If you’ve ever tuned in to “One Tree Hill,” then you’re familiar with Rachel Gatina (Danneel Ackles) and probably didn’t like her. She goes through substance abuse and rehab multiple times during the show and at one point accepts money from Dan Scott (Paul Johansson) in exchange for her “company.”
The older Dan ended up being, the bigger man, breaking the marriage off when he realizes Rachel’s feelings for him are false. Rachel was cheating on him and just using him to get illegal substances.
Belle and Rumple on “Once Upon a Time”
“Once Upon a Time” is mostly for adults who are still addicted to Disney schlock and definitely tries to get the female viewers. Classic Disney fairytales are jumbled up and then insert into the real world. Belle, played by Emilie de Ravin, instead of being captured by the Beast, is instead taken away by Rumplestiltskin, or Rumple as he is called.
They are torn apart and fall in love over and over again, which is strange not only because Rumple is more than a hundred years older than Belle (but there's magic, so it might not mean as much), but he's also an out-and-out bad guy, and seeks to corrupt her.
Shelly and Holling on “Northern Exposure”
When a young doctor is forced to practice in the middle of nowhere in Alaska, we get a sitcom that is funny, memorable, and intricate. A lot of the characters are interesting, but few more than Shelly (Cynthia Geary) and Holling (John Cullum). While there is a wide age difference between them, the problems aren't as apparent thanks to the show's understanding of writing.
The two run The Brick Bar at the center of the show's small town, and there are plenty of questions that come up about their relationship during the show's run, but it works out, much to the delight of the characters and the show's fans.
Gabrielle and John on “Desperate Housewives”
While in real life, Eva Longoria is never desperate for any kind of affection, her character on “Desperate Housewives” has a tryst with her gardener, John Rowland, played by Jesse Metcalf. His entire arc on the show is him pursuing Gabrielle.
While we're always happy to see Gabrielle showing off when she's with John, she's a married woman nearing thirty, and John wasn't even into his twenties. While the age gap wasn't insane, the maturity gap was, with Gabrielle eventually realizing the affair wasn't right, thanks to John's immaturity. It was an interesting dynamic, but it wasn't going to go anywhere.
Hakeem and Camilla on “Empire”
The age gap is really nothing special between Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) and Camilla (Naomi Campbell) on “Empire,” but the ick comes from when we see them about to get intimate, and Hakeem calls Camilla “Momma.”
Camilla is nothing but malicious and thorny, and the relationship ended up damaging Hakeem, even ignoring the mother issues that seem to need a good dose of therapy and thought. When Camilla left the show, we were sad to see her go due to how interesting her character was, but it ended up being a good thing for Hakeem.