Running from 1999 to 2008, Passions is unquestionably TV's most banana-pants crazy and disturbing soap. Storylines featured trips to hell, world ending Catholic mysteries, mind control, and past lives.
In Harmony, there are no healthy relationships, just degrees of weird and creepy. Some stories are mildly acceptable, while others are just deeply uncomfortable. Unfortunately, the show included sexual violence in nearly every story. Though no family in Harmony was normal, there were some couples worth rooting for, so here are the 5 best and 5 worst relationships on Passions.
BEST: SHERIDAN AND LUIS
In the show’s early years, Sheridan and Luis were the textbook star crossed soap opera couple. Due to their families’ rivalry, they took a while to get together, but once they realized how much they truly loved one another, nothing could keep them apart.
Even though it seemed like they were destined to end up as a happy couple, amnesia, crazy stalkers and the search for their presumed-dead son broke them up permanently. For awhile, Sheridan wouldn’t let Luis find peace with anyone else, but the series ended with them happily married to other people.
WORST: JULIAN AND IVY
As the series began, Julian and Ivy Crane were the head of the richest family in town. It was obvious from day one that they despised one another. They married for money and power, each leaving behind their true loves.
Their deeply unhealthy relationship spilled over into how they raised their children, causing them to also have troubled love lives. They certainly didn’t have good examples to imitate. Ivy and Julian’s unhappiness poisoned their entire family, even creating collateral damage around town.
BEST: FANCY AND LUIS
During a trip to Rome, where they searched for Luis’ kidnapped son and got wrapped up in Alistair’s wacky ancient chalice plot, Fancy and Luis became close friends, who clearly had feelings for each other.
Though Sheridan used every trick at her disposal to keep her niece away from Luis, the duo couldn’t fight their pull to one another. Luis was falsely accused of being the one who sexually assaulted Fancy, but they went on the run to prove his innocence. Once the truth came out, they finally got married and seemed headed for a happy ending.
WORST: NOAH AND FANCY
Crane heiress Fancy was a party girl in Las Vegas when she and Noah met, and got caught up in a mob vendetta. Once they were back in Harmony, they began to have a real relationship, but her family and threats from the mob caused trouble for the young lovers.
Through a series of ridiculous misunderstandings, the pair broke up and reunited at a dizzying pace. It seemed they were the only ones who couldn’t figure out they weren’t meant to be. They became impossible to invest in, and eventually we just lost interest in their story.
BEST: JULIAN AND EVE
It seems impossible to think that Julian could be happy with anyone, but Eve is actually his one true love, and the woman that made him better. They fell in love when they were younger, but separated to live the life expected of them.
After years apart, they were able to finally reunite when the truth about their past came out. They thought things were working out when their long lost son Vincent came to Harmony, but he was insane, leaving death and mayhem all over town. The lovers were able to survive everything thrown at them by supporting each other through every catastrophe.
WORST: KAY AND MIGUEL
Though Miguel only saw her as a friend, Kay was in love with him from the time they were in high school. He fell in love with her cousin Charity, an act that sent her off the deep end. Kay used her dark magic to wreck their relationship, even pretending to be Charity and getting pregnant with Miguel’s child.
Miguel came back to town, wanting to be a family with Kay, who was only using her magic for good, and their child, leading to them getting married. Considering all the truly despicable things she did to him and Charity, we could never buy them as a loving couple.
BEST: GWEN AND REBECCA
As Passions premiered, Gwen Hotchkiss was a well-known socialite set to marry Crane heir Ethan. Once Theresa began stalking and scheming to get Ethan for herself, Gwen proved she was equally shady with her own list of nefarious acts.
Fortunately for Gwen, she had the perfect partner in crime in her mother Rebecca. She wanted Gwen to be a Crane more than anyone and did whatever it took to help her daughter destroy Theresa. The twisted mother/daughter duo were one of the soaps’ most entertaining teams to watch.
WORST: WHITNEY AND CHAD
With their best friends Ethan and Theresa constantly tied up in each other’s lives, it was no surprise that Whitney and Chad ended up falling in love. However, like most couples in Harmony, their love was cursed.
The moment they finally found a little happiness, they wrongly assumed they were siblings and parted ways. When it turned out they weren’t brother and sister, they reunited, but Chad began cheating on Whitney with the psychopathic Vincent. Their relationship was constantly mired in tragedy and lies, leading viewers to want them to move on.
BEST: TABITHA AND TIMMY
With all the nonsense swirling around Harmony, the only way viewers were able to keep it all straight was through the plans of witch Tabitha and her doll companion Timmy. Timmy only came to life in front of Tabitha, so everyone always wondered why she took a doll with her all over town.
Even though Timmy was a good character who often stopped Tabitha’s evil plans, the two were intensely loyal to one another. He was lost during an attack from evil Charity, and Tabitha never got over losing her best friend. They were the only authentic, honest, truly loving relationship in Harmony.
WORST: ETHAN AND THERESA
Before Passions even debuted, we were being sold on the idea of Ethan and Theresa as the show’s supercouple. They had the classic soap couple look, so we assumed this would be a Romeo and Juliet type story. Turns out it was more Misery.
Their story started with Theresa stalking Ethan, then trying to break up his engagement to Gwen. Despite every over the top, heinous, criminal thing Theresa did, she was billed as the show’s heroine. Though their love story caused the duo and everyone around them nothing but pain and heartache, they maddeningly ended the series happily married again.