It’s not a teen drama without some great love triangles, one of the key ingredients of a stellar young adult series. Whether it be unrequited, between-brothers or fantasy-based, a good love triangle takes our leading cast members through an exorbitant amount of character development — and sometimes it’s enough to have us switching teams.
The love triangle trope is gold in the making of a drama series, especially young adult shows. Whether you’re pro the main character choosing themselves or riding behind one of their potential suitors, it is the perfect way to create camaraderie and discussion amongst viewers. Just think of the iconic fantasy novel-turned-movie Twilight. “Are you team Edward or team Jacob” still manages to be an ice breaker question years later.
Below, we’ve rounded up our favorite teen drama love triangles of all time from the best teen shows past and present.
The Summer I Turned Pretty
When we think about complicated love triangles, The Summer I Turned Pretty has to be on the list. There is nothing quite as polarizing as the two brothers in love with one girl trope. It’s messy, complicated, and sometimes a bit problematic, but clearly viewers can’t get enough of it. Whether you’re Team Conrad, Team Jeremiah, or Team Belly (for the sake of being neutral) this love triangle continues to have us on our toes.
Vampire Diaries
Elena, Damon, and Stefan are the blueprint of familial relationship problems. The original messy love triangle, if you will. The fantasy element of this series really upped the stakes when it came to the love struggles. Vampires do in fact make things better and Elena has to choose between one brooding brother or the other.
Gossip Girl
There is nothing like an Upper East Side love triangle. When the wealthy get involved all bets seem to be off and Gossip Girl gives us all the feels. Whether it was between Dan, Serena, and Nate; Chuck, Blair, and Nate; Nate, Jenny, and Vanessa; or Rufus, Lily, and Bart, there was something for everyone.
One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill really knew how to keep us guessing. And while continuously breaking up best friends wasn’t ideal, we got the show of a lifetime. Brooke, Peyton, and Lucas were truly the best small town sports teen love triangle. From the fighting and making up in the rain to the forced proximity moments between Lucas and Peyton, we were put through the ringer watching these teens figure out their personal and love lives.
Never Have I Ever
Ben, Paxton and Devi were a time. An unexpected time, but a time nonetheless. We were caught between choosing the hottest guy in school and the (hottest) guy that hates you and it surprisingly was a tough choice. Devi was our chaotic queen. Her notable fan base, called the Deviants, were die-hard to her messy, messy choices, but this love triangle was a great one and one that lasted the entire series.
Gilmore Girls
Personally, the Dean, Rory, and Jess love triangle was a great way to start the series. It goes down as the quintessential first-love, twin-flame love triangle that has us all screaming at our televisions. Would Rory pick the boy-next-door Dean or the bad boy, keeps-you-on-your-toes Jess? If you haven’t seen the series, I won’t ruin anything for you, but just know these three will take you through a lot. And you won’t even be prepared for the Jess, Rory, and Logan of it all.
Dawson’s Creek
Dawson’s Creek is an OG show I didn’t come across until years after it’s airing. But their love triangles and teen drama are just as good all these years later. Pacey, Joey, and Dawson were an interesting love triangle, but their ending was quite unexpected in comparison to some early 90s television teen dramas. While we refuse to spoil how this love triangle evolved, it’s worth mentioning that it surely will take an unexpected and quite exciting turn.
Stranger Things
There were weirdly enough a few fun love triangles in this teen sci-fi series. How these kids managed to have love life drama while fighting demogorgons is beyond us, but we’re not mad at it. First we have Jonathan, Steve and Nancy, which sits as the most visible of them all. Early on we were shown the constant fluctuation of feeling Nancy had for these two boys, and it hasn’t seemed to end even four seasons in. A slightly less visible one is the Eleven, Mike, and Will love triangle. True fans of the show were able to spot this a mile away, but only in the more recent season do we actually see a bit of jealousy and drama, mostly sprouting from Will. We’re not quite sure where everyone will land come season five, but we expect it to be shocking.
Sex Education
Sex Education’s love triangles were just as riveting as their unrequited love tropes planted throughout the entire cast. The most notable of them all is Ola, Maeve, and Otis. Second behind that one has to be Eric, Rahim, and Adam. While love is love, we weren’t all behind Eric loving his high school bully, but alas what is a teen drama without that trope?
Awkward
Some days Awkward feels like a fever dream only myself and a few other viewers experienced. But then I remember it did air on MTV, so I probably wasn't the only one obsessed with this series. Matty McKibben was my dream man, even though he put Jenna through the ringer. Our beloved love triangle in this series followed Jenna, Matty, and Jake. It was messy yet beautiful, which is all we can expect from a teen dramedy.
Outer Banks
OBX fans might solely think of the “will they or won’t they” love drama between John B and Sarah Cameron, but there were plenty of love triangles to go around in this series. The first being between John B, Sarah, and Sarah’s ex-boyfriend Topper. In the midst of three seasons we’ve seen this group of scorned lovers battle it out (sometimes physically) for Sarah’s love. Another more lowkey love triangle in the series (and my personal favorite) is Kiara, Pope, and JJ. These three are the core of the Pogues and having this love triangle sprout during the series has kept us stressed out.
Euphoria
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Where do we even start with this show? Euphoria surely knows how to make things messy and Sunday nights were never the same after its premiere. The Nate, Maddie, and Cassie of it all really had us stressed out weekly. If you’re not familiar with the series we won’t give away too much, but what you do need to know going into this show is that everyone is quite wild, and this love triangle perfectly encapsulates the energy of that. Whether you’re team Maddie or team Cassie or team therapy for them all, this love triangle puts us through the ringer.
Degrassi
Degrassi’s love triangles were so complex some even became love squares. If we took the time to name every single one we’d be here until next Valentine’s Day, so we'll spare you that. Some key ones though that are always top of mind, and the reason this extended teen drama is on the list is, of course, one of the OGs: Mia, JT, and Liberty, which mentally destroyed a lot of us #iykyk. Craig, Manny, and Emma were also a moment for the early Degrassi days. And if you watched the series a bit later then you’ll remember the Clare, Drew, Eli love triangle that felt slightly random but so incredibly perfect.
Riverdale
Riverdale went on for seven seasons, and of course the love triangle that kept on giving was Archie, Betty, and Veronica. If you were an avid reader of the comics then you knew this love triangle would be a focal point of the series. The inclusion of Jughead in the series made it a square at times — and ultimately, a polyamorous quad — with ample wild storylines to boot.
All American: Homecoming
While the original series also had a few love triangles that kept us guessing, fans of All American: Homecoming seem to have a much deeper appreciation for Simone, Lando, and Damon. These three and their constant confusion with each other make for one of the spiciest love triangles. It also just happens to be a major plus that the trio is so attractive — making a choice feels even more difficult. While we still don’t know whether Simone is team Damon or team Lando, we’re having so much fun watching and waiting to find out.
