When they're not mumbling scientific nonsense or fiddling with their sonic screwdriver, even the Doctor enjoys an occasional romantic dalliance in Doctor Who. The matter of romance in the TARDIS has always been a controversial Doctor Who topic - especially relationships involving the Doctor themselves. For the most part, classic Doctor Who portrayed the titular hero as an asexual being, but that rule has gradually relaxed through their regenerations, leaving a long trail of lovers looking toward the skies waiting for a blue box to return.
Although more common in the modern era, classic Doctor Who sparsely featured elements of romance - albeit not always from the Doctor's side. As such, the roster of Doctor Who lovers is perhaps longer than expected. In the interest of clarity, the following will focus squarely upon live-action Doctor Who canon. Romantic encounters need not necessarily culminate in anything physical, but must amount to more than flirtatious comments, or else every person to encounter the Tenth Doctor would need including.
12 The First Doctor's Wife
Although never seen onscreen in Doctor Who, the presence of Susan Foreman, the Doctor's granddaughter, immediately confirmed the show's protagonist was romantically involved with another Time Lord before departing Gallifrey. Comments made by the Tenth Doctor - "I'm rubbish at weddings - especially my own" being the most overt - later implied that the First Doctor and Susan's grandmother were likely married, not just hooking up or partaking in some loveless Time Lord breeding program. As far as Doctor Who TV canon is concerned, the First Doctor's wife on Gallifrey remains an elusive figure who could potentially still make an appearance in the 60th anniversary and beyond.
In wider Doctor Who media, however, this character was identified as Patience. As a Time Lord - Omega's ex, no less - Patience married one of the pre-Hartnell Doctors shown in "The Brain of Morbius," which no longer works alongside modern Doctor Who canon thanks to Eleven getting a new regeneration cycle and Thirteen learning about the Timeless Child. That means the mystery of Susan's grandmother and the Doctor's Gallifreyan offspring remains unexplained in live-action Doctor Who.
11 Cameca
During William Hartnell's Doctor Who adventures with Susan, Ian and Barbara, the uncontrollable TARDIS made a stop at the 15th century Aztec Empire, where the time-traveling trio did their best to blend in. Not realizing the gesture was tantamount to a marriage proposal, the Doctor made the classic mistake of offering a kind Aztec woman cocoa, accidentally getting himself engaged to his new fiancée's delight. Although this romance was quite accidental on the Time Lord's part, Cameca and the First Doctor actually shared a very sweet dynamic.
Cameca trusted the Doctor enough to help him save Ian, despite working against her own people to do so. Unusually, the Doctor also showed great affection for Cameca, even flirting with her by 1964 BBC television standards. Were circumstances different, Doctor Who teases that the First Doctor and Cameca truly could have lived happily ever after. As it is, the Doctor Who Time Lord abandons his new fiancée for the stars, taking only a brooch to her by.
10 Dr. Grace Holloway
Following a long period of galactic celibacy, the Doctor rediscovered his romantic mojo during the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie. Controversially, this failed Doctor Who reboot added a love story between Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor and his companion, Dr. Grace Holloway. Whether it was the New Year's Eve atmosphere or the excitement of a dashing new body, the Doctor quickly forged a bond with Grace that proved nowhere near as platonic as other TARDIS companions, but they eventually realized their paths in life were too different to be together. The Doctor and Grace went their separate ways, but the liaison seemingly reignited a dormant ion within the Time Lord.
9 Rose Tyler
The Doctor Who Time War and its double genocide of the Time Lords and Daleks put something of a dampener on the Doctor's romantic endeavors, but David Tennant's Tenth Doctor picked up where his Eighth incarnation left off. Taking Doctor Who romances to an entirely new level, the Tenth Doctor gradually fell in love with his first companion, Rose Tyler. These feelings were strongly reciprocated by Rose, but it took the threat of Cybermen from a parallel universe for these emotions to finally manifest into words and actions.
Rose ended up settling for a Tenth Doctor lookalike created from her beloved's severed hand, and the Doctor failed to tell Rose he loved her before a barrier between parallel universes supposedly separated them forever. The Doctor and Rose's relationship marked a first for Doctor Who, with both characters falling wholly in love during their TARDIS adventures - emotions far beyond the First Doctor's cocoa drinking or Eight's New Year's Eve clinches. Rose sparked a Doctor Who trend that is now a common dynamic between Doctors and companions.
8 Madame de Pompadour
Before the Tenth Doctor realized the love of his regeneration was already traveling alongside him, Tennant's iteration shared a short-lived - from his point of view, at least - romantic tryst with Madame de Pompadour in 18th century . From the 51st century, the Doctor discovered an alien spacecraft filled with windows into Madame de Pompadour's life, following her all the way from youth to adulthood. After saving the grown-up Pompadour and sharing a kiss, the Doctor seemed content to settle down with his new partner in after believing himself stranded without the TARDIS.
Even after the Doctor Who sonic screwdriver found a route back to the TARDIS, the Doctor promised to take Madame de Pompadour along. Tragically, the time dilation meant she had died by the time he returned. Had the Tenth Doctor reached Madame de Pompadour in time, they might have shared a happily ever after, and the Doctor's life would have played out very differently. Doctor Who showed Madame de Pompadour effortlessly reaching into the Doctor's mind like few others before or since have managed, revealing a deeply embedded psychic connection that survived an entire human lifetime.
7 Martha Jones
Shockingly, Ten replaced Rose Tyler with another young woman from 21st century England - student doctor Martha Jones. Played by Freema Agyeman, Martha was a Doctor Who companion one season only, but quickly fell for the handsome alien who saved the world on a weekly basis. The Doctor never felt the same way, still grieving the loss of Rose, and holding nothing beyond friendship for Martha, despite sharing a kiss when they first met - for scientific purposes, of course. Ultimately, Martha's non-reciprocated love for the Doctor led to her departing the TARDIS and finding love with another victim of the Tenth Doctor's charm - Rose's dumped ex-boyfriend, Mickey Smith.
6 Joan Redfern
When the Tenth Doctor used a Gallifreyan chameleon arch to render himself human, his "John Smith" alter ego posed as a teacher in 1913 and became enamored with the nurse Joan Redfern. This Doctor Who relationship stands out uniquely from the others, as while Joan and John were truly in love, Joan and the Doctor were truly not. Many Doctor Who love interests are drawn in by the danger and excitement that follows wherever the Doctor goes, but Joan found herself repulsed by it, counting the lives lost due to the Doctor's presence in her timeline.
Similarly, the Doctor had an affinity for Joan, even inviting her to travel with him, but could never love her in the same way John Smith had. Nevertheless, visiting her great-granddaughter in the present proved Joan always remained dear to the Tenth Doctor. Along similar lines to the Doctor's romance with Madame de Pompadour - and even the First Doctor's romance with Cameca - the Tennant Doctor Who era used Joan Redfern to explore what its protagonist's life might look like under more normal circumstances.
5 Elizabeth I
Summoned by the Ood ahead of his impending regeneration, the Tenth Doctor revealed he took a few detours along the way, one of which included getting married to Queen Elizabeth I. This event was later shown during the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor," and complicated by the presence of a Zygon impersonating Good Queen Bess. Elizabeth certainly fell for her time-traveling friend, but from the Doctor's perspective, the relationship was motivated by investigating Zygon activity and putting off his regeneration by hooking up with historical figures.
4 River Song
If the Doctor does have a "one true love," Doctor Who makes River Song unequivocally that person. Primarily the partner of the Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors, River Song's timeline-hopping allowed her to know the Doctor better than any of his various spouses. Marrying the grown-up child of two companions may not be ideal TARDIS etiquette, but the chemistry and rapport between River Song and every single incarnation of the Doctor she encountered is impossible to deny, underpinned by the tragedy of the Doctor knowing exactly when and how his lover will perish.
River and the Doctor share countless sweet and tender moments during their scenes together in Doctor Who, but arguably the most important came in Twelfth Doctor Christmas special "The Husbands of River Song." The episode dug deep into the bones of this unique relationship and saw Peter Capaldi playing the Twelfth Doctor in an uncharacteristically charming mood, putting away those angry eyebrows long enough to woo his wife. With River Song's topsy-turvy timeline, future incarnations of the Doctor may get to experience her flirtatious wit themselves.
3 Marilyn Monroe
Continuing his habit of accidental engagements, Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor made out with, and then mistakenly got engaged to, Marilyn Monroe in 1950s Hollywood during "A Christmas Carol." Although just a throwaway gag, Marilyn can be heard in the background, confirming she and the Doctor were an item, however briefly. Exactly how the Doctor broke up with Hollywood's most iconic actress remains a pressing Doctor Who mystery.