Summary

• Jess Day dated a variety of men on New Girl, but ultimately ended up with Nick after a series of failed relationships.
• Some fan-favorite partners included Paul, Sam, and Russell, but the chemistry wasn't the same upon their returns.
• Nick and Jess finally got together after multiple seasons of dancing around their feelings and went on to get married and start a family.

New Girl saw Jess Day trying to have a fresh start after her boyfriend cheated on her, and before she settled down, she dated various men, all of them with a different story. New Girl followed Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel), a bubbly teacher who after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her, moved into a loft with three strangers she found on the internet. Jess then had to adapt not only to living with roommates Schmidt (Max Greenfield), Nick Miller (Jame Johnson), and Winston (Lamorne Morris) but also to dating again, something her roommates helped her with.

Amid the awkward dates and failed romances, Jess got involved with a handful of men with whom she began a proper relationship, and some of them became so popular with viewers that many believe she should have ended up with one of them and not with Nick. Many of them returned at some point, but the chemistry they once had with Jess was no longer there, while others should have stayed for a bit longer. In total, Jess had seven serious relationships during the run of New Girl.

Spencer

Played By Ian Wolterstorff

The events that kickstart New Girl were all Spencer’s fault. If not for Spender's selfish behavior, Jess never would have moved into the loft and developed strong friendships with her new roommates. While the audience can thank him for that, Spencer is truly the worst of the boyfriends Jess had on the series, and the audience doesn't get to spend much time with him.

Jess dated Spencer for six years prior to the events of the show. They lived together in his home, where Jess found him cheating on her with a woman named Rochelle. Jess only discovered that he cheated on her when she tried to come home early and surprise him, a story she recounted to her new roommates in the pilot episode of the series. Spencer appeared again in season 1 when Jess called him to get her things back, and thankfully, Spencer and his ego never showed up again, and Jess was finally able to move on.

Paul Genzlinger

Played By Justin Long

Paul Genzlinger was a music teacher at the school where Jess worked early in the series. They had a lot in common, such as a sensitive nature and a love for music, to the point where the guys thought of him as the male version of Jess. Paul was Jess' first serious relationship after Spencer. Though their first “date” (a Thanksgiving dinner) was a disaster, they gave their relationship a chance. When Paul told Jess he loved her, she didn’t know how to react, and they broke up.

Jess felt he was going too fast, and he didn’t want to slow down. They were ready for very different types of relationships at that point, and they needed to go down different paths. Paul returned when Jess, after breaking up with Russell, “backslid” into bed with Paul, but he was already dating someone else. His new girlfriend and Jess shared a lot of similarities, and it was easy to see why he ended up with her. After confessing what he did, Paul ended up proposing to her in front of Jess.

Russell Schiller

Played By Dermot Mulroney

Russell Schiller was the father of one of Jess’ students, Sarah, and they met when Jess wanted to discuss Sarah’s disturbing artwork. Jess didn’t like him at first, as that meeting didn’t go as planned, but after he helped her when her car broke down, she gave him a chance. Nick, surprisingly, encouraged her to date Russell, believing that a relationship with someone so different from Jess' usual type might be good for her.

The age difference was evident when Jess felt Russell lacked passion, and Russell felt Jess' idea of passion was a sign of immaturity. They realized they wanted different things from a relationship. Russell returned a couple more times, and in season 7 he tried to get back together with Jess, but she was already in a committed relationship with Nick. In the meantime, Russell remarried and divorced twice, and even had a toddler that went to the same gym class as Ruth, Schmidt and Cece’s daughter.

Sam Sweeney

Played By David Walton