From their Season 3 rivalry to a passionate marriage, Rick Grimes and Michonne’s relationship has come a long way in The Walking Dead universe.

The Walking Dead had its fair share of iconic couples during its 11-season run. From Glenn and Maggie’s farmer meet-cute to Negan’s anthropomorphic obsession with his deceased wife, romance was blooming in the apocalypse. The one couple that survived through thick and thin, however, was Rick Grimes and Michonne. Rick and Michonne’s romantic relationship takes a different turn from the comic series’ interpretation of their love lives.

In Robert Kirkman’s comic book series, Rick falls in love with Andrea after his wife’s death, and they stay together for years until she dies from a walker bite. Michonne also dips her toes into the pool of love, having sparked a few flings with Tyreese, Morgan and Ezekiel. Not once do Rick and Michonne pursue any romantic interest in each other in the comics, which is why the successful outcome of their relationship in the show was a delightful surprise. Now that the two have been separated due to Rick being kidnapped by the Civic Republic Military (CRM), it’s helpful to look back on the events that led them to their upcoming spinoff The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.

Rick and Michonne Met Under Dire Circumstances

Season 3

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Unlike Glenn and Maggie, Rick and Michonne’s relationship had to plummet through several obstacles for a while before they reached the romance stage. The pair meet in Season 3, Episode 6, “Hounded,” when Michonne appears at the prison fence where Rick’s group currently lives. Rick is still in an intense grieving stage that makes him see Lori’s ghost in the prison field. It thus seems like he is hallucinating her.

Michonne is allowed in the prison on the account that she’s been hurt, and is carrying the baby formula that Glenn and Maggie left behind. For the remainder of Season 3, Rick and Michonne remain in a complicated allyship. Michonne is a liability to the group as she’s being hunted by the Governor, who is simultaneously attacking Rick’s group. The situation with the Governor reaches new lows when Rick almost gives Michonne to him in exchange for a peace treaty. At the last minute, Rick rejects the offer. Despite his inhospitable treatment of her, Michonne is willing to fight for his people. The two leave the third season on a better note from when they first met, courtesy of Michonne’s forgiveness of Rick’s hostile behavior toward her.

Rick and Michonne Developed a Mutually Respective Relationship

Seasons 4-6

Seasons 4 through 6 see Rick and Michonne in a better place than they were in the third season. The two have great respect for each other as survivors in this world, and use each other’s strengths to balance out their weaknesses. When Rick takes a step back from leading the group, Michonne steps up to ensure the Governor won’t attack again. They make a formidable team who understand loss the same way and take responsibility when others fall short.

Their friendship becomes rock solid in the second half of Seasons 4 and 5 when their morality is being tested in unexpected hardships. Michonne never judges Rick for taking horrible measures to protect his son, like biting out an enemy’s throat and stabbing another in a torturous manner. When Rick’s humanity has seemingly been depleted, she’s the one to remind him that there is still good left in this world. Without Michonne, Rick would never have taken a chance on Alexandria. Without Rick, Michonne would’ve ended up down a lonely path where all she knew was her walker pets and her sword. Their beneficial companionship is so transparent that Deanna Monroe makes them both constables assigned to protect and serve Alexandria.

Rick and Michonne’s Slow-Burn Relationship Evolved Into a Romance

Seasons 6-9

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Michonne continues to be one of Rick’s right-hands as he steps into a new leadership role at Alexandria. After episodes of walker invasions, innocent people’s deaths and helping people through loss, Rick and Michonne find solace with one another. They finally kiss and make their relationship official in Season 6, Episode 10, “The Next World.” Even Rick’s son Carl accepts the relationship and is happy to see his father finally found happiness after losing Lori and his previous fling, Jessie.

The relationship was almost meant-to-be, given that Michonne had already made a bond with Carl and Judith. Very little tests the integrity of the relationship. The only thing that rocks them a bit is Rick and Michonne’s disagreements about how to handle Negan. But even that is handled with grace. Michonne carefully encourages Rick to stand up to Negan, but doesn’t push him, knowing that Rick isn’t a leader who functions well under pressure. Ultimately, it was Michonne who convinced Rick that laboring under an oppressive thumb is no way to live, because he respects her opinion more than anyone else’s.

Rick and Michonne Planned to Grow Their Family

Season 9

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By Season 9, Negan and the Saviors have abandoned their authoritarian ways. The series jumps a year and a half to show the progress between all the communities. Rick’s decision to spare Negan came at the cost of damaging a few of his core friendships, including Daryl and Maggie. But the one person who supported him was Michonne. The two are co-leaders of Alexandria now, as they should’ve been all along.

Their goal is to build a sustainable community that resembles the time before the apocalypse, where capital punishment isn’t the automatic course of discipline. Their shared motivation is to honor Carl, who had passed away in the previous season, which was a double-edged sword for both of them. On the one hand, they use their experience of losing Carl to build a better future and ensure no one has to endure that type of loss. On the other hand, they lose sight of other people’s justifiable grief, which turns into an “us versus them” debacle.

Nevertheless, Rick and Michonne are confident that they’re on their way to a better future. They plan to have a baby together, believing that Alexandria is finally a safe place for families to grow. But in an unexpected turn of events, Rick blows up a bridge to protect the communities from an incoming walker herd. His body is never found, but viewers are privileged to see him whisked away by a CRM helicopter.

The Married Rick and Michonne Stop at Nothing to Reunite

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live

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Years have passed, and Michonne hasn’t given up hope for Rick. But she has had to accept that he may never be found, for the sake of not raising her daughter and son’s hopes. That is until she finds his pair of boots and a drawing of her and Michonne on an abandoned boat, revealing that Rick is still out there with hope of his own. This leads into the sequel spinoff The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, which has yet to unveil how exactly Rick and Michonne will reunite.

From what’s been released about the upcoming series, the pair’s willpower will be put to the test as the CRM pushes them beyond their limits. Rick and Michonne aren’t the same people who are comfortable rebuilding society — they’re back to the basics as the world attempts to crush them every chance it gets. Their love as a married couple will be at stake, but their love might also be the only thing helping them survive during these trying times.