Just because they end up with the love of their life doesn’t mean that they are great, as some romantic interests are actually terrible people. Romances have always been an integral part of storytelling. There’s an entire genre of films dedicated to the topic, that even gets broken down into different segments depending on the movie’s overall narrative. Even in other genres such as action-adventures and thrillers, there’s still usually a love story that simultaneously develops alongside the main plot.
Similar to real life, love stories in movies don’t always work. Some of the best films end with characters not ending up with each other such as Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca, Sophia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, and Damien Chazelle’s La La Land. This doesn’t mean that these characters don’t love each other; sometimes, their circumstances just won’t make their romance sustainable. Similarly, those who find their partners at the end of films don’t automatically mean that they are good people. In fact, some of the most memorable feature has terrible romantic partners.
10 Emily Weaver – Crazy Stupid Love
Crazy Stupid Love is one of the best ensemble rom-coms from the 2010s. The film has many moving parts, with a few couples simultaneously navigating their relationships. Its events, however, are kicked off by Emily Weavers’ infidelity. Learning this sets up her husband, Cal’s path to re-entering the dating scene. However, while Cal is willing to admit his transgressions and is committed to making changes in the future, Emily maintains her victim mentality as she tries to justify her unfaithfulness.
9 Christian Gray – Fifty Shades Trilogy
Despite its commercial success, the Fifty Shades trilogy was never critical darlings because of several reasons. However, one of the biggest issues in the franchise’s story is its glamorization of toxic romance. Christian Gray as a character is definitively bad. His troublesome and even abusive behavior is often disguised as grand romantic gestures simply because he’s good-looking and very rich. If he isn’t any of those, he will easily be branded as a stalker and manipulator. Christian also uses his childhood trauma to justify his actions. Granted that he went through a lot, his refusal to properly process them, knowing full well that it has a negative impact on him.
8 Annie Reed – Sleepless In Seattle
One of Nora Ephron’s greats, Sleepless In Seattle is unique in that its main characters, Sam Baldwin and Annie Reed, don’t meet until the very end of the film. Their connection starts, however, when Sam’s son, Jonah calls the radio and divulges his father’s grief over his mom’s death. Annie gets obsessed with the story, so much so that she even hires a private investigator to learn about Sam. At one point in the film, she flies to Seattle just to stealthily track him, which is stalking and creepy. However, she gets a pass because they end up falling in love anyway.
7 Dean Proffitt – Overboard
Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn have one of the most iconic romances in Hollywood, and they remain strong as a couple until now. That being said, Gary Marshall’s 1987 film, Overboard has them playing frustrating characters, who eventually fall in love. While Hawn’s Annie Proffitt has her own flaws, Russell’s Dean Proffitt downright kidnaps and holds her hostage. Admittedly, she isn’t aware that she is being abducted, but Dean committing a crime in the hopes of seeking revenge against her is definitively wrong. If Ana hadn’t fallen in love with him at the end of Overboard, it’s highly likely that he would have ended up being in jail.
6 Pete “Maverick” Mitchell – Top Gun
Tom Cruise has played many great characters in his career, but his most iconic one remains to be the daredevil pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun. Oozing with charisma, it isn’t difficult to imagine falling in love with Maverick, which is exactly how he wins Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood in Top Gun. Unfortunately, no amount of swagger and flying abilities can hide the fact that he is a crappy romantic partner. After aggressively pursuing Charlie, he ends up stonewalling her after the death of Nick “Goose” Bradshaw.
He’s so desolate that Goose’s wife, Carole has to console him herself because he simply can’t process his emotions. Maverick’s loss is undoubtedly immense, but as a fully grown adult, the way he handles the tragedy is extremely immature. He should have at least communicated — something that he continues to struggle with in Top Gun: Maverick.
5 Noah Calhoun – The Notebook
The Notebook is regarded as one of the most romantic films of all time. Ryan Gosling’s Noah Calhoun is depicted as the ideal romantic partner. However, the beginning of his affair with Allie Hamilton exposes just how problematic he is. Noah essentially blackmails her into dating him, and the only reason why it is regarded as romantic is that she also falls in love. However, in the real world, it’s difficult to justify Noah’s actions of stalking and blackmailing.
4 Big – Sex & The City (The Movie)
Much has been said about how bad Big is in Sex & The City. Overall, his relationship with Carrie is nothing short of toxic and is sold as a fairytale romance with two fated lovers. In reality, however, they are simply bad for each other. Amid all the horrible things that Big does in the franchise, however, nothing will beat the stunt that he pulls in Sex & The City movie. If he wasn’t ready for marriage, then he shouldn’t have agreed to tie the knot.
3 Edward Cullen – The Twilight Series
As the inspiration of E.L. James for Christian Grey, it shouldn’t be surprising that The Twilight Series‘ Edward Cullen is also on this list. He has all the hallmarks of an abusive partner as he manipulates and even straightforwardly coerces Bella Swan to do what he wants. Bella’s strong will is supposed to be celebrated in the franchise, but she shouldn’t be while she makes a case against her own love interest. What makes Edward scarier is not only is he rich, but he is also capable of inflicting physical pain.
2 Gary Grabowski – The Break-Up
Peyton Reed’s The Break-Up is aptly titled because it is exactly what it is — the break-up between Gary Grobowski and Brooke Meyers. The pair’s split is due to several small unresolved issues, which result in resentment from both parties. Brooke’s problems are rooted in her feeling unappreciated in the relationship, especially when Gary insists on settling on a barely working relationship rather than making it better. Leading up to their eventual split, Gary makes a series of immature decisions that make it clear that he simply doesn’t prioritize Brooke, and then he gets mad at her for chastising him for his childish actions.
1 Joe Fox – You’ve Got Mail
Another Nora Ephron classic is You’ve Got Mail, which reunites Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks after Sleepless in Seattle. This time, however, it’s Hanks’ Joe Fox who is inherently problematic. Aside from having an emotional affair with Kathleen Kelly (which she also does), Joe goes on to lie about his identity to her, all while trying to secretly sabotage her local bookstore to benefit his family’s company.
