under the tutelage of Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) with smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to join the Rebellion and face the evil Darth Vader.

Release Date

May 25, 1977

Cast

Mark Hamill , Harrison Ford , Carrie Fisher , Alec Guinness , David Prowse , James Earl Jones , Frank Oz , Anthony Daniels , Kenny Baker , Peter Mayhew , Peter Cushing

Runtime

121 Minutes

It seemed Star Wars was leading to a story where the good boy farm kid, Luke Skywalker, would rescue the beautiful Princess Leia and then find love by her side. However, that was never in the cards. While Luke thought she was beautiful, the bad boy Han Solo ended up winning her heart.

That was better for the story since Luke and Leia were revealed to be brother and sister, though this wasn’t known to them or the audience until Return of the Jedi. Instead, Han and Leia’s back-and-forth added the old screwball comedy formula to the space opera and was a perfect love story.

Han Solo was the guy who never seemed to want anything to tie him down. Princess Leia had more things to think about than romance since she led a rebellion. However, Han and Leia found love and ended up with their own son before their strong wills drove them apart again. With that said, when Han Solo dies in The Last Jedi, Leia’s reaction shows how much she really loves the guy she once called a “nerf herder.”

33 J.D. Dean & Veronica Swayer – Heathers (1989)

Played By Christian Slater & Winona Ryder

Heathers

Heathers is a dark comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann, featuring Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer and Christian Slater as J.D. Released in 1989, the story delves into high school social hierarchies and the consequences of rebelling against popular cliques. The film addresses themes of teen angst, peer pressure, and the impact of destructive behavior within a satirical framework.

Director

Michael Lehmann

Release Date

March 31, 1989

Cast

Winona Ryder , Christian Slater , Shannen Doherty , Lisanne Falk , Kim Walker , Penelope Milford

Runtime

103 minutes

There aren’t many good people in the 1989 dark comedy Heathers. The “Heathers” are high school bullies who treat everyone horribly, but still remain the most popular girls in the school. However, the one member who is good at heart, even if she wants to be part of the bad girl clique, is Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder).

Things go wrong when she meets a new bad boy in her school named J.D. (Christian Slater). Unlike many bad boy good girl movies, J.D. actually turned Veronica into a bad girl for a short time. He started killing the Heathers both because he was a young serial killer and also because he promised this could make Veronica popular once they were gone.

However, Veronica was truly a good person and finally stood up to J.D. This movie is not one in which the good girl converts the bad boy and falls in love. Instead, Heathers has a more explosive finale, helping it to stand out in a crowded field within this subgenre.

32 Christian Grey & Anastasia Steele – Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015)

Played By Jamie Dorman & Dakota Johnson

Fifty Shades of Grey

Based on the book by E.L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey is the first film in the trilogy that follows naive literature student Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson), whose life changes upon meeting the complicated and tormented billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dorman). Drawn to each other, the two start a romantic relationship where Steele uncovers Grey’s secrets – and explores her own personal desires.

Director

Sam Taylor-Johnson

Release Date

February 13, 2015

Cast

Jennifer Ehle , Dakota Johnson , Jamie Dorman , Marcia Gay Harden , Eloise Mumford , Victor Rasuk , Luke Grimes , Rita Ora

Runtime

125 Minutes

Based on the best-selling novels by E.L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey is an erotic romance drama directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. The story follows a young billionaire business magnate named Christian Grey (Jamie Dorman) who meets a shy young college graduate named Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson), and they embark on a sadomasochistic sexual relationship.

The relationship started with Christian saying he wasn’t into romance, but things changed when they did get a chance to date. The sex is hardcore and employs painful bondage, but slowly, Christian gets Ana to give in to what he wants.

Some have considered Christian and Ana to have a toxic relationship, with Ana submitting to whatever Christian wants to do to her, though both are professing their love all the while. That makes it tough to fully gauge what’s right and wrong between the two. Christian does shun her for selfish reasons at times, proving that she probably should find better, but eventually, she convinces him to love her just the same.

31 Sutter & Aimee – The Spectacular Now

Played By Miles Teller & Shailene Woodley

The Spectacular Now (2013)

The Spectacular Now is a romantic drama film that follows the story of Sutter Keely, a charismatic high school senior, and Aimee Fineky, a quiet and bookish classmate, as they form an unlikely relationship. As Sutter’s past and present collide, he must confront his demons and re-evaluate his priorities, all while navigating his blossoming romance with Aimee.

Director

James Ponsoldt

Release Date

August 2, 2013

Runtime

95 Minutes

The Spectacular Now is an indie coming-of-age drama from 2013 based on the novel by Tim Tharp. In the movie, Miles Teller plays Sutter Keely, a popular high school senior who spent most of his last year of school drinking and partying all the time.

He wants to go to college, but he has some dark secrets from his past, including a father who is also an alcoholic and who his mother has forbidden him to see. Shailene Woodley plays Aimee, a good girl who falls in love with Sutter despite their wildly different personalities.

The movie is about a lot more than Aimee and Sutter’s relationship. Aimee’s dad died, and she wants to help Sutter reconnect with his dad, which is not a good idea. However, as with most good girl bad boy movies, Aimee is the best thing that could happen to Sutter, helping him be a better person, although he is never the best thing for her at this time in their lives.

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

Played By Katie Holmes & Joshua Jackson

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 despite 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. Together they were responsible for some of the saddest moments on Dawson’s Creek as well as some of the most romantic.

29 Leilana & Troy – Reality Bites (1994)

Played By Winona Ryder & Ethan Hawke

Reality Bites

Reality Bites, directed by Ben Stiller, explores the lives of four recent college graduates as they navigate the challenges of adulthood. Stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke, and Janeane Garofalo portray friends struggling with employment, relationships, and personal identity in an early 1990s cultural landscape. The film captures the angst and disorientation of Generation X while providing a candid look at youth in transition.

Release Date

February 18, 1994

Writers

Helen Childress

Runtime

99 minutes

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.

Lailana (Winona Ryder) is a valedictorian on her way to becoming a filmmaker while Troy (Ethan Hawke) is a failed musician breaking the rules, and yet, they seem to fit together perfectly. They make for a quintessential Gen X bad boy and good girl couple while also fitting into the friends-to-lovers trope that is also popular. It leaves Lailana with a typical decision in these types of movies: seek out a more secure life or risk it all with the moody and artistic rebel.

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

Played By Miriam McDonald & Shane Kippel

Degrassi: The Next Generation

The next generation of the students at Degrassi are here. “Degrassi: The Next Generation” takes place 14 years after the cult hit show “Degrassi Junior High” as students continue to deal with the obstacles of being a teenager. From issues like relationship problems, homosexuality, and bullying to darker issues like rape, school shooting and death. “Degrassi: The Next Generation” plunges into the world of what this generation is really going through.

Release Date

October 13, 2001

Cast

Drake , Nina Dobrev , Shenae Grimes , Cassie Steele , Brendan Fletcher , Jake Epstein

Seasons

14

Degrassi High is the iconic Canadian series that has seen a lot of memorable romantic pairings. Among them, it features a fan-favorite bad boy and good girl couple that also feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. 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.

এছাড়াও পড়ুন  বেরিলের পর হিউস্টনে হাজার হাজার মানুষ এখনও বিদ্যুৎহীন

27 Sakura & Sasuke – Naruto Franchise (2002-)

Played by Chie Nakamura & Noriaki Sugiyama

Sakura, even after Sasuke goes down the darkest of paths, loves him completely.

The Naruto franchise began in a manga, and it’s still ongoing with the Boruto manga and anime series. The original series focuses on the ambitious ninja Naruto Uzumaki, but it also features his teammates Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. Along with supporting their friend, they also develop feelings for each other which becomes one of the best storylines in the series.

Sakura is the perfect student and someone who always follows the rule book. Sasuke, on the other hand, 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)

Played By Emma Stone & Ryan Gosling

The central story of Crazy, Stupid, Love isn’t Hannah and Jacob’s, but the charming and fun couple steal the show as the movie’s most endearing romance. It also features the first of many winning collaborations between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone whose chemistry really makes this romance work. Hannah (Stone) is a practical and career-focused young woman whose serious relationship falls apart and she seeks out the handsome womanizer Jacob (Gosling) to embrace her fun side.

The first romantic scene between them has a lot of fun breaking down the tropes of the good girl and bad boy relationship with Hannah insisting they do not fall into clichés and Jacob showing vulnerability with his seduction skills. The would-be one-night stand inevitably leads to a serious relationship. Crazy, Stupid, Love also features a great twist that feeds into the trope of parents disapproving of their good girl daughter dating a bad boy.

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

Played By Marianly Tejeda & Cooper van Grootel

One Of Us Is Lying

Based on the mystery novel by Karen M. McManus, One of Us Is Lying follows a group of high schoolers who are all given detention when suddenly one of them dies due to an allergic reaction. The show unfolds the mystery around the death of this student, who was a major gossip and negatively impacted the lives of the other four, casting suspicion on the lot.

Release Date

October 7, 2021

Writers

Erica Saleh

Seasons

2

One of Peacock’s first teen dramas, One Of Us Is Lying, is based on the best-selling teen novel of the same name by author Karen M. McManus. Described as The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars, the show is full of tons of mystery and an already iconic bad-boy good-girl pairing. Brownyn (Marianly Tejeda) is a straight-A student and a good daughter who would never do anything wrong.

Contrary to her good deeds, 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. It is a unique situation to see such a relationship take shape and flourish, adding a high-stakes element to the surprising romance.

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

Played By Marisa Davila & Johnathan Nieves

Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies is the Grease prequel series from Paramount+. 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)

Played By Alexis Bledel & Milo Ventimiglia

Rory (Alexis Bledel) has three main love interests over the course of the Gilmore Girls series. Though she was always the smart and grounded young woman, she proved to have a thing for bad boys in the case of two of those love interests. However, 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)

Played By Kirsten Bell & Jason Dohring

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.

21 Lissa & Christian – Vampire Academy (2022)

Played By Andre Dae Kim & Daniela Nieves

Vampire Academy

A young dhampir guardian-in-training and her best friend, a Moroi vampire princess, attend a high-stakes academy for vampires. As they contend with typical teenage challenges and the constant threat of Strigoi attacks, they unravel mysteries about their school and their fates.

Seasons

1

Release Date

October 27, 2022

Directors

Mark Waters

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 that the world shuns him for.

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)

Played By Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott (Live-Action)

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)

Played by Kiernan Shipka & Gavin Leatherwood

This is one of the rare instances when the good girl in one of these relationships is a literal witch. 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.

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.

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)

Played by Vanessa Rubio & William Labka

Cobra Kai

Seasons

5

Writers

Josh Heald , Jon Hurwitz , Hayden Schlossberg , Michael Jonathan , Mattea Greene , Bill Posley , Stacey Harman , Joe Piarulli , Bob Dearden

Directors

Jon Hurwitz

Showrunner

Jon Hurwitz

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

Played by James Lafferty & Bethany Joy Lenz

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. The soapy show is filled with unexpected romances that strain other relationships, but this one struck a chord with audiences in a big way. 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)

Played By Paige O’Hara & Robby Benson

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

A selfish prince is doomed to become a monster for the rest of his life, unless he manages to fall in love with a beautiful young woman.

Director

Gary Trousdale , Kirk Wise

Release Date

November 21, 1991

Runtime

84 Minutes

Cast

Paige O’Hara , Robby Benson , Angela Lansbury , Jerry Orbach , David Ogden Stiers , Bradley Pierce , Jesse Corti , Richard White

​​​​​​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, while 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.

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.

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