Aisha and Nex, The Most Underrated Winx Couple

Aisha and Nex are one of the least popular couples in Winx Club. When the fandom talks about why they don’t like them, the same reasons pop up repeatedly. So I thought I might as well address them. This page links to posts on Yin-Yang Couple and my other blog that lay out my arguments in defense of this underrated Winx couple. I’ll update the page now and then.

Last updated November 3, 2021.

Table of Contents show

I. “Nex is Horrible!”

Reason #1: “I don’t like Nex.”

Neither did I. He’s difficult to like right away (and I think that’s intentional). For at least the first half of Winx season six, I called him a “jerk” and a “hothead”.

So what changed my mind about him? As the season progressed, I noticed Aisha brought out his sweeter side and that she could be fully herself around him. Then I realized how well he fits into her story, and I figured out their yin-yang symbolism, which is based around the meanings of their names: “life” (Aisha) and “death” (Nex).

These discoveries helped me understand Nex’s character and made me fall in love with this couple.

Reason #2: “Nex is like Riven/a second Riven.”

A Winx fan I met on YouTube claimed Rainbow introduced Nex the same way as Riven, which is why the fandom thinks they’re practically the same. So I re-watched the first 10 episodes of Winx season one and season six. Were Nex and Riven’s introductions the same? Short answer: no.

Longer answer: not even close. They have some traits in common, but Rainbow wrote their characters differently to steer them towards different outcomes. To build up to Riven becoming an antagonist, they emphasized his flaws. He was aloof, grumpy, and disruptive for most of season one.

However, Rainbow tried to balance Nex’s character. We saw some of his flaws, too — he was overcompetitive, arrogant, etc. — but he was still fun-loving, caring, and cooperative. When he did or said something negative, he often redeemed himself right away. (Riven didn’t redeem himself until near the end of season one.)

I broke down these differences episode by episode in “Aisha/Roy Comment, Pt. 4: Nex and Riven Debut”. Check out that post below.

Reason #3: “Nex is too arrogant.”

I could include this with Reason #4 below, since people who say this usually think he’s a horrible person, too. But I made a new section because this argument gets used by itself a lot.

For starters, yes, Nex is arrogant sometimes. That is his primary flaw. Every main character and love interest should have one. Aisha is impulsive, Brandon is vain, Stella is also vain, Timmy is timid, etc.

Writers give characters flaws so they have room to grow, just like real people. For a love interest, their relationship with the main character usually triggers this growth. Nex is no exception. Aisha was meant to help him become less arrogant and more humble, and she’s already started. He’s changed since two seasons ago (and I’m not talking about the awful new art style).

But if he was “too arrogant” for her, they wouldn’t be able to have a healthy relationship. Well…they do! His flaw hasn’t prevented him from being a supportive and emotionally available boyfriend. Yes, it causes conflict between them sometimes (which shouldn’t be a surprise), but no more than any other character’s flaw.

Reason #4: “Nex is a(n) bad person/a-hole/womanizer/misogynist/egomaniac/villain in disguise/etc.”

Rainbow only writes love interests like this in the comics so that the Winx have reasons to break up with them at the end. The only exception is Riven, but he became an antagonist. Rainbow had to give him more flaws and a darker personality to justify his betrayal.

But Nex has been in Winx Club for three seasons now, and he’s shown no signs of disloyalty or villainy. So why would they make him so morally bankrupt? What would be the point?

I think his flaws have been exaggerated — and made up. For example, how is he a womanizer? We haven’t seen him flirt with anyone but Aisha since he met her. Besides, Winx Club already has a playboy: Brandon!

Here are some posts about how Nex’s flaws got blown out of proportion.

II. “Aisha and Nex are an Awful Couple!”

Reason #5: “Nex doesn’t really love Aisha.”

I’ve heard many alternate reasons Nex is dating Aisha:

He just thinks she’s pretty.
He just wants to play sports with her.
He just wants to compete against her and prove he’s better than her.
He just wants to be king of Andros. (…Huh? ?)

Where’s the evidence? Because he called her beautiful? Because they both like sports? Because they’re both competitive? Why would any of that mean he doesn’t love her? (As for the “king of Andros” thing, I don’t know where that came from.)

I think we’re just not used to a sporty, playful couple that acts like best friends as much as lovers. That’s because Aisha and Nex are the only couple like that in Winx Club! Any couple can be cute and sappy — they are, too, sometimes — but not just any couple can be a power couple. Aisha and Nex are unique, which is one reason I love them.

But just because they have a lighthearted side to their relationship doesn’t mean it isn’t serious. They love each other, and they’re just as committed to each other as the other Winx couples are.

Reason #6: “Aisha and Nex fell in love too quickly.”

A lot of Winx fans think Aisha and Nex suddenly fell in love at the end of “Legendary Duel” (Winx season 6, episode 24), but that’s not what happened. Their feelings for each other developed gradually throughout season six. In fact, this was her only slow-burn relationship with any of her love interests, both in the cartoon and the comics.

Reason #7: “Aisha and Nex are too similar to each other.”

I think this comes from the perception the Winx fandom has of Aisha. They see her as a sassy, tomboyish wild child — a “rough-and-tumble girl”, as one blogger put it — so she needs a calm, delicate guy to soften her up. Nex is anything but calm and delicate, so they’re too alike to be a good couple.

Wait a minute, though. Isn’t Aisha a princess? When she was young, her parents made her suppress her wild side and act calm and delicate all the time. We see her rough-and-tumble side more because she’s finally able to express herself fully.

Saying she needs someone to tame her contradicts her story. She’s as tame as anyone could be because of her upbringing.

Instead, I think she needs a guy with whom she can show her rough-and-tumble side more — someone who accepts and nurtures that side of her. That’s Nex. She hasn’t lost her manners and femininity, though; she never will, and she doesn’t even want to. It’s just that he balances it out.

Of course, that’s just one angle. Aisha and Nex are more complementary than they seem. Check out the posts below.

Reason #8: “Aisha and Nex have little in common/don’t match.”

This is the opposite of the last reason, yet I hear it a lot, too. So if some Winx fans say Aisha and Nex aren’t enough alike, and others say they’re too alike, maybe reality is right in the middle. They’re just right! That’s what I’ve been saying for years: they’re similar enough to bond with each other, but different enough to learn from each other.

However, I’ve noticed a lot of Winx fans who claim Aisha and Nex have little in common do three things:

Exaggerate Nex’s flaws: They’re really comparing Aisha to “NEXX!”, not Nex. (See Reason #4.)
Treat him as a second Riven: They also believe Nex is like Riven, so they’re really comparing Aisha to Riven and projecting their incompatibility onto her and Nex.
Compare Aisha/Nex to Aisha/Nabu: Aisha and Nabu were unrealistically similar because of lazy relationship writing. None of the other Winx couples have as much in common as they did, so why should she and Nex?

Aisha and Nex are about as alike as Tecna/Timmy or Stella/Brandon. They have similar personalities, interests, levels of energy and drive, things that annoy them, ways of expressing their love, etc. As for their differences, a fellow fan once said their traits fit together like the parts of a hinge. Maybe that’s why they have some of the best teamwork of all the Winx couples.

The posts under Reason #6, especially the personality tests, also explain ways Aisha and Nex are similar. Here are a few more below.

III. “Why Did Aisha Choose Nex Over Roy?”

"Mystery of Calavera" (Winx season 6, episode 15): Nex wants to team up with Aisha and beat the others to Bajo Mundo Cave

Reason #9: “Roy was better.”

From my experience, a lot of Winx fans who say, “Roy was better” just don’t like Nex. They think he’s a bad person, a copy of Riven, or both. See Reason #1 for thoughts on that.

But even before Rainbow introduced Nex, I didn’t support Aisha and Roy. Out of all her love interests, he was the most shallow. Their relationship, especially in Winx season five, felt forced and rushed with little to no development. See “Aisha/Roy Comment, Pt. 2: A Slow Burn?”

Also, I don’t think Roy’s personality suited an energetic, free-spirited girl like her. She would have walked all over him. The “Helen Fisher” and “Attachment Styles” posts under Reason #1 touch on the reasons why.

IV. “What About Nabu?”

Reason #10: “Nabu was the best! He shouldn’t have died!”

A lot of Winx fans rejected Aisha and Nex because of Nabu’s death — yes, he’s dead, not in a coma — but I’d like to offer a different perspective. I know it’s controversial, but this entire blog is, so I’ll say it anyway:

Nex is a better boyfriend for Aisha than Nabu was, and Nex is a better written character, both as a love interest and an individual.

Of course, I’ve written posts to back up my claims. Some posts I linked to in the other sections also mention Nabu.

Reason #11: “Aisha fell in love with Nex too soon after Nabu’s death.”

I think because Rainbow introduced Roy too soon after Nabu’s death (see the post below), the Winx fandom already felt annoyed by the time Nex debuted. Add in how much they hate him, and that Aisha fell in love with him, and you can see how he became a target for their frustrations. He’s Roy’s scapegoat now.

However, Aisha and Nex met about a year in-universe after Nabu died, and they didn’t start dating until about a year later. That means roughly two years passed between her relationship with Nabu and her relationship with Nex. Still think that’s too soon? Fine, but it’s better than Roy’s debut.

Reason #12: “Aisha should stay single for the rest of her life.”

Do you realize how long the rest of Aisha’s life could be? She’s a fairy. Magic beings live a lot longer than humans do.

For example, we know Faragonda is over 100 years old because she’s been Alfea’s headmistress for that long. In “Welcome to Magix” (Winx season 1, episode 2), Professor Dufour said it’s been centuries since she was a young fairy like the new Alfea students. And according to WinxClub.com during season two, Wizgiz has been teaching at Alfea for over 1,000 years!

So Aisha should spend hundreds of years alone — after she spent most of her childhood alone, too — and never experience love again, just because her first boyfriend she met when she was a teenager died?

Winx Club has always emphasized that even after tragedy, life must go on. They even dealt with coping with the death of a significant other in comic #33: “Fantasmi” (Ghosts). The Winx helped a composer named Sifelius move on after the death of his wife, Irenja, and enjoy writing and playing music again, something the couple did together. (Sounds like Musa’s parents, doesn’t it? It is a Musa comic.)

Remember how Aisha’s name means “life”? If anyone should be an example of resilience amidst the unpredictability of life, it’s her.