With Jane the Virgin coming to an end tonight after five wonderful seasons, it’s now official: Jane and Rafael are endgame. As someone who’s been on Team Rafael from the very beginning, it’s amazing to see how much these two have grown as individuals and as a couple in large part because of their love — both platonic and romantic — for one another.
But it’s been anything but a straight path to this point. They were brought together in the most unconventional way (shoutout to Louisa and her carelessness), and yet still somehow managed to survive breakups, divorces, births, criminal activities, seemingly dead spouses coming back into the picture and so many other inconceivable scenarios that only Jane The Virgin could flawlessly pull off.
There’s been so many great moments between these two over the course of five seasons that it was hard to narrow down the list. But without further ado, here are my 10 personal favorite Jane and Rafael moments.
Their First Meeting
Yes, Jane was accidentally artificially inseminated with Rafael’s sperm. But they actually had met before the whole baby fiasco at the Golden Harbor Yacht Club when Jane was working there. She made him a killer grilled cheese sandwich (in case you were wondering, the key is 1/3 white cheddar, 1/3 yellow cheddar, 1/3 grated American) and they talked for hours about anything and everything. She even opened up to him about her dream to become an author. It’s the perfect meet-cute made even better by the fact that Rafael remembered this conversation years later.
Credit: jafaeldaily on Tumblr
Their First Official Kiss
Although they technically kissed at the Golden Harbor Yacht Club, their kiss in 1×05 is what most fans consider to be their first official kiss and the one that changed everything. Jane had just broken up with Michael and Rafael finds her sitting alone on a bench beneath a tree outside the Marbella. She tells him about her breakup and as soon as the words “I broke up with Michael” leave her lips, Rafael pulls her in for a kiss. Flower petals start falling and their hearts start glowing. Iconic.
Credit: jafael-gifs on Tumblr
Their First Date
This is without a doubt the moment I started shipping Jane and Rafael. Jane is hesitant to jump into things with Rafael because she literally just broke up with Michael. But Rafael doesn’t back down. Their baby is coming – whether they want it to or not – so he convinces her that now is the best time to get to know each other. They leave the club they are both at, go to Target for a snack run and then spend all night on Rafael’s balcony talking about everything and anything, including why Rafael’s mother left and his hatred of caviar. Jane eventually starts rapping and I’m convinced to this day that that is the moment that Rafael fell in love with her. The end up falling asleep under the stars in each other’s arms and it’s simply perfect.
Credit: jafaeldaily on Tumblr
Rafael Doesn’t Stop Her From Marrying Michael
They say if you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. When Rafael saw Jane right before she was about to marry Michael, he had a lot of feelings that he wanted to get off his chest. He loved her, he wanted to be with her and he sure as heck didn’t want her to marry Michael. But instead of saying all of that to her, he said nothing. He saw how happy she was in that moment and didn’t want to be the one to ruin that. If that isn’t true love, then I don’t know what is.
Credit: johnmulaneys on Tumblr
Jane Shows Rafael Her Book Acknowledgements
From the moment they met, Rafael has pushed Jane to pursue her writing career. He was especially important in pushing her to write after Michael died when she was really struggling. Jane finally publishes Snow Falling but unfortunately Rafael can’t be there to celebrate because he has to work. So Jane takes a copy of it to him at the Marbella because she wants to make sure he sees the special acknowledgement she included, which reads: “And finally, my deepest gratitude to Rafael Solano, without whom this book wouldn’t have been written. Thank you for being the first person who believed in me as a writer. Thank you for teaching me how to be brave.” Although Rafael denies that he was crying over it, he definitely was and so was I.
Credit: jafaeldaily on Tumblr
Rafael Convinces Jane That He’s A Good Kisser
After sharing a kiss where Jane felt no chemistry and Rafael felt nothing but chemistry, the two decide to compromise and be just friends and co-parents. But Rafael can’t help but ask Jane if she really feels like they don’t have chemistry anymore. So Jane teases him and dares him to kiss her. But instead of just kissing her, he slowly walks her through what he would do after they kiss: where he would put his hands, where he’d put his tongue, etc. He whispers presumably dirty, sexy things in her ear and she immediately pulls him in for a kiss.
Credit: rafael-solano on Tumblr
Shower Sex
While we were pretty blessed with Jane and Rafael being a couple early only, fans were deprived of any sexy time moments; I mean the show is called Jane the Virgin for a reason. When they finally got back together in season 4, it was about damn time they had sex. And boy was it worth the wait as this is without a doubt the sexiest thing Jane The Virgin has ever done.
Credit: jafaeldaily on Tumblr
“Yes and”
In 4×12, Jane and Rafael make their relationship official after not having been a couple since season one. However, Jane’s worried that this simply makes her relationship with Michael a stepping stone on her way back to Rafael and that her relationship with Michael will be diminished. But Rafael tells Jane that their relationship is a ‘yes, and’ (a callback to improv premise of this episode). “Yes, you and Michael had a beautiful love story,” he says. “And… I hope that we can now have our own.” In my opinion, this was the perfect way for the show to handle Jane moving from one beloved relationship to another one. Yet just another reason why the writing on Jane The Virgin is so brilliant.
Credit: jafael on Tumblr
Jane and Rafael Get Back Together (Finally!)
After spending a few days in Montana with Michael, Jane realizes that too much has changed over the last five years, and that Rafael is “the true love interest” of this telenovela. But by the time Jane declares her love for Rafael once and for all, it’s too late. Rafael tells her ‘no’, and yet, she’s not dissuaded. In fact, she feels quite the opposite: she’s ready to fight for their love.
Although Rafael dated around a little bit and tried to make things work with Julie, he ultimately realized it didn’t because the person he wants is Jane. “There was one deal-breaker with Julie I couldn’t get past: love,” he says. “She’s not you, Jane. I love you. I tried to stop, but I can’t, and I don’t want to anymore.” And sometimes a moment is so magical that the only way you can properly express it is through song and dance. *Cue Bryna’s happy tears*
Credit: jafaeldaily on Tumblr
Their Real Proposal
Rafael’s heart was in the right place when proposed way back in season one, but it was ultimately too much too soon. However, when Rafael finally gets the chance to propose to Jane again in 5×13, it’s finally the right time and everything goes off without a hitch. I love how Jane was so ready for a surprise and he still found a way to surprise her. From the fact that he arranged it so everyone in the family would be there to the fact that he included different aspects of their relationship on each of the cards, it’s thoughtful and simply perfect.
Credit: rafael-solano on Tumblr
Jane The Virgin’s two-hour series finale airs tonight at 9/8c on The CW.