As women we know what it takes for a bloke to be a good boyfriend. We also know that it doesnât work the other way round and men do not know what makes the best girlfriend: we do. Weâre the ones being the girlfriend after all so we have the inside scoop.
My best girlfriendâs of TV all seem to have similar traits: the ability to be ass-kicking and awesome; and an enduring patience, essential of course, for dealing with every man-drama thrown at them. Said man-drama may involve vampires.
Buffy Summers â Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Buffy has to be in my top five best girlfriends. She manages to juggle her love life with her slightly important world-saving responsibilities, and tackles the crossover with ass-kicking feistiness while of course spewing out an awesome one-liner. Despite her vampire killing destiny she gives old Angel (a nice vampire with a soul) a chance, and falls head over heels. However, when the pair finally make like a carpet and shag, Angel loses his soul and turns back into being the super evil villain vampire he was in times past. That’s gotta mess with a girlâs head. Buffy battles with her heart and her responsibility to saving the world, and, despite desperately loving him, she succeeds in sending Angel to hell. Sheâs an independent woman who will stick up for her man unless he happens to be evil and threatening the world with ruin. Kick âem to the kerb honey!
Amy Farrah Fowler â The Big Bang Theory
Often being a good girlfriend means having to love and put up with blokes who just donât know how to be boyfriends. However, there is no one who resists being a boyfriend (let alone a good one) more than Sheldon Cooper. Her perfect match in many ways, Sheldonâs peculiarities (heâs not crazy â his mother had him tested) mean that poor Amy and her needs often go unfulfilled: mainly those of a sexual nature. However, armed with heroic patience and a few Star-Trek themed tricks up her sleeve, Amy attempts to change her man and improve his boyfriend skills. As many a woman knows the perilous trials of attempting to err âimproveâ? their man, we take our hat off to you Amy. Also Amy is hilarious â an excellent quality in a girlfriend.
Lily Aldrin â How I Met Your Mother
Pretty, funny, loyal, huge sex drive â ticks most of the girlfriend boxes here. Lily knows her own way but isnât a bitch; she loves Marshall dearly but isnât afraid to have her own life and follow her passions; and she doesnât like the word âmoistâ of which I am in total agreement. I do like the word âflannelâ though. Sheâs the mother of the group so always looking out for her friends as well as her man, whilst sheâs not afraid to get all âoh no she diâintâ? on their asses when they step out of line.
Marge Simpson â The Simpsons
Despite being not so much a girlfriend but a wife to hapless Homer, she was his girlfriend once so by technicality Iâm putting her on this list. Marge is a great girlfriend/wife simply through coping with the sheer amount of crap Homer puts her through. We all love Homer to bits but he would be a top contender for admission into Tool Academy. Sheâs not afraid to put her foot down and take a stand, but most of the time Marge takes Homerâs craziness with a pinch of salt whilst looking after her family and making sure the house doesnât get inadvertently demolished. A multi-tasker with a sense of humour and a strong family ethic, Marge is the ultimate girlfriend/wife as she knows how to be with, and love, a bloke long-term and not completely lose her marbles.
Sybil Crawley/Branson â Downton Abbey
Sybil, the independent modern woman of 1920âs Downton, was a pretty damn good girlfriend turned wife until she popped her clogs in series 3. She kept her lady-like respectability and showed she had balls by keeping the chauffeur hanging for a good 6 years before she finally figured out how she felt about him. Well it was a big decision: she had to leave her entire family, money, and everything she knew in order to move to Ireland and marry into poor obscurity. She had to leave all those beautiful dresses behind too â now thatâs love!
Check out OTB’s Boy’s Guide to TV Girlfriends here.
