All the times Pacey Witter ruined real-life love for you

Pacey Witter (played by Joshua Jackson) was a total heartthrob and the main reason a lot of people tuned into Dawson’s Creek week after week. Sure, the show was technically about his BFF Dawson Leery (played by James Van Der Beek), but Pacey was the dreamboat, who ruined real-life love for pretty much every woman who watched him. We know what you’re thinking, Pacey was a mess, which is true, but his faults are what made him so lovable and desirable.

The only downside to Pace, was that he wasn’t real and therefore you tried very hard to find a real S.O. just like him, but they just don’t exist. He was totally perfect, which makes real-life romance so much harder to deal with. See exactly how he messed up normal love for basically everyone below with our ode to Pacey… Capeside’s cutest guy.

He had the looks. Seriously, it’s almost unfair to other potential loves that Pacey existed. Those eyes just made me swoon!

When he entered the Miss Windjammer Beauty Contest. He painted his face and spoke in a Scottish accent because he was adorable. He also proved that he had guts and no fear, which was totally hot and something we all want in a future partner.

When Pacey saved Andie. Alright, so Pacey saved Andie more times than we can count, but he proved that love can conquer all when he helped Andie discover that getting help was what she needed in life. After Andie locked herself in the bathroom, where she was hearing voices, Pacey talked her down and saved her life.

Every moment he ever spent with Andie. Okay, so every moment wasn’t picturesque, but when he dated Andie it was the first time he really fell in love. Seeing someone become vulnerable and fully let himself get into this romance, stole our hearts. Plus, he said this quote to Andie, which basically made our ovaries burst.

He taught us that sometimes you have to let go of the people you love. It was heartbreaking when Pacey had to let Andie go. She needed medical help, so she went away, but Pacey never stopped loving her. It was painful to watch her drive away and leave him behind. His dedication to her was so romantic and it really set the bar high for all real-life romances.

That time he killed it with the big gesture. When other guys would give a girl flowers or candy, Pacey decided to buy Joey a wall. Yes, it sounds crazy, but he bought her a giant wall (technically it was rented, but still) so she could paint it and express herself. It was so romantic and totally unique.

When he stood up for Jack. Poor Jack accidentally revealed that he was gay through a poem, so who came to his rescue? Pacey, duh. He stood by him and called out the teacher for being a jerk, because friendship was everything to Pace.

The minute Pacey swept Joey off her feet at the anti-prom junior year. Pacey was clearly in love with Joey, but she hadn’t chosen to date him yet, because of Dawson, so the anti-prom was awkward between the trio. When Pacey finally asked Joey to dance it was clear that they were meant to be. Plus, this happened:

The moment he finally kissed Joey. Throughout season three we were all watching and impatiently waiting for Pacey to finally tell Joey he had feelings for her, so when he finally did, it was pure gold. He just leaned in and kissed her mid sentence on the side of the road. Sure, they fought after, but the kiss was perfect.

HE SAILED THE SEA WITH JOEY. This was definitely the moment that made us die a little inside from jealousy. Not only did Pacey take a huge risk asking Joey to sail with him all summer, but when she agreed, he read to her every night while they held hands in separate hammocks. It was beyond precious and made us want to sail away forever with our high school crush. If you didn’t want a ride on that boat, you were lying to yourself.

When he left Joey to sit by Andie’s bedside. Okay, usually leaving your S.O. for your ex would be a big no-no, but when Pacey did it, it just worked. Andie was in the hospital in season four, because she was on drugs and had a bad reaction (seriously, Andie was a hot mess when you look back at it) and instead of waiting to see her, he stayed at the hospital all night to be there for her. Talk about being a good person.

When he took dance lessons with Joey, so she could potentially get a random scholarship for college. How did he do it? He was so selfless and cute at the same time.

The moment he named his boat “True Love.” True love? Are you kidding? The romance. We die.

B & B perfection. When Joey’s family was in need of an idea to save their home and earn money, Pacey came up with the B&B idea and it totally worked. Once he came up with the idea, he also helped with the labor to make it work and brought a critic to help promote it. This simply proved that Pacey was not just a good person, but he was a great and loyal friend, too.

Forehead kisses. Sorry, but any and every time Pace kissed McPhee (ah, the nickname still makes us swoon) or Potter, he made us like real love a little less. He’d lean in and do the forehead kiss and we just melted. 

He was actually a good role model. Everyone likes the bad boy (or girl) who is carefree and fun, which Pacey definitely was, but he was also much more. He wasn’t just the goofball who wasn’t good at school, he was a loyal person who had a heart of gold. Plus, he ended up being a pretty awesome role model for Buzz, who he mentored on the show.

When he finally fought for true love and didn’t take no for an answer. In the series finale, Joey and Pacey finally end up together and it’s all because Pacey wouldn’t back down. He loved her and that’s all that mattered. Who wouldn’t want to hear that from the person they care about most?

Pacey Witter forever!

(Gifs via here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Featured image via The WB)