From hating each other and never even talking, to being in love, kissing in the rain, and building a life together. That is the story of Nathan Scott (James Lafferty) and Haley James (Bethany Joy Lenz), one of the best couples of “One Tree Hill” and of all television history.
Nine seasons went by on the series and they stuck together through it all, really exceeding the expectations of their catchphrase “always and forever”. So here are 10 moments that prove they are one of the strongest couples on television!
- “Don’t say I never gave you anything”
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The first official Naley (what the fans call them) scene will always be remembered. At the very beginning of the show, Nathan was doing bad at high school and Haley was assigned as his tutor to help him raise his grades. However, she hated him and did not want to waste her time, but did it anyway since he really needed it.
On the first tutoring lesson, he was late but brought her a gift: a bracelet from a candy box. And, while giving it to her, said the iconic quote “Don’t say I never gave you anything”.
- First kiss
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It happened on the day after their first date. At that event, they ran into Nathan’s friends and he told them they were not on a date, so Haley got disappointed and left. The next morning, Nathan went to her house to apologize and told her he didn’t admit to the guys they were on a date because he believed he wasn’t a good enough man to be seen with her. She answered him saying there was nothing else he could do to surprise her, then he kissed her.
She said he shouldn’t have done that. But when he claims to have wanted to, she runs into his arms and kisses him too. Leaving the spectators with a memorable and perfect first kiss.
- The beginning of the rain kisses
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If you watch the show, you will notice that Naley has a tradition of kissing in the rain, turning what could be weird and wet moments into beautiful and special ones. The first one could not be forgotten and it was also with Nathan going to Haley’s house to apologize after an argument, but in the middle of the rain this time.
He gave her a wonderful speech saying he needed to forget about his pride because he loved her and she should forgive him since he was sorry and she was really hot in the rain, making him want to kiss her. So, they finally kiss and make up and, as said before, the rain, along with the background song, makes the kiss’ atmosphere even better.
- Elopement wedding
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An elopement wedding is when a couple runs away to get married in secret, and Naley did that beautifully! With only the presence of a priest and Haley’s parents, they got married on the beach after just getting engaged hours before on their bed. At the ceremony, Nathan promised to love Haley no matter what happened, starting the tradition of saying “always and forever” to each other.
“Someday, this beach might wash away…The oceans may dry…The sun could dim but on that day, I’ll still be loving you. Always and forever. I promise you, Haley.”
- The storm
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Haley had just got back from a music tour with Chris Keller, who Nathan was really jealous of, and she was trying to reconcile with Nathan since they were broken up while she was away. She told him that she thought he was not proud of her for going on the tour. However, to prove her wrong, he ran outside (in the middle of a huge storm) to pick a box full of articles and reviews of her shows that were in his car, proving that he had always been proud of her. That led to one of the amazing rain kisses they had on the series.
- Second proposal
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The whole group of friends were on a weekend getaway and Haley was upset because she kept losing her ring. But, actually, Nathan and his friends were stealing it from her, because he wanted to propose to her again so that they could have a wedding in front of everyone.
He took her to a pier and asked why she kept her hands in the pockets all the time and, as she apologized for losing the ring, he kneeled down and made the proposal. And she answered it in the best way possible, using their special phrase: “Always. Always and forever”.
- “As long as you are a good father… to your son”
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In this episode, Nathan and his basketball team were playing the final game of the State Championship. He was really worried to lose it and ruin his possible career, so he asked Haley if it would be okay if he didn’t play college basketball. She said everything would be okay as long as he were a good husband and father to their son, telling him the gender (she had just found out) of the child they were going to have together.
She also told him that their boy would tease him, in the future, for playing badly in that game. After that, he returned to the court, playing in the best way possible, inspiring the whole team to also play better and win the championship.
- “You’re in the NBA?”
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Nathan arrived home and told Haley that he wasn’t on his basketball team anymore, making her sad. But, what she didn’t expect was that he would tell her he wasn’t on that team anymore because he would be playing for the Bobcats, an NBA team. She got emotional and started crying while asking if he really was in the NBA.
That demonstrates how she has been there for him all the time, since the beginning of his career when he dreamed to play for an important team, and how it also became one of her dreams.
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“I don’t want to see you lose your dream”
“Lose her? She is right here.”
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Renee, a woman who claimed to be pregnant with Nathan’s baby and wanted his money had gone public with that lie, putting his career at risk. While talking to him, Haley said that she didn’t want to see him lose his dream. But he said she was his biggest dream and that he would be okay if not having a career anymore, as long as he had her. This proves that, all along, what mattered most to him was their relationship and family. The only thing he really needed was Haley and Jamie (their son).
- Last moment
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In the last episode of “One Tree Hill”, Nathan organized a dinner for just him and Haley and brought us back to the first important scene they had together, when he gave her the candy bracelet. This time, he gave her another candy box with a silver bracelet and reshaped the iconic quote mentioned in the first topic to “Don’t say you never gave me anything, because you have. You gave me an amazing life and I do love you so”. After that, they had the last scene together and it couldn’t have been without one of their iconic rain kisses.
All of these moments show us how strong they were as a couple. For nine seasons, they were there for each other, literally through thick and thin. And, in the end, they had conquered everything they wanted: a house, a family with two beautiful children, achieved all of their dreams, and many other things that make everyone who is watching want to have a relationship like theirs.
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The article above was edited by Giullia Cartaxo.
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