Apart from the general ineptitude of David Brent, much of the foundation on which the original UK version of The Office was built upon was the flirtation between Tim and Dawn. In fact, that entire series concluded before we even saw the two officially get together.
When Tim and Dawn became Jim and Pam for the American version, there was some worry that they got together too early on in the show’s run. Luckily, it ended up being far from a shark-jumping moment; the writers and actors handled their relationship over the course of the rest of the series in an absolutely perfect way. That said, because the U.S. The Office went on for so much longer and had so many more characters, having Jim and Pam be the only relationship on the show just wasn’t realistic.
All we ever hear is what a bad idea it is to start a relationship with a colleague. Even though many ignore that advice to varying degrees of success, watching The Office mostly serves to reinforce exactly why it’s something to be avoided. While the show has definitely had some really fun, charming relationships beyond Jim and Pam that we all loved to root for, it has had many more that either fell apart in spectacular fashion, or simply faded away with little fanfare. On top of that, there are some relationships that seemed promising but then, for whatever reason, the show seemed to get bored with them and just kind of brushed them aside to never being spoken of again.
Here are 20 Couples That The Office Wants Us To Forget.
Gabe Lewis And Erin Hannon
Ellie Kemper is easily one of the most charming people on the planet, and she brings that to all of her roles– including her breakout performance as receptionist Erin Hannon on The Office. To that end, she was a great match for Ed Helms’Andy Bernard, becoming one of the most endearingly quirky couples in TV history.
Even if Andy and Erin weren’t destined to be together, there had to be better options for her than the much-derided Gabe Lewis. Nothing good came of this relationship, neither within the universe of The Office or for its viewers. Factoring in the inappropriateness of him being her boss and his darkly obsessive nature, this was one pairing that couldn’t end and be forgotten soon enough.
Michael Scott And Donna Newton
Being unlucky in love was one of the many things about Michael Scott that made him simultaneously easy to laugh at but also hard to watch. He seemed incapable of recognizing red flags in potential and current partners, which is the only explanation for how he ended up in a relationship with the bar manager who was trying to kick him out of her establishment.
That said, Michael and Donna appeared to have a pretty good relationship, especially given his track record. Unfortunately, his suspicions that she was two-timing him turned on to be much worse than that: she was married and in fact two-timing with Michael. While he briefly considers staying the other guy, Michael decides to end things with Donna. He– and the viewers– are better of putting the whole thing behind him.
Jim Halpert And Katy Moore
Needless to say, the relationship that Jim ended when he was finally ready to accept his feelings for Pam is bound to feel like a distant, blurry memory to Office fans. Even when that relationship was with a character played by Amy Adams, it’s easy to forget that it even happened.
Katy’s last appearance on the show corresponded to Jim and Pam taking things to the next level, and also the rapid ascent of Adams into being a huge Hollywood star. Everything fell perfectly into place for Katy’s quiet exit from the show and from the consciousness of Office’s characters and viewers. Katy was so forgotten that, even when other big-name movie stars began to show up in the last few seasons, Adams wasn’t one of them.
Oscar Martinez And Robert Lipton
Whenever a TV show dabbles in characters being unfaithful, it’s almost always a recipe for viewers thinking less of the characters involved. This was the unfortunate case with the otherwise fan-favorite Oscar, who rebounded from the breakup with longtime boyfriend Gil by getting together with Senator Robert Lipton– who happened to be engaged to Angela Martin at the time.
Beyond just the whole “closeted senator betraying his wife” thing feeling a little too much like a gimmicky twist, involving Oscar in the whole state of affairs was disingenuous to his character. This was something that never should’ve happened. There’s an easy fix for that: let’s just pretend it didn’t.
Darryl Philbin And Kelly Kapoor
Kelly Kapoor– masterfully played by the extremely talented Mindy Kaling– isn’t an easy woman to be in a relationship with. She seems to thrive on drama and game-playing, and is only successful in relationships with men who either share those traits or are willing to put up with them.
Craig Robinson’s Darry is neither of those things. What he even saw in Kelly to begin with is unclear, and it was only a matter of time before the unlikely and difficult-to-buy relationship ran its inevitable course and was completely off of everyone’s radar. Technically, the relationship was supposed to feel kind of phony and forgettable since Darryl was just a stopgap for Kelly during a hiatus from Ryan, so to that end it was a success.
Dwight Schrute And Esther Bruegger
In some ways, the U.S. version of The Office ended up making Dwight and Angela more of the replacement for the U.K.’s Tim and Dawn than Jim and Pam were. Dwight and Angela spent much of the series flirting, almost getting together, breaking up, reuniting, and so on. Although it seemed like a foregone conclusion they’d ultimately end up together, it took a bumpy road, lined with other people, to get there.
The most prominent of Dwight’s non-Angela relationships was with Esther Bruegger, who seemed like a better match for Dwight, but just didn’t have his heart. He got as far as planning to marry Esther, but proposed to Angela literally the same day he was going to propose to Esther– and with that, Esther was no longer needed as a character.
Brian And Pam Beesly
Other than talking directly to the camera for the interview portions, the characters on The Office typically don’t break the fourth wall or really do much to remind us that we’re supposed to be watching a documentary about the paper industry. However, that all changed when boom mic operator Brian was thrust on camera after connecting with Pam.
Brian was Pam’s shoulder to cry on during a rough patch with Jim, and things got extremely close to evolving into an actual relationship. Even if Pam didn’t see things heading that way, it was certainly Brian’s intention. Once Jim and Pam resolved things, Brian’s usefulness in that particular plot line– as well as the show in general– was gone.
Robert California And Susan California
Once Steve Carell left The Office, there was never one single character who served as Michael Scott’s definitive “replacement.” Instead, several big stars came and went to fill that void in the final seasons, including James Spader who came the closest to feeling like he might stick around by way of his character Robert California.
Things didn’t pan out that way, however, and Robert was gone almost as quickly as he arrived, despite being a great character during his brief stint. It was during this time that we meet his wife, Susan (Maura Tierney), who appears in only a single episode that revolves around her before never being seen again. It’s later revealed that her and Robert are divorcing, reinforcing that we are to no longer be concerned about Susan or the marriage.
A.J. And Holly Flax
A.J., played by Rob Huebel, was one of many Office characters who pulled a ninja– that is, he hit hard and then faded away without a trace. He is also one in a long line of third-wheels to other Office relationships, like he was created specifically for that purpose and quickly abandoned when that particular story no longer necessitated the love triangle.
In this case, A.J. was the wedge between Michael and Holly, as Holly’s colleague in Dunder Mifflin’s Nashua office. While all of Michael’s and Holly’s exes were ultimately made irrelevant when the pair got married, A.J. in particular felt like nothing more than a brief blip that most fans have long forgotten about.
Jim Halpert And Karen Flippello
Not every relationship on this list is necessarily a bad one. To that end, Jim and Karen seemed like a great fit and, in a Pam-less alternative universe, they very well might have been able to live happily ever after. But ultimately, any couple that involved Jim and any woman other than Pam was destined to end and be forgotten.
The promising but ill-fated union between Jim and Karen was further stuffed into the bin of obscurity thanks to Karen herself– or, more accurately, actress Rashida Jones, who left the show in favor of a larger role on Parks & Recreation. Following that, Karen completely vanished from the world of The Office, and with that, her time with Jim similarly became pointless to reminisce about.
Michael Scott And Helene Beesly
One of the things that The Office excelled at was avoiding typical sitcom tropes, so it stuck out like a sore thumb on the rare occasion that it didn’t. Among the worst examples of the show treading lazy territory for cheap laughs is when it introduced Pam’s mother, Helene, and Michael had a relationship with her.
What followed was a very stale series of predictable scenes and plot threads involving Pam being beside herself that her boss is dating her mom. Thankfully, once that ran its course and was seemingly wrung of what little bit of humor there was to find in the cliched scenario, Michael and Helene called it quits and that whole mess was put behind us.
Toby Flenderson and Nellie Bertram
Is anything weirder than falling for someone because they come to a costume party dressed as you? Well, when you’re talking about Toby, there are a lot of things that are weirder– so we probably shouldn’t be surprised that that is how he first came to notice and be enticed by co-worker Nellie Bertram.
What initially seemed like two off-kilter characters coming together because of their shared off-kilter state soon felt uncomfortable to watch. It would take a miracle to convince us that a woman would actually both fall for and stay with Toby, and it was hard to accept with Nellie, even for the brief time it was attempted. It never should’ve taken Nellie as long as it did to realize Toby was, well, Toby.
Andy Bernard And Angela Martin
As with Pam and her exes, anyone Angela was with other than Dwight just felt like a temporary detour before she inevitably landed on the man she was destined to be with. However, Andy Bernard shouldn’t be lumped in with Angela’s other partners, as he came the closest to actually being right for her and was the only one she seemed to seriously consider sticking with over Dwight.
Still, it was while she was with Andy that she rekindled things with Dwight, which only reaffirms that she was never all that series about Andy. Their relationship was only ever introduced on the show as a way to make her inevitable re-connection with Dwight more dramatic.
Darryl Philbin and Val Johnson
Darryl’s love life was never a major focus for the character, which is fine since not every character’s overall arc needs to be all about finding and/or losing love. While his romantic pursuits on the show were book-ended by ex-wife Justine, who he got back together with after the ending of the show, he did have a brief but memorable relationship with fellow warehouse worker Val Johnson.
This is another case of a relationship that isn’t on this list for being a bad one, just forgotten. Obviously, the people behind The Office didn’t want the show to end with Darryl and Val together. They broke up in season nine and it says that Darryl and his ex-wife reconnected on a “Where Are They Now?” portion of the official Office website.
Robert Lipton And Angela Martin
The other half to the bizarre and misguided plotline involving closeted senator Robert Lipton was his actual marriage to Angela, and the way it caused such turmoil for not only the lives of the three in the love triangle but also Dwight Schrute– especially since he and Angela now had a child together who was all wrapped up in that sham marriage.
It kind of feels like the writers painted themselves into a corner a bit with the whole overall story line, as it didn’t seem to go anywhere meaningful and had a resolution that only served to paint people in bad lights who didn’t deserve it. If there is one character who just never should’ve been on the show in the first place, it was Robert Lipton.
Jim Halpert and Cathy Simms
Not unlike Pam and the boom mic guy, Jim and Cathy Simms never actually had things develop into a full-fledged relationship. And just like with the former, that doesn’t make the time the two spent together any less of a candidate to be forgotten about altogether.
With Pam gone on maternity leave and therefore unable to have frequent interactions with Jim at work, it almost feels as though Cathy was introduced just to give Jim’s character more to “do” during season eight. The result was a weak attempt at drama by way of Cathy trying to get together with Jim, only for him to handily reject her advances and have the whole thing go nowhere. It’s as if we needed a reminder that Jim wouldn’t cheat on Pam. No, we honestly didn’t.
Ravi and Kelly Kapoor
Even the best characters on The Office aren’t saints, and Pam is guilty of a pretty uncouth move when she tries to get her and Jim’s pediatric surgeon to date Kelly just so the couple can have an excuse to see him socially and therefore get free medical advice and the like. That said, when Dr. Ravi ends up being a great boyfriend, Pam does use that to help Kelly get over Ryan.
Following an amusing misunderstanding where Kelly agrees to move to Miami with her now-fiance Ravi because she assumes it’s Miami, Florida rather than Miami, Ohio, Kelly does inevitably break things off with Ravi in order to go back to Ryan on the very last episode of the show. So close, yet so forgotten.
Danny Cordray And Pam Beesly
Some Office relationships aren’t “seen” on the show itself, but instead revealed later, long after they had occurred. Such was the case when, during season seven, a former rival paper salesman who was now a Dunder Mifflin employee was discovered to have dated Pam between her ending her engagement to Roy and getting together with Jim.
Played by Timothy Olyphant, Danny Cordray was set up as the object of both romantic and platonic affection by pretty much everyone he came into contact with. While he didn’t seem to take much advantage of this, at least in front of the cameras, the revelation that he and Pam had a thing was definitely a surprise– though it was forgotten almost as quickly as it was brought up.
Michael Scott and Jan Levinson
The Office isn’t just a funny show; there are aspects of it that are more tragic than comedic. That could definitely be said for the extremely dysfunctional relationship between Michael and Jan, which had brief glimpses of humor but was mostly an unsettling look at a toxic relationship. This coupling not only should’ve ended much sooner than it did, but never even should have started.
Michael and Jan were like one of those couples that have been married for decades merely out of a sense of obligation, and seem to have long since lost any love or affection for each other. Only, this was a brief relationship that already found itself in that depressing state. Who knows what would’ve happened if Holly never came along.
Roy Anderson And Pam Beesly
It was definitely a bit cliche of a premise to have Pam be with the cold, stifling boyfriend she’s known since high school because she figured she couldn’t do better, while an obviously better guy is right there in front of her trying to win her over. Even those who hadn’t already seen the U.K. Office knew that Pam and Roy were only a launching point for her eventual courtship with Jim.
Beyond maybe those early-season Dunder Mifflin background employees who were eventually phased out and never seen again, few aspects of the early seasons of the show are more forgotten than Roy. He only existed so that Pam could stay attached long enough to meet Jim.
Who’s your favorite forgotten couple on The Office? Let us know in the comments!
