While New Girl was a sitcom about a whole group of friends, the members were frequently split up into pairs for storytelling reasons. For instance, in some episodes, Nick and Schmidt were off doing their own thing, Jess and Cece had something else going on, and Winston was hanging with a secondary character.
The specific duos would often change per episode, but not every pair got the same amount of attention. In fact, some very entertaining team-ups only appeared in the show sparingly. It's understandable as there's only so much screen-time to go around. Yet, the following duos still deserved more respect than the writers usually gave them.
Schmidt And Robby
During his first few appearances, Robby established himself as one of the most likable characters in the series because of his wholesome nature. However, in "A Father's Love," he really got to show off his comedic chops as he formed a hilarious duo with Schmidt.
They worked together to stop Cece from setting up an arranged marriage as they were both still into her. Schmidt's intensity meshed surprisingly well with Robby's goofiness. It's just a shame that after the episode, the characters rarely spent much time together.
Coach And May
Coach tends to separate himself from all of his friends once he gets into a serious relationship. He did it off-screen after the pilot and again in season four when he left for New York with May. The latter was one of the show's most emotional episodes as it was Coach's last one as a regular.
Although, it failed to be a truly satisfying ending for the character. This is because while leaving with his true love sounds like a nice send-off, the viewers didn't know May that well. If she'd had entered the show earlier and the pair had more episodes together, it would've felt like a better conclusion for Coach.
Cece And Reagan
Once the no-nonsense Reagan entered the show in season five, it was quickly revealed that she had a past with Cece. It turned out the pair met and had a fling at the MTV Beach House in 2003. After that piece of history was divulged, the characters rarely interacted again.
They could've had an interesting dynamic because Cece used to be a lot like Reagan. She was the cool and normal one before she joined in with the gang's wackiness. Putting the two together could've been a way to showcase how much Cece had changed.
Winston And Bertie
All four of the main male characters in the show had some great love interests. And one of Winston's best girlfriends was Bertie. This woman was one of the few people that could match Winston's weirdness. In their first episode together, they flirted while talking about the strangest things, ranging from Bologna to hard to chew bread.
While uncomfortable to listen to at times, those scenes were hilarious, and more of them would've been great. Unfortunately, their romance was often pushed to the side to focus on the other characters.
Nick And Angie
New Girl had plenty of fantastic guest stars over the seven seasons, including Olivia Munn. She played the adventurous Angie, who became Nick's girlfriend in season two.
Her daring approach to life made for a great contrast to Nick's more cautious nature. And if she'd have been in the show for longer, it could've made for some exciting storylines where she convinced him to do things out of his element. However, Angie didn't stick around long enough.
Jess And Abby
Because she was the lead, Jess spent significant time with most of the other characters in the series. Yet, it would've been nice to see more scenes between her and her sister, Abby. The older sibling joined the show midway through season three and caused plenty of problems in the process.
The scenes where she messed with Jess were some of her most entertaining. Although, the serious discussions the two shared were strong too. If only Abby appeared in more than three episodes, then we could've gotten more pranks and heart-to-hearts.
Schmidt And Elizabeth
Elizabeth might be best remembered for being in the way of Schmidt and Cece getting together - through no fault of her own. Yet, her relationship with Schmidt was sweet. The couple originally dated in college, and then they rekindled their romance in season two.
It was one of the few times that Schmidt had real feelings for a woman, and why wouldn't he? She was kind and witty, plus her attitude of not caring what others thought of her was awesome to see. They just needed to be together longer.
Nick And Aly
Despite being one of the show's best recurring characters, Aly didn't spend much time with anyone but Winston. Although, "San Diego" showed that a friendship between her and Nick had potential.
In the episode, he constantly went to her for advice about his relationship with Reagan. Aly's reluctance to get involved and Nick ignoring that fact led to some laugh-out-loud interactions. More scenes with the two of them would've been highly appreciated.
Nick And Ruth
One of the best aspects of the final season was Schmidt and Cece's daughter, Ruth. The energetic little girl was a constant source of comedy, especially when paired up with Nick. She saw the guy as a dumb Raccoon, and he talked to her like she was an adult.
The two constantly shared hilarious banter, including the iconic diarrhea-head debate. As the seventh season was only eight episodes long, they, unfortunately, didn't have much time to spend together.
Cece And Winston
By the end of the show, Cece and Winston's friendship was one of the most popular. From classic 'mess arounds' to two-player Pictionary, the duo was always entertaining.
So, it's unfortunate that this friendship didn't really exist in the early seasons of the show. In fact, originally the Cece-and-Winston-mess-around was a meta-joke about how the two rarely interacted. It wasn't until Winston developed as a character that they became friends and one of the best parts of the show.