25 Tragic TV Romances That Absolutely Ripped Our Hearts Out

No matter what your favorite TV show is, chances are good there are romantic relationships on it that pull at your heartstrings. Even though they’re fictional, these stories can absolutely break your heart.

It’s sad enough when a relationship ends in real life. But if we’re being honest, there are some small screen breakups that hurt so much not even a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream can heal our hearts.

In no particular order, here are 25 tragic TV romances that ripped our hearts out.

1. Jack & Rebecca (This Is Us) 

Whether or not you see Jack’s death coming from the beginning of This Is Us, we don’t think any fan of the show can deny that This Is Us Season 2 Episode 13 “That’ll Be The Day” is the definition of heartbreaking. 

Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) dies of a heart attack caused by smoke inhalation after a house fire. That’s tragic in and of itself — but there is also an implication that the complications happen because he goes back into the house to save the family dog. 

From a storytelling standpoint, there is even more tragedy infused into it all because even though his death is foreshadowed on the show, Jack and Rebecca don’t get any closure via the heartfelt end-of-life declaration of love speech that we usually see on TV.

They joke about smoke detector batteries and talk about how Jack is grateful to have Rebecca in his life, but their last conversation is a vending machine order and a joke about how Rebecca is blocking the TV. 

There is no real warning or closure for Rebecca — but sometimes there is no closure in real life. So, Jack’s death on This Is Us will always have its own place in tragic TV history. 

2. Mark & Lexie (Grey’s Anatomy) 

There are countless romances that ended in death on Grey’s Anatomy.

But no matter how hard it tries we maintain that the show will never be able to emotionally crush us like it does when Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) dies in the plane crash on Grey’s Anatomy Season 8 Episode 24 “Flight” and Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) dies an episode later on Season 9 Episode 1, “Going, Going, Gone,” arguably of a broken heart. 

Plane crashes are horrible tragedies because of the number of deaths they cause. These two deaths are the worst because Mark and Lexie are “meant to be” but can’t find their way back to each other before they die.  

Literally. Mark doesn’t profess his love back to Lexie until she’s dying under the plane. What’s worse is that she doesn’t even believe him at first. 

It’s incredibly generous to fantasize about the future you can’t have with someone who is dying. That’s exactly why Mark and Lexie’s deaths hurt so much. They deserve a reality we never get to see on the show — an engagement and a wedding and a house and two sons and a daughter so Sofia can have siblings.

Mark and Lexie never get a sliver of what they deserve. 

3. Poussey & Brook (Orange Is The New Black) 

Poussey Washington’s (Samira Wiley) death is the most important one on Orange Is The New Black because it’s an example on television of why the Black Lives Matter movement exists. Her death is an accident, but also proof that she literally doesn’t matter as much as she should. 

Her death isn’t about her girlfriend Brook Soso (Kimiko Glenn), but their romance is a heartbreaking casualty of it.

Brook grows as a person because she loves Poussey. When she’s with Brook, Poussey is just happy. She’s always deserved that, so it’s gut-wrenching to watch her happiness fade along with her life. 

4. Fleabag & The Priest (Fleabag) 

If you don’t want the best for the titular, messy, grief-stricken heroine of Fleabag, who are you? 

From the premiere episode of Season 2, all signs point to The Hot Priest (Andrew Scott) being Fleabag’s (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) perfect match. He drinks, he curses, he smokes, he pushes her to access her emotions, he makes her laugh, he’s smokin’ hot…

Oh wait, he can’t have sex. But he has sex with her anyway because he loves her — just not as much as he loves God. 

Ultimately, The Priest chooses his love of God over Fleabag. His choice is as inevitable as the fact that the two are going to hook up. Even though there is some peace in the inevitability of it all, that’s also what makes their story so damn tragic. 

Fleabag deserves the love she (sometimes misguidedly) gives to everyone else. Whether she finds it or not is a question we’ll have to answer for ourselves because there are no plans for a third season of Fleabag right now.  

The hot priest is Fleabag’s person. We all know it, and we know why they can’t live happily ever after. But we’ll never get to know if she finds happy enough. Perhaps that makes their love one of the most tragic examples of them all. 

5. Cole & Alison (The Affair) 

Cole (Joshua Jackson) and Alison (Ruth Wilson) are a tragedy when The Affair begins. There is nothing more tragic or difficult for a couple to get through than the death of a child. Alison’s grief is a catalyst for the affair she has with Noah (Dominic West) that is the basis for the whole series. 

But almost as soon as their marriage breaks up it’s clear that Cole and Alison are fated to be together. They even cheat on their respective partners with each other sometimes.

Their destinies are no clearer than on Season 4 of the show when Cole goes on a road trip to find Alison and tell her he wants to be with her. Unfortunately, he’s too late and doesn’t reach Alison before her abusive boyfriend beats her to death. 

This writer has no other word than gut-wrenching for that set of circumstances. 

6. Ruby & Olivia (On My Block) 

Ruby (Jason Genao) and Olivia’s (Ronni Hawk) isn’t the only “romance” on this list that is in very early stages when it ends tragically. But it is arguably the most difficult one to watch in that category for two reasons.

One: Olivia’s death is a result of gang violence, plus Olivia is not the intended target. And two: Because they are both so young when it happens. 

It’s always a travesty when a young life is cut short for one specific reason — potential. Olivia’s life had potential and it’s not fair that she dies. But this list is focused on her potential romance with Ruby. 

They are both so young, it’s safe to say that we have no idea if they were right for each other. In fact, chances are strong that they weren’t. But they definitely would’ve helped each other grow. 

Olivia deserved a boyfriend who would have been as devoted to her as viewers already know Ruby was, and Ruby deserves the girl of his dreams. Not just because he wants her — because he treated her like a queen and was willing to wait for her. 

Killing Olivia is a questionable choice for On My Block to make for many reasons. One of them being this sweet romance that never actually was.  

7. Max & Georgia (New Amsterdam) 

When we meet Max Goodwin (Ryan Eggold) on the New Amsterdam pilot he’s beginning his cancer battle and separated from his wife Georgia (Lisa O’Hare), who is pregnant. 

By the ambulance crash on New Amsterdam Season 1 Episode 22, “Luna,” their marriage is back on track and they have a beautiful newborn daughter.

Is there anything more tragic than a daughter who will only know her mother for the first few hours of her life? Or than a husband who probably has regrets about not spending enough quality time with his wife in the months before she dies? 

Regret is sometimes an inevitable part of life. But when coupled with a loss, it’s immeasurably harder to cope with. 

8. Jane & Michael (Jane The Virgin)

Okay, so we know now that Michael (Brett Dier) doesn’t actually die at the end of Jane The Virgin Season 3 Episode 10, “Chapter Fifty-Four” from complications of his gunshot wound. But this list isn’t exclusively filled with death. Dead or alive, Michael and Jane’s (Gina Rodriguez) love story is tragic. 

Michael may be alive but when he comes back into Jane’s life he doesn’t remember her or their history. He’s a completely different person who goes by a different name. That’s just as sad as the fact that no matter what name he is called, by the time Jane and Michael are reunited their paths in life are too far apart for them to start their romance again. 

We’re happy they get their respective happy endings. But that will never change the fact that their story together is sad. 

9. Ted and The Mother (How I Met Your Mother)

Ted (Josh Radnor) and The Mother on How I Met Your Mother is a love story with many layers of sadness to it. 

First of all, it’s tragic that after nine seasons of waiting and wondering, we learn in a quick second that The Mother fell ill and died in 2024. 

Many fans consider it a tragedy that after so much time and watching Ted make so many emotional connections, The Mother Tracy McConnell (Cristin Millioti) is a character that the audience barely gets to know, introduced as late as the Season 8 finale.  

10. Buffy & Angel (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) 

Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Angel (David Boreanaz) are basically doomed from the start on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Whether Angel has a human soul or not, he’s a vampire at his core and she’s a slayer. They may be in love, but they are never a good mix. 

This becomes most clear when Angel’s soul disappears after they have sex and he turns into Angelus and starts hurting Buffy and her friends. Even though his soul is restored at the last minute, Buffy kills him and sends him to hell anyway. 

It’s absolutely devastating to watch Buffy confess her love, make out with Angel, and then banish him to hell. But she does what she has to when it comes to saving humanity. 

Their connection is as undeniable as the fact that they are dangerous for each other — so it’s soul-crushing to watch Buffy nurse Angel back to health when he comes back into her life on Season 3 only for him to break up with her. 

He’s right that Buffy deserves someone who can love her in daylight and won’t turn evil when he makes love to her. This just adds another tragic layer to it all. 

11. Lexa & Clarke (The 100) 

Clarke Griffin (Eliza Taylor) and Lexa kom Trikru’s (Alycia Debnam-Carey) relationship is one of the most compelling of The 100 Season 2. Their partnership is originally forged to beat the Mountain Men in Mount Weather who are harvesting the grounders to treat radiation poisoning. The two build a rapport saving each other from various throughout Season 2 eventually, leading to a kiss.

Season 2 ends with the truce falling apart as Lexa makes a deal with the Mountain Men to save the grounders in the Harvest Chamber. Even though Skaikru manages to win the battle, Clarke is still hurt and betrayed.

In The 100 Season 3, they begin repairing their fractured relationship slowly. Lexa even swears fealty to Clarke and Skaikru. They become more intimate and continue to learn from each other to help their people, but Lexa meets her end tragically after being shot by her flamekeeper Titus on The 100 Season 3 Episode 7, “Thirteen.”

Before Lexa dies, she says that Clarke was right: “life is about more than just surviving.”

12. Kelly & Anna (Chicago Fire) 

Kelly (Taylor Kinney) and Anna (Charlotte Sullivan) on Chicago Fire barely beat the distance between them after he donates bone marrow to save her life, falls in love with her, and she goes back home to Springfield to recover. 

But odds are against them no matter what because her cancer comes back.

Kelly makes it to her death bed in denial that her life is about to end, refusing to let her say goodbye. She makes him tell her how he helped a woman let go of the house she didn’t want to leave because all of the memories the house carries. 

Anna says that the woman couldn’t carry the house on her back but asks Kelly to “carry me” with him before she dies.  

13. Ryan & Marissa (The O.C.)

At the beginning of The O.C. Ryan (Ben McKenzie) and Marissa (Mischa Barton) are the couple that is positioned to be together forever. But as the show goes on, it becomes clearer that Marissa is a tragic heroine and Ryan can’t save her from herself. 

After a couple of years of an on-again/off-again relationship, they are broken up when Ryan is driving Marissa to the airport to go live with her father in Greece after high school. But her “bad boy” ex-boyfriend Kevin (Cam Gigandet) is drunk driving and taunts them — causing the car accident that results in Marissa’s death. 

Ryan is able to pull Marissa from the car before it goes up in flames but she dies in his arms from her injuries.

Of course, Marissa’s death is tragic. But perhaps the most depressing element of the story is that it’s an exclamation point on the idea that Ryan can’t be Marissa’s savior and they were never meant to be together. 

14. Ten & Rose (Doctor Who) 

Try to get through Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 13, “Doomsday,” without crying. After a season that gives fans so many strong ship moments, the finale marked the end of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper)’s time as a companion.

Anyone who knows Doctor Who will know that the endings use gut-punching affairs, and Rose’s exit was no exception. Rose and the Doctor (David Tennant) are separated in parallel worlds, and since the Doctor’s ship cannot travel there, it means that they’re separated forever. 

But the Doctor finds a way to at least say goodbye and psychically calls Rose to Norway where he is able to project a hologram of himself to see her one last time. As he burns up a sun to say goodbye, Rose cries and says she loves him. The Doctor is about to say something in return but is cut off by the sun dying. 

While Ten and Rose reunite at the end of Season 4 when he ultimately returns her to the parallel world, she asks the Doctor how that sentence was gonna end. The Doctor replied, “It doesn’t need saying.” 

15. Wes & Laurel (How To Get Away With Murder) 

Wes (Alfred Enoch) and Laurel (Karla Souza) on How To Get Away With Murder have one of the shortest relationships on this list. That’s because Wes is murdered and it’s covered up in a fire. 

No matter the length of their relationship, there is extra sadness infused into it because viewers find out that Laurel is pregnant with Wes’ son — whom she later names Christopher, which is Wes’ birth name. 

16. Scott & Allison (Teen Wolf) 

Scott (Tyler Posey) and Allison (Crystal Reed) fall into the sci-fi drama trope of supernatural creature and huntress of said creatures.

When Allison learns about her family’s history hunting werewolves like her boyfriend Scott and other supernatural creatures, she’s torn. After her mother’s death, she breaks up with him. 

She goes away with her father and afterward, they decide to try not to fight creatures. Eventually, Allison settles on the mantra, “We protect those who cannot protect themselves.” 

In Teen Wolf Season 3 Allison gets fatally injured while fighting an Oni.

Her death scene is most tragic because of the words she says to Scott while dying in his arms. When they realize what’s happening and that she can’t transfer her pain to Scott because she doesn’t feel any, she calls her death “perfect” because her first love is holding her. In her last full sentence alive, she confesses her love for him.   

17. Will & Alicia (The Good Wife)

Most fans of The Good Wife would agree that Will (Josh Charles) and Alicia (Julianna Margulies) are soulmates whose life circumstances and feelings never align quite long enough for them to start the lifelong romance they both want deep down in their hearts. 

When Will dies in the courthouse shooting on The Good Wife Season 5 Episode 15, “Dramatics, Your Honor” the gunman takes away the chance for them to ever figure it out. That is devastating. 

Salt is only added to the metaphorical wound when viewers hear the voicemail that Will left Alicia before his death saying he’s ready to spend his life with her.

18. Veronica & Logan (Veronica Mars) 

Friends. Enemies. Lovers. Spouses. No matter what their label is, Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) and Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) are bonded by tragedy.

When Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried) dies, Veronica and Logan lose their best friend and girlfriend respectively. They are sworn enemies until Veronica helps Logan confirm that his mother’s death is a suicide. 

They start a tumultuous on-again-off-again relationship that survives through a movie and a revival season of Veronica Mars on Hulu. They eventually marry, but their future is cut short when a bomb planted in the street kills Logan, widowing Veronica.

Just thinking about the time fans spent invested in watching this couple succeed makes Veronica and Logan’s romance one of the most devastating examples on this list. 

When we remember the fact that their love was meant to be the kind of epic that spans years and continents, ruins lives and causes bloodshed, it’s an extra twist to the knife in our hearts. 

19. Sun & Jin (Lost) 

More than perhaps any other relationship on Lost, Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sun (Yunjin Kim) are the love you are rooting for the most by the end of the series.

These are two people that life keeps separating —  emotionally and physically. They could never seem to catch a break.

Finally, after nearly two seasons of being away from each other and with a child waiting for them at home, they are reunited only for one of them to be trapped in a sinking submarine and the other refusing to leave them behind.

They’re finally together in death but their daughter will have to grow up without either of them in her life and without ever having met Jin, which is perhaps the most heartbreaking part of their entire love story. 

20. Daenerys Targaryen & Jon Snow (Game of Thrones)

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) on Game Of Thrones have a relationship that revolves around a power struggle from the moment they meet.

The fact that they are related is heartbreaking enough in any other world. But on Game Of Thrones, the fact that they are aunt and nephew is almost inconsequential. 

Jon eventually gives up his title of King Of The North for her and calls her his Queen, motivated by his love for her.

But the most heartbreaking detail of this couple’s story is that Daenerys becomes so power-hungry and destructive that Jon has to kill her.

It’s problematic, that’s for sure, but we can’t ignore that it’s dripping with tragedy. 

21.  Alex & Maggie (Supergirl) 

Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) and Maggie Sawyer (Floriana Lima) on Supergirl make this list because of how realistic their breakup is. 

They’re engaged and planning a wedding and a future together when they realize they have different ideas about starting a family. Alex wants kids and Maggie doesn’t. As hard as they try to find one, there is no compromise to be had there. 

There is a spirit of joy in their goodbye. They clearly want happiness for each other and even have goodbye sex. This is a completely different type of heartbreak than the “bury your gays” trope inspires. It’s sad, but it’s also just life. 

As painful as it is to watch Maggie linger before leaving and Alex collapse on the other side of the door when it finally closes, there is no solution here. They both have to go through this pain to eventually find happiness.

We’ve all been there. That’s why this breakup hurts so damn much. 

22. Dylan & Toni (Beverly Hills, 90210)

Many fans of Beverly Hills, 90210 are thankful that if Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) couldn’t be with Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty), at least he finds another love in Toni Marchette (Rebecca Gayheart).

He’s equally as devoted to her and she makes him a better person. They have everything it takes to have a successful relationship and even get married. 

But her father is a dangerous man and doesn’t like Dylan. Perhaps their union is doomed from the start because of this. If the bullets that kill Toni hadn’t hit her, they were meant for Dylan. 

Dylan and Toni’s short, tragic romance is the most classic example of star-crossed love on this list. 

23. Keith & Karen (One Tree Hill)

Keith (Craig Sheffer) and Karen (Moira Kelly) on One Tree Hill should’ve been together from the pilot episode of the series. But she has a complicated history with his brother Dan (Paul Johansson), who left Karen in high school when he found out she was pregnant with their son Lucas (Chad Michael Murray).

Season 3 of the show is years later and they are finally together, raising Lucas (who is a teenager), and expecting a child. But on One Tree Hill Season 3 Episode 16, “With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept,” Dan kills Keith (basically because he is evil personified).

The murder is sad and abhorrent, of course. But the real tragedy here is that Karen is left alone to raise a child again. This time is worse than the last because true love is ripped away from her.

Dan also denies a daughter her father and his own son Lucas the uncle who has been there for him since Dan abandoned him.  

24. Bob & Joyce (Stranger Things) 

Nice guys get eaten on Stranger Things.

Bob (Sean Astin), Joyce’s (Winona Ryder) new beau on Stranger Things Season 2, is blissfully unaware of everything strange going on in Hawkins. That is until Joyce could no longer hide Will’s strange behavior and she enlists Bob to take one look at Will’s drawings. He recognizes them as a map of the town.

Bob is very helpful when it comes to trying to solve the mystery surrounding Will. His fresh perspective puts Joyce’s worried mom mind at ease, but when they make their final stand and attempt to close the gate to the Upside Down he is just too good to last. 

Bob is eaten by one of the Gorgons leaving Joyce heartbroken. Stranger Things Season 3 deals a bit with Joyce’s heartbreak when she confides in Hopper that after everything that happened, she’s thinking of leaving Hawkins. 

25. Finn & Rachel (Glee)

Finn (Cory Monteith) and Rachel (Lea Michele) on Glee are the most tragic example on this list because Finn’s death happened when Monteith died in real life. The actors were also in a romantic relationship off-screen. 

The reality of the situation is more important to acknowledge than the fictional story. Glee honored Monteith by not naming Finn’s cause of death. 

The fictional story is also tragic. Rachel and Finn are the definition of soulmates in so many ways and it’s so very sad that their story had to be cut short. 

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What tragic TV romances broke your heart? Let us know in the comments below!

* Additional contributions by Lauren Busser and Drew Koenig. 

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