Stardew Valley started out with ten romanceable villagers at release, but Shane and Emily were added as romance options in an update after they won their respective new marriage candidate polls back in 2016. Both characters were landslide winners; Shane won the men's poll with 48.2% and Emily won the women's poll with 59.1%. The two had already been a common fan request for marriage candidates even before the polls, so their addition seemed almost inevitable. Since their release, they have become among the most popular marriage candidates in Stardew Valley.
While it’s unlikely that the other options will become official marriage candidates anytime soon, it’s fun to think about what could have been. Each romance route has the potential for Heart Events that add complexity to the characters, and married life could have its benefits depending on the spouse. As such, there's a ton of possible ways that Stardew Valley's romance routes for these characters could go.
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It’s perhaps unsurprising that Pam received the fewest votes in the women’s poll, considering her main character trait is being Penny’s alcoholic mother. It’d certainly be awkward between the player character and Penny, as marrying Pam would make the player Penny’s new step-parent. Perhaps the player character could help Pam with her drinking problems, and help her become a better mother to Penny. A romantic bus ride or night at the saloon attached to her story would be a strong addition to Stardew Valley.
Marnie is a sweet woman who loves animals, so if players a lot of livestock on their Stardew Valley farm, she would be likely happy to bond over them. She has a lot of Liked items that include relatively simple recipes as well as farm vegetables, so she wouldn’t be too hard to win over. As a more experienced farmer, Marnie could offer a lot to the player's farm. Shane might not be too pleased about the situation, but maybe he would warm up after seeing his aunt happy. Player could also help out with taking care of Jas, since Marnie has her hands full and Shane has his own issues to deal with.
There is, however, the complication of Mayor Lewis and his implied relationship with Marnie. The player would have to successfully win Marnie over and prove to be a better partner than the mayor. Perhaps one of the Heart Events could confront this love triangle.
Even though she’s a resident of the Calico Desert, Sandy loves the lush valley and would likely be happy to come onto the farm, out of the desert heat. Even though she has the air of a lady with expensive tastes, her Loved items are Stardew Valley's flowers that can easily be foraged. Enough flowers, and players could win her heart. Players will have to shell out money for bus tickets just to see her, though. As she’s not one of the more established villagers, and in fact never leaves the Oasis, Sandy is a bit mysterious. After players gain enough of her trust in-game, she tells them her name isn’t really even Sandy. A romantic route’s Heart Events could reveal more about her story.
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Clint wasn’t exactly a popular choice in the men’s poll, landing at 6.4% in the results. This is unsurprising, considering he’s very blatantly infatuated with Emily. Outside of that, Clint has a very mild personality and often keeps to himself. Clint apparently doesn’t like being a blacksmith, and at some point says it’d be nicer to work outdoors. Perhaps the player character could offer him a life on the farm as a break from the hot furnace; it’d also help him to take his mind off his infatuation towards Emily and find a new romance. The player could help him discover new interests and talents outside of smithing, but it would also be helpful to have those skills on the farm.
Linus considers himself an outcast of the town, and often has to deal with vandals throwing rocks at his tent. If anyone in Stardew Valley could use some love and kindness, it’s Linus. While he may not be a typical bachelor, he’s clearly resourceful and kind-hearted. Even though Linus seems to enjoy his life of foraging and living in nature, he wouldlikely appreciate having a warm, welcoming home to return to with fresh food grown in the earth. Plus, more scenes with Linus could reveal more about his backstory. What kind of life has he lived? It’s possible he’s always been a man of the forest, but perhaps he had a more typical life a long time ago. As his partner, it would also be satisfying to protect Linus from the vandals and cruel words that constantly plague him.
The Wizard, also known as M. Rasmodius, is the only male character who came close to competing with Shane in the polls, as the Wizard is very mysterious and spends all of his time in his tower. He has a special connection to the supernatural happenings in town, so becoming closer to The Wizard would allow the player to become more in-tune with the Junimos and other magical beings in the game. The Heart Events could also give some insight to his relation to the townspeople, including his unidentified daughter.
The Wizard’s romantic route could be similar to the special romances in the Harvest Moon series, in which players have to achieve specific goals before they can romance special characters like the Witch or Harvest Goddess. The tasks related to romancing the Wizard could involve the development of the Community Center, or slaying a certain number of monsters.
Stardew Valley has received several updates since its release, and while it might not be likely in the near future, it’s not impossible that more marriage routes could be added. Either way, there’s always the world of fan-made mods for PC players.
Stardew Valley is now available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PS Vita, and iOS/Android.