Stardew Valley 1.7: Ranking the Best Unmarriageable NPCs Who Deserve a Wedding Ring

The Valley is buzzing again. With Stardew Valley 1.7 closing in and ConcernedApe set to reveal the official news on February 26, two existing villagers are about to graduate from background characters to fully fledged romance options. Until that announcement lands, the only thing left to do is speculate (loudly) about who deserves a place at the altar.

Here is our ranked shortlist of the NPCs we think have the strongest case for a wedding ring in update 1.7.

The Marriage Candidate Wishlist

Every name below is currently locked out of the marriage system. Friendship is capped, hearts are limited, and a few of them do not even have a relationship tracker at all. That changes for exactly two of them when 1.7 arrives. Until ConcernedApe shows his hand, the ranking is pure community math: who has the most narrative weight, the most unresolved emotional thread, and the most to gain from a farmhouse upgrade.

10. Krobus

Krobus already lives the closest thing to married life without the ring. The shadow shopkeeper from the sewers can be invited as a roommate, sells useful goods, and is genuinely kind once you get past the whole fearful of humans thing. Promoting him from roommate to spouse is a small narrative step, almost a formality, which is exactly why he sits at the bottom of the list. The story would not change much.

Still, his soft-spoken loyalty and the existing roommate mechanic make him the safest pick on this list. If ConcernedApe wants a low-risk addition, Krobus is right there.

9. Willy

The man who hands you your first fishing rod tends to fly under the radar in romance discussions, which is a shame. Willy lives alone on the beach, prefers his rod to most company, and has a quiet history he rarely talks about. His heart events already hint at a more sentimental side, including the recipes he passes down to friends.

A spouse path with Willy would naturally lean into the grizzled fisherman with a past trope, and that is a thread Stardew has barely tugged on. There is room here.

8. Gus

Gus runs the Stardrop Saloon, feeds half the town, and listens to the rest. He is the kind of bachelor who already does the emotional labor of a partner without having one, most visibly in his patience with Pam's growing tab. Behind the apron there is a person who knows everyone's problems and rarely talks about his own.

Making him marriageable would let players see what Gus does when the saloon is closed and the lights are off. That is a story worth telling.

7. Pam

Pam is a tougher sell, but that is the point. Her drinking habits and rough edges keep most players at a distance, yet beneath them is a single mother trying her best for Penny. A romance arc with Pam is the closest Stardew could get to a recovery storyline, with the player actively pulling her toward something steadier.

It would also hand the farmhouse a built-in family overnight, since marrying Pam effectively makes you a stepparent to Penny. Mature, messy, and easily one of the most interesting writing prompts on the list.

6. Linus

Linus lives in a tent in the mountains by choice, not by accident. Most of Pelican Town misunderstands him, and the heart events make it clear he has made peace with that, even if it stings. Befriending him is one of the more emotionally rewarding arcs in the base game.

Marriage with Linus would not work if it dragged him into a conventional life he never wanted. The fun version of this is a partial move-in: Linus keeps his connection to the wild, maybe pitches his tent inside the farmhouse, and quietly becomes the most useful spouse on the farm thanks to his foraging instincts.

5. Gunther

As of Update 1.6, Gunther still does not have a friendship meter at all. He just stands behind the museum desk, accepting donations and explaining artifacts. That blank slate is half the appeal: there is more potential backstory hiding behind that mustache than almost any other NPC.

A marriageable Gunther would force ConcernedApe to actually flesh him out. Heart events. Past life. Maybe a hint of why he ended up curating a small-town museum in the first place. There is a whole character waiting in there, and 1.7 is a natural moment to unlock it.

4. Wizard

M. Rasmodius lives in a tower at the edge of Cindersap Forest, dabbles in arcane magic, and openly mentions both an ex-wife and a search for an apprentice. The man is practically waving a flag that reads give me more storylines. Players already interact with him for major progression events, so the foundation is there.

Romancing the Wizard would also push the game's tone a little further into the strange, which Stardew flirts with but rarely commits to. A magic-coded marriage path would be a genuinely fresh addition.

3. Marnie

Marnie runs the ranch, raises her niece and nephew, and quietly endures a relationship with Mayor Lewis that the entire town can see but no one is supposed to mention.

[Spoiler heads up] Her arc with Lewis is one of the most frustrating threads in the base game, partly because she so clearly deserves better. A 1.7 marriage path would let the player be that better, pulling her out of a hidden romance and into a proper one. The farmhouse gains a livestock expert, two kids, and a much more satisfying ending to a long-running plot.

Of every NPC on this list, Marnie has the most existing narrative weight ready to pay off. That alone makes her a strong bet.

2. Clint

Clint is in the unusual position of being a blacksmith who is excellent at his craft and terrible at being around people. His ongoing one-sided crush on Emily is a running town joke, and his heart events trace the kind of family history that explains why he is so stuck.

A marriage path with Clint is the redemption arc Stardew has been quietly building toward for years. He would finally have to move past Emily, learn what a real relationship looks like, and stop hammering metal as a coping mechanism. Few NPCs would change more dramatically as a spouse.

1. Sandy

Sandy runs the Oasis out in the Calico Desert, and she is the only person in the game who seems genuinely thrilled to see you every single time. That alone earns her the top spot.

Her backstory is barely sketched in. We know she runs the shop, we know she is friendly to a fault, and we know she is geographically isolated from everyone she clearly wants to be closer to. A marriage path solves that problem in one move and gives ConcernedApe a clean slate to fill in everything we still do not know about her.

If 1.7 is going to expand the romance system, Sandy is the candidate with the most to gain and the most to reveal.

All of this is speculation until February 26. ConcernedApe could pick two of these names, pick none of them, or surprise everyone with NPCs nobody had on their bingo card. Either way, the marriage system is finally getting bigger, and the Valley is about to feel a little less single.