One Tree Hill: Couples Who Had No Chemistry
Published on September 1, 2015. Updated August 27, 2020One Tree Hill was a fantastic show, with a fantastic cast who were driven by excellent writers and intriguing storylines. Through the series, cast members were gained and cast members were lost and through it all relationship dynamics on the show grew, shifted and changed as characters came and went. While we are all aware that there was many a great romance on One Tree Hill, which all but emitted electricity when two characters were together (Nathan and Haley), there were some couplings that did the exact opposite. Some couples on the show made absolutely no sense and sometimes it was plain awkward to see them interact. It may have come close, but One Tree Hill wasn’t perfect and these couples with horrible chemistry prove just that.
10. Skills and Lauren
Skills was an integral and, in many ways, underrated part of the show that was dominated by the core five characters, but that made us appreciate his greater presence and bigger story in later seasons. While ridiculously different, Bevin and Skills were great together. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Skills’ relationship with Lauren, Jamie’s teacher. No matter how many times they were together, they always seemed uncomfortable which, in turn, made the relationship uncomfortable to watch. In the end, we weren’t surprised when Skills took off to L.A. without Lauren, and also kind of relieved. In many ways, she simply seemed like a Bevin stand-in, just not as good of a match.
Source: CW9. Nathan and Peyton
Given the fact that they fought all the time, this one is pretty obvious, yet still a major couple that never really worked anyway. Nathan and Peyton were never happy when they were together, which made the chemistry between the two bad but, even when things were seemingly good, we still didn’t buy it. There was nothing natural about them together and, once Lucas and Haley were on the scene, it was obvious this relationship wasn’t going anywhere. When they kissed, it seemed forced and, when they fought, it was way too easy, not to mention the characters were WAY better off as friends and were way more believable that way as well.
Source: CW8. Julian and Peyton
Granted, we didn’t get to see a whole lot of Julian and Peyton’s relationship, which took place during the gap the show leaves between the crew leaving after high school and then returning four years later, but the flashbacks were enough for us to know there was no chemistry between them. On paper, their relationship would make sense: tortured artist struggling in L.A. meets tortured director trying to make a difference with his films, but in real life there was no spark. Their first meeting when Peyton is crying and Julian takes her to his event out of nowhere is awkward and it never gets better. They always seem unsure what to say or how to say things to each other and the whole time it was very clear she was still in love with Lucas.
Fred Norris / © THE CW / courtesy everett colllection7. Chase and Brooke
Brooke may have dated the most of all the characters on the show but, surprisingly, there is only one that really didn’t work. Brooke went to extreme lengths to get Chase’s attention, which should have clued her in that there really wasn’t much there between them. The whole time she is pursuing him and even when she opens up to him, he seems disinterested and, even when they start dating, his innocence gives the relationship a “cougar with a younger guy” type vibe, even though they’re the same age. We love Chase Adams and we LOVE Brooke Davis, but it was abundantly clear these two would make great friends but horrible significant others for each other.
Fred Norris / ©THE CW / courtesy everett collection6. Mouth and Erica Marsh
Oh Mouth. There was nothing fans wanted more than to see the guy happy, and eventually after crushing on Brooke for a long time, he found love with former class president Erica Marsh. Unfortunately, while we were happy he was happy, the relationship made no sense at all. Erica Marsh seemed to just go for Mouth because she was trying to embrace life without high school government being the center of her life, and didn’t seem all that interested in him as a person, just the idea of finally doing normal “high school” things like dating. This became all too obvious when she started meeting a whole bunch of new guys and ditched Mouth as she became more popular. Even though we were sad for Mouth, it was better for his character and the show.
Soruce: CW5. Dan and Rachel
One Tree Hill had a lot of bombshells and one we never saw coming was when Rachel Gatina re-emerged as Mrs. Dan Scott. Naturally, audiences were creeped out because of the age difference, as Rachel was the same age as Nathan, Dan’s son, and nothing made this relationship any more appealing as time went on. We kept waiting for the flip-side of the relationship because not one scene between the two as a couple was believable and the scenes where they were in the same bed were cringe-worthy to watch. Needless to say, it wasn’t surprising when Dan learns Rachel never even loved him at all, but that much was evident from the zero chemistry between the two characters.
Source: CW4. Lucas and Anna
Of all the new people and new relationships introduced on the show, the one between Lucas and Anna was by far the oddest and most awkward. Lucas is apparently very into Anna after meeting her on dare night, but you would never know that from the way the two interacted. They had a friendship vibe right from the beginning and we couldn’t get past it as they continued to try to force the relationship as a romantic one but, then again, the lack of chemistry was explained when it turned out Anna was bisexual and was maybe more into Peyton than she was into Lucas.
Source: CW3. Lucas and Lindsey
While Lucas and Anna were never meant to work out and really didn’t need to be that believable due to the fact she was confused about her sexuality and tried to force things with Lucas, Lucas and Lindsey were supposed to be totally in love, yet we never believed that either. Lindsey was introduced out of nowhere following the four year gap between seasons four and five and we just couldn’t wrap our heads around Lucas being with her when there was clearly no spark. Lindsey always seemed too serious and somehow too old for Lucas and, even when their wedding episode came around, fans knew there was no way this ill-suited pair would say “I do.” Even when she was being nice, it was hard to believe Lindsey and her demeanor. She clearly did not fit in with the group and was just not that believable as Lucas’s fiancée.
Fred Norris / © THE CW NETWORK / courtesy everett collection2. Mouth and Alice
Years after the show ended, this couple still has fans shaking their heads. Mouth began a relationship with his boss, Alice, but the whole thing didn’t work and never will no matter how many times we watch it. For one, Alice is a b–ch, an,d on top of that, she is not attractive, which wouldn’t be a big deal if the show hadn’t tried to purport her as “the hot boss.” Audiences didn’t know what the show was getting at when Mouth actually had a difficult time choosing between Alice and the amazing Millie, but luckily Mouth came to his senses and we were no longer subjected to watching the trainwreck that was Mouth and Alice’s relationship.
Source: CW1. Pete Wentz and Peyton
Poor Peyton, aside from Lucas and Jake, her character really didn’t gel with any potential love interests, which was never more clear than her brief fling with Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz. Right off the bat, this coupling didn’t make sense, as famous rockstars in their 20s don’t ever date teenage club managers, let alone show up for a cottage weekend with her friends. Some of this may have to do with Wentz’s lack of acting skills but, when these two were on-screen together, it seemed kind of like a joke. They were so very awkward together and there was definitely no sexual chemistry to make this pairing seem remotely plausible. Luckily, once again, it didn’t take long for the show’s producers to realize this wasn’t working and, when Pete leaves Peyton a flight ticket to see him, she winds up at Jake’s doorstep.
Source: CW