Although the title and character makeup of The Vampire Diaries would imply that the series is predominantly a supernatural one, honestly, TVD is as much if not even more of a romance show than it is a supernatural series. Romantic love is the driving force behind nearly every character and storyline, and the characters fall in and out of love with each other constantly.
Of course, these relationships come with their own plethora of drama, which is sometimes just an unfortunate coincidence and sometimes the fault of the characters themselves. And with that in mind, which male Vampire Diaries characters make for the worst or best love interests?
Kai Parker
Kai Parker is certainly an attractive fella, but unfortunately, he is without a doubt not boyfriend material. Not only does he have extremely violent tendencies (and unsurprisingly he's far from the only Vampire Diaries guy who does), but he's not particularly adept at forming normal attachments to others.
After the way that he's treated his family, it seems pretty safe to assume that he wouldn't treat any romantic partner very well either.
Damon Salvatore
Shockingly, despite the fact that Damon is ostensibly the romantic lead of the entire series, he is also one of the male characters with the least amount of boyfriend potential. Sure, if he's truly in love with someone he can be great, but despite the fact that he was in love with Elena for almost the entire series, he kinda tormented her every time he was unhappy.
And she was the lucky one, when it comes to his girlfriends like Andie or Caroline, he was even worse.
Klaus Mikaelson
Klaus' romantic viability improved very slightly throughout his character arc on The Originals, but to be honest, despite the fact that he's outrageously rich and powerful, he didn't make himself look like a very appealing option on The Vampire Diaries.
It seems like Caroline is the only person he had even potentially fallen in love with, and he lashed out and straight up almost killed her when he was bumming over Kol's untimely death.
Elijah Mikaelson
On the surface, Elijah Mikaelson seems like the ideal guy to be with, as he presents himself very well and can be sincerely kind and caring. The problem is that with him, family always comes first, and his family is a freaking nightmare.
Any serious relationship with Elijah would be constantly interrupted by their drama, and despite the fact that the Mikaelson squad is toxic, if anyone ever asked Elijah to choose, he's choosing them every time.
Stefan Salvatore
When Stefan is good, he can be great. He's loving, kind, generous, reliable, and sincere. However, even when he's on his best behavior, he can be secretive and a tad controlling.
But when he's on his worst behavior? Look out, because here comes Hurricane Stefan. Any romance with Stefan is never going to be simple or easy, even if he makes it seem like it could be at the outset.
Enzo St. John
Enzo can occasionally be a hot mess, but considering everything that he's gone through, he's actually shockingly well-adjusted. Yes, he's quite blasé about murder, but that's kind of to be expected given that he's a vampire.
Once he's formed an attachment to someone he's a real ride-or-die, and even better, he's one of the most forgiving characters in the entire series when it comes to getting over the misdeeds of his loved ones.
Tyler Lockwood
It's safe to say that before Tyler Lockwood discovered his werewolf side, he was a certifiable jerk, and certainly not the kind of guy that anyone would want to date. But hardship really forced him to evolve, and he evolved into one of the best, most morally upright characters in The Vampire Diaries.
In fact, that would likely be the only downfall of being involved with him, because if anything he's too altruistic and putting himself on the line for others too often.
Jeremy Gilbert
Jeremy Gilbert may have come with his own set of issues and baggage in any relationship, but in comparison to the vast majority of the male characters on the show, his problems seem downright quaint.
He transformed from an emo kid to a pretty badass adult too, and although he wasn't always the best boyfriend, he was pretty devoted and loving towards the girls he found himself in relationships with.
Alaric Saltzman
Alaric Saltzman clearly never had the best luck in love, but that's pretty unfortunate given that he's one of the most appealing partners on The Vampire Diaries.
Sure, he's not the most exciting option, but a regular guy is probably a great choice when the other possibilities are for the most part literal serial killers. He's nice, caring, reliable, stable, and extremely loyal to those that he loves.
Matt Donovan
Shockingly, although Matt Donovan is one of the less interesting male characters on the show, he also makes the best boyfriend.
Sometimes being normal is far better than being extraordinary, and in the world of TVD, Matt is normal in all the right ways and extraordinary in all the right ways too. He's a regular guy, but he's one of the few characters who actually goes out of his way to do what he thinks is right, and any relationship with him is going to be fairly drama-free.