Tony & Ziva: Season 1
Love, Trust And Marriage (+Poll)
SOURCE PHOTOS: Screenshots
Cote de Pablo said in an interview for TV Insider:
"To be fair, I do think that when two people are together, whether they are married or not, they are still together. There is an energy thing, that it just is. So to answer your question, I do not think they have to. I think what they need to do is really kind of acknowledge what they feel in honesty. I think that is the strength of the relationship."
I completely agree with her on this point: Marriage is not a guarantee of happiness, and it does not inherently make a relationship stronger than a commitment lived without formalization. What matters is what two people build together, day by day. But that is just my personal opinion.
But the series has clearly entertained this idea over several episodes, deliberately leaving the door open. In that context, a future development toward marriage in a later season would not shock me.
Especially since Claudette was ordained to officiate their wedding.
I previously made a poll asking:
The results are interesting because, while half of the voters would like to see them married, many also agree that what matters most is not the ceremony itself, but the love and connection they share.
I tried to imagine what the wedding of Tony and Ziva could look like.
I hope that if they were to go on a honeymoon, they could also spend some time alone together as a couple. Since their reunion, their world naturally revolves around their daughter, which is completely understandable. But we have rarely seen them simply as a couple.
Tali is their anchor, their shared priority, and a major part of what allowed them to rebuild themselves. However, watching this first season, I sometimes feel they have not really had the opportunity to be alone together, to reconnect outside of parenting duties, safety concerns, or the demands of daily life. Except when they were in mission.
Yet their relationship cannot exist only through their role as parents, as important as that role is. Tony and Ziva are not just a family unit; they are also two individuals with a deeply intense history, marked by separation, trauma, and long-delayed feelings. A history that still shapes them.
For their balance to last, their bond as a couple also needs space outside of their parental identity. They need moments where they are not focused on managing or protecting anything, but simply being together as Tony and Ziva. Simpler, quieter moments where they can rediscover each other without urgency or external pressure.
That said, Tali will always remain at the center of their lives.
SOURCE GIF: jaredspadaleckis
My personal attempt at wedding vows that could be spoken.
It is not great, I know.
If I had to start everything over, I would do it all again.
But I would take less time to understand what was obvious.
(small smile)
From our very first meeting, you threw me off with your confidence, your honesty, and the fact that you were never impressed by me.
You are strong. Intelligent. Courageous.
Today… I feel incredibly lucky to have found my place in your life.
And you gave me what I never thought I would have: A family.
The two of you… you are everything to me. My home.
(pause)
You taught me what it means to love. And I want to spend the rest of my life loving you and standing by your side, for better or for worse.
At our first meeting, Tony, you were anything but professional.
But most of all… you were impossible to ignore.
(small smile)
We became colleagues, close friends.
I have always been able to count on you. Always.
Even when I did not feel I deserved it.
(pause)
With you, I learned what it means to be loved without conditions.
Through chaos, distance, and everything we survived …
You never left me. You always chose me.
And now… with you and Tali, this is what I value most in the world.
I would not trade it for anything.
I am where I want to be.
What song would they choose for their first dance?
In S1E07, Tony already references Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli (1967), which shows his attachment to a slightly old-school, almost cinematic romantic imagery. We can therefore easily imagine that he would choose a Frank Sinatra song for their first dance.
With Tony calling Ziva Sweet Cheeks (S3E08, S10E21), I first thought of Cheek to Cheek (1935). But that would not be a good idea, especially since the nickname comes from an undercover situation.
But It Had to Be You (1924) is the better choice, especially in light of its lyrics. In S7E01, Ziva tells Tony: Out of everyone in the world who could have found me, it had to be you. I always associate it with the song.
It reflects the idea that Tony and Ziva’s relationship was never about perfect timing or perfection, but about recognition. After everything they have been through separately and together, no one else could really take that place in quite the same way. It is not an idealized love, but rather the quiet sense that, somehow, it had to be them, inevitably.
"For nobody else gives me a thrill,
With all your faults, I love you still,
It had to be you, wonderful you,
It had to be you just me and you."
And the funniest thing is that Frank Sinatra recorded It Had to Be You for the album Trilogy: Past Present Future in 1980. 😁
But I admit that I also like the song L.O.V.E. (1964) by Nat King Cole. Unlike It Had to Be You, which reflects everything they went through to find each other, L.O.V.E. captures what they finally gained:
A family, a home, and the simple happiness of being together.
SOURCE GIF: livelovecaliforniadreams
💎 Between Desire And Trust
Do you think that Ziva had purchased lingerie for her wedding night?
In S10E21, Ziva says to Tony: When I have a man, the favors I offer have little to do with clothes. After the separation, the time on the run, the loss of bearings, the process of rebuilding, she is no longer the same.
It is no longer about seducing someone in order to win them over, but about embracing a relationship that is fully accepted and chosen.
So Ziva would not express intimacy out of a need to seduce Tony, but because she would feel comfortable enough to do so out of desire, in a space where she can simply be herself with the man she loves.
When she allows herself that kind of closeness with Tony, it is not about getting something in return; it is about trust. In their story, that changes everything. Their relationship has never lacked passion; it has lacked a space safe enough to let their guard down with each other.
She has gone through a profound transformation over her life. The woman who once relied on control, emotional distance, and strategic thinking in relationships is no longer the same. After everything she has endured—loss, separation, survival, and rebuilding—she no longer approaches intimacy as something to manage or as a form of protection. What once served as a shield is no longer necessary.
At this stage of her life, intimacy is no longer about strategy or protection, but about trust, desire, and the freedom to simply be herself with the person she loves so deeply and completely.
If I were to imagine Ziva’s real wedding dress, it would look nothing like the one she chose in 2021, nor the one she borrowed from Fruzsi.
I am almost surprised that Fruzsi did not choose a crinoline dress. But that choice was likely ruled out in order to allow Ziva to remain free in her movements … especially during the scene where she fights Henry.
I do not have a specific design in mind, but I imagine an elegant, understated and functional dress, without unnecessary excess. Perhaps off-white or cream white. And above all, a long lace-up back — the kind of detail that would drive Tony completely crazy, the kind of detail he would spend more time commenting on than actually handling.
And yet, I cannot help but imagine how that moment would actually unfold between them. Because with Tony and Ziva, even something as simple as a wedding dress would never stay simple for long.
I can perfectly imagine him saying, somewhere between joking and panic: Did I mention Xena is one of my favorite shows?
I then imagine him becoming visibly impatient, glancing at a pair of scissors nearby, and seriously hesitating to use them. The scissors would become a kind of improvised variation of Gibbs’s rule number 9: Never go anywhere without a knife.
Ziva would then barely turn around, undoing two loops with disarming ease, and the dress would immediately loosen.
Tony would be taken aback.
- You knew how to do that from the beginning?
She looks him up and down, a small hint of a smile.
- Yes.
- And you watched me struggle?
She nods. Her eyes hold warmth, quiet amusement, and that familiar spark of mischief that has always undone him far more effectively than words ever could. She gives him the smile that always disarms him.
- I thought you were making the foreplay last longer.
He leans slightly toward her, lower, just for her:
- Who said I was trying to untie it? I am enjoying the view.
I imagine them both laughing together.
Even before the lacing is fully undone.
I can imagine a hidden detail in the wedding dress. I do not have a clear idea of what it would be exactly. Maybe a specific date that would seem insignificant at first — something fans could speculate about before it is eventually explained in a later flashback. A symbolic date for both of them, but not their engagement or their reunion, perhaps.
SOURCE PHOTOS: Screenshots
What is your favorite wedding dress?
01. Ziva's wedding dress (2021)
02. Fruzsi's fake wedding dress (2025)
03. Neither (Feel free to tell me more in the comments)
Remaining time: 6 days 18 hours
If I continue, let us talk about the bouquet. I would see it composed mainly of white tulips, pink orchids, and lily of the valley.
🌷 White tulip: Purity, sincere and honest love, and new beginnings,
🌸 Pink orchid: Deep, rare love, with quiet strength and elegance,
🌼 Lily of the valley: Happiness, renewal, and the promise of lasting joy.
For the wedding rings, I would imagine matching but not identical bands. They might share an identical engraving inside both rings, but without anything overly romantic or cliché like forever. Something more personal, subtle, and meaningful, known only to them.
Tali could also have prepared a video, with the help of Sophie. Something not overly elaborate, but a simple montage of photographs, memories, and fragments of their life. The three of us.
Some images would come from McGee, capturing moments from their time at NCIS, including Tony dressed as Tony Manero in S8E06.
There would also be others showing Tiva together during those years, not as a couple, but as coworkers. Moments when they were closer than they ever admitted, silent glances, proximity in the middle of chaos, and an unspoken understanding that only becomes obvious in hindsight.
Some images would revisit Tony’s past, including the younger photo revealed in S10E06, alongside an unseen teenage picture of Ziva, as well as memories of their time in Paris — among them the photograph kept in Tali’s bag when she was entrusted to Tony in S13E24.
Other images would show Ziva with baby Tali (something new for fans), Tali’s first day at school with Tony, their first christmas, some selfies ...
I do not know if a fanfiction like this already exists,
but if it does, feel free to let me know — or even write one.
