19 Toxic TV Couples Shows That Are Actually SUPER TOXIC

We're all familiar with the classic TV couple pairings: Joker and Harley, Romeo and Juliet, Ross and Rachel, etc. But have you ever stepped back and taken a look at how fed up they actually are? Yeah, they are actually toxic tv couples!
You'd think that in the 100-plus years of TV's existence, we'd have made some strides in depicting healthier relationships. Yet time and time again, many of the most popular TV couples are the ones who are downright terrible to each other. Behind all the montages and lighthearted comedy, maybe they aren't the perfect pairings we are led to believe. Some of them may actually be assholes or even downright abuse, and others are perhaps just too different to be together. As viewers, we're often even aware of this, but we can't help rooting for our favorite toxic couples, no matter how many times they hurt each other. They're awful, but they're also entertaining.

Recently, Reddit user u/Dragonball_Z137 asked, "What are some fictional couples everybody loves that are actually toxic?" and people had a lot to say!

#1 Cam and Mitch on Modern Family

Source: Peter 'Hopper' Stone / ABC / Courtesy: Everett Collection

"Cam always seemed to be knocking Mitch down pegs, and it was alright to laugh at Mitch, but when Cam got laughed at he got all upset and emotional."
—u/sunnysideupegghead
"Cam was so manipulative…every time when things didn’t go his way he made a big big scene. I felt sorry for Mitchell, because he was his own person as well."
—u/Simonedv

Source: ABC

#2 Angel and Buffy on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Source: 20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

"Buffy and Spike was really unhealthy, but Buffy and Angel was downright creepy."
—u/Acatinmylap
"Angel would have been to old to be dating a 16-year-old when he was turned. He *had* to have been late twenties early thirties, and I know 'blah Victorian times blah blah socially acceptable then' It was also socially acceptable to dump your poo pot on the street."
—u/MarshmallowFloofs85

Here's Angel seeing Buffy for the first time when she was 15.

Source: The WB

Afterwards, he's teased about how he wants to help her 'cause she's pretty. A 15-year-old!!!

#3  Romeo and Juliet in the various adaptations of Romeo and Juliet

Source: 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved.

"People need to stop using Romeo and Juliet as the stereotypical teen romance. He was 17. She was 13. It lasted three days and six people died."
—u/Ravingrook
"People misinterpret it. It's not a love story; it's a tragedy. Now, in our modern vocabulary, a tragedy is a story with a sad ending, but back then, and dating back to ancient Greek theater, a tragedy is a specific story structure. Like how we say mystery, and you automatically know that a crime will be committed by someone, you don't know who, and the story will follow the main character figuring that out, with the audience.
A tragedy back then was a story structure where someone's decision, or series of decisions, leads to the awful ending (Hamlet, Oedipus). Romeo and Juliet isn't a love story, it's a criticism of teenage impulsivity. The whole point is that every decision they made made the situation worse, leading to the climactic double suicide ending."
—u/Beast_of_Bladenboro

Here's Romeo taking poison over Juliet's "death"...then realizing he majorly effed up.

Source: 20th Century Fox

#4 Sam and Freddie on iCarly

Source: Nickelodeon

"Sam only ever loved Freddie because she thought he was cute when he fell off his bike and started screaming in pain and blood was coming out of his ear. They also never stopped fighting even when they were dating. I just think that they made a horrible couple and would have been both better off with someone else."
—u/VisitSecure
"And Sam constantly physically abused Freddie."
—u/Historical-Meal-5525

Source: Nickelodeon

#5 Beck and Jade on Victorious

Source: Nickelodeon

"Beck always treated Jade as if all she [existed to him as] was just someone who was aggressive and someone he liked to make out with. He was totally chill kissing other girls in front of her, going out with other girls even though he had a girlfriend, and when Jade got all upset about it, he just told her that she was 'overreacting' and didn’t even apologize. I get why Jade was always jealous 'cause...Why wouldn’t she be?? Imagine seeing your SO kissing or going out with other people! Wouldn’t you be at least a little upset?"
—u/VisitSecure

Here's them arguing, as they always did.

Source: Nickelodeon

#6 Rory and everyone on Gilmore Girls

Source: Saeed Adyani / Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection

"Literally all of Rory's relationships in Gilmore Girls, I'm pretty sure she cheats on every single one of her relationships and also had an affair with a married guy. They kinda glamorize and glorify cheating in that show and it really turned me off from it."
—u/SameStrawberry0

Here's Rory after sleeping with Dean when he was MARRIED.

Source: The WB

And let's not forget the way she treated Paul.

Source: Netflix

#7 Jessie and Jane on Breaking Bad

Source: Lewis Jacobs / AMC / courtesy everett collection