Buffy, a vampire slayer, is probably the one person Angel has truly loved during his long life. The two fell completely in love, but things ended badly thanks to a "moment of happiness" turning Angel back to Angelus. Though Buffy is supposedly stronger, Angelus was clearly the superior fighter, and would have sent the entire world to hell had it not been for his soul being restored. Angel leaves Buffy when he is brought back, worried that the same thing could happen again. Buffy moves onto other people, and tires to continue her life, and at one point even dates a human, but is soon back to vampires again (one without a soul later as well).

Her visits to Los Angeles never really end well, and it isn't long before Angel pretty much orders her never to come to his city. Though she is dead for a while, she soon returns and gets back to work, but Angel is soon completely seperate, running his own life in Los Angeles.