Every TMNT Crush Explained

From the moment the hot-rodding Neutrino Kala flirted with Michelangelo in the 1987 cartoon, romance has been a surprisingly complex and enduring element of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise. While Peter Laird originally mandated that the Turtles themselves could not date humans—leading Mirage to focus heavily on the slow-burn, fiercely domestic relationship between April O'Neil and Casey Jones—later adaptations found endless ways around the rule. Whether it was Leonardo’s devastating, forbidden romances with human vigilantes and Foot Clan assassins, Raphael’s intense relationships with mutant foxes and alien salamanders, or Donatello’s agonizing five-season crush on April in the 2012 animated series, the emotional lives of the brothers have frequently driven the core drama of the story. The expansion of the TMNT universe has also allowed for incredibly diverse and sometimes bizarre romantic subplots. The IDW comic run introduced a messy love triangle between Casey Jones, a human assassin named Jennika, and the mutant pig Sheena Murphy after Jennika was mutated into the fifth turtle. The cartoons also embraced bizarre extraterrestrial and inter-dimensional flings, including Michelangelo's recurring obsession with the time-traveling apprentice Renet, and Donatello's brief, horrific encounter with an aggressively lovestruck Bigfoot. Ultimately, this comprehensive breakdown explores the tragic breakups, the unspoken crushes, and the history-making romances across every iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles multiverse. Covered in this video: Kala, Lotus Blossom, Mona Lisa, Irma Langinstein, Ninjara, Candace Fine, Radical, Gabrielle Jones, April and Casey, Karai, Seri, April on film, Venus de Milo, Karai in 2003, Renet, Starlee Hambrath, The wedding, Tang Shen, Donatello and April, Bigfoot, Casey and April, Karai in 2012, Y'Gythgba, Renet in 2012, Alopex, Jennika, Michelangelo and April, Vernon Fenwick, Leonardo and April #TMNT #TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles #AprilONeil #CaseyJones #Splinter #Shredder #Karai #Leonardo #Donatello #Raphael #Michelangelo #MonaLisa #MutantMayhem #IDWComics #MirageStudios #ComicBookLore #GeekCulture #PopCultureHistory #AnimationHistory #RetroCartoons #90sKids #SciFiCartoons #NinjaTurtles #TurtlePower #TMNTRomance