The popular drama about fairytale characters who have been cursed to live in the real world ran for a full seven seasons on ABC. However, seven seasons couldn’t have happened without a first. If there’s one thing the show banks on more than anything else, it’s true love.
Because of this, we thought we’d take a look at the biggest romances from Season 1 to see how they stack up. We’re using the word “romance” lightly, as some of these relationships were definitely one-sided and not always healthy. That being said, if there were feelings and flirtation between a couple, they could be showing up on this list. With that said, it’s time to pack into Emma’s yellow bug and head to Storybrooke! Here is how every main relationship in Season 1 of Once Upon a Time ranks.
Regina & Sidney
Before Sidney became the Evil Queen’s magic mirror, Sidney served as the Genie of Agrabah. After being let out of the magic lamp by King Leopold, he is welcomed into the royal palace where he meets and falls for the king’s wife: Regina.
After believing Regina loves him as much as he loves her, Sidney murders King Leopold. Unfortunately, Regina does not reciprocate, and he uses the lamp to wish he could be with her forever. This wish sentences him to being trapped as the Magic Mirror, where he learned the hard way that magic comes with a price.
Kathryn & David
When David wakes up from a deep slumber in Storybrooke, he’s forgotten everything about his past life. His distanced wife, Kathryn, steps in to remind him of how things were before. Though her memories are false, the couple tries to reconnect. At one point, Kathryn even believes she could be pregnant, and the two ponder their future together with kids.
Though David does eventually “cheat” on Kathryn with his real wife, Mary Margaret, Kathryn strangely grows to become okay with it. Fate always works itself out.
August & Emma
Emma and August’s relationship never really picked up, but its potential was definitely there. In Season 1, August heads to Storybrook in an attempt to make Emma believe in fairytales. In addition to this, he offers to buy her a drink and exchanges some light flirtation.
Unfortunately for the couple, nothing really came out of their relationship. It definitely didn’t help when August was turned to wood. The possibility of a romance was completely erased after he was reverted back to a little boy in Season 2.
Dreamy & Nova
Back when he was known as Dreamy, this dwarf fell for a beautiful fairy named Nova. The cute couple plans to run away and explore the world together, however, the Blue Fairy and Bossy have different ideas.
Nova wants to be a fairy godmother and Dreamy’s purpose in life is to mine. If the two chase after love, they’ll never get the opportunity to fulfill what they’re destined to. Because of this pressure, Dreamy tragically breaks things off with Nova. Out of anger, he goes to chip at rocks in the mine, but his ax breaks. He gets a new one that reveals his new name: Grumpy.
Cinderella & Prince Thomas
Though the final season of Once Upon a Time introduced a new Cinderella to the story, this Cinderella and her prince kicked things off in Episode 4. Cinderella and Thomas meet at the royal ball held at his castle. When she rushes away, however, she loses a glass slipper, which he uses to track her down.
The two reunite and wed, but things become bleak after she becomes pregnant and reveals that she promised their first child to Rumplestiltskin. In Storybrooke, the couple’s counterparts (Sean and Ashley) are kept apart by his strict father. Thankfully, he decides to rebel and propose to her.
Red Riding Hood & Peter
Sure, it didn’t end well. But their relationship with each other was interesting nonetheless and added lots of weight to Ruby’s character. The village in which Ruby/Red Riding Hood lives in is being haunted by a vicious wolf that attacks at night. This causes Red’s Granny to make her stay inside and keep away from the son of a blacksmith whom she falls in love with.
The romance gets complicated when Ruby believes that her boyfriend, Peter, is the one turning into a wolf every night. She ties him up and agrees to wait nearby one night to find out for sure. Unfortunately, she turns into a wolf instead and shreds him to pieces, being that he is unable to get away.
Graham & Emma
The first romance we see Emma become intertwined in is with Graham, the sheriff of the town. In the Enchanted Forest, he was The Huntsman, however, Emma is oblivious to this.
Emma and Graham are at odds with each other when they first meet. Regina is constantly framing Emma for crimes she hasn’t committed, and Graham is the one who is forced to her lock her up because of it. Despite this, feelings start to develop between the two. When Regina catches on, she crushes Graham’s heart, which causes him to die moments after kissing Emma.
Regina & Daniel
It is revealed that in the fairytale world, Regina was in love with a stable boy named Daniel. The problem is that Regina’s mother, Cora, was not quite as fond of him, being that she hoped for her daughter to move up in class and marry royalty.
After Regina rescues King Leopold’s daughter Snow White from a runaway horse, he asks for her hand in marriage. Though she hopes to escape this and leave the land with Daniel in the night, Snow White accidentally spoils her secret, which causes Cora to crush his heart. No matter what, she never stops loving him.
Rumplestiltskin & Belle
Rumplestiltskin is one of the most unpredictable characters in Once Upon a Time. However, the romance between he and Belle in Season 1 cannot be overlooked. Flashbacks to the Enchanted Forest reveal that Belle offered herself up as Rumple’s maid if in exchange he offers her father assistance with the Ogre Wars. The longer she stays at the castle, however, the quicker Rumple starts to fall for her.
The problem comes when Belle tries to kiss Rumple, and he begins to fade back into a normal man. This has him pushing her away, afraid that she’s simply trying to strip him of his power. Despite this, the two reunite in Storybrooke at the end of the Dark Curse.
Snow White & Prince Charming
Snow White and Prince Charming are there at the beginning of the series and there at the end. As the longest-running Once Upon a Time relationship, they had to get a nod here. In Season 1, Charming (known as David in Storybrooke) is unconscious in the hospital. He’s been there for a long time, and Snow White (Mary Margaret) comes in all the time to visit him, longing for someone to love. In the Enchanted Forest, it is revealed that they actually got married and had a kid (Emma).
However, because their memories have been erased, they end up in a complicated relationship after he awakes and mistakenly believes he is married to someone else. This causes the couple to engage in a secret love affair. It all ends well at the end of Season 1, however, when their memories are restored and they recall their true love.
