Relationship Spotlight: Janine Teagues & Gregory Eddie (Abbott Elementary)

*Janine/Gregory-related spoilers.*

I wouldn’t call myself a huge shipper overall. I can be picky in my ships, and many a good show, in my estimation, falters with lackluster pairings. And sometimes I find myself in a situation where I like a pairing, but it’s less about the actual relationship dynamic and more that I just really like both of the characters. When a ship really works for me, though, I can fall head over heels for it!

When I started watching Abbott Elementary, it didn’t take long for me to get on the Gregory/Janine love train. Their early interactions are super sweet, and I love that, although they have wildly different temperaments, each understands the other very well. Gregory’s steadiness can have a calming impact on Janine’s high intensity, and optimistic Janine can balance out the sometimes-curmudgeonly Gregory. Even with traits that they share, like struggling with unexpected change, it looks very different on Gregory than it does on Janine, and yet each is able to help the other in the way that they need.

When you have a pairing whose personalities are very different like that, one popular romance approach is a love/hate dynamic, where their opposing temperaments drive each other up the wall—right until the point where they start making out. With Janine and Gregory, though, both are quickly in each other’s corners. They’re good colleagues who soon become genuine friends, and each is starting to harbor a secret crush on the other (oh my god, Mr. Johnson noticing how Gregory looks at Janine when they’re on their “desking” stakeout, so cute!)

Just so many great moments between them. Janine helping Gregory interpret all the drawings his students make for him. Gregory helping Janine come to terms with failure when her class isn’t able to do the egg drop. The two of them going down the big wooden slide together on the park field trip. Every instance of them knocking on their classroom wall to signal the other.

In every episode, I see how and why they like each other, which is a favorite of mine. That shouldn’t be notable when you’re talking about TV romances, but unfortunately, it is. What’s more, while it takes them a long time to admit their romantic feelings to themselves, let alone to each other, neither is shy about letting the other know how highly they’re regarded. Yeah, they spend quite a while dancing around the feelings conversation, but that doesn’t stop Gregory from openly admiring Janine’s tenacity or Janine congratulating Gregory on the progress he’s making as a teacher. They appreciate one another and cheer for each other’s accomplishments, even things that others might think are silly.

So far, the main thing that keeps these two from hitting the absolute peak of my favorite ships—like Leslie and Ben, Stede and Ed, or Roy and Keeley—is that the stopgaps to prolong the will-they-won’t-they throughout the first three seasons of the show get pretty labored. Social skills are neither one’s forte, so in a way, it makes sense that they keep sort of stumbling into relationships that they’re not excited about, so they’re rarely single at the same time. But the merry-go-round gets old. By the time season 3 hit, I was beyond ready for them to stop dancing and just get together.

The moment, though? The actual moment when they get together, coming on the heels of endless detours, obstacles, and stumbling blocks? Looooove! And now in season 4, I’ve been liking them a lot as a couple. They continue to be really funny together, and I appreciate that, while both have issues and hangups that can get in the way of their relationship, they ultimately talk things through and work it out. And cuteness? My goodness! Most recently, I love Janine giving the camera an adorably smitten smile while she proudly murmurs, “He knows so many different smoothie shops.” Stop, they’re too cute!

Of course, I’ve already done Neurodivergent Alley posts on both Gregory and Janine, so I definitely view their relationship as Autistic4AuDHD. On that level, their pairing works so well for me. I love that, in the early seasons, they appreciate things in each other that their respective partners find weird or annoying—Janine absolutely melts when she finds out that Gregory got his girlfriend a Lego set of a flower arrangement for Valentine’s Day, since she’s allergic to the real thing. I enjoy watching them bond over their shared niche interests, like both of them getting psyched (in their own way!) for a board game night. And I adore it when they make space for each other’s needs—Gregory almost exclusively eats safe foods, so Janine assuring him, “I’d never take you [to a restaurant] without buttered noodles,” is just a top-tier romantic line!