The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim's numerous romance options are impressive, even ten years after its release. Players who would like to find a spouse and either have them settle down or join them along for their adventures across the hostile open-world environment can use the Amulet of Mara to kickstart the process. Note, that each spouse candidate does have their own quests and requirements before they will warm up to the Dragonborn.
The real trick is choosing the right spouse in Skyrim. With so many options, and not all of them necessarily obvious right away for the player, it's easy to make the wrong pick. This ranking aspires to feature some of the best romance options in Skyrim, although, in all honesty, a lot of it comes down to personal preferences and how the player plans to roleplay their Dragonborn. For the sake of this ranking, the criteria considered as personality, dialogue, lore, as well as capabilities in combat for spouses available as adventuring companions.
10 Brelyna Maryon
Players will come across Brelyna if and when they decide to join the College of Winterhold and hone their magical abilities. Brelyna is actually one of the new students as well, and will initially come across as a little bit stuck up. However, as the Dragonborn continues to interact with her, it becomes clear that she has a good heart and is very much interested in bettering her magic.
Brelyna is a great spouse for players who are more melee combat oriented. She's a decently powerful Dunmer mage with the ability to use Destruction spells, but can also dabble in a bit of Conjuration. Moreover, level-wise she scales up to level 30, so for the first third of the game she's an excellent partner in crime to have around. To unlock Brelyna as a marriage candidate, players will need to complete her personal quest, Brelyna's Practice.
9 Onmund
Also a member of the College of Winterhold, Onmund enters the Dragonborn's radar as a fellow apprentice. He's a very unique character, given his Nord ancestry which generally shuns all things magical in The Elder Scrolls universe. This alone gives him an edge over some other, more traditional spouse choices.
Onmund will focus mostly on Destruction magic when in combat, with the use of various Spark spells. Like Brelyna, he scales well up until one-third of the game, so until about level 30. In order to gain Onmund as a spouse candidate, players should complete his personal quest, Onmund's Request.
8 Marcurio
Still in the category of mages, if players are looking for someone with a bit more wit and sass, Marcurio is perfect for them. This smug NPC can be found loitering around the Bee and the Barb in Riften, and like a few other characters, he's a companion that can be hired, making him an easy spouse to "woo".
Players just need to scrape up 500 gold to hire him, and he's instantly interested. Sure, it might not feel like the most organic way of falling in love, but if the Dragonborn can look past that, Marcurio makes for a fantastic spouse. He scales a bit higher than the previous two, up to level 40. Most of his spells are basic Destruction spells, so melee characters will find the most use out of him as a husband.
7 Halbarn Iron-Fur
In order to meet Halbarn, players will need to have the Dragonborn DLC purchased and installed. He's located in Solstheim and is a local merchant that will ask the players to gather a few items for him before being available for romance.
Halbarn is a melee character, so those leaning more toward magic, stealth, or ranged combat will love to have him around. He's very capable in combat and can scale up to level 60 with the player, which means he's going to be a valid spouse to take along on adventures for the grand majority of Skyrim.
6 Muiri
Who doesn't love a good tale of cold revenge? Muiri from Markarth is a character many will likely feel sorry for, due to being fooled by Alain Dufont. She's hellbent on getting some rightful justice for her—even going so far as to employ the services of the Dark Brotherhood.
She's actually a fantastic romance option for any assassin, as the roleplaying aspect of having her as a spouse after completing her contract is quite interesting. Sure, she can't join the player in combat or on adventures, but she can hold fort wherever the Dragonborn decides to set up their home.
5 Jenassa
Although many of the options on this list are generally quite pleasant, kind, and sometimes even wholesome individuals, Jenassa is not. And that's okay because sometimes, players will want to go for that evil, morally rotten, or grey character storyline. For that, she's perfect.
Like Marcurio, Jenassa is a mercenary for hire, found in Whiterun's Drunken Huntsman. Pay 500 gold to her, and she will become a follower, as well as open to marrying the Dragonborn. As a ranger character, Jenassa works best if players themselves go for a melee build. She's among the few followers who don't care for morals and will not bat an eye if players go on a murderous rampage or steal to their hearts' content.
4 Farkas Or Vilkas
Brothers in arms, Farkas and Vilkas are members of the Companions, and also werewolves. While both are roughly the same, Vilkas will initially be cold towards the Dragonborn and hesitant to have them join the Companions. Farkas comes across as a bit like a meathead barbarian, but he's got a good heart and a lot of honor to make up for it.
No matter which brother the Dragonborn chooses, they will need to complete the Companions questline to unlock either option. Farkas and Vilkas both are melee-oriented fighters and scale up to level 50. Given how early Whiterun and the Companions are available, this makes them solid options since their leveling covers half of the game before they start to suffer a little.
3 Mjoll The Lioness
It's generally rare to find NPCs in Skyrim that have incredibly solid personal stories and are romance options (think: anyone in the Thieves Guild). Mjoll, however, sort of leans into a promising direction as a character who feels out of place in a city like Riften, which is full of corruption and intrigue.
Mjoll despises the atmosphere and the people in Riften, condemning the town. If players help her recover her sword Grimsever, she can be proposed to. Another option is to complete various favors around Riften to make her warm up to the Dragonborn. Mjoll's scaling isn't the best in the game, with only up to level 40, but she's a solid melee companion and comes packed with really interesting dialogue as players take her along on their journey across Skyrim.
2 Argis The Bulwark
Housecarls are usually not ideal spouse options for players due to how little personality many of them tend to have, but it would be unfair to ignore the sheer amount of love from fans that Argis has gained as the housecarl of Markarth. The latter makes him also one of the tougher housecarls to earn, since becoming Thane in Markarth is a long, arduous process.
Argis' superior, charming appearance isn't the only thing he has, however. He's also a pretty powerful follower in combat, able to handle most of the melee fight on his own up until level 50, while the Dragonborn can focus on mage or bow gameplay from afar. The trick is to make sure he has good gear, by trading with him. Note that while he's a great spouse, he can't be made into a steward, which might be a dealbreaker for some.
1 Aela The Huntress
Aela continues to be one of the most iconic characters in Skyrim and for good reason. She's a major NPC during the Companion questline, and as a member of the Circle, she's actually proud of her beast blood. A strong, ranger-type character, Aela is a great option not just for her charm but also for her skills with a bow and arrows.
She has pretty good scaling—up to level 50—so players will be able to have her around for at least half of the game's duration.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X/S