Stardew Valley How To Get Married

Stardew Valley: The 6 Best (& 6 Worst) Romances

Stardew Valley is an unobtrusive game that stole players' hearts, and here are the best and worst in-game romance options.

You've just moved into Stardew Valley , away from your busy and dreary life in the city working for Joja Corporation. Here in tiny Pelican Town, you've begun your new life as a farmer. On top of that, you can also find true love here. A marriage, if you play your cards right, is possible already during the first year of your stay. However, with twelve different bachelors and bachelorettes to choose from, you might be wondering who's worth your time and who doesn't necessarily have your best interests in mind. Not to worry: we're here to reveal the five best and five worst partners in Stardew Valley and hopefully make the choice just a tiny bit easier for you.

Updated on August 24th, 2021 by Anastasia Maillot: The question of the ideal marriage partner in Stardew Valley is a constant point of discussion among fans. While some might consider personality, others believe in-game gains are more important. As such, the ideal pick often depends on what players are looking to get out of the game.

With these two play styles in mind, this list has been updated to reflect both considerations. On top of it, each character's loved gifts have been added in for clarity, as well as the best gifts they provide the player once married and living at grandpa's farm. A few mistakes were also fixed, including false likes and loved gifts, as well as daily schedules. For an in-depth guide on how to romance each character, check out this comprehensive romance guide for Stardew Valley.

12 Worst: Haley

Loved Gifts: Sunflower, Fruit Salad, Pink Cake, Coconut
Best Gifts After Marriage: Maple Bar, Eggplant Parmesan, Bean Hotpot

Haley is a great example of the fact that looks are not the most important factor. She falls into the trope of a typical pretty blonde girl and can feel like a bit of a princess, which can get annoying at a farm where hard work and soiling one's hands are inevitable.

She's quite easy to increase affinity with by just giving her daffodils, which is a liked gift by her, and since she's usually around the town center or by Marnie's farm, she's relatively easy to find. However, after marriage the gifts she gives players are not amazing. Most of them are just food that can be easily cooked anyway mid to late game. Her rainy day gifts and the Maple Bar for breakfast are probably the best items she gives.

11 Best: Shane

Loved Gifts: Pepper Poppers, Hot Pepper, Beer, Pizza
Best Gifts After Marriage: Pepper Poppers, Pale Ale

Also known as the chicken man, Shane might be one of the more flawed characters in the game. He starts off cold and rude, but his personal story is a sobering trip down a tale of depression. His heart events are easily the most emotional ones in Stardew Valley. In terms of how easy he's to romance, Shane works at Joja Mart initially, so catching him early in the morning or later in the evening at the Stardrop Saloon is pretty easy. Just him a Beer there, as it's one of his loved gifts.

After marriage, he mostly gifts players with junk food like Pepper Poppers, which is great for increasing speed. Occasionally, he'll also gift players with Pale Ale, which is handy since it can be sold for a good price. Best of all, he'll bring in some chickens to the player's farm after marriage.

10 Worst: Penny

Loved Gifts: Poppy, Melon, Poppyseed Muffin, Tom Kha Soup, Sandfish, Diamond, Emerald, Red Plate, Roots Platter
Best Gifts After Marriage: Geode, Fried Eel

Penny's ranking as a "worst" romance partner doesn't stem from her personality. In fact, Penny is one of the sweetest villagers in Pelican Town. She voluntarily teaches both Vincent and Jas on a near-daily basis and is always very concerned for her mother Pam's health.

What makes Penny difficult is her taste in gifts. She loves items that tend to be very difficult to get one's hands on at the beginning of the game, including diamonds and emeralds, melons and poppies, and rare foods like the Red Plate and Roots Platter. On the bright side, in the first year of spring she can be romanced easily due to her liking dandelions and leek. Once married, her gifts include potentially geodes and Fried Eel on rainy days, which increases the player's luck. Overall, it feels a bit too much effort from the player's side.

9 Best: Harvey

Loved Gifts: Coffee, Wine, Super Meal, Truffle Oil, Pickles
Best Gifts After Marriage: Complete Breakfast, Fried Eel

Harvey is the local doctor and works at his clinic where he takes care of the sick. While he definitely has a noble life plan, Harvey can be a bit of a killjoy due to how much he hates indulgent foods. At least he'll always have the player's health in mind. The best part about him is that he has a huge range of liked gifts, many of which are foraged items that are simple to find, making him easy to romance.

He's one of the older-looking bachelors in town, which creates a bit of diversity as well. Harvey comes across as shy and a bit sad at first, but warms up slowly. Harvey's romance storyline is actually not half bad, but he's a bit distant during the initial encounters. After marriage, his gifts are also not half bad, including the Complete Breakfast and Fried Eel, which probably rank as the best in terms of effects.

8 Worst: Alex

Loved Gifts: Complete Breakfast, Salmon Dinner
Best Gifts After Marriage: Survival Burger, Dish O' The Sea, Fried Eel

When the player character first comes to Pelican Town, not everyone will welcome them with open arms. Some will react neutrally, while others will even brush them off until they get to know them better. Alex, however, is immediately kind to the player which is a breath of fresh air. However, Alex's ambition to become a pro athlete comes across as arrogance on many occasions, which can feel off-putting.

He's often at the town center practicing, so he's easy to find. The difficulty with him is that his loved gifts are expensive and there's only two of them. His liked gifts include eggs of all kinds, save for Void Eggs, so players have to wait until they get a coop to woo him easily. After marriage, his gifts are nothing special, save for a few special treats he can offer during rainy days.

7 Best: Maru

Loved Gifts: Cauliflower, Strawberry, Rhubarb Pie, Miner's Treat, Cheese Cauliflower, Pepper Poppers, Radioactive/Gold/Iridium Bar, Diamond, Battery Pack
Best Gifts After Marriage: Bomb, Cherry Bomb, Quality Fertilizer, Refined Quartz, Warp Totem: Farm, Fried Mushroom, Crab Cakes

Daughter of Robin and Demetrius, Maru is a genius who loves all things science and technology. She's often working with either her father Demetrius at the lab or with Harvey at the clinic. Maru's friendly personality makes her a character who's easy to approach. That being said, she can be a bit expensive to bribe with loved gifts. Luckily, one of her liked gifts is quartz, which makes her easy to get to know early on during the first year.

Her ten hearts event is probably one of the more unique ones in the game and includes a large sentient robot. After marriage, she'll gift the player with some of the absolute best items in the game that will hold value even in mid to late-game in Stardew Valley.

6 Worst: Sam

Loved Gifts: Cactus Fruit, Maple Bar, Pizza, Tigerseye
Best Gifts After Marriage: Earth Crystal, Geode

Another person who's generally very kind towards the player right off the bat is Sam. He's often found walking across the city to go to his part-time job at the Joja Mart, or skating in front of his house. Every Friday he'll also be at the inn with Sebastian and Abigail. Sam is an incredibly easy person to please, as long as he's given Pizza, which can be bought from the inn.

He also likes Joja Cola which can be found in trash, fishing, or bought from the inn's vending machine. As a husband, however, he gives weak gifts that only benefit players during early game, including earth crystals and normal geodes. Sam's issue is that he's not much of a cook, so he'll only offer two meals: Pizza and Pancakes. He's a sweet guy, but when there's better on the market, he just fails to impress.

5 Best: Emily

Loved Gifts: Survival Burger, Wool, Cloth, Emerald, Amethyst, Jade, Ruby, Aquamarine, Topaz
Best Gifts After Marriage: Bean Hotpot, Cloth, Wool, Omni Geode, Refined Quartz

Emily is a bit of an eccentric, but her colorful personality makes her very charming. She's easy to find all year round since she works at the inn, and if players begin their quest for her heart early in the springtime, they can simply give her daffodils and quartz for easy relationship progression.

Her loved gifts are a bit more expensive, unfortunately, but totally worth getting for her. Once married, she'll give the player a pretty wide range of special gifts from Duck Feathers to Omni Geodes, making her a really good partner to opt for if extra resources on the farm sound like a good idea.

4 Worst: Elliott

Loved Gifts: Tom Kha Soup, Pomegranate, Lobster, Crab Cakes, Squid Ink, Duck Feather
Best Gifts After Marriage: Chowder, Fish Stew, Coffee

Elliott is an artistic soul living in Pelican Town. His cabin is found on the beach, where he writes his next big novel. While he can usually be caught by the bridge leading to the beach or at the beach itself, he's quite difficult to please with loved gifts. Most fruits will charm him as liked gifts, so long as they're not salmonberries.

As a husband he doesn't give players that many things, aside from seafood meals and coffee every once in a while. He's just not worth it, especially with his overly dramatic personality. That said, players looking for a sensitive and poetic man will find him very charming and kind-hearted.

3 Best: Abigail

Loved Gifts: Pufferfish, Pumpkin, Banana Pudding, Amethyst, Blackberry Cobbler, Spicy Eel, Chocolate Cake
Best Gifts After Marriage: Solar/Void Essence, Cherry Bomb, Tom Kha Soup, Lobster Bisque, Fried Mushroom, Crab Cakes

Abigail is among community favorites, and despite her personality, it's easy to see why. She's a gamer at heart, but also somewhat immature given how she's often acting rebellious and arguing with her mother Caroline. That said, she's famously known for liking quartz, so early in the game, Abigail is an easy romance to start.

The best part about Abigail is marriage. Her gifts are some of the strongest in the game and make up for her expensive loved gifts. From utility items like Cherry Bombs to resources like Void and Solar Essence, she's a fantastic addition to the family simply for these gifts alone.

2 Worst: Sebastian

Loved Gifts: Sashimi, Pumpkin Soup, Frozen Tear, Obsidian, Void Egg
Best Gifts After Marriage: Void Essence, Bat Wing, Coffee

Sebastian comes across the charming, edgy guy of Pelican Town, with a mysterious air. In terms of his loved gifts, however, he's a bit picky and he's also one of the more elusive villagers because of his personal schedule that makes him hard to track down. Aside from sashimi, which is easy to make from any gift, his loved gifts are difficult to find in the first year.

Things don't get much better with Sebastian after marriage. His gifts are decent, but with other partners like Maru and Abigail that just provide more, there's no real reason to choose him over a few other candidates, unless the player genuinely likes his edgy style.

1 Best: Leah

Loved Gifts: Salad, Stir Fry, Vegetable Medley, Poppyseed Muffin, Goat Cheese, Truffle, Wine
Best Gifts After Marriage: Coffee, Fiddlehead Fern

Leah is the artist of the town, and though her gifts after marriage aren't the best by a longshot, she's by far the easiest person in town to get together with thanks to her liking foraged items. In fact, Leah even likes driftwood, which is a common piece of trash players can find while fishing. Moreover, Leah is commonly found at the saloon most nights, so it's simple to find her and talk to her on a daily basis.

Leah's story is an engaging one, too, and many creative types will relate to her. For players who value personality over in-game gains, Leah's definitely the best romance partner in Stardew Valley. Those who chose the Fruit Bat Cave will also find some benefit from her, as she'll occasionally give players mushrooms on rainy days and other foraged items. All in all, she fits in the farmer lifestyle pretty nicely.

NEXT: Best Gifts in Stardew Valley and Where To Find Them

Stardew Valley: 13 Best Gifts And Where To Find Them

Coming by gifts for friendships and more in Stardew Valley isn't always easy. From gems to flowers, here are the best gifts and where to find them.