AOL TV's Top 20 Soap Opera Supercouples

[JamesG]

Marriage and divorce, faked deaths and amnesia, kidnappings and affairs ... those are pretty standard experiences for soap opera supercouples, those daytime dudes and divas who keep us tuning into our favorite sudsy dramas day after day, year after year, no matter how sometimes ridiculous the storylines.


Here are the 20 soap supercouples whose love in the afternoon is tops on our list:



20. Mac & Rachel (Douglass Watson & Victoria Wyndham) on "Another World"


The Hook-Up:

Producers were initially reluctant to pair Mac and Rachel, fearing a backlash for an older man/younger woman romance.

But they let the relationship build slowly -- the two didn't share their first kiss for almost six months -- and a married Mac and Rachel quickly became the bedrock couple in Bay City.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Infidelity reared its ugly head on more than one occasion, as did quarrels about Rachel's career and Mac's jealous adult daughter, Iris, and Mac and Rachel married, divorced, married again, divorced again and married a third time.

Sadly, Douglass Watson died while on vacation in the spring of 1989, and Rachel and her family buried Mac, who had died off-camera, in a June 1989 episode.







19. Jack & Carly (Michael Park & Maura West) on "As the World Turns"


The Hook-Up:

He's a by-the-book cop and she's the scheming troublemaker who might have a heart of gold, but too often indulges her own selfish pursuits above anyone else's.

But opposites attract, as they did when the two first met in Montana, and despite affairs, Carly leaving town with another man and numerous lies, they've managed to rack up two marriages and divorces with each other.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

They just can't seem to quit each other.

Though Carly just returned to Oakdale after a stint in rehab and Jack's married to Janet, the only thing preventing a "CarJack" reunion right now is Janet's recent discovery that her teenage daughter has cancer and Jack's feelings of obligation to stay with his wife, even though he and Carly just shared a big kiss.







18. Luke & Noah (Van Hansis & Jake Silbermann) on "As the World Turns"


The Hook-Up:

They're the soaps' first gay teen supercouple.

Out Luke feared he had fallen for a straight guy when his feelings for buddy Noah started to deepen, but when the two shared a "pretend" kiss, Noah began to realize his true feelings for Luke, and soon after, fans started referring to them by their supercouple name, "Nuke."



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

They've certainly weathered more than their fair share of drama, most notably attempts by Noah's homophobic dad to kill them and a recent accident that left Noah blinded, but Nuke has so far managed to stay together and engage in daytime soaps' first (and second and third) on-screen gay male kiss.







17. Mason & Julia (Lane Davies & Nancy Lee Grahn) on "Santa Barbara"


The Hook-Up:

Wealthy Capwell heir Mason was funny, but cynical, especially after his true love, former nun Mary, and the baby she was carrying, were tragically killed.

So when fellow attorney Julia approached him to be her no-strings-attached babydaddy, he agreed. The two smart, clever, love-shy lawyers signed a "baby contract," but soon, of course, fell in love and were married.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Affairs, Mason's alcoholism and the low self-esteem he suffered because of his tempestuous relationship with father C.C. led to the downfall of Mason and Julia's first attempt at marriage, though they gave it another shot and, just as they were making plans to adopt a child, found out Julia was pregnant in the series finale.







16. Nick & Sharon (Joshua Morrow & Sharon Case) on "Young & the Restless"


The Hook-Up:

They met in high school, when Newman heir Nick was dating poor girl Sharon's best friend, Amy.

Nick and Sharon fell for each other right away, which really ticked off Sharon's jilted boyfriend Matt, who raped her.

Nick was later sentenced to prison for shooting Matt, but once his name was cleared, he and Sharon made their teen love legal with a small wedding ceremony.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Young love hasn't turned out to be enduring love for Nick and Sharon, whose multiple affairs and tragic loss of daughter Cassie in a car accident led to the end of their marriage.

Nick is now married to Phyllis (who he began an affair with after Cassie's death), but he can't keep his nose out of Sharon's business, much to Phyllis' chagrin, and a Nick/Sharon reunion is always a possibility.







15. Luis & Sheridan (Galen Gering & McKenzie Westmore) on "Passions"


The Hook-Up:

They didn't like each other at first -- he was a cop who had pulled her over for speeding -- but even their families' rivalry and some truly wacky soap shenanigans couldn't keep the pair, soon to become known to fans as "Shuis," out of each other's lives.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Sadly, no.

Sheridan was presumed dead twice, which thwarted a pair of Shuis wedding attempts, and the one Shuis wedding that actually took turned out to be invalid, because Sheridan had already married someone else.

In the show's 2008 series finale, Luis learned he was expecting a child with Sheridan's niece Fancy, who Luis had married during the show's final month.







14. Doug & Julie (Bill Hayes & Susan Seaforth Hayes) on "Days of Our Lives"


The Hook-Up:

One of the original supercouples, Doug and Julie fell in love even though he was married to ... her mother!

The duo was the first soap supercouple to be featured on the cover of Time magazine (1976).



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

They are still together (after a divorce and remarriage) and Doug is even the father (and Julie the stepmom/half-sister) of Hope Brady (half of fellow supercouple Bo & Hope).

Actors Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth met on the show and were married in real life in 1974, two years before Doug and Julie walked down the aisle, and though the couple is not a regular part of Salem life, they have continued to pop up for special occasions.







13. Tom & Margo (Scott Holmes & Ellen Dolan) on "As the World Turns"


The Hook-Up:

Though Tom was dating Margo's Aunt Maggie at the time, Tom and Margo fell in love during some dangerous, Indiana Jones-type island adventures -- explosions, locked in a castle, confronted by a pit of poisonous snakes -- while investigating the slippery Mr. Big.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

They haven't always been happy -- both have had affairs with other people that resulted in children, and Margo was raped by a man she later learned was HIV positive -- but Tom and Margo have remained married since 1983, no small feat in Oakdale or any other soap town.

PS - Former ATWT stars Justin Deas and Margaret Colin met and fell in love while playing Tom and Margo in the early '80s; the two have been married in real life since 1988.







12. Clint & Viki (Clint Ritchie & Erika Slezak) on "One Life to Live"


The Hook-Up:

Newspaper heiress Viki and newspaper editor Clint fell in love after the death of her husband Joe, and travelled back in time and dealt with decades of her multiple personalities disorder and infidelities throughout their two marriages.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Nope ... both marriages between the two ended in divorce (the last one after she cheated on Clint with Sloane).

The two have remained friends throughout their tumultuous history (which has also included a pair of near-death experiences for Viki), so hope springs eternal for the longtime Llanviewians.







11. Greg & Jenny (Laurence Lau & Kim Delaney) on "All My Children"


The Hook-Up:

They had all the makings of a supercouple: he was rich, she was not; his mother didn't think she was good enough for him; and his rich, scheming ex-girlfriend Liza wasn't over him.

Plus, they were BFFs with fellow teen supercouple Jesse and Angie.

Liza, Greg's mother, Jenny's scandalous dad and Greg's temporary paralysis could only keep them apart for so long, and they were married in 1984.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Not even close.

When Delaney decided to leave the show for primetime pastures, Jenny's jilted fiancee rigged Greg's jet ski to explode, only to have Jenny get on it instead.

She died from the injuries, and, when Greg returned to Pine Valley in 2008 for Jesse and Angie's remarriage, the three friends visited Jenny's grave.







10. John & Marlena (Drake Hogestyn & Deidre Hall) on "Days of Our Lives"


The Hook-Up:

She was half of another DOOL supercouple, Roman & Marlena, until cop Roman was presumed dead (in one of many evil misdeeds by Stefano DiMera).

Marlena fell for the mysterious John Black, then, who she thought was really Roman returning from the dead, with a dramatically surgically-altered appearance.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

No. Two words: demonic possession.

In what may be the most ridiculous soap storyline ever (not counting the everyday plots on Passions, of course), Marlena was possessed by the devil and had to be saved by John, who thought he had been a priest in a past life.

The usual soap troubles -- amnesia, alleged deaths, plotting children -- popped up and kept them apart at times, but the couple, and soap legends Hall and Hogestyn, were dispatched from Salem in 2009 when the show cut them as part of the budget woes that are threatening the future of the entire daytime soap industry.







9. Holden & Lily (Jon Hensley & Martha Byrne) on "As the World Turns"


The Hook-Up:

It's a soap classic: Rich girl Lily fell for stable boy Holden, who, along with his down-to-earth, down on the farm, family, gave her the warmth and understanding she didn't share with her plotting business tycoon mother, Lucinda.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Several people (Lucinda) and other relationships kept them apart, but Holden and Lily finally married, for the first time.

His amnesia led to a divorce, and her marriage to manipulative Italian count Damian has continued to plague Holden and Lily for more than a decade and a half.

They've been on-again, off-again thanks to her drug problems, his obsession with work and a series of dramas revolving around her murdered twin sister, and, at the beginning of 2010, Holden and Lily are apart, but with hints of yet another reunion on the way.







8. Cruz & Eden (A Martinez & Marcy Walker) on "Santa Barbara"


The Hook-Up:

One of the now-defunct NBC soap's most popular, but slow-burning duos, it took almost four years for wealthy Capwell Eden and Santa Barbara cop Cruz to make it to the altar, after fans insisted the two characters, who initially didn't like each other, had the chemistry to make for one sexy soap supercouple.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Eden's rich dad, C.C., and a vicious attack on Eden by a serial rapist, threatened their newfound happiness, but the couple was ultimately done in by Walker and Martinez's primetime aspirations:

She left the show in 1988, and Eden and Cruz were eventually divorced after a notorious storyline involving Eden's multiple personalities.







7. Phillip & Beth (Grant Aleksander & Beth Chamberlin) on "Guiding Light"


The Hook-Up:

Another teen supercouple who helped draw younger viewers in the summer, tortured rich Spaulding kid Phillip met and fell in love with shy Beth, who, unbeknownst to everyone, was being abused by her rotten stepfather, Bradley.

Phillip and Beth were kept apart by Bradley, and by the fact that Phillip's best friend, Rick, also liked Beth, but after being named prom king and queen, the two admitted their feelings for each other.

Still, though they continued to be in and out of each other's lives, it would take eight years for Beth and Phillip to finally make it down the aisle.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Eventually.

Phillip and Beth divorced in 1996, and Phillip's mental breakdown and the constant machinations of his dad, Alan, kept them apart for many years.

But in the GL series finale, Phillip and Beth are happily married and celebrating the marriage of their long-time best friends, Rick and Mindy.







6. Jesse & Angie (Darnell Williams & Debbi Morgan) on "All My Children"


The Hook-Up:

Daytime's first African-American supercouple, wrong-side-of-the-tracks Jesse and rich teen Angie fell in love despite coming from different backgrounds and in spite of her father's disapproval.

They secretly eloped and Angie found out she was pregnant, but in a only-on-the-soaps misunderstanding, she divorced Jesse because she was afraid to tell him she was having their baby.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Uh, no.

Jesse, who had become a cop, was fatally wounded by a gunshot, and, in one of AMC's most heartbreaking moments ever, died, with a crushed Angie climbing into his deathbed beside him.

But, in a supercouple miracle, doctor Angie, who had moved away, was called back to Pine Valley to consult on a case, just as Jesse, who'd been kidnapped by some baddies and threatened into faking his death, also came to town, and the two were reunited at the Pine Valley train station in 2008.







5. Ridge & Brooke (Ronn Moss & Katherine Kelly Lang) on "Bold & the Beautiful"


The Hook-Up:

She's been married to not one, not two, but three Forrester men -- Eric and his sons Thorne and Ridge -- but Brooke has been in love with wealthy clothing designer Ridge since she first laid eyes on him while helping her mother cater a party at his family's mansion more than 20 years ago.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

Several times.

Even through her marriages to his brother and father, and her flings with Ridge's half-brother and her daughter's husband (really), and Ridge's marriage to and children with Dr. Taylor, Brooke and Ridge always manage to find their way back to each other.

As of today, they're together as spouses and co-workers, but, as their children continue to pit them against each other, tomorrow is another day ...







4. Josh & Reva (Robert Newman & Kim Zimmer) on "Guiding Light"


The Hook-Up:

They were childhood sweethearts whose adult love survived her (alleged) death (twice) and her infamous "slut of Springfield" speech, and led them to two kids and three marriages -- and three divorces.

And that was just with each other!



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

In the GL series finale on Sept. 18, 2009, which ended the show's 57-year run on CBS, Reva had decided to reunite with Josh and see what the future held for them.







3. Victor & Nikki (Eric Braeden & Melody Thomas Scott) on "Young & the Restless"


The Hook-Up:

Wealthy Victor met young Nikki when she was a stripper at a joint called The Bayou.

He took her home and went all Pygmalion on her, beginning a decades-long on-again, off-again relationship that has, so far, weathered numerous other spouses for both of them, Victor's amnesia and epilepsy, and Nikki's near death(s) and kidnapping.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

They have two marriages and two divorces (to each other) behind them, but Nikki and Victor recently reunited yet again after Victor underwent a heart transplant.







2. Bo & Hope (Peter Reckell & Kristian Alfonso) on Days of Our Lives


The Hook-Up:

She was a rebellious rich kid and he was a motorcycle-riding bad boy when they met and eventually fell in love, much to the initial chagrin of her father.

She was kidnapped and forced to marry unscrupulous politician Larry Welch, but Bo saved her and the two married in a royal-worthy English wedding.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

No, but they are still, or rather, once again, happily married.

They've been through the usual soap tragedies -- not to mention Hope being kidnapped by dastardly Stefano and brainwashed into thinking she was a princess -- and even faced the death of their son, Zack, and celebrated their love with a Bo-planned vows renewal ceremony in front of their friends and family in 2008.







1. Luke & Laura (Tony Geary & Genie Francis) on "General Hospital"


The Hook-Up:

In one of the most controversial storylines in soap history, Laura fell in love with Luke after he had raped her at a disco.

He was given a classic villain-to-hero makeover by GH writers, and, in the most-watched soap episode of all time, Luke and Laura eventually married, with Elizabeth Taylor (as evil Helena Cassadine) in attendance, and their lavish nuptials even ending up on the cover of People and Newsweek magazines.



And They Lived Happily Ever After?:

In Soap Opera Land? No way.

In fact, Helena put a curse on the couple at their wedding, and it seemed to stick, as Luke and Laura have weathered deaths (their own "soap" deaths and loved ones'), marriages to others, more run-ins with the Cassadines, and having their children find out about the rape.

Years of trauma and moving in and out of Port Charles finally started to take a toll on Laura, who suffered a mental breakdown and had to be institutionalized.

She began to recover and reunited with Luke and her family, but, when last seen in 2008, decided to move to Europe to try and maintain her health.

http://insidetv.aol.com/2010/01/21/g...-supercouples/

[Schmoopie]

Disappointing not to see Jack and Jennifer (DOOL) on that list. No Steve and Kayla (DOOL) either? Wow! But out of those listed, I like Doug and Julie (although I've never seen much of them, since I started watching Days way after they left), Greg and Jenny (AMC)... OMG, I LOVED them! Definitely one of my favorite couples! Luke and Laura are "the" couple, IMO and I do like Bo and Hope.

My favorite couple of all time, however will always be Jack and Jennifer!

[80sTrivia]

What a great list. It was fun reading about all the soap super-couples over the years...

[spunkygirl]

Seriously Luke and Noah on this list? WTF? They're NOT even remotely a Super Couple

No Tad and Dixie, one of AMC's biggest Super Couples not even on this list? What an effing joke

[JT]

Luke and Noah? Above Jack and Carly, Mac and Rachel? On the list at all!?

BS!

[KJH278]

No Frisco and Felicia

[Retro4Life]

No Steve and Betsy from ATWT.

[catlover79]

Gosh - remember when soaps were filled with romance, and not mob violence? (*coughGeneralHospitalcough*) Watching the classic soaps on YouTube, I must say that besides Mac and Rachel (AW), other couples I found incredibly romantic were Liza & Travis (Search For Tomorrow, seen in the ad below) and Mary & Jack (Ryan's Hope).