40 Onscreen Romances That Aren't As Dreamy As We Remember

Plenty of people rooted for Ross and Rachel to get together, but this doesn't make the relationship any less toxic. Since the show came out, many have labeled Ross as emotionally abusive, manipulative, and even stalker-ish. He also dated his student...

While often hailed as one of the best romances of all time, this judgement completely overlooks the fact that the star-crossed lovers in question are a plantation owner and a Confederate soldier in the middle of the Civil War.

Drew Barrymore is iconic in this back-to-high-school rom-com, but the plot is much darker than most people remember. Sure, the romance between her and her teacher (who believed she was a minor) seemed cute enough at the time, but looking back it never should have happened.

John Hughes' beloved teenage classic includes some pretty questionable scenes. Chief among these is the moment when Molly Ringwald's love interest essentially assaults her by peeking under her skirt and touching her without consent.

The director's equally cherished film isn't safe from criticism either. This movie includes a scene where an unconscious woman is passed off from one man to another and assaulted while she is asleep.

The achingly beautiful ballad from The Bodyguard was actually written by Dolly Parton, not Whitney Houston, and it's about the former's ex-boss who flew into a jealous, controlling rage when her career took off.

This is one you might have heard — but seriously, why couldn't Jack have fit on the door with her? Titanic left many viewers angry when it senselessly killed off Leo DiCaprio rather than simply having Kate Winslet's character scooch over a bit.

Yet another romantic classic that unfortunately was not what it seemed, Ingrid Bergman was actually taller than Humphrey Bogart, forcing them to film all the kissing scenes with the latter standing on a box.

Tom Hanks' Big seems like the last movie to stir up controversy — until you remember that Hanks had sex with an adult woman while he was secretly a 12 year-old trapped in the body of a grownup. As disgusting as it is convoluted.

A 1970s-era children's book that has been remade into countless TV shows and films, the subject matter is surprisingly twisted. Siblings locked together in an attic end up developing an incestuous relationship, and nobody ever really questions it.

Despite being synonymous with the very concept of love for many people, the fate that these two endure is downright sick, and to make matters worse, entirely preventable.

We're used to seeing men in predatory roles, so this movie is a game-changer. Sandra Bullock plays a woman who preys on a helpless man in a coma, lying to his whole family and telling them they're engaged. It's not so romantic.

The steamy film classic starred on-again off-again Hollywood couple Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis. Unfortunately, their relationship had turned sour during the filming, leading Curtis to describe kissing Monroe as being akin to kissing Hitler. Not so fun to watch now.

Now seen as a modern take on romantic fairy tale Cinderella, the original script contained a much bleaker ending. Rather than being swept off her feet by a rich man, Julia Roberts ends up dead-eyed and alone on a bus to nowhere.

Without the music video, Aerosmith's "Crazy" could pass as just another love song. However, the fact that it does exist, and that Steven Tyler sings the lustful, romantic lyrics over footage of his own daughter Liv Tyler, makes it incredibly weird.

Around 2008, Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight was the star of many a tween girl's dreams. However, the romance has since been recognized as what it really was: manipulative, stalker-ish, and possessive.

The next item on this list started out as Twilight fan fiction. BDSM movie Fifty Shades has been widely condemned from the kink community for portraying behavior that is emotionally and physically abusive.

There may literally be no TV couple more iconic than Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, who played spouses on I Love Lucy and were married in real life. However behind the scenes their marriage was a "nightmare" filled with alcoholism and adultery.

If you've only seen the movie version of this film, then it may surprise/depress you to learn that the ending Truman Capote included in his book was far darker. Spoiler alert: they definitely don't end up together at the end.

Blondie's hit single is based on true events in Debbie Harry's life. The track refers to a creepy ex-boyfriend who began stalking the star once she started to spurn his advances.

Notorious hippie gal Shailene Woodley was not the most pleasant person to play tonsil hockey with while filming The Spectacular Now. Miles Teller pointed to Shailene’s dirt supplements as a source of extremely foul breath. Shailene’s fiancee, Aaron Rodgers, must not mind!

You’d be hard pressed to name a more crushed-on human than '90s Leo. Still, his love interest in The Beach was not feeling the allure. She brutally called his kisses passionless and without any real sensitivity.

Fangirling got the best of Carey when she had to kiss Johnny for 16 takes in their film Public Enemies. Her nerves were so obvious that they scraped the footage from the final cut of the film.

Forget handshakes, James and Angelina’s first meeting was shooting a makeout scene in Wanted. Ever the gentleman, James described it as awkward, though it’s a safe bet he wasn’t too crushed about kissing the most famous lips in Hollywood.

Did the heat down under seep into Hugh and Nicole’s embrace for their film Australia? Not exactly. Hugh joked that it was “not the toughest day in the office,” though the 70 crew members made it less enjoyable.

Of their Get Smart smooch, The Rock said, “So the bottom of a cat’s paw — the soft supple part underneath — that’s what Steve Carell’s lips are like. But his tongue is like kitty litter.”

The upside down lip lock in Spider-Man has its own special spot in cinematic history — both for its passion and absurdity. Many have spoofed it, though none have nearly drowned while blindfolded as poor Tobey did.

It was perfectly normal for Dunst's centuries-old character to swap spit with Brad in Interview With The Vampire, but 11-year-old Kristen was mortified that it was her very first.

These two were strictly buddies filming The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. So to prep for their smooch scenes, they’d eat the stinkiest food possible, sometimes skipping tooth brushing, in attempts to gross each other out.

It was equally awkward for Jennifer when it came to kissing her friend Josh in the movie as it was with Liam. In an interview, Josh teased her by describing her movements as abrasive.

One of these days Jennifer will have an onscreen kiss that’s decent but her Silver Linings Playbook embrace didn’t cut it. In an interview, Bradley admitted that Jen informed him he was a wet kisser.

Sorry to the Team Jacob stans, these two didn't mesh. Kristen tried her best with Taylor in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse saying kindly their scenes were fun because they were “few and far between — and weird.”

In a moment that was building since Ron and Hermione first glowered at each other, finally the kiss went down in Harry Potter in the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Both actors were overcome with nervous giggles and could barely make it through.

Disney channel felt so far away while Vanessa filmed a threesome with Franco and Ashley Benson in Spring Breakers. If she had her choice, Vanessa would have kicked out James and just kissed her friend!

He might be the top dog in Scientology circles, but when it comes to kissing, Tom could use some tips. His Mission Impossible 2 costar Thandie went home battling waves of displeasure over their “icky” and “wet” kiss takes.

As a married couple for nine years on How I Met Your Mother, these two kissed more than some people in actual relationships. They playfully bickered just as much too, over Jason’s cigarette smoking, which Alyson hated.

In other circumstances, Morena might find kissing the Deadpool actor to be a worthwhile experience. However, the scent of his rubber mask and costume were so gag-inducing she compared it to kissing a lifesize latex condom.

Thank goodness Harrison is handsome because Helen dragged his kissing ability something lethal. Referencing their smooch in The Mosquito Coast, she said he couldn’t kiss on camera, then doubled down that he probably wasn’t good at all.

On the set of Water for Elephants, poor Reese could have used a rain slicker for her kissing scenes. Throughout filming Rob had an intense cold, and he admits to wiping his nose on her wig.