Highlights

• Stardew Valley's marriage candidates offer unique personalities and character arcs, providing a range of options for players to choose from.
• Some marriage candidates come with their own challenges and flaws, requiring players to invest time and effort to unlock their true potential.
• Each marriage candidate has their own set of heart events and storylines, adding depth and complexity to the game's romantic relationships.

The title that set the stage for the current generation of adorable farming sims, one of the ways Stardew Valley shines brightest is with its delightful cast of marriage candidates. There are an awful lot of single folks your age in this town, but damn it if we don’t love them all in some way.

Not limited in any way by gender, career, personality, or what have you, Stardew Valley’s marriage candidates all bring something unique to the table. While you can befriend everyone in Pelican Town, romance options included, you’ll end up with only one of these small-town singles.

Updated on March 19, 2024 by Gabrielle Castania: Stardew Valley is still one of the most beloved farming sims to date, and its marriage candidates are a big reason why! We're updating our ranking of who you can marry in Stardew Valley to polish it up a bit and help you land the love of your new Pelican Town life.

12 Shane

Shane's a bit of a mixed bag. His heart events weave together a wonderful character arc that sees the player character help him confront his alcoholism and depression, and step up to take charge of his own life.

However, Shane doesn't actually seem to make much progress after you're married. His room is messy, and his depression still gets the better of him regularly. While not a bad guy at all (mental illness happens to he vest of us), some of Shane's heart events are fairly sad, meaning that this one isn't for the faint of heart.

11 Haley

Though Haley gets better later on down the line, finding a solid reason to enjoy her company in the first place is a challenge that some may not be up to facing, given how outright rude she can be sometimes. She has just a little bit of work to do on her personality, shall we say.

Haley starts off incredibly rude, self-absorbed, and judgmental - largely owing to her wealthy and popular upbringing. She isn't entirely without a heart, sure, but players need to dig a little bit before managing to find it.

10 Alex

Beneath those muscles, Alex is quite the sweetheart, and he dealt with his fair share of personal struggles before he moved to the Valley. He's also a bit of a broken record though, constantly fixated on working out and keeping fit.

Alex's one-note personality can be a little bit of a drag for players in search of a more dynamic partner to share their growing farmhouse with. Sports and weightlifting are great, but there's not much else to Alex, it seems.

9 Sam

Sam's energetic, fun, and contemporary. Whether he's playing guitar and jamming out with his band, practicing skateboard maneuvers in fron of his house, or just idling some time by with his GameBoy, he's always got something cool going on.

That said, Sam can be a little bit of an airhead, and he's had it pretty easy living with his mother, Jodi. She spoils Sam pretty regularly, meaning he's never really developed some essential life skills. We're already going to end up having kids - we don't really want another.

8 Leah

Leah is a total hit or a complete miss for most players, depending on a lot of factors. She's a talented artist and sculptor, and you can help her set up a fun art show in Pelican Town during one of her heart events.

Leah is also a very healthy eater, with her diet and preferred gifts leaning strongly towards vegetarian offerings (making plenty of foraged items a good choice for gifts). For players with the same tastes, she's a perfect match. Romancing Leah does involve dealing with her jealous ex, so prepare for a bit of drama.

7 Harvey

Harvey is the partner of choice for the most health-conscious farmers. You can't really do better than marrying a doctor in that respect, anyway. Harvey is affable, friendly, and supportive, making him a pretty ideal candidate all around - and he really likes coffee, making for easy gifting.

This doctor is a bit plain and conventional in terms of romance, though, which can fall either way in terms of desirability. That said, the hot-air balloon date that his ten heart event revolves around is a pretty slick idea - Harvey's got more game than he's given credit for.

6 Maru

Maru is smart as a whip, taking after her father. Speaking of, Robin's husband Demetrius is just a wee bit overprotective of his little girl. Looking past that, though, Maru is a fine companion, so long as the player doesn't mind minor injuries from her wild experiments.

Besides, she manages to build an (arguably) sentient robot assistant over the course of her heart events, which isn't something you get to see every day. The robot's assistant gig is short-lived, however, as it requests its freedom to wander the galaxy in search of other synthetic life.

5 Emily

Emily is a deeply spiritual person with several new-age beliefs. She is also the polar opposite of her sister, Haley, with Emily being deeply focused on helping people and creatures in need. She can also be quite crafty and enjoys making her own clothes.

What makes Emily particularly special are her heart events, with a few of them featuring abstract, colorful, and surreal experiences that are fun to watch. The player even gets a walk-on part in one of her dreams for the first one, neatly setting the tone for their relationship.

4 Sebastian

Players are likely to find a soft spot in their hearts for Sebastian, the sedentary loner that spends a little too much time on the computer working. He is geeky and lovably rebellious, although there is a little bit more to him than meets the eye.

One of his heart events revolves around the player sitting down with him for what is essentially a session of Dungeons & Dragons, along with Sam, and it's fully interactive! It is a good bit of fun and scores some major points for being delightfully nerdy.

3 Elliott

Elliott is a handsome writer struggling to get his novel complete, living alone in a shack near the beach. During his first heart event, he'll ask the player what genre of literature is their favorite, and his finished novel will reflect the player's choice.

The rest of his heart events are quite good as well, ranging from a night at the saloon to a romantic rowboat outing for two. After your wedding, he's easily one of the sweeter spouses, showering you in compliments with poetic flair.

2 Abigail

Abigail is adventurous, feisty, and free-spirited, boasting some of the best heart events out of all the potential romantic partners in Pelican Town. Easily possessing one of the quirkier and more interesting personalities, she enjoys studying the occult and playing in the rain.

She'll play video games with the player, venture into the mines, and even displays some musical aptitude from time to time. Just try not to think too hard about it when she mentions being hungry after you give her a gem...

1 Penny

Introverted and bookish, Penny is sweet as pie and twice as wholesome. She's considerate, caring, loves a good book, and has a soft spot for educating children, serving as a tutor for Jas and Vincent.

Although Penny is always looking out for others, her home situation is a bit desperate, as she lives in a small trailer with her alcoholic mother, Pam. She is a great person who deserves better, and the player has the opportunity to give her that for a mutual happily ever after.