Harvey Specter's charisma made him popular with the ladies. Surprisingly, however, he only had a handful of partners before marrying Donna in Suits.
Summary
- Suits explored the personal lives of its characters to develop their dynamics and appeal to a wider audience beyond corporate law.
- Harvey had several romantic relationships before marrying Donna, despite his focus on winning corporate battles.
- Harvey and Donna's potential as a couple was evident from the beginning, but the show's narrative and character development delayed their relationship until later seasons.
Before marrying Donna, Harvey had several girlfriends in Suits, and one was even supposed to be the person he would originally end up with. As a legal drama, Suits' primary appeal was its office drama. Harvey and Mike's relationship was the series' focal point, especially in its earlier years. However, in an attempt to diversify its storytelling and develop character dynamics, Suits also explored the personal lives of those who work at Pearson, Hardman. This offered those who weren't particularly fans of the corporate law aspect of the USA Network project something else to be invested in.
Part of ensuring that its characters are fully fleshed out was taking a peek at their personal lives. Because he was emotionally closed off, delving into Harvey's arc beyond his work was tricky in Suits' first few years. His family was rarely mentioned, which was later revealed to be because of his tumultuous past. While Suits' focused on developing Mike and Rachel's romance, Harvey was more interested in ensuring he won every corporate battle he took on. This doesn't mean that he never had any romances, but as a hotshot lawyer in New York City, it's surprising that he only dated a handful of women before he married Donna.
5 Zoe Lawford
Played Gabriel Macht's real-life wife, Jacinda Barrett, Zoe Lawford first made an appearance in Suits season 2, episode 7, "Sucker Punch." Despite being subsequently debuted, Zoe's ties to Pearson, Hardman predated the events of the legal drama. Five years before Mike's arrival in the firm, Zoe was working at the company as a senior associate, and during that time, she developed a flirtatious relationship with Harvey. They, however, had a falling out when Harvey prioritized his work at the firm instead of grieving the death of his father.
When she re-emerged as one of the recruited jury consultants for the memo case fraud, the pair started to rekindle their romance. Harvey seemed genuinely happy about their paths crossing again. For a while, it did seem like Suits was going to stick to their story longer. However, Zoe's decision to relocate due to her dying brother effectively ended their relationship. Still secretly dealing with his abandonment issues, Harvey unfortunately just let her go.
4 Esther Litt
To say that Harvey and Louis' relationship in Suits was complicated would be an understatement. From the get-go, there was already a clear rivalry between them — a competition that resulted in many betrayals over the course of the show. It didn't help that Jessica preferred Harvey over Louis, and she had no issues making that known. So when Louis' sister developed a romantic fling with Harvey, things between him and his Pearson, Hardman colleague just became much more complex. Introduced in Suits season 5, Louis' sister called for help as she went through an ugly divorce. However, this led to her spending the night with Harvey.
Technically, Harvey and Esther didn't really have any romantic relationship beyond sharing one night together. Despite Esther's attempt to pursue their attraction, Harvey sternly turned her down. He was already feeling guilty about betraying Louis by sleeping with his sister and he also didn't want to seem like he was taking advantage of a newly-divorced vulnerable woman. Brief as their dalliance may be, it was still a significant narrative in Suits because of how it impacted Harvey and Louis' relationship.
3 Paula Agard
In Suits season 7, Harvey started having panic attacks after Donna left him for Louis. It triggered his abandonment issues, and while he tried to deal with it quietly, it eventually became too much for him to handle alone. This forced him to seek help, paving the way for the introduction of Dr. Paula Agard. Initially, her relationship with Harvey was purely professional, but as they saw each other more regularly through his sessions, the pair started developing a mutual attraction with each other.
Admittedly, Harvey and Paula's relationship was the most controversial pairing in Suits. Their romance was deemed inappropriate, considering how they first came together. Their connection inevitably ended when Paula finally confronted Harvey about his real feelings for Donna. Asking him to choose between him and his secretary marked the end of their affair.
2 Dana Scott
In its first season, Suits focused on establishing its core cast, knowing full well that they would be the backbone of the legal drama. That being said, it still introduced a couple of recurring characters, including Dana Scott. Despite not being part of the Pearson, Hardman firm, Scotty immediately became a standout thanks to her unique relationship with Harvey. Like Zoe, the pair's history predated the events of Suits as they were in the same Harvard Law School class. There was professional rivalry between them, but personally, they were attracted to each other.
Scotty was supposedly Harvey's endgame romantic partner in Suits per show creator Aaron Korsh. It isn't difficult to imagine that this was actually the case, considering how much focus the show put on their dynamic in earlier seasons of the legal drama. It was also great to see Harvey competing with someone who can actually go toe-to-toe with him on a professional level. Unfortunately, after a series of work conflicts, made complicated by Harvey's internal issues, their romance just fell through.
1 Donna Paulsen
Harvey and Donna's potential to be a couple was clear from the get-go. Despite being his long-time secretary, they were more partners than a boss and employee. Donna can speak freely, and most importantly, she can call him out when he is out of line. Her loyalty had been unparalleled, as she had proven many times. Despite Suits waiting until season 8 to bring Donna and Harvey together, their backstory established that they always had romantic feelings for each other, they just didn't entertain them. This also allowed the legal drama to partner them up with other people, until they finally realize that they were meant to be together.
Admittedly, Suits could have easily partnered them up early on. Had the show done it, there would have been more romantic scenes between the pair. That being said, the show's narrative essentially hindered them from bringing them together right away. As previously mentioned, Korsh planned for Harvey to end up with Scotty. He also needed to deal with his childhood trauma first before he could finally realize how important she was to him. While it would have been great to see them dating longer, at least Suits didn't end without them getting married.
