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Ted Lasso: Who Does Rebecca End Up With?

Rebecca's Love Life Takes a Surprising Turn in the "Ted Lasso" Series Finale

TED LASSO, Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, 'Pilot',  (Season 1, ep. 101, aired Aug. 14, 2020). photo: Apple TV+ / Courtesy Everett Collection

Image Source: Apple TV+ via Everett

"Ted Lasso"'s third and final season has come to a close, and our questions about Rebecca's love life have finally been answered. From Sam and Rebecca's quiet romance to her surprise encounter with the gallant Dutchman and the ongoing will-they-won't-they of Tedbecca, fans have been divided for years over who she might end up with. In the fourth episode of season three, the AFC Richmond owner visited a psychic named Tish, per her mom's forceful recommendation. Though highly skeptical, Rebecca kept her appointment and discovered that the medium's predictions about her love life were not as absurd as she expected.

"It's not long before Tish's predictions begin to come true, manifesting themselves in encounters with Rebecca's exes."

"I can see something," Tish told Rebecca at the start of her session. "It's in your hand — an object; it's very special. It's a green matchbook. A green matchbook, how lovely." To a confused Rebecca, the matchbook meant nothing, but Tish continued on, tapping into her supernatural abilities to deliver an abstract but meaningful message. "Sh*te in knining armor," Tish said, making little sense.

As Rebecca got up to leave, the psychic threw out one more clue about her future. "Thunder and lightning and you, and you're upside down and you're drenched, but you're safe," Tish said. Seconds later, she added that Rebecca is going to be a mother one day, touching on one of Rebecca's greatest hopes and insecurities. Infuriated by Tish's nonsense, Rebecca stormed out of the session, convinced it was a waste of time.

However, it's not long before Tish's predictions begin to come true, manifesting themselves in encounters with Rebecca's exes.

Does Rebecca End Up With Ted in "Ted Lasso"?

The leading theory among fans was that Ted and Rebecca would be endgame. If the pair did end up together, their relationship would have been the culmination of a slow-burn romance that had been building since Ted placed the first box of buttery shortbread biscuits on Rebecca's desk.

Those championing the idea most notably pointed to a scene in the fifth episode of season three when Ted and Rebecca crossed paths in the hallway. Both lost in thought over their individual concerns, they rushed past each other, only to pause and turn back for a quick chat. "I know, you're still feeling bad about yelling at me the other day, right?" Ted said, referring to earlier in the episode when Rebecca lost her temper after AFC Richmond is defeated again. "I can be a little bit psychic. It's OK."

"They felt the cosmic tug but they don't understand what happened."

Startled by Ted's use of the word "psychic," Rebecca's face fell, seemingly contemplating if Ted's words held any deeper meaning. "No, no, yes. I — I shouldn't have bullied you," Rebecca replied, evoking a similar reaction from Ted, who is preoccupied with news that his son, Henry, was involved in a bullying incident at school. The pair went their separate ways once again, each slightly shaken by the coincidences in their conversation. "They felt the cosmic tug but they don't understand what happened," one Twitter user wrote of the scene.

While this interaction wasn't implied in Tish's reading, viewers also noted that the "sh*te in knining armor" clue could have had a double meaning — aside from the fact that Rebecca's ex's new fiancée says the jumbled phrase during a chance encounter — given that Henry's soccer jersey features a number nine on it as a nod to his favourite player, Jamie Tartt. "To me it seemed like they really wanted us to see Henry wearing #9, the way he ran into the kitchen," one Reddit user wrote in reference to a scene in season three when Henry runs through the house ahead of his school soccer match.

Just as Rebecca stepped through the doorway of Tish's sitting room, she's pulled back when the psychic said, "You will have a family. You're going to be a mother." Angry and hurt, Rebecca, who secretly wanted to have a family but hadn't broached the subject with anyone for fear that she's past her reproductive years, stormed out of the psychic's home. Later, she visited a fertility specialist who ran a few tests and seemingly confirmed that she is unable to have children herself. If Ted and Rebecca had ended up together, Henry likely would have become Rebecca's stepson, thus giving her the family she's always wanted and fulfilling Tish's prophecy.

At the start of the series finale, the writers made it clear they heard fans' Tedbecca theories when a disheveled Ted emerges from Rebecca's hallway in the morning. For a few hopeful seconds, fans were convinced that the pair slept together, but Coach Beard and Jane soon followed in their own pyjamas. The trio thanked Rebecca for letting them sleep over at her house after a gas leak in their building and the scene ends — the first of many fakeouts in the finale.

During the remainder of the episode, Rebecca made a concerted effort to convince Ted to stay in England after he decides to go back to the US to be with his family. At the end of the episode, she surprised Ted at the airport — while wearing the exact same outfit she wore on the first day she met him — where the pair share teary-eyed "thank yous" for their time together and say goodbye with a long hug. Even though Ted and Rebecca didn't end up together in the finale, the touching moments they shared leading up to Ted's departure almost made up for the years-long tease of their relationship.

"I think that can be the case with many people that come into your life," Hannah Waddingham, who plays Rebecca, told Deadline of Ted and Rebecca's chemistry after the finale. "If you have chemistry, you have chemistry. And, you know, who's to say that people that walk into your life at any given point couldn't be more than they are? But for whatever reason, your own cosmic sources are spinning you off in a different direction. The most driving thing is that man needed to get back to his boy."

TED LASSO, from left: Toheeb Jimoh, Hannah Waddingham, Headspace', (Season 2, ep. 207, aired Sept. 3, 2021). photo: Colin Hutton / Apple TV+ / Courtesy Everett Collection

Image Source: Apple TV+ via Everett

Does Rebecca End Up With Sam in "Ted Lasso"?

Another prevailing theory among the fandom was that Rebecca and Sam would rekindle their romance once and for all. The relationship came as a surprise in season two when the duo matched on Bantr, the dating app promoted by AFC Richmond. While they weren't initially aware that they were talking to one another because the app omits photos, Rebecca and Sam shared a brief but passionate romance after overcoming the initial awkwardness. When Sam was faced with the decision to stay at Richmond or join billionaire Edwin Akufo's growing team, Rebecca decided it was for the best that they split so she wouldn't influence his decision.

Though Sam ended up staying with AFC Richmond, the pair remained separated, addressing each other politely though hesitantly during future encounters. In season three, Sam was seen flirting with a coworker at his newly opened restaurant, igniting a flame of jealousy in Rebecca at the launch party.

Later in the evening, Sam passed out green matchbooks as party favours. When he handed one to Rebecca, the significance of the trinket isn't lost on her. In episode 10, while digging through her purse, Rebecca pulled out the matchbook, along with a green plastic soldier Ted gifted her, and placed it on her desk with a smile. Paired with blush-filled conversations between Sam and Rebecca in the hallways all season, subtle moments like this hinted that there may still have been hope for the pair, but their fate remained unclear until the finale.

After taking some time to focus on herself, Rebecca decided to sell 49 percent of AFC Richmond to fans. While she initially considered selling the entire team, she told Ted that she wants to stay with her family. As fate would have it, Sam actually decided to join the Nigerian national team after Ted's departure. These moves put more distance between Sam and Rebecca, and while the pair remained on good terms, a future relationship between the two seems unlikely.

Who Does Rebecca End Up With in "Ted Lasso"?

The final clue in Tish's prophecy hinted that Rebecca would meet her true love while she's drenched from a storm filled with "thunder and lightning." Fans initially believed the clue was a callback to season two when, after a subpar double date, Roy Kent told Rebecca that she deserves someone who makes her feel like she's been "struck by f*cking lightning."

"I like the fact that the man that had made her feel sunshine again has walked back in and gone, 'Hey.'"

Tish also stated that Rebecca would be upside down during the encounter, which happens in episode six of season three when AFC Richmond travels to Amsterdam. While standing on a bridge and talking on the phone, Rebecca stumbled and fell into the canal, winding up upside down and drenched. A mystery Dutchman ended up rescuing her and taking her back to his boathouse to dry off. What started out as a kind gesture turned into a full 24-hour date, complete with wine, homemade dinner, dancing, deep conversations, and foot rubs. Meanwhile, Ted was left thinking about Rebecca as he spent the night in Amsterdam alone, hurt that she hadn't responded to his calls or text messages, indicating that he may have feelings for her.

Sparks flew between Rebecca and the unnamed stranger, and she remained euphoric even after they reluctantly parted ways. Even though their time together was brief, it certainly seemed like Rebecca had been struck by "thunder and lightning," like Roy mentioned, after all. During her time in the boathouse, Rebecca also noticed that her storybook savior had a daughter after she comes across the little girl's room. If the pair did end up together, Rebecca could have become her stepmother, tying all of Tish's predictions together. The fact that we don't learn the mystery man's name, though, made fans wary that their meet-cute was just a one-off encounter.

As of episode 10, Rebecca hadn't heard from the Dutchman again. She'd also hardly spoken to Ted and only exchanged a few slightly flirtatious encounters with Sam here and there. After a business meeting with Edwin Akufo erupts into chaos, she and her ex Rupert Mannion shared their first real laugh together in decades. The heartwarming moment inspired Rupert to go in for a kiss, which Rebecca promptly rejected. Later, she recounted the unexpected interaction to Keeley, proudly proclaiming that she rejected his advances.

During the finale, our questions about the future of Rebecca's love life are finally answered as she's leaving the airport after saying goodbye to Ted. Seconds after stepping outside, a little girl ran toward her and tripped. After kneeling to see if the girl was OK, Rebecca looked up to see the child's father, the Dutchman who saved Rebecca from the canal in Amsterdam, standing above them. Though we still don't learn his name, the Dutchman was wearing a pilot's uniform, implying that he traveled frequently and could make a long-distance relationship work. While we don't hear the pair's conversation, the smiles on their faces and the perfectly timed run-in were enough to convince viewers that Rebecca's fairy-tale savior was her true love, after all.

"I think she gets what she deserves," Waddingham told Deadline. "Do we know if it's for life? Who knows? None of us do. But I like the fact that the man that had made her feel sunshine again has walked back in and gone, 'Hey.'"

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