clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Are Zelda and Link a couple? It’s... complicated

Did Zelda’s voice actor just confirm their relationship?

An image of Zelda sitting alone and looking up at the big empty sky in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo
Ana Diaz (she/her) is a culture writer at Polygon, covering internet culture, fandom, and video games. Her work has previously appeared at NPR, Wired, and The Verge.

To love The Legend of Zelda isn’t just to enjoy the act of playing the games; it’s to love Princess Zelda, Link, and the bond they share. Over the past 35 years, the two have shared a friendship that has endured regardless of time and place, and the destruction and reconstruction of their world. They go together like bread and butter. However, despite the two appearing side by side for years, a huge question has gnawed away at invested fans: Are Link and Zelda together romantically?

Are Link and Zelda in a relationship in The Legend of Zelda?

The question of whether or not Link and Zelda smooch might seem silly at first. But The Legend of Zelda is one of the most well known and popular video game franchises ever. The fandom has long been animated by the conversation surrounding the relationship status between the two series leads (or their relationships with other characters). Zelda and Link, or “Zelink” for short, has inspired fanfic and fan-made animations. Whether or not the two are together matters, because, well, it’s juicy gossip, but also because it’s been a driving question for so long.

The answer, unsurprisingly, is that it’s complicated. Whether or not you think they’re together might depend on which game you’re talking about. Some games, like The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, portray a more lighthearted, playful friendship between the two, whereas others, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and its recently released sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, paint a more devoted and loving relationship between the two. Outside the games, the Zelda TV show actually leaned into the idea of their romance and showed us a Link that was overly eager to kiss Zelda.

In Breath of the Wild, players actually got to see a significant relationship between the two develop over time. In the game, Link explores Hyrule and unlocks memories that allow players to see what his life with Zelda was like before she got holed up in Hyrule Castle. Throughout that game, we basically see them go almost everywhere together. Zelda doesn’t just trust Link with her life; the two also share many lighthearted moments together as Link learns about life through Zelda’s eyes. Tears of the Kingdom builds upon their relationship as Link takes up a new adventure to find her when she goes missing.

Now, we have additional information from Zelda’s English voice actor, Patricia Summersett. In an interview with The Gamer, Summersett appeared to confirm that yes, the two are in a “relationship,” but the details of that are left vague.

As a voice actor, looking at the overall relationship between Link and Zelda over the ages, I personally love the ambiguity and that if there is something there it’s left to us. I guess in my own life, I can respect and celebrate relationships that aren’t conventional.

She later says to the publication:

It also dodges the ending, and you’re always wondering what may occur which keeps the relationship active. There’s a tension in that, and this defiance of a definition is something really nice. I always come back to that, and I really love it as both an actor and as a human. Those relationships are super important to portray too, and I think they’re the best relationships we have in life, whether it be friendship or something that doesn’t have to fit a definition. I know that [Link and Zelda] are in a relationship with each other, it’s active, there’s a lot of care and a lot of listening, and I just love that about it.

So basically, Link and Zelda aren’t in a canon-confirmed romantic relationship, but Summersett confirms what we’ve been able to see all along: Link and Zelda share a loving, caring relationship. Link has always been one to support Zelda no matter what, and Zelda has always believed in Link. Their relationship is no doubt devoted, but it also might not fit into the normative ways some people would want to see a romance between the two.

Summersett’s sentiment is only buoyed by the story of Tears of the Kingdom. We won’t get into the details here because of spoilers. However, I will just say that Tears of the Kingdom is perhaps one of the most deeply romantic Zelda games ever released. It’s a testament to the unshakable faith Zelda has in Link, and his unflinching will to move forward despite the enormity of the challenge ahead of him. In a sense, their bond transcends the average everyday romance that we know. The love they share is divine, and thus may be a bit hard to understand.

The next level of puzzles.

Take a break from your day by playing a puzzle or two! We’ve got SpellTower, Typeshift, crosswords, and more.

news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news
news