Stardew Valley 1.7 Adds Clint and Sandy as Marriage Candidates

New Romance Options Coming to Pelican Town

Developer ConcernedApe has revealed that Clint and Sandy will become marriage candidates in Stardew Valley's upcoming 1.7 update. The announcement came during a 10th anniversary retrospective video, ending weeks of community speculation about which NPCs would become romanceable.

Clint, the town's blacksmith who operates the tool upgrade shop, and Sandy, who runs the Oasis store in the Calico Desert, have been present in the game since launch but were previously unavailable as romance options. Both characters will now have full relationship progression paths leading to marriage, complete with new heart events, marriage dialogue, and spouse room designs.

For players who've spent hundreds of hours in Pelican Town, this represents a significant shift in the social dynamics of the valley. Clint has been a fixture at the forge for a decade, upgrading your tools from copper to iridium while nursing his crush on Emily. Sandy, meanwhile, has been the friendly face greeting you after that first bus repair, selling starfruit seeds and coconuts from her desert outpost. Now both will have the depth of character development that marriage candidates receive, including unique schedules, gift preferences, and post-marriage behaviors.

Community Reaction to the Picks

The announcement has generated mixed responses from the Stardew Valley community. Clint in particular has been a divisive choice, as the character is known for his awkward personality and unrequited feelings for Emily, one of the existing marriage candidates. Many players have found his behavior toward Emily uncomfortable over the years, particularly the heart event where he asks you to deliver an amethyst to her (even if you're already dating her yourself). The question of how ConcernedApe will handle Clint's existing character arc, especially for players already married to Emily, has become a major point of discussion.

Some players see this as an opportunity for character growth. Clint's struggles with confidence and social anxiety resonate with many in the community, and a well-written romance path could give him the development he's lacked. Others remain skeptical, arguing that his characterization has been too one-note for too long. The modding community has already created several Clint overhauls over the years, suggesting there's appetite for a redemption arc, but also highlighting how much work it might take to make him appealing as a spouse.

Sandy, by contrast, has been a frequently requested addition due to her friendly demeanor and remote location adding a unique dynamic to the relationship. Her desert location raises interesting questions about post-marriage logistics. Will she move to your farm like other spouses, or will there be a new mechanic allowing split residences? Could marrying Sandy unlock new desert-related content or make the Calico Desert feel more integrated into daily farm life? The community has been theorizing about everything from desert farm expansions to new crop varieties that might come with her marriage path.

The geographical element alone makes Sandy compelling. Every other marriage candidate lives in or near Pelican Town, making them relatively accessible once you've unlocked their schedules. Sandy requires either burning through bus tickets or having a desert totem stockpile, which could make the courtship feel more like a long-distance relationship, something the game hasn't really explored before. Some players are hoping this means more reasons to visit the desert beyond the occasional skull cavern run or starfruit seed restock.

Expanding the Marriage Meta

The 1.7 update continues ConcernedApe's pattern of expanding romance options beyond the original twelve marriage candidates. Previous updates have refined relationship mechanics and added new dialogue for existing spouses, making the marriage system one of the game's most developed features. Update 1.3 added multiplayer marriage, 1.4 introduced the ability to have children with same-sex spouses, and 1.5 brought new post-marriage dialogue that made spouses feel less repetitive.

This philosophy of continual refinement has kept Stardew Valley's social simulation elements fresh even as the game approaches its tenth anniversary. While many farming sims treat marriage as an endpoint, ConcernedApe has consistently treated it as an ongoing system worth improving. The addition of new candidates this late in the game's lifecycle suggests he's not done experimenting with the formula.

What makes these additions particularly interesting is that they're not new characters, but rather elevating existing NPCs who players have interacted with for years. This is different from how some games handle romance expansion, where new characters are introduced specifically to be dateable. Clint and Sandy already have established personalities, relationships with other townspeople, and roles in the community. Making them romanceable means weaving new narrative threads into an existing tapestry without unraveling what's already there.

The update will likely need to address various edge cases and player choices. What happens to Clint's Emily obsession if you're already married to her? Does Sandy's marriage affect Calico Desert accessibility or the Oasis shop hours? Will existing saves see these characters suddenly become available, or will it require a new playthrough? These are the kinds of details that separate a simple content addition from a thoughtfully integrated feature.

No release date has been announced for the 1.7 update. ConcernedApe is currently developing Haunted Chocolatier while continuing to support Stardew Valley with free content updates. Given his track record of taking time to get things right rather than rushing releases, players shouldn't expect the update immediately, but the fact that he's still adding major features to a decade-old game speaks to his commitment to the community.