Though she began Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a bookish social outcast, over the seven seasons of the series, Willow blossomed into a powerful witch and a formidable opponent to the forces of darkness. While the Chosen One Buffy Summers patrolled Sunnydale and protected the Hellmouth beneath it, Willow often researched spells and demonology, ready and willing to join in the fight whenever The Slayer needed her to.

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Willow began the series having a crush on Xander Harris, her best friend since the two were young children, but when her feelings went unrequited due to his interest in Buffy, she eventually began a relationship with Oz. It wasn't until after further heartbreak that she finally found her true love in Tara, a young woman who shared her proclivities for magic. While Willow and Tara were certainly one of the most beloved couples  on the show, these 10 other people could have made Willow just as happy.

BUFFY

When Buffy encountered Cordelia giving Willow a difficult time, she knew in that moment that no amount of social prestige would allow her to be Cordelia's friend. Willow and Buffy became unlikely best friends after that, bonding over demonology research, marshmallows, and cheese.

Buffy always valued Willow's insight, and treated her like the valuable member of the Scooby Gang that she was. The two often presented as opposing forces, given Buffy's indomitable strength and Willow's shy nature, but they complemented each other in a way that no one else did.

FAITH

Eliza Dushku as Faith in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Though Willow's most prominent same-sex relationship was with Tara, a quiet and compassionate witch who often became the voice of reason for Willow's shenanigans, nothing says that Willow couldn't have benefited from being with someone as resilient and badass as the other slayer, Faith.

Faith had the sort of kinetic energy around her that drew people like Willow in. Faith's beguiling charisma was palpable with everyone, and some fans think there was something between her and Buffy in Season 3. It might take Dark Willow from Season 6 to tame the wild child though.

XANDER

Willow and Xander knew each other since childhood, and despite Willow's huge crush on him, he never saw her as a potential romantic partner. For too long all he saw was Willow in her cover-alls, helping him with his homework, without the least bit of sexual tension between them.

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It wouldn't dawn on him that Willow could be a potential partner until he was dating Cordelia and she was dating Oz. They shared an inappropriate kiss that managedvto ruin their relationships in different ways, but proved that the thing they were looking for was right in front of them all along.

SPIKE

Alyson Hannigan as Willow and James Marsters as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lover's Walk

Willow was never happy with how Spike treated Buffy, and made her opinions known whenever Buffy suffered heartache at his hands (though not as adamantly as Xander). Yet somehow she managed to empathize with his plight, even when he kidnapped her to try to lure Buffy into a trap.

Due to Willow's nurturing and compassionate personality, Spike wouldn't have to prove himself in the same way he did with Buffy. Willow tended to accept people not for who they'll be someday in the future, but who they are in the present.

ANYA

Anya in Buffy the Vampire SLayer

If Willow ever thought she was socially awkward, she had nothing on Anya, who was even more inept at socializing normally with humans than the Scooby Gang's resident witch. Willow often had to help translate social situations to Anya, as well as translate Anya's tactless comments into dialogue that wouldn't be so offensive.

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Anya had a great respect for Willow's magical abilities, especially since she herself had been present at the Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. She also bonded with Willow when Oz broke her heart, and perhaps they should have sworn off men together.

GILES

Buffy Xander Willow and Giles in Season 1

Of all he Scooby Gang, Giles has always had a soft spot for Willow. He recognized her talents early on, because he noticed like him, she had a great affinity for research and could be counted on to absorb vital information. He was as protective of her as he was Buffy Summers, whom he was tasked with watching.

Perhaps its because Giles saw some of himself in Willow, but they remained very close throughout the series, prompting many fans to imagine them in later years publishing spell books together along with loose tea leaf collections. Willow had the distinct ability to hear Giles clean his glasses over the phone.

OZ

Oz and Willow kiss in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Oz was Willow's first real boyfriend, a philosophy-spouting guitarist who contemplated life's intricacies with a taciturn expression and a nihilistic sense of humor. He encountered Willow in an Eskimo outfit at The Bronze, and it was love at first sight, though he wouldn't become a full fledged member of the Scooby Gang and a series regular until Season 3.

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Even when Oz is revealed to be a werewolf, Willow remained by his side, but it was ultimately his infidelity with another female werewolf that caused too much strain on his relationship and he was forced to leave Sunnydale. He reappeared in Willow's dreams, showing how much she truly cared about him, and it took her some time to get over his absence.

KENNEDY

Kennedy appeared in Season 7, one of many young women known as "potentials" who could become slayers like Buffy Summers. An out lesbian since she was five, she displayed an extreme amount of confidence, and took a shine to Willow who had previously been involved with the very shy and gentle Tara.

After Tara's passing, Willow found herself thinking about companionship again, and Kennedy made it known she was interested in a relationship. While they have their ups and downs due to Willow's magic usage in the final season, Season 5 of Angel revealed they were living happily ever after in Brazil.

R.J. BROOKS

Quite a few of the women in the series became attracted to R. J. Brooks, a quarterback for Sunnydale High. His father gifted him his letterman jacket, which turned out to be a magical artifact that any woman in the vicinity fall in love with him. His classmate Dawn was the first, but gradually Anya, Buffy, and Willow fell under the spell of the jacket.

Willow became obsessed with R.J., despite being out as a lesbian at the time. She even went so far as to summon Hecate to turn him into a woman, but Xander and Spike succeeded in preventing it. If R.J. had remained female, maybe Willow would have been the ultimate winner of the romantic conquest.

ANGELUS

Angelus and Darla

Willow disliked Angel even more than Spike because of the way she felt he manipulated Buffy's feelings, and feared his bestial side Angelus because of his propensity for violence and chaos. However, Willow has a dark side as well, both in her alter-dimensional Vamp Willow persona, and her Dark Willow spellcaster persona.

As Vamp Willow, she exhibited many of Angelus's behaviors, from wanton lust to a salacious appetite for violence. Angel even explained to Willow once that one's vampire side functioned as a mirror to their deepest desires, which Willow vehemently denied, but perhaps she only did so because she feared being close to his kind.

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