A Look Back at All of Jessica Day's Boyfriends on 'New Girl'

While Fox's hit sitcom New Girl may have aired its final episode in 2018, fans haven't stopped obsessing. Between sharing iconic quotes from neurotic Schmidt to replaying Nick Miller's "you get me cookie, I got you cookie" line over and over again, it's clear the love for the show is far from over.

The show's finale gave everyone the ending they deserved, but there were a lot of roadblocks in the path of everyone's perfect ending — including some not-so-great significant others in their dating history (especially when it came to Jess's partners). 

Let's take a look back at some of Jess's boyfriends on the show.

Of course, we need to open this list with Spencer — because if he hadn't cheated on our main character before the show even begins, we wouldn't have this list to reflect on.

When you compare Spencer to all of the other men Jess has dated (even the ones we hated), Spencer is hands-down the worst. But that's OK because we all make mistakes sometimes.

Paul was Jess's rebound relationship after getting over Spencer, and at the time, they seemed perfect for each other. Both being teachers, they had the same fun-loving yet innocent interests, and really seemed to be two peas in the same pod.

That is, until it became clear that Jess was not as serious about him as he was her. And we see that reflected after they have a one-night stand years later — right before Paul was planning to propose to his then-girlfriend, who looks just like Jess. Yikes. Looks like she really dodged a bullet there.

Let's face it: as wholesome and nice as Russell was to Jess, the two were just never meant to be. Having met because Jess was having issues with his daughter in class, the two start their relationship by putting Jess's student in a very awkward situation as her dad dates her teacher. His patience with her sometimes-immature actions was commendable, but they just simply weren't compatible. Russell was a good guy — he just wasn't the best for Jess.

OK, Jess and Gavin never actually dated, but their very brief flirtationship should get an honorable mention, if anything, because it brought Schmidt's dad back into his life. Jess met Gavin while trying to help Cece and Schmidt pick a winery to supply their wedding. Unfortunately, Jess didn't learn Gavin was Schmidt's father until it was a little too late.

Luckily, their weird romantic encounter brought the father-son duo back together, so it's still one of Jess's more significant relationships.

Everything about Jess's relationship with Robby just felt weird. While the two bespeckled friends start out their relationship innocently enough, it's already weird that Jess is dating one of Cece's ex-boyfriends. Add to that they find out they're actually third cousins and the relationship was doomed from the start.

Oh, Ryan. Sweet, dreamy, Ryan. If you can look past the fact that Jess's relationship with Ryan is a violation of many school policies, as Jess is Ryan's supervisor when they meet, you can almost learn to love them as a couple.

But again, it simply just wasn't meant to be. When Ryan takes a job as a headmaster overseas, it's clear the two are headed for splitsville. Ryan was a good egg, he just wasn't right for Jess.

Jess's relationship with Sam is a messy one at best. Starting during Season 2 when Jess pretends to be his online date, their relationship begins with a lie. Even when they do finally manage to go from casual to serious, Sam becomes very insecure about Jess's friendship with Nick, which leads to their first breakup.

When they meet again in Season 5, Sam is dating the supervisor at an alternative school Jess is hoping to land a job at. This, of course, makes everything awkward – but it only gets worse. At one point, Sam files for a restraining order from Jess, which she chooses to ignore, somehow resulting in them getting back together.

To be honest, their breakup was a long time in the making, and while Sam was fun the first time around, Jess was much better without him.

Nick is arguably one of the show's greatest characters, and fans had been shipping the two since Season 1. They are polar opposites, which is what actually makes their relationship so perfect.

We'll admit, when the two first got together it was clear they had some communication issues — but it was still heartbreaking when they ultimately decided to call it quits. 

That didn't stop us from rooting for them to get back together, though. When they finally got married in Season 7, it was the perfect happily ever after.