TV Stars Who Disliked a Potential Romance for Their Character (2024)

From The Bear to Abbott Elementary, actors have opened up about wanting more friendship than romance on their respective shows.Ayo Edebiri weighed in after fans noticed potential sparks between Sydney and Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) in season 1."They got a lot of trauma on both sides. Like if even that [was explored] — I don't think that window is open," Edebiri exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2023. "But if it were, there would need to be like two seasons where it's just them doing therapy individually before that would even be an option."Meanwhile, Jenna Ortega shut down the abundance of romance surrounding Wednesday Addams in her her Netflix series."I told [the writers] very early on that I didn’t want her to be in the middle of a love triangle. I’ve always been against the love triangle idea," the Scream actress told ETalk in November 2022. "As far as the boys went, I had to accept it — but honestly, I’m going to fight this love triangle thing so hard. Because I don’t think Wednesday would ever be in a love triangle."Scroll down for more romantic ships that didn't have the support of their actors:

From The Bear to Abbott Elementary, actors have opened up about wanting more friendship than romance on their respective shows.Ayo Edebiri weighed in after fans noticed potential sparks between Sydney and Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) in season 1."They got a lot of trauma on both sides. Like if even that [was explored] — I don't think that window is open," Edebiri exclusively told Us Weekly in January 2023. "But if it were, there would need to be like two seasons where it's just them doing therapy individually before that would even be an option."Meanwhile, Jenna Ortega shut down the abundance of romance surrounding Wednesday Addams in her her Netflix series."I told [the writers] very early on that I didn’t want her to be in the middle of a love triangle. I’ve always been against the love triangle idea," the Scream actress told ETalk in November 2022. "As far as the boys went, I had to accept it — but honestly, I’m going to fight this love triangle thing so hard. Because I don’t think Wednesday would ever be in a love triangle."Scroll down for more romantic ships that didn't have the support of their actors:

In March 2023, Tyler James Williams opened up about his concerns with a Janine and Gregory romance.

“I've always been pro-Janine and Tariq because I love him. But I'm pro-Janine and Gregory, after growth. They need to grow into the people they're becoming. Because I've yet to even see who they're becoming as a performer, I can't say that they should be together yet," he told GQ. “How many times have you been with somebody or been excited about somebody and you thought this could be it? Three weeks later, it’s a wrap.”

After Janine and Gregory got together in the season 3 finale, Williams addressed his past comments.

"Oh, I was lying. I knew what the finale was, and I was misleading. I kept getting asked about what was happening with Janine and Gregory, and I’m like, 'Uhhh, they should be friends.' No, I’ve been waiting to get to this moment just as much as everybody else has," he revealed to TVLine in May 2024. "It’s just very difficult, in a world full of spoilers, not to allude to that."

“[The idea of a romance], it's like the funniest and furthest from the truth. I think that’s what’s interesting about any pairing on television. You see chemistry between people that are platonic partners in crime on cop shows, lawyer shows. ... People always want it to go somewhere,” Lauren Cohan told TVLine in June 2023. "But that’s kind of a reductive place to take it. In so many ways, the most nuanced part of any partnership, friendship [or] enemyship isn’t on that level."

In November 2022, Ortega said she had no interest in exploring Wednesday's love life in season 2.

"Now that Tyler's off the table, I feel like she's off of boys for a while. I feel like her and Xavier are just getting to a safe place. I think there's an opportunity there for a really sweet platonic relationship," she detailed to MTV. "Because I don't think it's shown often enough, men and women having safe platonic relationships that don't become romantic and are just genuine, almost sibling-like relationships. I think that'd be wonderful to see."

"I think when we were making it, neither of us [me nor Jeremy Allen White] were thinking about [romance]," Edebiri shared with Us in January 2023 about a potential romance between Carmy and Sydney. "It did feel really nice to get to do something that felt different. There aren't that many platonic male [and] female relationships."

White, for his part, showed support for his costar's perspective. "Of course there is love and and respect in this relationship. There’s admiration and I hope that even in platonic relationships, you are able to say things like, 'I need you,'" he told Variety in July 2023. "When they speak to each other under the table in episode nine, it’s such a beautiful scene. It is a scene about partnership, but not a romantic partner."

According to Charlotte Nicdao, the magic behind her character's relationship with Ian (Rob McElhenney) was the lack of romance.

"I always love exploring the relationship between Poppy and Ian. I really think there isn’t anything else like it on TV at the moment which is a big call but I don’t know, maybe I’m biased," she told The Playlist in November 2022. "I really love getting to explore that relationship because it keeps getting more and more complicated each season and I can’t wait to see where it goes next."

Nicdao continued: "I love that the show holds that relationship up as being just as important as a romantic relationship. Just because we’re not rooting for them romantically — although I know some people are — I’m not and I still see that they’re probably the most central figures in each other’s lives and always will be and I think that is worth looking at."

During an interview in 2022, Hannah Waddingham revealed she wasn't rooting for Ted (Jason Sudeikis) and Rebecca.

"It’s social conditioning says a lead woman and the lead man are going to end up together," the Ted Lasso actress said while promoting the show. "Far deeper is the beauty of sometimes a platonic relationship, where you will be the last one at the person’s bedside, even if you haven’t slept with them. There may be more longevity in that."

Rachel Brosnahan recalled begging creator Amy Sherman-Palladino to not explore a connection between Midge and Lenny (Luke Kirby).

"I think that their friendship is so important to both of them, but especially to Midge, and it’s an intimate friendship, unlike a lot of the ones I’ve seen between men and women on television," the Emmy Award winner told The Hollywood Reporter in 2019. "They like each other because they admire each other, they admire each other’s talent and they admire each other’s drive. And that is allowed to be all that it is, you know? And I love it, and I don’t want to risk it for anything, but I appreciate that they walk right up to the line."

Brosnahan added: "Amy and I were in complete agreement about that. For me it was about wanting to let their friendship be their friendship, as dynamic and wonderful and weird as it is. I love it exactly as it is, and I don’t need more from it, and I think Midge feels the same way."

In season 4 of the hit Prime Video show, which aired in 2022, the twosome ultimately gave into their feelings and had sex.

In response to fan interest in Buck and Eddie's potential future, Ryan Guzman praised the emotional connection between the onscreen coworkers.

“But that’s what true bromance is. The bromance that I see in Eddie and Buck is like an older brother/younger brother relationship. Other people might associate their relationship with something else. Oliver [Stark] and I definitely have fun with that," he told Anthem Magazine in 2019. “We definitely enjoy all the posts that fans give us on social media — it’s pretty amazing. We share those all the time, actually. That being said, again, I think having two men being in tune with each other is pretty rare to see because, even though a lot people want to see it, they’re afraid to ask for it or venture out."

Since The 100 premiered on The CW in 2014, viewers were rooting for a romance between best friends Bellamy and Clarke. Eliza Taylor, however, had other thoughts about the fan-favorite couple's future.

"Do I love Bellarke? You know what, it's complicated. I love our platonic relationship on the show. I think it's great," the Australia native said during a livestream in 2016. "But the whole shipping thing I am not accustomed to and I don't get."

The fictional couple ultimately did not get together before The 100 aired its final season in 2020.

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