There have been plenty of iconic couples on TV but very few have been as pure and vibrant as Parks and Rec’s Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) and Ben Wyatt (Adam Scott). The two started out as enemies but eventually developed a strong and supportive relationship that became one of the best parts of the show.
Therefore, it is easy to understand why they are often considered to be TV’s favorite couple. However, no relationships are perfect, even fictional ones. Here is a list of five reasons why Ben and Leslie are TV’s best couple and five why they are really not.
BEST COUPLE: They Were An Amazing Team
One of the reasons Ben and Leslie’s relationship worked so well was due to their strong friendship. Although rivals at first, the two learned to work together and developed a great amount of respect for each other.
Throughout the series, they always supported each other, their ideas and their plans for the future, whether it was the Pawnee Harvest Festival, their multiple political campaigns or raising their three triplets.
NOT: They Struggled To Separate Their Feelings For Each Other
Ben and Leslie’s relationship would sometimes consume everything else in their lives, often with disastrous consequences. In the fourth season, they were forced to break-up so that Leslie could run for City Council and neither of them took the break-up well, especially Leslie. Ben was not comfortable being around her and tried to avoid spending time with her, which started to ruin their friendship.
Alternatively, Leslie struggled to accept Ben’s need for space and got ridiculously jealous when reporter Shauna Malwae-Tweep (Alison Becker) was interested in Ben. Leslie even went as far as to sabotage a park project because it would have been their last job together.
BEST COUPLE: They Are Willing To Give Up Their Careers For Each Other
One of the best parts of Leslie and Ben’s relationship was that they were both very ambitious people with grand plans for their futures. Yet, they were always willing to choose their relationships over their ambitions.
Throughout the show, Ben frequently gave up his career for Leslie. Early in the series, Ben resigned from his job at City Hall to save Leslie while he later quit as a campaign manager in Washington to propose to Leslie. In the same way, Leslie almost willingly lost her campaign for City Council after she chose to be with Ben.
NOT: They Also Bribed Someone To Keep Their Relationship A Secret
A big part of Ben and Leslie’s charm was due to the fact that they were excellent and incorruptible public officials, but that didn’t mean that they were above bribing someone to keep their relationship a secret. In season three, City Manager Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) imposed strict rules about office romances which prohibited their relationship.
In the episode “Li’l Sebastian,” they were caught kissing by maintenance worker George (Biff Yeager) and in order to buy his silence, they bribed him with a gift certificate. This not only caused massive chaos at the Li’l Sebastian Memorial but in the episode “The Trial of Leslie Knope,” Chris launched an ethics investigation into their relationship which eventually cost Ben his job.
BEST COUPLE: They Celebrate Each Other’s Weird Interests
Both Ben and Leslie have a variety of quirky but different interests. Instead of trying to change one another, they embrace each other’s interests, even if the other does not necessarily understand it.
For one of their anniversaries, Leslie gifted Ben with a replica of the Iron Throne from his favorite TV show, Game of Thrones even though she didn’t watch, nor understood the show. Ben, not to be outdone, used his political contacts in Washington to set up a meeting for Leslie with her idol and celebrity crush, Joe Biden.
NOT: They Almost Hijacked A Fund Raiser For Their Wedding
No part of Ben and Leslie’s relationship was traditional, even their wedding. In the episode “Emergency Response” the Parks and Recreation department arranged a black-tie fundraiser in order to get funding for a park.
Ben and Leslie decided that they wanted to get married at the gala dinner. However, their plans were ruined by councilman Jam (Jon Glaser) and instead had their wedding later that night at City Hall. Although it all worked out, Ben and Leslie did try to hijack a fundraiser, which is obviously an unethical thing to do.
BEST COUPLE: They Know Exactly How To Help Each Other
In all good relationships, it is important to know how to help one another. Ben and Leslie excelled at this. In the sixth season episode “Second Chunce,” Leslie tried to re-run for City Council even though everyone told her not to. Ben realized that there was only one person who could help and called Jennifer Barkley (Kathryn Hahn) to speak some sense into Leslie.
In the sixth season, Leslie became pregnant and to their great surprise, they were having triplets. Ben at first tried to stay calm in front of Leslie, but he soon started to spiral out of control. However, at the end of the episode, Leslie decided to come clean to their friends which ended up reassuring Ben that their kids would be just fine.
NOT: Sometimes They Don’t
When something bad happens, it is best to find constructive ways in which to deal with the issue and preferably without the use of alcohol. However, Ben and Leslie struggled with this in the episode “Recall Vote.” After Leslie got voted out of City Council, Ben tried to cheer her up.
Instead, he and Leslie wrongly come to the conclusion that they had both peaked in their lives and got hopelessly drunk together. The two ended up in a pawn shop, where they tried to get ridiculous tattoos. However, just before they were able to get them done, Ann (Rashida Jones) swooped in and rescued them.
BEST COUPLE: They Make Each Other Better People
A large part of the magic of Ben and Leslie’s relationship is that they actually became better people because of each other. In the beginning, Ben was unfriendly, work-focused and didn’t seem to have any real friends besides Chris. However, as he became closer to Leslie, he also became closer to her friends. Throughout the show, Ben was able to develop strong friendships with his co-workers in Pawnee, who he later even shared his bachelor party with.
At the start of the show, Leslie can best be described as a workaholic who steamrolled everyone to get what she wanted. As her and Ben’s relationship grew, Leslie realized that there is more to life than work and Ben was even able to get Leslie to go on holiday after she was forced out of the City Council. More importantly, Ben helped Leslie to realize that she couldn’t just coerce people into getting what she wanted.
NOT: They Also Bring Out The Worst In Each Other
Ben and Leslie were overall really good people, but just like everyone else, they also had moments that they weren’t very proud of. In the episode, “Bowling for Votes,” Leslie tried to get a focus group participant to like her and went out of her way to impress him. However, after all of Leslie’s attempts, the man still didn’t like her and called her a “b***h.” Ben instead of calmly asking him to leave, punched him in the face.
Ben also encouraged some of the worst parts in Leslie, especially her overreaction to things. In the episode, “Operation Ann,” Leslie suspected that Chris and Ann were on a date and she became angry because she and Ben were not allowed to date under Chris’ office rules. Eventually, Ben instead of carrying on with their own Valentine’s day plans, encouraged her to follow and spy on Ann.
