10 Couples From ‘The Rookie,’ Ranked
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Not all couples on The Rookie are good matches. Fans didn’t take to John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) during their brief Season 1 romance. Wesley Evers (Shawn Ashmore) used to be engaged to Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan), who has recently taken a villainous turn. Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) was once married to the abusive Jason Wyler (played by Steve Kazee, Dewan’s fiancé).
But the pairings below are — or, at least, were once — totally swoonworthy. Of the dozens of relationships from the ABC cop show, let’s rank the top 10.
The Rookie, Season 6 Finale, Tuesday, May 21, 9/8c, ABC
10. Jackson & Isaac
Jackson West (Titus Makin Jr.) had obvious chemistry with Isaac Young (Joshua Triplett), the cop he met in Season 3’s “Revelations.” After working a case together, they couldn’t say “neigh” to a dinner date together. Unfortunately, Jackson died before this relationship could really hit its stride.
9. Jackson & Sterling
It was good until it wasn’t! Jackson met actor Sterling Freeman (Daniel Lissing) in Season 2’s “Breaking Point,” and they were soon an item. But then the romance abruptly ended in Season 3’s “True Crime” after Jackson learned that Sterling Freeman is actually a cult member named Skipper Young.
8. Henry & Abigail
John’s son (Zayne Emory) and his now-fiancée (Madeleine Coghlan) hit a rough patch when her previous arson arrest came to light, but that was soon explained away, and she stuck by his side during his heart surgery. “We’re gonna grow old together,” Henry told Abigail at the time. “I’ll have dentures, and you’ll still be as beautiful as you are right now.”
7. Tim & Rachel
Before Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) got together with Lucy, she set him up with her friend Rachel Hall (Jasmine Mathews) in Season 2’s “The Bet.” Tim and Rachel made a good couple, and when Rachel got her dream job in New York, Tim stopped her on the way to the airport and told her he wanted to make the long-distance thing work. (It didn’t work.)
6. John & Jessica
For the first half of Season 2, it seemed like John and crisis negotiator Jessica Russo (Sarah Shahi) would negotiate a happily-ever-after together. Jessica gave John a reason to smile, and Lucy and Jackson both noticed. But a pregnancy scare in “Safety” led her to two realizations — she wanted a baby and John didn’t — so they amicably split.
5. Nyla & James
Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) and James Murray (Arjay Smith) don’t have the most conventional relationship. They both proposed to one another, for example, and she gave birth to their baby while holding a home intruder at gunpoint. In Season 6’s “The Hammer,” James declared that he’s lucky to be married to Nyla, and he’ll always have her back. That much has always been obvious!
4. Wade & Luna
Wade (Richard T. Jones) and his wife of more than 25 years (Angel Parker) have always shown up for each other. Luna Grey wanted Wade to retire but let him decide when. He supported her going to social work school (once he found out about it). Oh, and then there was the time he bought her horse-riding lessons for her first Mother’s Day with an empty nest.
3. Angela & Wesley
Even a robbery suspect saw the attraction drawing Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) and Wesley together back in Season 1. “They really dig each other, huh?” the criminal said as the future lovebirds argued over the law. Since then, Angela and Wesley weathered a lot of drama — his overdose, her abduction, his dealings with a crime lord — but they continue to be infatuated with one another.
2. John & Bailey
Bailey is a firefighter and EMT who resuscitated John’s love life when she became a Rookie fixture in Season 4. Their relationship survived the reappearance of her ex-husband and an abduction by one of the show’s big bads. In Season 6’s “The Hammer,” John and Bailey tied the knot, and the groom told his bride, “I wake up every morning to the dream of being your man.”
1. Tim & Lucy
Over six seasons, Lucy has gone from Tim’s trainee to his sergeant’s aide to his fake girlfriend to his real girlfriend, all while #Chenford shippers sat on the edge of their seats, watching all the sparks between them. The relationship hit the skids in Season 6, but we have a feeling fans’ willpower will push Tim and Lucy back together. “I mean… the Chenford fans are incredible,” O’Neil told us in February. “They are the reason why we get to tell some of the fun stories we get to tell.”
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