The CW’s Arrowverse quartet of superhero shows has a very loyal and vocal fan base. Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl have built an interconnected world of heroes and villains, where characters can crossover and the events of one show directly affect others. This is especially true of its couples. When it comes to shipping certain pairings, Arrowverse fans have no problems letting everyone know what they think. The war between Oliver/Felicity fans and Oliver/Laurel fans has been going on since season one, and shows no signs of ever letting up. When it comes to pairing couples together, it doesn’t always come down to who is supposed to be together in the comics. Yes, that plays a role, but sometimes actors just don’t have chemistry, or characters’ storylines aren’t meant to cross paths.

With shows based in established source material, featuring characters viewers feel a personal connection to, it’s bound to get heated amongst the various fans. While there are definitely some couples that deserve to be argued over, there are others we can all agree were a mistake. That first season of Legends of Tomorrow didn’t do Hawkman and Hawkgirl any favors. Despite his incredible handsomeness, Oliver Queen has been remarkably unlucky in love, with ex-girlfriend Sara having perhaps the worst romance record in the entire Arrowverse. She’s closely followed by teammate Ray Palmer, who keeps falling for other heroes’ true loves. With that in mind, these are the couples Arrowverse fans rooted for and the ones that were painfully awkward to watch.

20 ROOTED FOR: BARRY AND IRIS

If there’s one couple in the Arrowverse we always knew were endgame, it was Barry and Iris. Barry has been in love with Iris since they were kids. Saving her is what activated his powers. Though supervillains, rogues and the world in general conspired to keep them apart, we never questioned if it would happen, only when.

Once they committed to each other, they were all in. Not even alternate Earth Nazi doppelgangers could keep them from getting married.. Barry and Iris are the couple in the Arrowverse that gives us hope that all the other pairs can eventually find happiness.

19 HARD TO CHEER: DIGGLE AND CARLY

When we first met John Diggle, he was still recovering from losing his brother. He stayed in Starling City to help support his sister-in-law Carly. Of course, there was more to the story and it turned out John had feelings for Carly.

He didn’t want to pursue them, as he felt like he would be betraying his brother, something he really didn’t need to worry about. After a season of awkwardly dancing around each other, they began dating. Unfortunately for the couple, but fortunately for viewers, the series had more important things for John to do and they broke up off-screen before season two started. Carly moved away and was pretty much never heard from again.

18 ROOTED FOR: SARA AND NYSSA

When Sara returned to town as the Canary, we knew she had changed, but we really didn’t know the full extent of her life away until the episode "Heir to the Demon". It was here that we met her girlfriend Nyssa al Ghul and got our first real introduction to the League of Assassins. Despite the fighting involved, Sara seemed to find a new inner strength with the League.

Nyssa came to Starling City to bring her back to the League, forging a relationship with Team Arrow. While Sara has found love again with Ava, she still holds a special place in her heart for Nyssa, with the criminal still in love with her as well.

17 HARD TO CHEER: OLIVER AND NYSSA

It’s not that a relationship between Oliver and Nyssa is so implausible, it’s that weddings held at swordpoint don’t often have a happy ending. As part of his plan to bring down Ra’s al Ghul, Oliver broke ties with everyone, joined the League and married his daughter.

Though Nyssa was in on the plan, she wasn’t exactly feeling romantic about everything. The duo were able to forge a strong friendship, as Nyssa occasionally popped in to help the team, while continuing to call him husband to mess with his head. In fact, their personalities are so similar if they ever actually wanted to be a couple, it might have worked out.

16 ROOTED FOR: ROY AND THEA

It hasn’t been easy for Thea Queen. First her brother and father meet their end when their ship sinks, then her brother comes back from the grave. That’s followed by her mother going on trial for destroying half the Glades, only to find out the evil Malcolm Merlyn is her real father and her brother is a vigilante.

Her one constant through all that was Roy. Even when they were apart, they never stopped loving each other. That’s why it was so nice to see them reunite and ride off into the sunset, ready to fight new battles together. Honestly, he was the only man Oliver was ever going to approve of.

15 HARD TO CHEER: CAITLIN AND JULIAN

Since she lost Ronnie, Caitlin hasn’t had a real relationship. We’re not counting the crazy speedster who became obsessed with her. When "Flashpoint" led to Julian Albert joining the team, they began a very slow burn toward dating -- like seriously, at a snail’s pace.

It’s not like we’re complaining, because the pair had zero chemistry and Julian was an intensely boring character. His only purpose seemed to be to annoy everyone around him. Once Caitlin completed her transition to Killer Frost, there was no need for him to stick around and he moved away between seasons. The whole story was a waste of Tom Felton’s talent.

14 ROOTED FOR: NATE AND AMAYA

Like everyone else who ends up on the Waverider, Nate and Amaya had other issues to work through. Despite their drastic differences in time, personality and experience, they made a great couple that just clicked.

Unfortunately, they had the shadow of Amaya’s destiny hanging over them. Amaya needed to go back to her village in Zambesi and defend her people from a vicious warlord. She eventually decided to go back, insuring that her granddaughter Mari would become the modern day Vixen, breaking Nate’s heart in the process. It remains to be seen if this is a permanent ending, but on a time travel show anything is possible.

13 HARD TO CHEER: CISCO AND CYNTHIA

Everyone knows long distance relationships don’t work, but things get especially difficult when the duo lives on different Earths. Cisco thought he’d met his perfect girl when Cynthia, an interdimensional bounty hunter showed up on Earth-1.

Cisco settled for the status quo for awhile, but he inevitably wanted more. Sadly, Cynthia had no plans to base herself on Earth-1, while Cisco wasn’t about to leave Team Flash. She wanted Cisco to make all the sacrifices and compromises, which never works out for anyone. We all knew the end would come eventually, but that didn’t make it any less sad for Cisco, who’s never gotten a real shot at love.

12 ROOTED FOR: SARA AND AVA

Sara Lance has had a tough time in the romance department, mostly due to the constant tragedy that seems to follow her, as well as her devotion to being a hero. She’s been unable to find the balance that allows her to have any aspect of a normal life.

She finally met her match in Time Bureau agent Ava Sharp. Ava is just as driven to help others as Sara, and she can keep up with her in a fight. Even finding out that Ava is a clone from the future couldn’t keep them apart. These women need to have fun every once in awhile, so it’s nice to see them balance one another out.

11 HARD TO CHEER: IRIS AND EDDIE

Poor Eddie Thawne. Even if we hadn’t spent years reading Flash comics, it was clear from day one that Barry and Iris were meant to be. This meant Eddie was always the odd man out in his own relationship. Though Barry tried miserably to hide his feelings for her, it was obvious to everyone that he loved Iris.

Once the truth came out about Barry being The Flash, Eddie became even more of an outsider. What made things even worse, was that Eddie was a nice guy -- we couldn’t hate him. Frankly, we liked him. However, Barry and Iris just couldn’t be torn apart.

10 ROOTED FOR: BARRY AND FELICITY

When we first met Barry Allen, he hadn’t been struck by lightning yet, so he was just a regular smart guy who had an instant connection to Felicity; they were able to bond over science and their outsider status and when he was in a coma, she visited him several times. Once he became The Flash, they grew even closer as friends, always having each other’s backs.

It was during one of these trips to Central City that the pair discussed how they would be so perfect for one another if it wasn’t for Iris and Oliver. In the end everyone got their happy endings, but many fans are still wondering what if about the would be couple.

9 HARD TO CHEER: KARA AND JAMES

Supergirl has never been shy about its use of Superman lore. In the beginning the only direct connection the series had with the Man of Steel was through his longtime friend James Olsen. He came to town to start a new life and keep an eye on Kara for Clark.

We spent all of season one watching Kara crush on James, then at the start of season two, once his feelings were finally returned, they unceremoniously decided to just be friends. It was the most anti-climatic end to a will they-won’t they romance. The whole relationship has been weird and awkward since then, with James fading more into the background every episode.

8 ROOTED FOR: OLIVER AND LAUREL

Green Arrow comic book fans know that the Emerald Archer and the Black Canary end up together. However, when Arrow premiered it took things in a different direction, making Oliver the worst possible boyfriend. Really Oliver, cheating with your girlfriend’s sister!? With that huge lack of trust between them, it seemed like the pair would never find a way back to one another. They did, but being the Hood took precedent for Oliver.

Oliver’s subsequent relationship with Sara, Felicity’s growing feelings and Laurel’s addiction issues following Tommy’s loss didn’t help matters. Eventually they worked their way back to a close, trusting friendship, but despite the pleading of diehard fans, love wasn’t in the cards.

7 HARD TO CHEER: FELICITY AND RAY

Season three began with viewers hoping Oliver and Felicity would finally become a couple, but one date night explosion sent Oliver back into his “he can’t have a real life” misery. Wanting to move on, Felicity turned to genius tech billionaire Ray Palmer. At first they seemed like a perfect match, but of course, her loyalty to Oliver and Team Arrow would always take priority.

As their relationship progressed it became clear that Ray loved Felicity more than she loved him. He was also obsessed with the creation of his ATOM suit. Ultimately, they work much better as friends and laugh off the few months they dated.

6 ROOTED FOR: CAITLIN AND RONNIE

From the moment when met Dr. Caitlin Snow, she’s been pining for her lost love Ronnie Raymond. Ronnie was presumed to be a victim in the particle accelerator explosion, but it turned out he had just become bonded with Martin Stein, making them Firestorm.

His miraculous return meant they could finally get married and have a happy ending. Unfortunately, those don’t last long in the Arrowverse, and Ronnie sacrificed himself to save Central City. Caitlin has never really moved on from Ronnie, evidenced by the problems in all her subsequent relationships. Of course, there was no body so we’re still hoping Ronnie finds his way back to Caitlin again.

5 HARD TO CHEER: RAY AND KENDRA

Some heroes have a constant nemesis they must frequently overcome, for Ray Palmer it’s falling in love with his friends’ destined loves. During season one of Legends of Tomorrow, Ray and Kendra got stuck in the ‘50s and they lived together as husband and wife, eventually falling in love for real.

The one problem with this is, as we all know, Kendra/Hawkgirl is the reincarnated true love of Carter Hall/Hawkman -- even if you didn’t know the story, they spelled it all out in the first episode. They are destined to fall in love over and over throughout time, once again leaving Ray as the heartbroken third wheel.

4 ROOTED FOR: OLIVER AND FELICITY

Despite the long comic book history that tells us Black Canary and Green Arrow fall in love, we figured out pretty quickly that Felicity Smoak was the true love of this Oliver Queen. We spent the first two and a half seasons watching her crush on him, before he finally admitted his feelings for her at the end of season two.

We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs with Olicity, but we never stop cheering for them to find their way back to each other. Oliver’s current stint in prison has them separated again, but we have no doubt they’ll reunite stronger than ever.

3 HARD TO CHEER: BARRY AND PATTY

Like Eddie before her, poor Patty didn’t stand a chance against the power of Barry and Iris’ love. Following Eddie’s sacrifice to save everyone from the Reverse-Flash, Barry knew he couldn’t be with Iris. Fortunately for him, he was drawn to new police officer Patty Spivot.

Patty is a character in the comics, but on the show she was underdeveloped and boring, and it also took her way too long to figure out her boyfriend was The Flash. There was never really a connection between the two and we knew they were just marking time until it was acceptable for Barry and Iris to be together.

2 ROOTED FOR: ALEX AND MAGGIE

Batwoman from the Arrowverse

Alex Danvers’ journey to realizing she’s gay has been one of Supergirl’s best stories, and it was made even better by her falling in love with Detective Maggie Sawyer. Watching their relationship evolve in real time was something new for superhero TV, especially The CW. They usually go from just met to engaged in a matter of weeks.

It was nice to see Maggie understand that Alex was still figuring things out about herself, while Alex let Maggie reveal her past in her own time. It was a very grown up pairing, that seemed solid. Their break up, while sad, also was very grown up and respectful. Proof that superhero couples don’t always have to be overly dramatic.

1 HARD TO CHEER: SARA AND OLIVER

When you start off a relationship by lying to your sister and sailing off with her boyfriend, it never really feels right. Yes, by the time they got together Sara and Oliver were different people and Laurel was ok with it, but it still felt wrong.

At this point in their lives, they were both so damaged, neither of them could actually commit to regular dating protocols. Their work has taken them in dramatically different directions, but they’ll always have a close connection, realizing that this whole hero world started with them on the Queen’s Gambit. Basically, only one heartbroken hero per relationship.