For every heartfelt, sweeping, inspirational storybook romance story, you can find plenty of violent and traumatizing nightmare couplings, too. In both fiction and reality alike, too many innocent victims wanting nothing more than to receive a person's love and support end up suffering a life of abuse and neglect from the person they, unfortunately, chose to spend it with. The following are some of the most essential examples of movie and TV characters you should never get into a relationship with.
Caledon Hockley (Titanic)
Some might call Rose (Kate Winslet) a bad girlfriend, let alone the worst character from the movie Titanic for some of her own childish behaviors and, especially, her affair with Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). However, nothing she does in James Cameron's Best Picture Oscar winner justifies the way her arrogant, elitist, industrialist fiancé, Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), treats her, ranging from his possessive dominance to his nearly murderous reaction to Rose's relationship with Jack.
Sarah Marshall (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
In the uproarious, 2008 romantic-comedy movie favorite, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Peter Bretter (writer Jason Segel) fails to realize how little support his eponymous girlfriend (played by Kristen Bell) shows him until after she dumps him for rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), whom we discover she was cheating with. The cop TV show actor may even be a worse ex-girlfriend from how she enviously sabotages Peter's newfound happiness with Rachel (Mila Kunis) by making a move on him when they accidentally book a vacation on the same Hawaiian island.
Ross Gellar (Friends)
For every reason a Friends fan may have had to root for Ross Gellar (David Schwimmer) and Rachel Green's (Jennifer Aniston) on-and-off romance, there are even more reasons why Ross is just the worst. He reveals himself to be extremely possessive when Rachel meets a handsome coworker at Bloomingdale's, refuses to take responsibility for cheating on her ("We were on a break" is still no excuse), and even continues to obsess over her while in relationships with other women.
Rose Armitage (Get Out)
In 2017, Get Out introduced one of modern cinema's scariest female horror movie villains in the form of Rose Armitage (Allison Williams), whose relationship with Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya) was a ruse to coerce him into falling prey to her family's racist procedure that would cause him to lose control of his body to a white host. He was only one of several Black people she pulled this horrific con on, as we discover in Jordan Peele's terrifying, Oscar-winning directorial debut.
Billy Loomis (Scream)
While easily one of the most iconic examples of the classic slasher movie trope of the killer boyfriend, Skeet Ulrich's Billy Loomis is an undeserving partner even before the big reveal in 1996's Scream. He constantly pressures Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) into having relations, flirts with other women behind her back, and even belittles her for not fully recovering from her mother's murder only a year afterward.
Melissa (The Hangover)
Rachael Harris' character in 2009's The Hangover belittles and manipulates Stu (Ed Harris) to the point that he becomes helplessly defensive of her controlling nature and, even worse, her adultery. Luckily, after meeting and marrying an exotic dancer named Jade (Heather Graham) in a stupor during Doug's disastrous Las Vegas bachelor party, he gains the courage to stand up to Melissa and call her out as a "bad person all the way through to [her] core."
Michael Kelso (That '70s Show)
To be fair, Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis) is certainly not without her shortcomings, showing extreme evidence of vanity and narcissism especially in the earlier seasons of That '70s Show. However, she ultimately deserved better than her on-and-off boyfriend, Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher, who went on to marry Kunis in real life), who shares those same toxic traits in addition to being a helplessly absent-minded serial womanizer.
Judith Fessbeggler (Saving Silverman)
Dr. Judith Fessbeggler (Amanda Peet) is a psychiatrist in great need of psychotherapy, as evidenced by the way she treats Darren (Jason Biggs), the title character of the 2001 comedy, Saving Silverman. She ruthlessly controls everything in his life, from his wardrobe to the music he listens to, even forcing him to receive cosmetic surgery on his behind, which prompts his lifelong friends, Wayne (Steve Zahn) and J.D. (Jack Black), to stop their impending nuptials.
Martin Burney (Sleeping With The Enemy)
In director Joseph Ruben's 1991 adaptation of Nancy Price's novel, Sleeping with the Enemy, a constant pattern of abuse from her husband, Martin (Patrick Bergin), leads Laura Burney (Academy Award winner Julia Roberts) to fake her death and escape the marriage. Unfortunately, after donning a new identity and settling down in Iowa, where she strikes up a romance with a local named Ben (Kevin Anderson), she discovers that Martin has managed to track her down, not willing to let her go.
Amy Dunne (Gone Girl)
Early on in Gone Girl, director David Fincher's 2014 adaptation of Gillian Flynn's bestselling mystery, it seems obvious to suspect the adulterous and emotionally distant Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) of foul play when his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), suddenly goes missing. The truth is, however, that the woman left on her own accord and strategically planted evidence to incriminate her husband, which is in no way a healthy method for dealing with marital woes.
Jack Torrance (The Shining)
In Stanley Kubrick's 1980 adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining, Jack (Jack Nicholson) and Wendy Torrance (Shelley Duvall) do not seem to have a particularly perfect marriage before they become caretakers at the Overlook Hotel. Things grow infinitely worse when the malevolent spirits of the Colorado resort drive Jack to become a vicious, deranged monster.
Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
Some Gilmore Girls fans believe that the show was ruined by the "will they, won't they" dynamic between Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) and Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia), and not just because it killed her relationship with Dean (Jared Padalecki). The ill-fated romance was merely the first of many selfish mistakes that Rory would make against her significant others that would ultimately cause some fans of the dramedy to completely turn on the character.
Christian (Midsommar)
Ari Aster told Birth.Movies.Death that he wanted to make his sophomore feature, 2019's Midsommar, a break-up movie based on a previous relationship of his, which makes a lot of sense when you consider the volatility of the relationship at the center of the folk horror story. You almost cannot help but feel happy for Dani (Florence Pugh) as she watches the selfish, emotionally stunted, and gaslighting Christian (Jack Reynor) burn to death before her very eyes at the end of the shocking A24 horror movie classic.
Ginger McKenna (Casino)
Sharon Stone's character from the 1995 Martin Scorsese movie, Casino, has just about all the most essential criteria for an unfavorable wife, from her hustling schemes, her greedy motivations, and her adulterous habits. Of course, in addition to being a bad spouse, Ginger is an even worse mother, having tied her daughter to a bed so she could have a night out clubbing on her own.
David McCall (Fear)
While there are quite a few romance movies that try to discredit the fatherly character's disapproval of his daughter's suitor, 1996's Fear is the movie that would teach audiences dad might know what he is talking about. Steven Walker (William Peterson) is the first to suspect that something is off about his daughter, Nicole's (Reese Witherspoon), new boyfriend, David (Mark Wahlberg) and, boy, do his instincts prove correct when he leaves a bloody trail that culminates in a terrifying attack on Nicole's family all for the sake of having her to himself.
Jan Levinson (The Office)
One of the best episodes of NBC's The Office, "Dinner Party," offers an inside look at the torrid relationship between Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Jan Levinson (Melora Hardin), who invite their Dunder Mifflin coworkers into their condo for a memorable night. The couple's heated dispute over Michael's multiple vasectomies, Jan's obsession with her assistant (an aspiring musician), and more discords ultimately get the cops involved.
Nate Cooper (The Devil Wears Prada)
A good partner supports their significant other's professional career – a concept lost on Nate Cooper (Adrian Grenier) from 2006's The Devil Wears Prada. Grenier would even agree, in a 2021 oral history by Entertainment Weekly, that his character was a "fragile, wounded boy" who was not as grown-up as Andy (Anne Hathaway) and, thus, selfishly criticized her career decisions. Not to mention, reacting to her getting hired at a fashion magazine by asking if it was a phone interview is unforgivably rude.
Asami Yamazaki (Audition)
The premise of Takashi Miike's acclaimed Japanese horror movie, 1999's Audition – in which a widower holds a fake movie casting session to find a new wife – seems to paint Ryo Ishibashi's character as the villain. However, one might agree that his actions, which did come from a place of sincerity, are not worthy of the sadistic, demented punishment that his new lover, Asami (Eihi Shiina), performs on him.
Josh (Companion)
Including Jack Quaid's character from the 2025 sci-fi movie, Companion, might be a bit of a stretch, considering Iris (Sophie Thatcher) is not really Josh's girlfriend but a highly advanced machine he purchased – er, rented. Discovering this helps her realize that the man she thought she loved is a pathetic, selfish, controlling, and violent loser, making this friendly robot the hero of the story.
Lisa (The Room)
In 2003's The Room, Lisa (Juliette Danielle) decides, completely out of the blue, that she no longer loves her "future husband," Johnny (writer, producer, and director Tommy Wiseau), and engages in an affair with his best friend, Mark (Greg Sestero), which ultimately drives Johnny to take his own life. Regardless of the cult favorite's reputation for its thoroughly nonsensical storyline, if there is one earnest analysis we can make about this awesomely cheesy movie, it is that Lisa was wrong to tear Johnny apart like that.
Nate Jacobs (Euphoria)
One of the strongest aspects of HBO's acclaimed coming-of-age drama, Euphoria, is the grounded ways it depicts certain archetypes that are commonly found in the modern high school environment. For instance, Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) – the former boyfriend of Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie) and Cassie Howard (Sydney Sweeney) – is, practically, the teenage poster child for toxic masculinity and internalized homophobia.
Lila West (Dexter)
Sometimes it is crazy to think that one of the worst major villains on Dexter was, at one time, a love interest of Michael C. Hall's titular homicidal vigilante. When his relationship with Rita hits a rough patch in Season 2, Dexter indulges in a relationship with his rehab sponsor, Lila West (Jaime Murray), who proves to be a worse sociopath than he is.
Alex Le Domas (Ready Or Not)
In 2019's Ready or Not, instant classic horror movie final girl Grace (Samara Weaving) discovers she is the target of her in-laws' deadly game of Hide-and-Seek, which her husband, Alex Le Domas (Mark O'Brien), initially tries to help her escape. However, when she rejects him as a result of the trauma his murderous, Satanic family caused (and which he failed to properly warn her about before tying the knot), he betrays her and submits to the ritual to sacrifice her which, thankfully, gloriously backfires on them.
Stacey (American History X)
Derek Vinyard's (Edward Fulong) relationship with his girlfriend, Stacey (Fairuza Balk), in 1998's American History X, seemed to be at its best before his three-year stint in prison when they both were on the same page about white supremacy. After he returns and tries to convince her to leave the neo-Nazi movement with him, she thinks he is nuts to abandon that kind of life, which is an automatic dealbreaker. Good on him.
Jeffrey Fecalman (Family Guy)
In a rare dramatic moment from Family Guy, the animated series addressed the topic of domestic abuse by introducing Quagmire's (creator Seth MacFarlane) sister, Brenda (Kaitlin Olson), and her vile, deadbeat boyfriend, Jeff (Ralph Garman). After suffering to see her submit to Jeff's verbally and physically cruel treatment, Quagmire conspires with Peter (MacFarlane) and Joe (Patrick Warburton) to actually murder him.
Mrs. Griffith (Easy A)
Not only does high school guidance counselor Mrs. Griffith (Friends cast member Lisa Kudrow) cheat on her dear husband and coworker (played by Thomas Haden Church) but she does so with a student. This makes her one of the least likable characters in 2010's Easy A by a landslide.
Jason "J.D." Dean (Heathers)
In 1988's darkly comic high school movie favorite, Heathers, Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) falls for J.D. (Christian Slater). Of course, their relationship is ruined when she discovers he is a homicidal sociopath.
Meredith Blake (The Parent Trap)
In the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, Elaine Hendrix plays the elitist, materialistic, and, ultimately, evil potential stepmother to Lindsay Lohan's dual roles as estranged twin sisters, Annie and Hallie, who torture her with a series of increasingly brutal pranks. This drives Meredith to force Nick (Dennis Quaid) to choose between her or the siblings and, much to his credit, he promptly ends the relationship by choosing his daughters.
Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl)
There is a case to be made that Ed Westwick's Chuck Bass was one of the more charming characters in the Gossip Girl cast. Of course, this was a façade to downplay his unbelievably toxic and misogynistic behavior, especially at the expense of his girlfriend-turned-wife, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester).
Jenny “G-Girl” Johnson (My Super Ex-Girlfriend)
In almost any other case, finding out that your significant other is a superhero would be pretty cool. However, in the case of Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson) from director Ivan Reitman's My Super Ex-Girlfriend, it's a nightmare because Jenny Johnson (Uma Thurman), who fights crime as G-Girl, is a needy, jealous, manipulative woman who uses her powers as revenge on Matt after he dumps her.
Adrian Griffin (The Invisible Man)
Writer and director Leigh Whannell brilliantly reimagined H.G. Wells' seminal story, The Invisible Man, into something of a sci-fi version of Sleeping with the Enemy with his 2020 hit. It follows Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) who, after escaping her marriage to abusive optics engineer Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), becomes convinced that he has found a way to continue stalking her and controlling her every move without being seen.
Lori (Total Recall)
Imagine finding out everything you thought you knew about your life was a lie, including your marriage. That is what happens to Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in the 1992 sci-fi thriller, Total Recall, who eventually shoots and kills the secret agent he thought was his wife, Lori (Sharon Stone), before quipping, "Consider that a divorce."
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