Top 10 most tragic couples in films

From forbidden loves to untimely deaths, we can't resist tear-jerking love stories
Emma Powell7 October 2018
The Weekender

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Grab your tissues, because there is nothing more tragic than a couple who are meant to be – but can’t.

We’ve been bawling our eyes out since star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet took their own lives and Rose let Jack go on that ill-fated Titanic voyage.

We love a good love story, but also a good love story with tear-jerking forbidden partnerships, shock deaths and unfortunate timing.

Bradley Cooper’s thrown his hat into the ring to direct A Star is Born – a story about Jackson, played by Cooper, who mentors and falls for Lady Gaga’s Ally – but you guessed it, they don’t get a happily ever after.

So in celebration of another blighted love story, we’ve rounded up the 10 most tragic couples in films.

1. Forrest Gump

Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in Forrest Gump 

Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) has been in love with Jenny Curran (Robin Wright) ever since they were children. But despite his absolute adoration for her she tries to keep pushing him away. He doesn’t give up and proposes to her years later. She declines but the two sleep together before she leaves early the next morning. Forrest goes running for years before Jenny returns, introduces him to their son and professes her love for him shortly before she dies.

2. Gone With The Wind

Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind
Getty Images

This epic historical romance follows the tumultuous relationship between Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). Scarlett falls for Rhett while in mourning after being left widowed. He later proposes and they have a child but she still pines for her lover Ashley. He offers her a divorce but later returns on realising she loved him and not Ashley all along but he rebuffs her advances and leaves her in tears.

3. The Bridges of Madison County

Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep in Bridges of Madison County

Dubbed as “the most passionately read love story of our time” the film follows Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood) and Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) who embark on a four-day love affair. She makes the painful decision to stay with her husband and children over travelling the world with Robert, who she never sees again.

4. Titanic

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Titanic

James Cameron’s epic romance is a classic tale of love and class divide. Penniless artist Jack Dawson, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, falls for first-class passenger Rose DeWitt Bukater, played by Kate Winslet. He teaches her how to dance (and spit long distance), she asks him to “draw me like one of your French girls” before they consummate their short-lived romance with a steamy session on the back seat of a car – only for an iceberg to obliterate their chance of happily ever after.

But this story need never have ended in tragedy. Rose kept shouting for Jack to “come back” but, let’s be honest, there was definitely enough room on that plank to fit the two of them.

5. Steel Magnolias

Julia Roberts and Dylan McDermott in Steel Magnolias

Shelby, played Julia Roberts, marries Jackson, played by Dylan McDermott, before falling pregnant with their first child despite being warned by doctors that her Type 1 diabetes could prove problematic. She gives birth to a baby boy but shows signs of kidney failure and is immediately put on dialysis. She later has a transplant but falls into a coma, with her family left to make the heart breaking decision to turn off her life support.

6. Brokeback Mountain

Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain 

Ang Lee’s film is a classic case of forbidden love. Rodeo cowboy Jack Twist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, falls for ranch hand Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) but they both marry women with Jack fathering a son.

They continue to meet for fishing trips throughout the years as their marriages deteriorate before Ennis receives news that Jack has died.

7. Me Before You

Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin in Me Before You 
Warner Bros

Louisa Clark endured the ultimate heartbreak after her love interest opted to end his life. Based on JoJo Moyes’ award-winning novel, Louisa, played by Emilia Clarke, is hired to care for ex-banker Will Traynor after he is left wheelchair bound following a motorbike accident. He treats her with contempt, before she starts to win him round with the duo becoming good friends and developing feelings for one another.

But Louisa is left distraught after finding out on a holiday in Mauritius that he has booked himself into Dignitas in Switzerland for assisted suicide.

8. Cruel Intentions

Ryan Phillipe and Reese Witherspoon in Cruel Intentions

Ryan Phillipe’s Sebastian attempts to seduce Annette, played by Reese Witherspoon, as part of a wager. But surprise, surprise he ends up falling for her, tracks her down after her attempts to resist him over her vow to save herself until marriage, and the pair end up in bed together. He later tries to get hold of her to confess the truth about the wager but is hit and killed by a car as he saves her from being mowed down.

9. Ghost

Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in Ghost

Is there anything more heart breaking than a love story with the ghost of Patrick Swayze? Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) play a couple whose romance is ripped apart after he is murdered in New York. Although he comes back to protect her, through the help of a medium, played by Whoopi Goldberg, they can never truly be together again.

10. Shakespeare in Love

Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes in Shakespeare In Love

Shakespeare was a fan of forbidden partnerships, so it made sense for the famous playwright to be embroiled in his own in John Madden’s Oscar-winning film.

Viola de Lesseps, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, disguises herself as a man in a bid to star in one of Shakespeare’s plays. Predictably they end up falling for one another and having a secret affair – but Viola is betrothed to marry Lord Wessex, played by Colin Firth.

Top 10 tragic couples in film

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