Our fascination with power couples extends from the big screen to the streets of Hollywood and into our home TV sets. If household names such as “Luke and Laura” or “Doug and Julie” take you back to the days of romance obsession, read on to learn our Top 10 picks for the most popular and influential soap opera romances!
10. Brook Logan and Ridge Forrester, “The Bold and the Beautiful”
This B&B couple met in the late 80s when Brook was a college student who fell head over heels for Ridge when she catered a Forrester party. Staying true to her reputation as one of the “most married” characters in soap opera history, Brook found herself making a trip to the altar with Ridge four times.
9. Ethan Winthrop and Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald, “Passions”
Ethan and Theresa met when Ethan discovered Theresa was his stalker. While most men would consider this a deal breaker, Ethan married Theresa even though he was engaged to Gwen, his childhood sweetheart. Inside this love triangle of death, suicide attempts and blackmail, Gwen, Theresa and Ethan remain tangled in secrets and confessions.
5. Jeff Baker and Penny Hughes, “As the World Turns“
Jeff and Penny are one of the first soap opera super couples. Their love affair is said to have launched what would be the dominant daytime drama genre, “super couple romances.” At the time, these two made As the World Turns the number one program on television. Their romance ended when Jeff was killed in a tragic auto-accident.
1. Luke Spencer and Laura Webber, “General Hospital”
Luke and Laura challenged the genre when Laura fell in love with Luke after he raped her. After finally ending her long marriage to Scott Baldwin, her wedding to Luke in 1981 was the highest rated episode in soap history.
2. Bo Brady and Hope Williams, “Days of our Lives”
Bo and Hope, who won “America’s Favorite Super Couple” at the 2002 Emmy Awards, first captivated audiences when Bo kidnapped Hope, commonly known as Fancy Face, from her wedding. Although eventually forced into marriage, Hope fell in love with her captor and lied about carrying his baby. The two began a love affair that spanned decades.
3. Josh Lewis and Reva Shayne, “Guiding Light”
Known as “Jeva,” Josh and Reva were teenage sweethearts and met when Reva’s family worked for Josh’s in Oklahoma. Josh left for college, leaving Reva behind. In revenge, Reva married his brother — but the couple ended up divorcing. Despite runaway marriages, cloning, kidnappings and cancer, Josh and Reva have maintained a deep love for one another.
4. Quint McCord and Nola Reardon, “Guiding Light”
Quint and Nola, known as a “gothic couple,” met when Nola was ostracized from her town and Quint was running away from a dark past. They endured many roadblocks such as ex-lovers, lies and even murder, yet finally married.
6. Doug Williams and Julie Olsen, “Days of our Lives”
Doug met Julie after accepting payment from another woman to have an affair with her. The two fell in love, despite her marriage to Scott Banning. But, as soaps generally go, scandal ensued and Doug eventually married Julie’s mother while Julie married someone else. Despite near-death experiences such as run-ins with serial killers and explosions, the two reunite.
7. Sonny Corinthos and Brenda Barrett, “General Hospital”
Brenda was a boarding school drop-out when she met mobster Sonny. As they were about to run away together, Sonny discovered that his wife was pregnant. Brenda was devastated and married Jasper Jacks. This escalated into what is known by the soaps media as “the hottest love triangle in soap opera history.”
8. Victor Newman and Nikki Reed, “The Young and the Restless”
Victor and Nikki met when she was a stripper. Then Victor became involved in a wedding scandal with a woman named Lori, and afterward, he fell in love with Nikki. Eventually, Ashley Abbott became an obstacle to Victor and Nikki’s romance. Despite abortions, divorce, affairs and health problems, Victor and Nikki continue to divorce and remarry one another with passion.
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