The Office is loved for many things, but Pam and Jim’s romance — Dwight and Angela’s — and even Holly and Michael’s were at the center of the action. Viewers eagerly tuned in week after week to see the sparks fly and discover how or if these relationships would progress.
The aforementioned relationships were the true stars of the show, but they weren’t the only ones to be featured in The Office. In fact, there were many other romances that were touched on or hinted at but never truly explored, and that’s what we’re here to look at now. Here are 10 romances in The Office that the show could have gone deeper into but sadly chose to cut short.
Pam And Toby
The Office makes it obvious that Toby has a crush on Pam throughout the series, however, we never get to see what their relationship would have actually looked like. The most upfront Toby is about his feelings is in Night Out (S4E15) when he uncomfotably puts his hand on Pam’s knee. He then proceeds to tell the gang that he’s moving to Costa Rica, runs away, and hops the fence.
Pam later admits to the camera that she thinks Toby is cute, though usually, he's the one managing his feelings for her rather than the other way around.
Kelly And Andy
The two have chemistry that is subtly hinted at. When Andy accidentally sends Kelly a Valentine’s Day card, she realizes she’s okay with it. Unfortunately, the romance never gets much further than this.
Jim And Katy
Unlike the previously mentioned couples, Katy (the handbag saleswoman from Season 1) and Jim do end up dating, though their relationship doesn’t last long. They break up during Season 2’s booze cruise when Jim realizes they’re not compatible.
Though we see her now and again before the breakup, we never really find out much about her and Jim’s relationship. When Jim throws a house party, he reveals to Ryan that he and Katy hadn’t spoken in a while. It was always hinted that there was some tension between the two, but those feelings were never discussed onscreen.
Erin And Robert
In Christmas Wishes (S8E10), Robert reveals that his wife divorced him. He then begins bonding with Erin and exchanging feelings with her. Andy notices their interactions but becomes relieved when he sees that Robert sends Erin home instead of trying to make a move.
Their relationship wouldn’t have been okay for many reasons, including the fact they should have a boss-employee dynamic, but even Andy was suspicious that something could be there. We’re not saying this would have been a good romance, we’re just saying it could have happened.
Andy And Angela
Yes, they were never good together. Andy was always into Angela more than she was into him, as proven by the affair she sparks up with Dwight soon before her wedding occurs.
Though the Andy-Angela relationship is explored throughout Season 4 and 5, it gets cut short when, during Andy and Dwight’s duel, they realize she’s been lying to them both. We never really get to see Andy break up with Angela and we obviously never find out what could have been. It just sort of fades.
Pam And Roy
Similarly, we never see the relationship between Pam and Roy fully develop. It ran its course but as revealed in Roy’s Wedding (S9E2), Pam’s ex-fiancee matured and became a successful and kind man. We’re not complaining that Pam and Roy never ended up together; we’re simply realizing that there was a lot of places their relationship could have gone had they not broken up.
Additionally, we rarely see them in a moment alone. Though Roy comes off hostile in Season 1, we don’t get to watch their one-on-one dynamic that for some reason seems to have Pam sticking around.
Michael and Helene
Remember that time Michael dated Pam's mom? Yeah, so do we.
Though Pam initially gets frustrated when she learns that Michael is dating her mother, she begins to accept it and goes on a double date with the new couple. However, Michael quickly breaks off the relationship when he learns that Helene is 58-years-old since he feels he is “robbing the grave.”
Though we’re glad Michael ended up with Holly, it would have been interesting to see his relationship with Pam’s mom progress. We saw a few sparks which were quickly put out.
Oscar and Gil
Because Oscar doesn’t come out to his co-workers right away, his relationship with Gil is kept tightly under wraps. In The Secret (S2E13), Dwight happens upon Oscar and Gil together, only to believe he caught Oscar lying about being sick.
Most of their relationship happens off-camera, with Oscar leaving Dunder Mifflin for a while after Michael tries to kiss him in front of the office to prove that he is an accepting person. Oscar and Gil’s relationship seems to fizzle out after Season 3, though we don’t get a front-row seat to this event.
Pam and Danny
In Season 7, it is revealed that Pam previously went on a date with a traveling salesman named Danny, but he never called back for a second outing. Jim and Pam pressure him into telling them why, and he eventually reveals that Pam was “a little dorky."
We never find out more about this. What was their date like? Did they know each other long before they went out? Could there have been a future? It's all a little vague, and we would have loved to see at least a second episode on this relationship that never was.
Stanley and Teri
Though it's known that Stanley is married to a woman named Teri, we don’t know much about her outside of the fact that she is eventually cheated on. Stanley develops a relationship with his nurse Cynthia before becoming romantically involved with a third woman named Lydia. Later during the finale, it's revealed that Stanley has divorced.
That being said, we never knew much about Teri to begin with. This is because Stanley does his best to keep his work life and personal life separate, even though Michael tries to mix it up at times.