25 years after Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired on The WB (now known as The CW), the supernatural teen drama remains one of the most impactful cultural phenomena in television history. The staying power of the series, which began as a cult hit, is extraordinary. There are many plot lines and characters in the Buffyverse that fans still feel passionate about, even long after the show aired its final episode. Yet if one element of the expansive story has endured —and is still constantly debated— it’s Buffy’s love life.

  • 20 Secrets Only True Fans Know About Buffy And Angel’s Relationship

Early Buffy episodes showed vampire slayer Buffy falling in love with Angel, a vampire with a soul, making the couple the ultimate example of star-crossed lovers. Even those who are only vaguely aware of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are well acquainted with Buffy and Angel’s angsty romance. Yet there’s more to Angel and Buffy than simple melodrama. While any fan knows the broad strokes of their roller-coaster relationship, there are tons of behind-the-scenes secrets from production and cast interviews that only the hardcore Buffy and Angel shippers know about.

Buffy & Angel May Have Been Played By Other Buffy Stars

Buffy and Cordelia are polar opposites as characters, particularly in season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, making it all the more surprising to imagine the actresses switching roles. Charisma Carpenter originally auditioned for the leading role of Buffy while Sarah Michelle Gellar, in turn, auditioned to play Cordelia. After auditioning for Buffy, Charisma Carpenter recalled being asked to prepare some lines for Cordelia which landed her a screen test and inevitably the role.

While it’s difficult to imagine anyone but David Boreanaz playing the role of Angel, Castle star Nathan Fillion was initially considered for the character. Fillion went on to lead in Whedon’s Firefly, yet another television series with a cult following. Though many fans felt cheated by the show’s sudden cancelation after only fourteen episodes, their love for the characters runs deep. Fillion eventually rejoined the cast of Buffy for the final season as Caleb, the misogynistic preacher attempting to kill all the potential Slayers.

David Boreanaz Was Discovered While Walking His Dog

Many actors get their ‘big break’ by having connections in the industry or landing a small role which leads to bigger roles. David Boreanaz, however, has a much more interesting story about how he landed the prized role as Angel on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As described in an article by GQ, commentary found in the special features of Buffy DVDs described the events of Boreanaz’s unusual hiring by the show’s casting director, Marcia Shulman.

While they didn’t know Angel would be written as a vampire at the time, casting directors were in search of the perfect man who would undoubtedly catch Buffy’s eye and become her love interest. After struggling for some time to cast the perfect Angel, a friend of Shulman’s contacted the director about a handsome man she saw walking his dog. Though Boreanaz had guest starred in a few shows prior to Buffy, his massive rise to fame can be attributed to beloved pup, Bertha Blue.

Angel Was Supposed To Die For Good

Season two of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is when the show changed gears. It turned from the funny and quirky high school drama (with vampires) to the funny and quirky high school drama (with vampires) where horrible, awful and tragic things happen. The impetus for the tonal shift, like most important things in early Buffy, was Angel and Buffy’s romance. After Buffy slept with her serious boyfriend, Angel lost his soul and turned into a literal monster — Angelus.

Buffy killed Angelus, just as the Scoobies were able to return Angel’s soul. Angel’s story almost ended there as it was heavily rumored that Joss Whedon planned to cut Angel following the Buffy season two finale. It didn’t happen as the decision was made to give Angel’s character his own self-titled spin-off. However, the first and harshest goodbye between Buffy and Angel could have been their one and only.

Joss Whedon Didn’t Care For The Couple

Angel and Buffy have nearly as many fans as detractors. Nothing can bring out the ire or praise from a fellow Buffy fan than sharing an opinion on which vampire was best for the slayer. Discussing the merits of Buffy and Angel is minefield for even the most level-headed Buffyverse fans. However, the creator of the franchise, Joss Whedon has his own very specific opinions.

In Whedon’s mind, there was only one vampire for Buffy, and it wasn’t Angel. Whedon has gone on record several times explaining that he found Angel incredibly difficult to write. Since Angel was so straight-laced and serious, especially on Buffy, Whedon couldn’t find a way into the character’s head. Spike, on the other hand, was much easier for Whedon to craft into Buffy’s complicated love interest. Though Whedon admits Buffy and Angel was his most epic romance, he felt there was far more substance between Buffy and Spike.

Alyson Hannigan Says Buffy Should Have Dated Willow

Even after 25 years, Buffy fans continue to debate her love life with undying fervor. In 2020, candidate for governor of Georgia, Stacey Abrams, tweeted, “To be fair, Angel was the right boyfriend for Buffy coming into her power. Spike was the right man to be with as she became the power.” The tweet began a new discussion of Buffy’s relationships that sparked new comments from former Buffy cast members.

Cordelia’s actor, Charisma Carpenter, agreed with Abrams’ sentiment, adding that she believes Cordelia was the right person for Angel. Despite Cordelia’s mean girl persona in Buffy, she quickly became Angel’s guiding light in Angel. In contrast to Abrams’ tweet, Alyson Hannigan — known for playing Buffy’s best friend — tweeted, “Actually Buffy should have dated Willow.” Although Buffy and Willow’s relationship as characters never ventured past platonic friendship, many fans hoped the pair would become a couple following the tragic death of Willow’s girlfriend, Tara Maclay.

The Actors Never Took Their Love Scenes Seriously

Love or hate them, on a scale of 1-10, Angel and Buffy are consistently at an 11 in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Almost everything is the end of the world, whether in a personal or more literal and global sense. Actors Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz were the exact opposite of their characters. Though the love scenes between Buffy and Angel were intense and steamy (at least by late ’90s broadcast TV standards), neither actor could take them seriously.

Due to the fact that the two were such good friends, the actors were constantly pranking each other when it came time to kiss. Gellar explained that she would eat tuna fish and pickles before kissing scenes. She’d pin or sew together any bits of clothing that Boreanaz was supposed to take off and even dropped ice cream on him, the last of which made it into an episode of Angel. It’s amusing to think that while Angel and Buffy are brooding their hardest, Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz are trying to crack each other up.

Angel Wasn’t Originally Meant To Be A Vampire

The Angel who appears in the Buffy pilot is radically different from the character fans come to know and love. Angel is smarmy, smirking and wears V-necks so deep they might as well be vests. He’s nothing like a vampire who spends all his time moping and sulking in the shadows. This is because Angel wasn’t originally envisioned as a vampire.

When the character was first created, Whedon and crew weren’t exactly sure what they were going to do with Angel other than his status as a love interest for Buffy. The idea was even floated that Angel would be an actual angel. It wasn’t until the episode “Angel” in Buffy season 1 that the series finally settled on Angel being a vampire with a soul. Around the same time that audiences found out his true identity is when the Buffy cast and crew knew what to do with Angel’s character.

Buffy Stopped Showing Up On Angel Due To Network Restrictions

In season 1 of Angel, crossovers were quite frequent with Buffy. Yet after season 1, they only went one way. Angel rarely showed up on Buffy, reprising his role for the series finale and one other dramatic moment but Buffy never made her back to Angel. The reason for keeping the two apart was about as boring as it can be imagined– contract negotiations. For the first five seasons, Buffy was on The WB network with Angel following suit.

After Buffy season 5, the flagship series moved to new network UPN. Even though Buffy and Angel were still taking place in the same universe, it became a huge headache to negotiate between the rival networks about which actors could appear on what series. Even though the reasons for Buffy’s lack of appearances were taken out of Angel’s hands, it did end up working out in the series’ favor. Angel relied on Buffy a little heavily in the early offing. Without her, Angel developed its own identity, independent of the slayer.

Buffy & Angel Slept Together Again In Angel

In episode eight of Angel, “I Will Remember You”, Buffy shows up to confront Angel about his unannounced visit to Sunnydale. In the midst of a fight, Angel is poisoned with a Mohra demon’s blood and becomes human. The Oracles confirm his humanity and Angel steps into the sun to reveal his newfound life to Buffy. Thrilled to no longer be hindered by his curse, Angel and Buffy live the day as a normal couple, sleeping together without fear of Angelus returning.

Their happiness is quickly spoiled when Angel is badly beaten in a fight and realizes that his humanity will be putting Buffy and his team in danger. Prepared to doom his soul once again, Angel returns to The Oracles and asks them to remove his humanity. The Oracles agree, but on one term: the memory of the prior events must be wiped from everyone’s minds besides Angel’s. Angel selflessly agrees and is forced to carry the memory of his perfect day with Buffy as a secret.

Their Post-Resurrection Reunion is a Mystery

Buffy sacrifices herself to save her sister, Dawn, resulting in her death in season 5. Buffy’s friends bring her back to life, but she’s much worse for the wear. After her resurrection, Angel and Buffy have a phone conversation shown in their respective series. That’s all. All that Buffy and Angel say of their reunion is that it was “intense.” To this day, no one knows what really happened when the two reunited.

The closest anyone has gotten to an answer is the Buffy comic Reunion, written by TV writer Jane Espenson. In Reunion, Xander, Anya, and Willow speculate about what might’ve happened between the two. Things get out of hand quickly, and it’s eventually revealed that all the weirdness is happening because Willow cast a spell. Ultimately, the Buffyverse characters are left in just as much darkness as the audience.

Angel (And Spike) Aren’t Buffy’s Only Great Loves

After seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, viewers are left with one big impression when it comes to Buffy’s love life— there were two great loves for Buffy and both were vampires. The debate of who was better for Buffy continues to rage on. However, Angel and Spike aren’t the only serious relationships that Buffy has had in her canonical life. Even though Buffy inexplicably decided that she was in love with Riley right after they broke up, no one counts Riley as a serious love interest.

In the comics, Buffy lived on and had several meaningful relationships, including a brief fling with Satsu, one of the Potentials activated by Willow in the series finale. Satsu fell in love with Buffy and the couple had a brief romantic relationship which Buffy eventually broke off. The most surprising relationship is one that was never consummated. Buffy began to develop feelings for Xander, however, was rejected as he thought her feelings weren’t genuine. Instead, Xander ended up with Buffy’s sister, Dawn, which only feels the teeniest bit creepy.

David Boreanaz Believes Darla Is Angel’s Soulmate

The story of Buffy and Angel is that they’re two destined but tragic lovers. They will never stop caring for each other, but affection does not necessarily mean that they work well together. Angel isn’t just Buffy’s first love, he’s treated as her soulmate. However, Buffy isn’t the first blonde to catch Angel’s eye. The first relationship that Angel had was with his vampire sire, and eventual mother of his child, Darla. Darla and Angel reigned destruction for centuries until Angel was saddled with a soul. After being staked in Buffy, Darla was resurrected as a human in Angel.

In many ways, the angst between Darla and Angel puts all the melodrama between Buffy and Angel to shame. It’s probably for that reason that David Boreanaz thought that Darla was Angel’s soulmate, as he explained in a 2001 interview. The interview was done in conjunction with Darla being reintroduced into Angel. So it’s probably an opinion that Boreanaz wouldn’t assert to this day. Darla gets overlooked in the discussion of Buffy and Angel’s relationship, despite Darla predating Buffy in several ways.

The Immortal Was Never Buffy’s Rebound

Though Buffy and Angel’s on-again and off-again relationship was more off than on, they ended on a rather hopeful note during the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series finale. In their last scene together, Buffy told Angel that she wasn’t ready to be with him or anyone. When Angel (and viewers) next saw Buffy though, it was during one of the very last episodes of Angel. Angel receives word that Buffy has been ensnared by longtime rival, The Immortal. Angel goes rushing off to save Buffy, with Spike in tow, only to realize that Buffy is in a relationship with The Immortal.

The episode is a surreal departure as Sarah Michelle Gellar doesn’t appear as her Buffy character at all. All that is seen of Buffy is her golden hair on a dance floor with The Immortal. Angel ultimately lets Buffy go without speaking to her, realizing he should move on. The comics gave the whole affair a much different context. The Buffy that Angel and Spike see in that episode isn’t actually Buffy at all. In fact, it’s a new Buffy Bot. Buffy, being the leader of a global slayer organization, has created a bunch of decoys for herself. The real Buffy, was never in a relationship with The Immortal, making Angel’s rescue mission more meaningless than he realized.

Buffy, Specifically, Is What Made Angel Lose His Soul

Before Spike went along and got his own soul, Angel was unique. He was the only vampire in history to be cursed with a soul and that curse came with a lot of strings attached. The stipulations of Angel’s curse were that he must always be miserable. If Angel ever experienced a moment of “true happiness,” he’d lose his soul. Buffy season 2 reached this moment of perfect happiness by having Angel and Buffy sleep together. From then on, it was assumed that if Angel shared a moment of intimacy with anyone, he would once again lose his soul.

However, at the end of Angel, Wesley finally explained to Angel (and the audience) that his lost soul wasn’t due to him sleeping with someone. Instead, it was because Angel experienced a moment of true connection with Buffy. The moment with Buffy was a once in a lifetime event. It seems like a bit of a flimsy retcon, but it does work. Angel sleeping someone being linked to him losing his soul always felt very crass and juvenile for Buffy. It makes far more sense that his love for Buffy led to his true moment of happiness, rather than something that would always happen.

Buffy Was Rumored to Appear in Angel’s Episode 100, Not Cordelia

Buffy and Angel being on two separate networks made crossovers very difficult, but when Buffy ended and Angel continued onto season five, that was no longer a problem. Characters and actors could cross over freely, assuming that the talent was willing. It was heavily rumored that Buffy would appear in Angel’s final season, but the idea was scrapped. During Angel’s fifth season, the series reached the landmark episode 100.

Angel’s episode 100, “You’re Welcome”, is the turning point of season five in which Cordelia returns and gets Angel back on his mission. This act of selfishness is Cordelia’s last as she passes away at the end of the hour. Originally, the role of Angel’s guiding light was meant to be Buffy. In no uncertain terms, this would’ve been a huge mistake. During Angel season four, the show severely misused Cordelia’s character and Whedon wrote her off the show with no resolution. “You’re Welcome” fixed some of the problems and gave Cordelia a proper goodbye— a send-off that Buffy didn’t need.

Joss Whedon Didn’t Want Buffy in the Angel Series Finale

While plans were forming for Buffy to appear in Angel episode 100, there were no such plans for Buffy to be apart of the Angel series finale. Angel was canceled after five seasons, and a series finale had to be brought together before the show was prepared for it. It ended up working out for the best as Angel’s series finale is surprisingly excellent. It’s a dour ending but an appropriate one. It’s also an ending that Joss Whedon didn’t think needed to include Buffy.

“I want to end the show with the people who’ve been in the trenches together, the characters who have lived — and occasionally died — together, the regulars,” Whedon said at the time of Angel’s series finale. Buffy might’ve helped launch Angel as a spin-off, but by the time that Angel came to its premature end, Buffy was no longer vital. Buffy’s presence in the tight Angel series finale would’ve felt highly irregular and out-of-place.

Angel Killed Giles In The Comics

Angel and Buffy have been through many break-ups and fights, but in the comics, the two characters were truly pushed to their limits. The Buffy comics have challenged the heroes and put them into scenarios that almost certainly would’ve never happened in either of the TV shows. They are absolutely insane, and the most surreal moment involves Angel and Giles. During the season eight arc, Angel becomes possessed by Twilight, a dark entity that Angel and Buffy accidentally gave “birth” to in a parallel dimension.

Twilight, controlling Angel’s body, travels to Sunnydale and finds Buffy’s beloved Watcher, Giles, and snaps his neck, taking his life instantly. Eventually, Twilight is defeated and Giles is resurrected, but the act of Angel destroying Giles put a nearly unsurmountable rift between Buffy and Angel. Buffy avoided Angel, who was consumed by his guilt, and the pair struggled to regain their friendship. Despite their tragic pasts, Buffy and Angel eventually reconnect to fight together again.

Buffy Doesn’t Choose Between Angel and Spike

Fans might be divided between Angel and Spike for Buffy, but their indecisive opinions are nothing compared to Buffy’s own indecision. In the comics, Buffy still can’t choose between Spike and Angel. They both give her something that the other can’t provide. During a season 8 comic, Buffy travels into her own consciousness, in the comics’ never-ending pursuit to be as bonkers as possible. While in her imagination, Buffy witnesses her ultimate fantasy, not Angel or Spike… but with both at the same time.

In Buffy’s mind, neither Angel nor Spike are the perfect partner, leaving her open to accept the relationship that best suits her at any stage in her life. Buffy being torn equally between Spike and Angel allows the Buffyverse to drag out her romantic feelings in perpetuity and fuels the fire of even more fan discussions. After once again defeating the Big Bad in the final canonical Buffy comic, season 12, Buffy doesn’t choose Angel or Spike but rather accepts them both as permanent fixtures and allies in her life.

Sarah Michelle Gellar Chooses Angel, Not Spike

Buffy may not know who is right for her between Spike and Angel, but Sarah Michelle Gellar is far from undecided. Gellar has always had very firm feelings on who Buffy who should be with in the end. Gellar believes Angel is ultimately the best person for Buffy, and as the actor spent much of her life in Buffy’s head, many are inclined to agree. In the big 20 year reunion of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sarah Michelle Gellar answered the question she is so often asked, definitively.

“There was something so beautiful to me about the Buffy and Angel story. I think that Spike understood a different part of who Buffy was, and I think she needed to understand that and discover. But for me as Buffy, I think Angel,” she said. During the Angel episode, “I Will Remember You”, Buffy breaks down in tears as Buffy and Angel break up for the final time. Those tears aren’t acting, however, as Gellar mourns the loss of Buffy and Angel. Even David Boreanaz can be audibly heard saying, “Sarah,” quietly while his character Angel comforts Buffy.

Gellar & Boreanaz Will Not Reprise Their Roles As Buffy & Angel

Few people would disagree that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of the best vampire shows to ever air on television. It’s this consistent fan support that has made a Buffy reunion so desperately requested. Although fans would love to receive new Buffy adventures with the original gang, the nature of vampire shows prevents a simple reunion. While the human characters could reasonably age with the actors, vampires Angel and Spike would require CGI to de-age the actors.

In an interview with Variety, David Boreanaz stated that he doesn’t ever plan to reprise his role as Angel and would prefer to see the role go to a new actor instead of using CGI to make himself look younger. Sarah Michelle Gellar expressed similar feelings when asked on the podcast, On with Mario Lopez if she would ever play Buffy Summers again. The actors agree that while they love their characters and believe Buffy transcends generations, they want to pass the torch to the next generation of actors.