That '70s Show Fans Think They Figured Out Why Donna And Jackie's Friendship Worked
Opinions on "That '70s Show" can be almost as divisive as politics, and just as heated. Nothing can drive a wedge between two friends like an argument over which boyfriend was best for Jackie: Kelso, Hyde, or Fez. There are also, of course, the debates over who had the best friendship on the show. Eric and Hyde? Hyde and Donna? Or even Fez and Kelso? But one of the show's most unlikely friendships was the tomboyish Donna and the cheerleader Jackie.
Some fans really love the friendship between Donna and Jackie. YouTube user wildcherry32 posted a video called "Friends Forever" as a fan tribute to their friendship. Instagram user w.filmst posted a video of the two "That '70s Show" friends with the caption, "I'm jackie🤝donna friendship stan first, human second." Thus, for some fans, the bond between Jackie and Donna was deeply important. So what made the dynamic between this unlikely duo such a fan favorite? Some fans think they just might have figured that one out.
Opposites really do attract
In a Reddit thread entitled "Donna & Jackie's Friendship," users weighed in on why Jackie and Donna's friendship worked so well. Some pointed out that theirs was somewhat of a friendship of convenience, being the only two girls in the friend group. "When Jackie and Kelso began dating she started hanging out with the group," argued u/eli454. "With Donna being the only girl it made sense that Jackie decided to form a friendship with her despite their different personalities." Few scenes of the series actually showed the characters in school, so there's not much to observe to determine if Jackie and Donna were really part of the same clique in their high school, but they certainly were the only girls in the friend group that hung out in Eric's basement.
Others point to the time-worn adage about opposite personalities. "So ... sometimes opposites attract" explained u/Ankylowright. "My school bestie and I are a perfect example. I'm a Donna. She's a Jackie. She's super extroverted, flighty, goes with the flow, loves to party, huge dating life, heels and makeup all the time. I'm quiet, a weird little book nerd, super reliable, homebody, anxiety riddled super planner, married my first super serious relationship (we met when I was 19). We've been friends for 23 years." So, it would seem that there's something realistic about the friendship between these two girls. Even still, that same user points out that the friendship started due to them being the only girls in the friend group.
The real life friends
All the actors from "That '70s Show" frequently talk about how they're still close friends. In 2016, when Ashton Kutcher was guest hosting on the show then known as "Live With Kelly," Laura Prepon came on as a guest and Kutcher was jokingly mad at her for not telling him about her engagement before it hit the newspapers. As the two actors referred to each other as "Pre" and "Kutch," Kutcher pointed out that Prepon was a hypocrite because of how the actress reacted to the same situation regarding Kutcher and Mila Kunis' engagement.
In a 2020 appearance on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," Prepon talked about how she and Kunis are still friends, and that Kunis gave her some really great advice about how to deal with the guilt of being a working mother. "When you talk to your kids about going to work, she's never like 'Oh, that sucks, mommy has to go to work,'" Prepon told Clarkson. "She always puts a really positive spin on it. And she's always like 'Mommy has to go to work, isn't that awesome?'" Prepon went on to explain that it allowed the children to "associate positivity with work." So, it would seem that the two actresses formed a real-life bond in their eight years working together on "That '70s Show," which might account for the two characters' great chemistry.
It will be interesting to see how Donna and Jackie's relationship has matured over the years, as both Laura Prepon and Mila Kunis are slated to return for the upcoming "That '90s Show" on Netflix.