Why Tony And Paula Were The Worst Couple On NCIS

Among the many reasons fans have come to love CBS's long-running investigative show "NCIS" are the various romantic relationships that have developed between the characters over the years. The build-ups and reveals of these relationships always bring their own bits of comedy and drama, and fans are quick to share their feelings when they approve, or disapprove, of the couples that pair up on the show.

One character who had his fair share of relationships was Special Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), as the dashing playboy rarely had a problem picking up the women he was interested in. While fans were supportive of some of Tony's relationships and generally happy with the woman he eventually ended up with, there were others that they were downright against.

For example, fans were on the same page when they generally disapproved of Tony's relationship with Special Agent Paula Cassidy (Jessica Steen), with whom he was briefly involved on the show. Not sure why Tony and Paula were the worst couple on "NCIS?" We've got all the deets on what was wrong with this pair in the eyes of fans.

One of the potential couples most rejected by "NCIS" fans was Tony and Paula, according to Screen Rant.

As Fandom notes, viewers meet Paula briefly in the first season while she's working as an interrogator at Guantanamo Bay. She and Tony share some flirtations during that encounter, but it isn't until Season 2 that we learn something actually happened between the two of them. And while their romantic moments play out mostly off-screen, viewers did get a few details through the pair's banter and reflections about their dating history over the next few seasons.

While they seemed interested in each other onscreen, fans watching their interactions typically weren't happy with what they saw. As per Screen Rant, the couple was generally seen as being too alike to be a good match, and by the time Paula started getting more screen time in Season 2, fans were already shipping Tony and Agent Caitlin "Kate" Todd (Sasha Alexander) pretty hard, so they didn't want to see a potential bump in the road for that to happen.

Despite the broader displeasure, some fans thought there were some real sparks flying between Paula and Tony when they first met, and the actress who played one of DiNozzo's love interests enjoyed the role quite a bit herself.

Jessica Steen opened up to Showbiz CheatSheet in 2020 to dish about how much she enjoyed working with Weatherly, and she touted how well she thinks her character would have handled the fact that things didn't work out between Tony and Paula. Steen said, "I would say she doesn't like to be pushed around, she doesn't like to be underestimated. I think she's better than I am at cutting something off when it has reached its potential or doesn't reach its potential."

We're glad to see that Paula and Tony remained friendly after their relationship — which fans felt was one of the worst couples on "NCIS" — failed to blossom.