Every Dexter Love Interest, Ranked From Worst To Best

Dexter was a dark and gripping show that boldly made a serial killer the protagonist, but even with the violent nature of the main character, there were still a number of Dexter's love interests featured in the series. It followed the life of Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a serial killer who targeted other murderers.

The show dealt with Dexter struggling to hide his dark hobbies and fit in with regular society. While Dexter often discussed that he was not interested in relationships or intimacy, he did have a number of romances over the course of the show. When it comes to Dexter's love life, some of these women were long-term girlfriends Dexter was with in an attempt to appear normal.

Others were smaller flings, and some even knew Dexter was a serial killer and supported him. While some of these relationships were seen as huge mistakes on the part of the show, others made the series even better, creating complex characters for these women while also strengthening the character of Dexter Morgan.

11 Debra Morgan

Played By Jennifer Carpenter

Though Dexter was a hugely popular and acclaimed series in its early days, it was also known as a show that eventually lost its way and made some much-maligned decisions in the later seasons. Dexter season 6 was widely considered the worst, and a major reason was this storyline. Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter), Dexter's adoptive sister, attended therapy and came to the conclusion that she was in love with him. Carpenter and Michael C. Hall were married in real life, but the romance simply did not work for these characters.

They may not have been related by blood, but Deb and Dexter considered each other siblings. Anything romantic between them felt forced and awkward while also severely hurting Debra's character. While the showrunners seemed to recognize their mistake and drop the storyline, the damage had been done to Debra, who was made to be a more naive and less intelligent character because of this arc.

10 Angela

Played By Julia Jones

Angela Bishop was introduced in the Dexter soft-sequel Dexter: New Blood, which debuted in 2021 and functioned as something of a 9th season to properly round off the story. While Angela was an incredibly interesting character, she definitely wasn't a suitable love interest for Dexter, which became very clear by the time New Blood concluded.

Once Angela, the Chief of Police in Iron Lake, learns of Dexter's murderous inclinations, she wants nothing more than to see him extradited to Florida to answer for his crimes, even though this will likely result in the death penalty. While this makes Angela an incredibly noble and efficient police officer, it also means that — for a serial killer like Dexter — she's ultimately not compatible as a love interest. She was also seen by viewers as something of a stand-in for Deb.

While Angela and Dexter don't share any of the near-sibling complications he and Deb did, their similar personalities create similar problems when it comes to romance. Ultimately, Angela outlives Dexter by the time New Blood finishes and even tampers with a crime scene to make it seem as though she was the one who brought him to justice.

9 Laci

Played By Cherilyn Wilson

While most of Dexter's romantic partners on the show have a fairly significant role to play in the story, that was not the case with Laci (Cherilyn Wilson). In fact, it is not likely that a lot of fans remember the character, as she only appeared in a short scene in one episode during the derided sixth season of the show. However, that was enough to have a brief moment with Dexter.

The episode finds Dexter on a road trip where he stops at a small store where Laci works. He begins flirting with her and nearly ends up killing her at the request of the vision he had of his brother Brian (Christian Camargo). However, Dexter went a different route and had a random fling with Laci, resulting in a sexual encounter in the back room. Though brief, it is a rare moment of this kind for Dexter.

8 Trisha Billings

Played By Kristen Miller

Similar to Laci, Trisha Billings (Kristen Miller) only showed up for one episode of the series. However, she managed to make a bigger impact with a bit more screen time. She also had more of a connection to Dexter, making their brief time together mean more for him as a character.

Trisha was an old classmate of Dexter's who remembered him from biology class. The former prom queen saw him again at their high school reunion and openly flirted with him. She then took him into an empty classroom for a quick hookup that was forgotten about by the end of the episode. Though it didn't make for a grand romance, the fact that Trisha was a popular girl in school while Dexter was a bit of an outcast showed how he had learned to fit in more since his school days.

7 Sofia Rivera

Played By Raquel Justice

Image via Paramount+

Sofia Rivera (Raquel Justice) is Dexter's first girlfriend, introduced in Dexter: Original Sin. She is introduced to Dexter through Debra, and she is drawn to what she assumes is a quirky aloofness. However, after a few dates, Sofia comes to realize that there is something different about Dexter, and it's more than that he's a bit awkward.

It doesn't take long for Dexter and Sofia to drift apart. Sofia is an important girlfriend because their relationship is an early example of Dexter testing out ways to hide his dark personality. However, we don't get enough of the character to rank her any higher in the list.

6 Lila West

Played By Jaime Murray

Lila (Jaime Murray) is a complex love interest for Dexter as she made for a compelling addition to Dexter season 2 while also presenting a character that the audience wanted to see taken out as soon as possible, as she was bad news for Dexter. After Dexter developed a cover story about being a recovering drug addict, he started going to Narcotics Anonymous meetings where he met Lila, and she eventually became his sponsor.

Lila was interested in Dexter's "darkness", and he was intrigued because nobody wanted to see that side of him before. They started an affair that caused a rift between Dexter and Rita (Julie Benz). Lila turned out to be manipulative and dangerous as she committed arson several times. One was to get Dexter to sympathize with her, another killed Sergeant Doakes, and another nearly killed Dexter, Astor, and Cody. Though she made for a great villain, she was the wrong woman for Dexter.

5 Cassie Jollenston

Played By Bethany Joy Lenz

Life would've been much less complicated for Dexter had he actually started dating Cassie Jollenston (Bethany Joy Lenz). A lot of fans might not fondly remember Cassie because she didn't show up until the much-maligned final season. Cassie was Dexter's neighbor and a friend to his nanny, Jamie Batista (Aimee Garcia). The two seemed to hit it off when they first spoke, but their later meetings were eventually a bit disappointing.

Dexter wasn't interested in pursuing the relationship any further and didn't call Cassie back, leading her to move on to a new man with Oliver Saxon. Unfortunately for her, Oliver is also a serial killer and brutally murders her. While her death fills Dexter with guilt and shows the danger brought to people in his life, their relationship isn't strong enough to sell that point, and Cassie just comes off as a tragic victim.

4 Charley Brown

Played By Uma Thurman

Zach Dilgard / ©Paramount+ with Showtime / Courtesy Everett Collection

Dexter has a new interest in Dexter: Resurrection, and while he and Charley Brown (Uma Thurman) have yet to physically act upon their feelings, it's obvious the two are kindred spirits and headed for some kind of relationship. Charley is the secondary antagonist in season 1, but becomes Dexter's partner in season 2.

Like Dexter, Charley is a cold operator, and though she doesn't have the knack for murder and detective work that Dexter has, she's willing to learn and seems to appreciate Dexter's strange moral code. The pair is like-minded, and for the first time, it appears that Dexter has an equal who understands his worldview, but is not dependent on him.

3 Hannah McKay

Played By Yvonne Strahovski

This was another romance that seemed to work slightly because of the violent nature shared by Dexter and his love interest. Dexter slowly found out that Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski) was a murderer. Once he uncovered her true nature, he got her on his kill table and expected her to beg for her life.

However, the interaction took a strange turn when the two were overcome with passion, leading to Dexter cutting her free and the two of them having intercourse. Debra wanted Dexter to kill Hannah for her misdeeds, but he refused, and the two remained together.

Though they split at the end of season seven, Hannah returned in season eight. They ended up back together, and by the time the series finale rolled around, Dexter left Harrison with Hannah while he went off to become a lumberjack. While they certainly seemed like a good fit, Hannah simply suffered as a love interest for being included in the lackluster later seasons of the show. Hannah was killed off-screen before the events of Dexter's revival, New Blood, as revealed by Dexter's grown-up son Harrison.

2 Rita Morgan (Née Bennett)

Played By Julie Benz

As soon as the series began, Rita Bennett was Dexter's girlfriend and later his wife. She had a harrowing and violent past that left her uninterested in sex, which worked out well for Dexter as he got into the relationship simply to appear more normal. Eventually, that changed, and the two grew closer. What started as a facade became a true relationship.

Dexter went on to legitimately love Rita and her children, Astor and Cody. He married Rita, and they were mostly happy for the better part of four seasons, even having a child of their own named Harrison. Tragically, Rita was murdered by The Trinity Killer at the end of Dexter season 4. Interestingly, though the shocking twist was seen as one of the show's best moments, it never rebounded from the loss of Rita.