Regina Mills, the iconic Evil Queen from Once Upon a Time (OUAT), is one of the most complex and layered characters in the series. Over the show’s seven-season run, we watched her transform from a vengeful villain into a beloved hero. At the core of her character arc were two significant romances: her first love, Daniel, and her later love, Robin Hood. Both men played pivotal roles in her journey, but the question remains: Who was Regina truly in love with—Robin or Daniel?
To answer this, we need to dive deeper into Regina’s relationships with both men, how they shaped her, and what each love represented at different stages of her life.
Daniel was Regina’s first love, and in many ways, he was the catalyst for her descent into darkness. Before Regina became the Evil Queen, she was a kind-hearted young woman living under the oppressive rule of her mother, Cora. Daniel, a stable boy who worked for Regina’s family, became her escape from a life of duty and control. Their relationship was pure, built on the innocent and rebellious love of two people who longed to break free from the constraints of their social positions.
For Regina, Daniel represented freedom. He was her chance at a life of happiness, love, and simplicity. Tragically, their love was cut short when Cora discovered their relationship and, in a ruthless display of her manipulative power, killed Daniel in front of Regina. This moment shattered Regina’s heart and was the turning point that set her on the path to becoming the Evil Queen.
Daniel was more than just Regina’s first love—he was her “what if.” What if he had lived? What if she had never lost him? What if she had the chance to be the kind and loving person she was meant to be? His death planted the seed of darkness in her, but it also left a lasting scar on her heart, one that influenced many of her future decisions.
Years after Daniel’s death, after Regina had fully embraced her role as the Evil Queen and then begun her redemption arc, Robin Hood entered her life. Unlike her youthful love with Daniel, her relationship with Robin was born out of two souls who had both experienced loss and hardship. Robin, too, had lost the love of his life, Marian, and was raising his son Roland on his own. He wasn’t just a potential romantic partner for Regina; he was a symbol of hope and second chances.
Robin represented something very different from what Daniel had. With Daniel, Regina’s love was youthful, innocent, and carefree. With Robin, it was more mature and grounded in shared experiences. They both knew what it was like to lose someone they loved, and their connection grew out of that shared pain. Robin challenged Regina in ways that Daniel never had the chance to. He saw past her dark past and believed in the goodness that she had struggled so hard to rediscover. In turn, Regina found herself growing emotionally, learning to let go of her guilt and self-loathing, and daring to hope that she deserved love once again.
Robin’s relationship with Regina was a partnership based on redemption, healing, and moving forward. It was a love built on acceptance, where both of them saw each other’s flaws but chose to love and support one another through their struggles.
Regina’s relationships with Daniel and Robin came at two very different points in her life. Daniel was her first, pure love, an embodiment of innocence and a glimpse of the life she could have had if not for her mother’s cruelty. Her love for him was marked by naivety and passion, but it was a love that ended in tragedy and set her on a dark path. In many ways, Daniel was her great love, the one that got away—the person who, if things had gone differently, might have been the love of her life.
Robin, on the other hand, was Regina’s chance at redemption and happiness after she had been through so much pain and suffering. He didn’t just love who she was, but who she was becoming. Robin saw Regina for more than just her past mistakes and was willing to build a future with her, despite the complicated situations they found themselves in. With Robin, Regina experienced a mature, healing kind of love—one where she was allowed to forgive herself and embrace her second chance at happiness.
The answer to this question isn’t black and white because both Daniel and Robin represented different kinds of love at different times in Regina’s life. Regina was deeply in love with Daniel, and his death haunted her for years, driving much of her anger and bitterness. However, her love for Robin was equally profound, as he helped her rediscover her capacity for love and goodness when she thought she had lost it forever.
In the end, it’s not about choosing between Daniel and Robin. Regina was in love with both men, but in different ways and for different reasons. Daniel was the love of her past—the pure, untarnished love of her youth. Robin was the love of her redemption—the person who saw her for who she was and who she could be. Both loves shaped her, molded her, and helped her grow into the strong, compassionate woman she became.
Regina’s journey in Once Upon a Time is not just about finding love but about learning to love herself and heal from her past. Both Daniel and Robin were essential parts of that journey, and in the end, Regina’s greatest love was her own growth and transformation into someone who could finally embrace happiness.
Regina Mills was blessed—and cursed—with two great loves in her life: Daniel, her first love, who represented the innocence and purity of her past, and Robin, who gave her a second chance at happiness and redemption. Both relationships shaped her in profound ways, and to say she loved one more than the other would be to overlook the complexities of her character and her journey. Regina’s story is a testament to the fact that love comes in many forms, and both Daniel and Robin played equally important roles in helping her become the hero she was always meant to be.
