Top 20 Worst Girlfriends in TV

“Girls” (2012-17)
Marnie’s relationships tended to be disasters, and more often than not, she was largely to blame. When she was with Charlie, she spent most of her time talking about him behind his back. And since they were always on-again-off-again, she put Charlie through the ringer constantly, and wasn’t truly content to let him move on. Then there was Ray. He was her best friend’s ex, and she hooked up with him for no good reason. Let’s also not forget that when Ray lost a good friend, Marnie was pretty apathetic, anc couldn’t really be bothered to be there for him. Though we thought she might’ve had it figured out with Desi, that relationship ended in divorce.

“Mr. Robot” (2015-19)
Here’s a kind of a hero turned villain story. Angela and main character Elliot were supposed to be best friends. Yet ultimately, she stepped on him to gain power. Even before they had a semi-romantic thing, there was a lot of bad behavior on her part. She turned against him, working for the very company that they both once fought against. We also couldn’t forget about that time Elliot went missing. She didn't even bother to look for him with Darlene at first. Sure, she changed course later – but still. We could go on and on, yet the gist is she wasn’t the best partner. Worst of all, she rarely took accountability for her actions.

“Bridgerton” (2020-)
Even many of the most devoted, hardcore fans of the show had a hard time dealing with Marina. Almost every thing she did was self-serving, and she just loved to play the victim. For instance, she chose Colin as a suitor to gain status – at least in part. She had also planned to convince him her baby was his. Yes, she had a hard life, so we can’t blame her entirely. She was a young, unmarried, pregnant woman in a time where that kind of thing was practically unforgivable. But that doesn’t excuse treating people, especially Colin, like they were only there to serve her every whim.

“The Vampire Diaries” (2009-17)
She was almost a literal evil twin. Katherine was the vampiric ancestor and doppelgänger of the main character, Elena, meaning she looked just like her. She was also the original woman to come between the show’s central brothers, Damon and Stefan, with whom Elena had something of a love triangle too. The thing is, Katherine constantly manipulated both guys – not to mention pretty much everyone else. Indeed, she was terrible on at least one occasion to every person that crossed her path, lying and scheming for personal gain. She treated Trevor like nothing more than a tool, and didn’t even care when Mason died. The list goes on. Countless men tripped over themselves for her, and she was only looking out for herself.

“Orange is the New Black” (2013-19)
Entangled in the drug cartel, Alex asks her girlfriend Piper Chapman to help smuggle some drug money. Years after the couple has broken up, Alex throws her ex under the bus, which lands Piper in Litchfield Penitentiary. To make matters worse, Piper and Alex just so happen to be serving time at the same prison. While there, the two begin to rekindle their romance as they remember the good times. Even then, however, Alex continues to screw her lover over, most notably convincing Piper to lie on the stand about meeting a drug boss. In spite of Alex’s selfishness and deception, we will give her this: at least she’s better than Larry.

“The O.C.” (2003-07)
Marissa was just so dripped in drama, and her on-again-off-again relationship with Ryan was always a disaster. When they were together the first time, she ruined it by befriending Oliver. And then she acted all surprised when he, who was not well, fell in love with her. She was like the female version of the “nice guy” trope. She contributed to the trouble with Ryan’s family, and often made his life harder in general. The thing is, she was a troubled teen girl who never got the help she needed, and ended up dying before she could grow and heal. But ultimately, she caused more problems in her romantic relationships than she fixed.

“Two and a Half Men” (2003-15)
She was a literal stalker. Need we say more? She started out as just another one of Charlie’s one night stands. But then, she became way too infatuated with him. She would break into his house on a regular basis. She would disguise herself to follow him around. She even went so far as to drug him in order to get close to him. And it was all played for laughs. After years of this behavior, she and Charlie eventually do get together and even get married. But, well, she didn’t let that stop her from mistreating him and keeping him captive. The only saving grace here is that Charlie was a pretty awful person too. So they were kind of meant for each other.

“One Tree Hill” (2003-12)
Or should we call her Emily? Jules seemed absolutely perfect for Keith – so much so that he wanted to marry her. But that was just because his little brother, Dan, taught her exactly how to woo him. How sick is that? We get that Jules was down on her luck and needed some quick cash. We also believe she had a change of heart and ultimately grew fond of Keith. But what kind of person goes to such lengths to help a stranger get revenge in the first place? Jules injected herself into Keith’s life to win him over before stomping on his heart. The ruse lasted all the way until the wedding day. Needless to say, we’d have a hard time trusting her.

“Gossip Girl” (2007-12)
Georgina is one of the most manipulative individuals ever to grace Manhattan’s Upper East Side. She not only sets out to destroy multiple happy relationships throughout the show’s course, but also leaves most of her own love interests with broken hearts. This is especially apparent when it comes to her obsession with Dan, who she initially seduces to get back at Serena. Georgina later tries to destroy one of Dan’s other relationships, and even lies to him about being pregnant with his baby. Meanwhile, her marriage to Philip was solely based on looks and money. Although Georgina does show her softer side over time, we still wouldn’t want to be in Jack’s shoes.

“That 70s Show” (1998-2006)
Almost ten years after “That '70s Show” wrapped up, co-stars Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher got hitched in real life. Interestingly enough, Kunis’ Jackie and Kutcher’s Kelso were actually dating at the beginning of the series. Given Jackie’s conceited, bossy nature, Kelso often says that he’s going to dump her. Their toxic romance endures multiple break-ups and reconciliations, but matters get especially complicated when Jackie starts dating Hyde. In addition to those two, Jackie ultimately falls for Fez. Upon being rejected, she exacts revenge on Fez, who fires back with harsh words. And in “That ‘90s Show,” we learn she rekindled things and even had a kid with Kelso. All that would be fine if it wasn’t for Jackie’s often selfish and self-centered behavior.

“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (2015-19)
Where do you even begin with this one? Rebecca moves across the country just to be closer to a guy she briefly dated as a kid at summer camp. Although the oblivious Josh is already in a long-term relationship, Rebecca makes a habit out of spying on him and coming up with new ways to infiltrate his life. When Rebecca finally wins Josh over, it’s less like the ending of a romantic comedy and more like the beginning of “Fatal Attraction.” Josh is only the tip of the iceberg, as Rebecca has several other dysfunctional relationships that end in heartbreak, fires, and more. Her mental health journey is an important one, but we can’t say she’s the best significant other for much of the show.

“Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” (2016)
Although Rory wasn’t always a perfect girlfriend throughout “Gilmore Girls,” she still usually came off as identifiable. With the Netflix revival, however, a lot of fans had a hard time excusing some of Rory’s actions, particularly when it came to her love life. She has a casual affair with Logan, despite the fact that they’re both involved with other people. Whereas Logan is engaged, Rory’s boyfriend is of so little consequence that she repeatedly forgets to break up with him. Considering that Rory’s previous affair with Dean resulted in a broken marriage, this only further called her morality into question. While not the best girlfriend, it would be interesting to see how Rory tackles motherhood.

“Love” (2016-18)
The title might suggest otherwise, but “Love” won’t exactly leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. That’s largely due to its protagonists. Just as Gus is far from the world’s greatest boyfriend, Mickey isn’t what we’d call girlfriend material. She lies, cheats, fears commitment, sends mixed signals, dodges difficult conversations, rarely accepts responsibility, and can never make up her mind. Her substance use also regularly gets in the way of having meaningful relationships. In Season 2, Mickey does make an effort to get her act together and maintain a healthy relationship. Since this show is about the dark side of love, though, it doesn’t shy away from the fact that old habits die hard.

“Friday Night Lights” (2006-11)
Okay, we’ll be the first to admit things were really hard for Lyla. When Jason Street got injured, the entire future she thought was laid out before her came crashing down just like Street’s did. But still – she cheated on the guy with his best friend Tim Riggins when she should’ve been supporting him, and that’s seriously not cool. She was the center of one of the biggest love triangles in teen drama history, and her dynamic Tim wasn’t exactly healthy, either. We also have to shout out Julie Taylor, another questionable “Friday Night Lights” girlfriend. After all, she put Matt Saracen – aka one of the sweetest guys in the world – through hell before they ended up together.

“Pretty Little Liars” (2010-17)
Um…she could’ve drowned Emily! How do you go on to fall in love with someone who would endanger your life to scare you, all because she wanted to assert her dominance on the swim team! Plus, before they were together, Paige made fun of Emily’s sexuality, which is pretty horrible, even if it came from a place of self-loathing. We sympathize with the fact that in the earlier years, Paige was struggling to accept herself and come out, and we’d never hold that against her. But as a girlfriend, she usually didn’t have much to offer other than a difficult, judgmental personality and overall bad attitude. As a result, she put Emily – who deserved way better – through the ringer.

“Dexter” (2006-13)
It’s really saying something when you’re too unhinged even for a serial killer like Dexter Morgan. Lila meets Dexter at a support group where she’s immediately drawn to his Dark Passenger. Once Dexter becomes sexually involved with Lila, she goes to disturbing lengths to keep him all to herself. This includes setting her loft on fire, breaking into Rita’s house, and accusing Angel of assault. She also blows up a restrained Doakes to maintain Dexter’s secret identity. This turns out to be a fatal mistake, however, as Dexter only kills other murderers and now Lila meets his criteria. That’s one way to say, “I think we should see other people.”

“Sex and the City” (1998-2004)
Carrie has always been selfish. Everything had to be about her on “Sex and the City,” and if it wasn’t, she threw a fit. Look at how terrible she was to Aidan Shaw when they were together. We’re not saying he was perfect, but on the whole, it seemed like nothing he did was ever good enough for her. Their engagement ended in shambles, and who could forget her cheating on him with Mr. Big? What a jerk. Truthfully, Carrie never deserved Aidan, and everything we’ve discussed just epitomizes what a bad significant other she often was. So you can imagine our reticence when the duo rekindled things in “And Just Like That…”. After all, she hasn’t grown that much in the sequel series.

“How I Met Your Mother” (2005-14)
It’s no secret that Ted Mosby didn’t exactly have the best judgment when it came to women. His good partners were often lost in a long line of destructive and unhealthy choices of a partner. The worst of all of those had to be Karen. We get it, she was essentially Ted’s first love, so he looked at her through rose colored lenses. But even as a grown man, he fell victim yet again to her wicked ways. Sadly, she didn’t have many redeeming qualities. Indeed, Karen was endlessly obnoxious and pretentious. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she looked down on Ted’s friends. She always thought she was better than everyone else, when actually, she was kind of the worst.

“The Office” (2005-13)
If you’ve seen the dinner party episode of this show, we don’t have to tell you anything else. Jan was controlling, loved to belittle others, and may have had who knows what going on with her assistant at some point. She treated Michael like he was nothing but a convenience or inconvenience (depending on the day), and obviously thought she was too good for him. Just look at their living situation. She made Michael sleep on a little bench while she took up the whole bed herself. While we’re talking about bad “The Office” girlfriends, we also have to mention Angela. She messed with Dwight and Andy, and was often all around unpleasant.

“Glee” (2009-15)
Rachel was a pretty terrible person generally speaking, so is it really a surprise that she was a bad girlfriend, too? For one thing, she went out with Puck when she was still very obviously into Finn. Later on, when she and Finn were together, she cheated on him with, you guessed it, Puck. We can’t talk about cheating without also throwing Quinn under the bus for that. Still, Rachel did it out of malice, and as a romantic partner, she was generally on another level. Indeed, even if you forgive the infidelity, she was also super controlling of her boyfriends, especially Finn. She usually wanted things her way, and it didn’t exactly lead to the healthiest relationships.