25 of the most toxic relationships on TV

Big Little Lies. Nicole Kidman, Alexander Skarsgård.

photo: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/courtesy of HBO

These toxic relationships on TV will make you thankful you don’t have to put up with kind of crap. And make you wonder why your fave characters do.

You might think it’s easy to spot a toxic relationship. But you’d be surprised how often what we think is terribly romantic is actually quite destructive. Common convention suggests that jealousy, possessiveness, manipulation, or unrequited affection are all markers of a deep, passionate love. This is just not the case.

Many of these TV relationships are iconic and legendary, and have become ingrained in the popular culture. We hold these relationships up as models of romantic love, and we long to have relationships that look like some of these. But be warned, these toxic duos are flawed and  broken, whether we want to admit it or not.

I’ve taken a closer look at some of the most famous couples on TV, and when you look a little closer, they just don’t hold up to scrutiny. Whether it’s emotional or verbal abuse, sneaky manipulations, physical violence, or just plain ol’ selfish behavior, these couples are deep in a very toxic relationship.

These are the worst of the worst, although I know I’ve left some out. These 25 toxic relationships on TV will make you thankful you don’t have to put up with this kind of crap, and make you wonder why our favorite characters do.