Stardew Valley’s romance system is far more fleshed out than that of other titles in the genre. Many villagers already have families and partners, so you can’t just date anyone you please. Still, if love is in the air, here are all the Stardew Valley Romance options and how the system works.
How does friendship work in Stardew Valley?
Just so we’re all on the same page, let me quickly explain how friendship works, as you can’t go straight to Romance without it. Each villager in Stardew Valley has a meter with ten grey hearts. You can earn red hearts with those villagers, which signify your friendship, and can build that meter by doing the following:
- Talking to them daily
- Give them a gift they like or love
- Inviting them to the Movie Theater
- Buying them snacks at the Movie Theater
- Completing quests for them from the board in the town
Every villager has a gift preference, and determining each individual’s tastes can be trial and error. When building a friendship, it’s important to remember that you can reduce it through specific actions, such as:
- Not talking to them daily
- Giving them a gift they dislike or hate
- interacting with bins when they are nearby
- Shooting them with a slingshot.
As you may expect, bullying a villager with a slingshot is a surefire way to get them to hate you, but most of these actions are avoidable. You can build your friendship up to the full ten hearts with most villagers and will even unlock ‘heart events’ along the way. These events are special moments you share with your friend, and your actions can further build your relationship.
Your friendship meter will only go up to 8 hearts with any of Stardew Valley’s love interests, so now is the perfect time to talk about Romance.
How does Romance work in Stardew Valley?
There are 12 eligible bachelors and bachelorettes in Stardew Valley:
Bachelors
- Alex
- Elliot
- Harvey
- Sam
- Sebastion
- Shane
Bachelorettes
- Abigail
- Emily
- Hayley
- Leah
- Maru
- Penny
As previously mentioned, these villager’s heart meters are capped at 8. When you reach this cap with any of the above villagers, you’ll receive a letter from Pierre in the post the following day. Now, you can buy a bouquet from Pierre’s General Store for 300 Gold.
If you give a bouquet to your love interest, their heart meter will unfreeze, and their status in the Social Menu will change to Boyfriend or Girlfriend. Funnily enough, you can reverse this by buying a bouquet and putting it in a furnace to create a wilted bouquet. If you hand this to your boyfriend/girlfriend, their heart meter will plummet back down to 5 hearts.
Best gifts for every Romance option in Stardew Valley
There’s a small list of items in Stardew Valley that every villager loves, but they are tough to obtain:
- Rabbit’s Foot
- Pearl
- Prismatic Shard
- Golden Pumpkin
- Magic Rock Candy
It’s worth mentioning that Haley hates the Prismatic Shard, and Penny hates the Rabbit Foot as exceptions to the rule. As these objects are hard to come by, it’s usually best to target your love interest’s favorite items. Here’s what you’re after for each:
Bachelors
| Villager | Favorite Items | Liked Items |
| Alex | Complete Breakfast Salmon Dinner | All Eggs (excluding Void Egg) |
| Elliot | Pomegranate, Duck Feather Squid Ink, Lobster Crab Cakes, Tom Kha Soup | Squid, Octopus |
| Harvey | Coffee, Wine Super Meal, Truffle Oil Pickles | Duck Egg, Daffodil, Dandelion Common Mushroom, Duck Feather Ginger, Goat Milk, Leek, Hazelnut Quartz, Snow Yam, Wild Horseraddish |
| Sam | Cactus Fruit, Tigerseye Pizza, Maple Bar | Joja Cola |
| Sebastian | Void Egg, Sashimi Pumpkin Soup, Obsidian Frozen Tear | Flounder, Quartz |
| Shane | Beer, Pizza Hot Pepper, Pepper Poppers | All Eggs (excluding Void Egg) All Fruits |
Bachelorettes
| Villager | Favorite Items | Liked Items |
| Abigail | Pufferfish, Spicy Eel Pumpkin, Amethyst Chocolate Cake, Banana Pudding Blackberry Cobbler | Quartz |
| Emily | Aquamarine, Amethyst, Jade Ruby, Emerald, Topaz Wool, Cloth, Survival Burger | Quartz, Dafodil |
| Haley | Sunflower, Coconut Fruit Salad, Pink Cake | Quartz, Daffodil |
| Leah | Goats Cheese, Truffle Salad, Vegetable Medley Stir Fry, Poppyseed Muffin, Wine | Dandelion, Daffodil, Holly Leek, Ginger, Snow Yam Spring Onion, Winter Root |
| Maru | Diamond, Gold Bar, Iridian Bar Cauliflower, Cheese Cauliflower Rhubarb Pie, Battery, Strawberry Battery Pack, Radioactive Bar | Radioactive Ore, Copper Bar Iron Bar, Oak Resin Quartz, Pine Tar |
| Penny | Melon, Poppy, Sandfish Emerald, Diamond, Red Plate Roots Platter, Poppyseed Muffin Tom Kha Soup | Leek, Dandelion |
How to get married in Stardew Valley
Once you’ve reached ten hearts with any of the villagers above, you’ll receive a letter in the post the following morning. The letter is from the Mayor, who explains that to take someone’s hand in marriage, you must give them a Mermaid’s Pendant.
Once you give your boyfriend/girlfriend the pendant, your marriage will be scheduled for three days time. Your partner will move in with you, and their meter will increase to 14 hearts, which you can fill at your leisure.
How to get a Mermaid’s Pendant
You can purchase a Mermaid’s Pendant from the Old Mariner for 5000 Gold. He appears on the island across the bridge on the beach and only shows up when it’s raining. You must have purchased the first farmhouse upgrade, or you won’t be able to buy the pendant. You’ll likely have a smart farmhouse at this point in the game, but you need the upgrade so your partner can move in after you’re married.
How to Get Divorced in Stardew Valley
Divorce is messy in Stardew Valley with some unintentionally hilarious features. If you decide your other half isn’t right for you, you can file for divorce at the Mayor’s Manor to the east of the town.
There’s a book you can interact with, and if you wish to go ahead, you must pay 50,000 Gold. You have all day to think it over and can cancel before 10 PM that night. If your decision is final, your spouse will leave, their heart meter will be reduced to zero, and their tag in the Social Menu will simply say ‘EX.’
Your ex will not accept gifts from you or attend future marriages.
Oddly enough, there is a mechanic in Stardew Valley that can completely erase an ex’s memory. You can visit the Witch’s hut and interact with the Dark Shrine of Memory to reset your status with any ex. It costs 30,000 Gold to do so, and their heart meter starts at zero, but you can technically remarry your ex this way.
There are many surprisingly complex systems in Stardew Valley, but most decisions are reversible if you know how. You can turn back time on relationships and even change professions in an instant. The latter requires a trip to the sewers, which is pretty odd, but by now, you should expect it from this title.
