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(#1) Penny And Leonard From The Big Bang Theory
The beauty and the nerd – a story for the ages. Penny and Leonard are very cute together, and we’re still hoping they manage to get over their issues and live happily ever after. Since they’re married. Unfortunately, their relationship wasn't always of the healthy variety.
Penny has always been intimidated by Leonard’s intelligence, while Leonard’s mommy issues really put a dent in their romance. They’re both jealous, and have communication issues, not to mention that they’re complete opposites. Penny is bubbly and outgoing, Leonard is shy and neurotic. They’re unstable at best, toxic at worst.
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(#2) Luke And Lorelai From Gilmore Girls
The true Gilmore Girls OTP surely went through a lot before finally tying the knot in the revival. While Luke and Lorelai's chemistry was sizzling as early as Season 1, problems started shortly after they first got together.
L&L's banter was always witty and fun, so no one expected them to have communication issues. Turns out talking about David Bowie is one thing, making plans about the future quite another. Lorelai failed to tell Luke about her repeated encounters with Christopher, and Luke failed to tell Lorelai about the daughter who showed up unexpectedly in his life. Whoops.
We hoped their issues would be solved after the series wrapped up, but then the revival came and – guess what? Eight years passed and these two never had an honest talk about marriage or children. That’s problematic. While fans are still wishing them all the happiness in the world, it's clear their relationship is anything but #goals.
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(#3) Chuck And Blair From Gossip Girl
Theoretically, Chuck and Blair two are perfect for each other. They have amazing chemistry, love to manipulate others, always play games to get what they want. It was expected for fans to root for this couple to live happily ever after; thankfully, they did. But their relationship was also incredibly frustrating. Chuck treated Blair poorly on more than one occasion, to the point of verbally abusing her after she slept with both him and Nate.
Plus, remember that time he wanted to exchange her for a hotel? How do you forgive that? In real life, these two would either be long separated, or making a couple counselor very rich.
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(#4) Ross And Rachel From Friends
It was pretty clear from the very beginning of Friends that lovebirds Ros and Rachel were endgame. That’s mainly why it’s baffling to think about all the things that made their relationship problematic. Ross was controlling and ridiculously jealous. He jumped in bed with someone else literally hours after he and Rachel broke up, making it impossible for her to trust him again.
On the other hand, Rachel used the influence she had over him to break up several of Ross’s relationships, just because she couldn't make up her mind about whether she wanted to be with him or not. Their on-again, off-again routine was anything but healthy. And yet, she was his lobster. How can one root against that?
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(#5) Elena And Damon From The Vampire Diaries
Elena and Damon shared undeniable chemistry, so Delena became a thing from early on in the series. But here’s the truth – it will never be okay for a teenage girl to date a guy who is hundreds of years older than her. Moreover, all the back and forth between Stefan and Damon put a rift between the brothers, which is also never cool.
While you could argue Elena brought out the best in Damon and Damon taught Elena how to live, we rarely saw them be truly happy together. Damon was always fighting against his true nature, and when he failed to live up to Elena’s standards, she suffered. At least they got to be together for a while after all the drama, although we didn't really get to see that.
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(#6) Callie And Arizona From Grey's Anatomy
Callie and Arizona were great when they first started dating and got married. After the dreaded plane crash, however, their relationship became a train wreck. But thinking back on the good old days, you can’t help but root for Calzona to reunite. Forget all the cheating and the ugly custody battle, okay?
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(#7) Veronica And Logan From Veronica Mars
Veronica's and Logan's love was epic. Or was it? Here’s another example of an on-again, off-again routine that was pretty toxic. Logan is awful to Veronica when the series starts, going as far as to threaten and bully her. He’s violent and self-destructive, always getting himself into some sort of a mess.
On the other hand, Veronica holds Logan to a standard he can never reach, and is skeptical when it comes to trusting him. But the chemistry they share is the stuff of fairy tales, and Logan had grown a lot by the time the movie came out. Fortunately, they make it all the way to their version of domestic bliss in the series revival... but for how long?
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(#8) Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow From Game Of Thrones
Is it gross to ship Dany and Jon? Possibly. She’s his aunt, after all. But one minor, pesky detail isn’t going to stop us, right?
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(#9) Aria And Ezra From Pretty Little Liars
Aria and Ezra are a ridiculously attractive couple, so maybe that’s what kept shippers going for so long. But let’s not forget she was in high school and he was her teacher, which should be enough reason to dismiss their relationship. Yet fans kept rooting for them until the bitter end.
Even when Ezra ignored the fact that Aria was in peril to write a book. When you put it like that, things start to become problematic, don’t they?
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(#10) Ryan And Marissa From The OC
The main problem with Ryan and Marissa is, they were great on paper but incredibly boring IRL. They were supposed to be the central couple of the show. It's a classic love story – spoiled rich girl falls for bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. And while you still wish they could've made it work, they were never a happy pair. They were more interesting apart than together; and that’s never a good sign.
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(#11) Carrie And Big From Sex And The City
Carrie always seemed better off when Big wasn't in the picture. He was a bad influence on her, always stringing her along, unable to commit. They engage in an affair at one point, hurting two people who did nothing wrong. Even when they’re together, Big doesn’t seem to truly appreciate Carrie and accept her for who she is until the very end of the original series.
Their love is the definition of toxic, but it also has highs that are hard to ignore. Like when Big flies to Paris to get Carrie back. That’s the stuff of fairy tales, and we’re here for it.
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(#12) Barney And Robin From How I Met Your Mother
Fans started rooting for Barney and Robin from the second they got together, and for good reason. They had plenty in common, had a lot of fun together, and seemed like the perfect fit. And yet, their differences made them break up the first time they got together and pushed them to get a divorce the second.
Robin was probably always in love with Ted, as many suggest, and Barney was never the kind of guy to really settle down. Proving once again that fighting your true nature can only end up in disaster.
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(#13) Cookie And Lucious From Empire
Cookie and Lucious are the definition of toxic. But their relationship's tumultuous nature is also what keeps us glued to the screen. They abuse each other one second and make us swoon the next. They span decades of lust, love, and hurt.
Epic is a poor word to describe it, so it’s natural for fans to hope they’ll eventually bury the hatchet and give love a chance.
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(#14) Buffy And Spike From Buffy The Vampire Slayer
The vampire slayer and the vampire. Buffy and Spike. How can you stand against that? Especially since he pines for her for ages and even decides to join the good guys, which isn't true to his nature.
What makes Buffy's and Spile's relationship so toxic? In the beginning, Buffy used Spike, the broke things off, making him violent. She then forgave him, and he sacrificed himself for her. Summed up, their relationship is a disaster from start to finish, no matter how romantic it may look from the outside.
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(#15) Fitz And Olivia From Scandal
Quick poll: is anyone still rooting for Fitz and Olivia? Because let’s face it: even when they are together, their relationship ends in misery and… well, scandal. Vermont is a nice place to live in, but maybe don’t take the whole country to war just to save your girlfriend, okay?
While F&O have shared some memorable sex scenes, all they do besides that is make each other miserable. Olivia, moment of truth: even if the D train is the best ride in the city, is it worth getting on over and over when the trip always ends in a wreck? Fitz, something to consider: no matter how much you love the taste of juicy clam, maybe order something else on the menu if it makes you sick every time?
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(#16) Piper And Alex From Orange Is The New Black
Piper goes to jail because of Alex. Alex ends up back in jail because of Piper. It’s a vicious circle, one they seem unable to escape. When they're both inside, they try to make things work. As toxic as their relationship is, we can’t help but hope they can keep it going. Maybe even after they leave Litchfield.
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(#17) Jimmy And Gretchen From You're The Worst
Separately, Jimmy and Gretchen and both the worst. Together, they somehow seem to work, so we really want to see their relationship evolve. But here’s the thing – they both suck at being there for each other. Jimmy took a long time to help Gretchen through her depression, and Gretchen took a long time to tell Jimmy his father died.
Even when things were looking up, Jimmy bolted and left Gretchen alone shortly after proposing. That’s a long way from healthy.
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About This Tool
Have you noticed that the TV couples you love show obvious red flags and bad behaviors to each other? Looking back at the history of television, we can find that many dramas have made great progress in describing healthy relationships. However, many people ignore the fact that many of the most popular TV couples are in toxic relationships, no matter how many times they hurt each other, there are still many fans who support their favorite toxic couples.
Not that all screen lovers are in toxic relationships, but there is no doubt that how to deal with unhealthy relationships is very important to them. The random tool lists 17 famous toxic TV relationships you did not know.
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