History Main / DestructiveRomance

* ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'' has Miles and Esme in season 15. Pre-relationship, he already had a lot of trust issues and mental health problems that stemmed from his abusive father. Then he met Esme and they became friends with benefits and he got even worse. She seems to be just as messed up and in an attempt to help him got him hooked on pills. Together they isolated themselves from everyone else and encouraged each other in their destructive behaviour. When he decided to get clean and become friends with his former boyfriend/best friend again, she faked a suicide attempt to get his attention, scared of being alone.

* ''Literature/DevilVenerableAlsoWantsToKnow'': Baili Qingmiao's relationship with He Wenzhao consistently leaves her feeling miserable and heartbroken because she repeatedly sacrifices everything she has for him, including even her ability to become a powerful goddess again, but he keeps sleeping around with other women and prioritizing his own needs and feelings over hers. The book that tells their romance from her perspective is even titled ''Abusive Romance'' and [[spoiler:the book series ''God of Annihilation'' that continues their story from his perspective shows that their relationship ultimately destroys the ''[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt entire universe]] when her sacrifice for him causes the cosmos to collapse back into formless chaos]].

* Music/MirandaLambert's "Bring Me Down".

* ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': Feyre's relationship with Tamlin turns out this way, as he becomes very possessive and controlling, which gradually erodes her feelings for him.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' gives us [[AscendedExtra Heidi Turner]] and [[FatBastard Eric Cartman]], which started out [[SickeningSweethearts very sweet and loving]] in Season 20, before it devolved into this in Season 21. Eric Cartman becomes miserable in his relationship with Heidi but doesn't want to end it because of his [[AttentionWhore constant need for attention]] and is emotionally manipulating her into staying with him. Likewise the only reason Heidi is still with him is that [[HonorBeforeReason she doesn't want to admit to her friends she made a bad decision]], even if [[TheCorrupter his influence]] turns her into his DistaffCounterpart. The relationship has also affected other people as well, especially Kyle who was upset that he wasn't able to convince Heidi to leave Cartman blaming Canada for this,[[spoiler:which resulted in him getting the country nuked]]. Eventually [[HeelRealization Heidi realizes]] how much of a negative impact her relationship with Cartman had and how they only [[PlayingTheVictimCard saw themselves as the victim of the other spouse's emotional abuse]] and decides to end the relationship herself, not letting Cartman's emotional manipulation affect her anymore.

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* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': The relationship between [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex Asuka]] and [[ExtremeDoormat Shinji]] quite literally causes [[spoiler: TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]]. Despite their mutual attraction, she's too much of a {{Tsundere}} and he's too much of a ShrinkingViolet for them to truly understand each other, much less be open with each other about their feelings. Their failed attempts at doing so throughout the series is one of the biggest causes of {{Angst}} for both of them. This finally comes to a head during TheMovie, after [[spoiler: Rei blows off Gendou and leaves the ultimate outcome of the Human Instrumentality Project in Shinji's hands. Shinji and Asuka are two of the first to be absorbed by the LCL, and when their souls meet together it's essentially the first time in the series that they're open about their feelings for each other. Only by this point, Asuka is so angry and disgusted with him (assuming it was not a {{Flashback}}, the infamous masturbation scene was probably the last straw for her) that she rejects him, which causes him to jump at her and choke her. However, Shinji does reject Instrumentality at the last minute, and in the last scene it is implied that they may or may not be getting over their issues and reaching out to each other.]]
* An interpretation of Chiaki and [[{{Yandere}} Hatori's]] relationship in ''Manga/SekaiIchiHatsukoi''. While it's obvious they're an {{Official Couple}} from the two openings from the anime, their relationship in the series doesn't seem to work. What could have been a {{Childhood Friend Romance}} ended up becoming this due to how different the two are in work ethics and personality. (Chiaki is a [[ManChild childish]], [[LazyBum lazy]] person despite being one of the top manga authors in Japan while Hatori is [[TheStoic serious]], [[MarriedtotheJob hard working]] and has to force Chiaki to do almost everything.) It gets to the point that neither can live without the [[LivingEmotionalCrutch other supporting them.]] This has shown to backfire though as once they do get together [[spoiler: after Hatori brutally [[RapeAsDrama rapes]] Chiaki, mind you, and it's not [[BreaktheCutie played for fanservice or laughs]]]], the episodes after that show them fighting more than making love to each other to the point where it seems like both of them can't seem to trust each other to not cheat on them and snap whenever one accuses the other of cheating. And even though they reconcile at the end of the episode, it ends up being repeated in the next episode simply because the only reason they're in a relationship to begin with is the fact they can't function without the other. And of course, both drag in Chiaki's friend [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Yanase]] into the picture who always ends up suffering from their arguments and disagreements [[spoiler: physically and emotionally.]]
* This trope is extremely common in YaoiGenre manga in general; the main couples in ''Manga/MaidenRose'' and ''Manga/SakuraGari'' are good examples, as are [[{{Manga/Loveless}} Soubi and Seimei]] above. To a lesser extent, it's also present in YuriGenre manga (mostly older works such as ''Manga/DearBrother''). Makes sense when you consider the {{Melodrama}}-driven nature of most YaoiGenre and much YuriGenre.
* Very much so in ''Manga/FutureDiary'' between Yuno and Yuki. The best example is probably when [[spoiler: Yuno drugs Yuki, takes him to an abandoned hotel, and keeps him chained down in a basement so that the 'happy end' her diary predicts can't be interfered with. Then, when Yuki's friends finally track him down, she traps them and then tries to gas them to death.]] Thankfully, their relationship gets sorted out by the end of the series. It's brought up that the relationship is also abusive on Yuki's part, although he's nowhere near as bad as Yuno. He admits to only using her in order to survive the game and move ahead, and is just exploiting her devotion for his own needs. Yuno later acknowledges that she understands this, and is content with him using her so long as they can pretend to have a real relationship. Though later in the game, Yuki does come to genuinely care for her and stops using her.
* ''Manga/GoodnightPunpun'' has the eponymous protagonist and his love interest, Aiko. The only thing uniting the two is an unhealthy obsession and the fact that they're two damaged, broken people. They keep hurting each other more and more, and the realization that their romance has no real foundation and is fundamentally destroying them both may be a big reason why [[spoiler: Aiko eventually killed herself]].
* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'' has a lot of creepy, unhealthy relationships, but the one that best fits this trope is [[spoiler:Anthy and Akio/Dios - she used to love him as a brother, but after she sacrificed herself for him he became bitter and selfish and pulled her into a mutually manipulative, codependent incestuous relationship from which she couldn't, or wouldn't, escape for [[Really700YearsOld who knows how long]].]] Touga also uses 'joking' romantic behaviour to manipulate and control his younger sister Nanami, but they're not actually in a relationship.

* Chise and Elias's relationship in ''Manga/TheAncientMagusBride'' starts out this way, with Chise having low self-esteem and Elias becoming quite jealous of the bonds his 'bride' forms with people uninvolved with magic. [[spoiler:Elias crosses the MoralEventHorizon before things can truly go in this direction though, prompting CharacterDevelopment on both ends to ensure they have more of a healthy relationship going forward.]]
* In ''Manga/TheLoveAndCreedOfSaeMaki'', Sae is a PsychoLesbian who's wildly, madly in love with Misao, "expressing" it by abusing and controlling her. She's loved two previous girls this way before; Ena and Madoka, resulting in one dead, supposedly DrivenToSuicide, and the other disappearing along with her family.

* When mishandled, ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} and ComicBook/JeanGrey's relationship can come across as this, oscillating between possessiveness and infidelity from one or both of them. Scott is very jealous, especially where ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is concerned; but is himself less than totally loyal and has cheated or come close to cheating on Jean more than once. Jean meanwhile went so far as to attack ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} for making eyes at Scott; but, while never technically being unfaithful to him, has a history of enjoying male attention and flirting or being physically affectionate with other men, sometimes right in front of Scotty.

* A case of this trope without excessive abuse is the one between Mai and Zuko in the Avatar comics; in particular [[ComicBook/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSmokeAndShadow Smoke and Shadow]]. The more the relationship goes on, the more apparent they are both in a toxic relationship. the two are really shown just not to be able to work out. Mai and Zuko are having constant fights and breakups while suffering from PoorCommunicationKills. In comic continuity; Zuko gets along better with Suki (nothing overt from the two of them; but there's some light teasing) and Mai generally grew to love Kei Lo (though it doesn't last). It's becoming incredibly implausible that they ended up HappilyEverAfter with a child (Izumi, from Legend of Korra).
* ''ComicBook/RequiemVampireKnight'': Heinrich and Rebecca's relationship turned into this when he joined the Nazis and later found out she was Jewish. They remained together, but they became abusive towards each other where he would beat, insult, and degrade her up until she was discovered by other Nazis and sent to a concentration camp while he joined the Eastern Front to die. They were reunited in Résurrecion where Heinrich feels shame over his actions and they briefly rekindle their love. [[spoiler:He eventually realizes that if Rebecca remained with him, she'd be in torment and opts instead to release her from Résurrecion so she can ascend to Heaven]].

* In ''Fanfic/{{Dominoes}},'' Shinichi is the son of a Batman {{Expy}} called Night Baron and his girlfriend Ran and all of their friends are his father's superhero apprentices. [[LockedOutOfTheLoop None of them tell him,]] and the information disparity quickly descends into power abuse as everyone takes advantage of his lack of knowledge with the justification that it's ForTheGreaterGood and the assumption that he'll never know of the slight anyways. Ran's constant lying at his father's request "for Shinichi's own good" probably wouldn't be so bad if Shinichi had other, more stable relationships--but when compounded with everyone Shinichi knows cooperating with Night Baron's information blackout and BigBrotherIsWatching tendencies towards Shinichi and her omission of support for Shinichi in the face of his family's abuse (and her casual reinforcement of their abusive rhetoric), Shinichi is deprived of ''any'' healthy, trusting relationships, and she becomes just another thing that hurts Shinichi rather than makes him happy. Their relationship makes him feel so miserable and trapped by the time the story begins that Shinichi describes her grip on his hand as a "shackle." [[spoiler: After Shinichi finds out their secret identities and realizes how much of an inferior burden her actions imply that he is to her, Shinichi dumps her in chapter 10.]]
* The ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27236230 Heart Thief]]'' has Marc's relationship with his ex Lucien. While the relationship seemed perfect at first, Lucien soon became emotionally abusive, separating Marc from his friends, threatening everyone who either tried to hurt or flirt with him (and apparently sending at least one guy to the hospital), treating him like his property, and slowly exerting complete dominance over him; the fact that he was a VillainWithGoodPublicity didn't help. Eventually, Marc managed to break up with him and transfer to a new school to escape him, but he still has his scars from the relationship -- and even worse, Lucien ended up transferring to the same school, and upon discovering Marc has a new boyfriend, went full {{Yandere}} and got akumatized. [[spoiler:Fortunately, his good reputation gets torn down at the end of the story and he disappears from Marc's new school -- and life -- for good.]]

'''Daniel''': Lover, murderer, maker. ''[incredulous]'' [[invoked]][[WhyWouldAnyoneTakeHimBack You took him back.]]\\

* Music/MarilynManson has two entire albums based on this: ''Eat Me, Drink Me'' and ''The High End of Low''. Both were written during Manson's relationship with actress Evan Rachel-Wood. ''EMDM'' starts okay and starts to spiral out of control (which is exactly how things were going in their relationship) and ''The High End of Low'', which was written in order, starts with Manson begging her to let him love her in the song "Devour" and slowly turns from desperate love to hate, to homicidal hate (not hyperbole, he said in an interview that if he hadn't made the album, they both would be dead), to moving on and acceptance. With a few tangents against both America and himself (''Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon'' being a parody of the album ''Music/AntiChristSuperstar'', and ''We're From America'' being as critical as you'd expect).

* Music/TheMountainGoats:
** "The Alpha Couple" is this all over. Even their inevitable, final reconciliation has threatening undertones:
--->Oh sing, sing, sing, for the dying of the day.\\
Sing for the flames that will rip through here\\
And the smoke that will carry us away\\
Yeah, sing for the damage we've done\\
And the worse things that we'll do\\
Open your mouth up and sing for me now\\
And I will sing for you
** Their song "No Children" is also probably about this, though it could also be interpreted as a marriage that simply lost its passion.
--->I hope that our few remaining friends give up on trying to save us.\\
I hope we come up with a fail-safe plot to piss off the dumb few that forgave us.\\
I hope the fences we mended fall down beneath their own weight.\\
And I hope we hold on past the last exit,\\
I hope it's already too late.\\
And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here\\
Someday burns down.\\
And I hope that the rising black smoke carries me far away\\
And I never come back to this town again\\
In my life.\\
I hope I lie,\\
And tell everyone you were a good wife.\\
And I hope you die.\\
I hope we both die.
* "(I Hate) Everything About You" by Music/ThreeDaysGrace is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
* The lyrics of Music/SaraBareilles' "Gravity" may count as a mild version of this trope, as the song appears to be about a genuine but not-terribly-healthy passionate relationship.
* "Go to the Mattress" by Get Set Go features a couple who are just ''terrible'' together.
-->I'm a lecher, she's a cheater\\
I'll let her cut me, she likes to let me beat her\\
I'm a fucker, she's a screamer\\
I may be tougher, but she's definitely meaner.

* Music/PinkFloyd: In ''Music/TheWall'', the track "Don't Leave Me Now" sees Pink reflect on his collapsing marriage by portraying it as this, with him as the destructive party. Pink notes how he would "put [his wife] through the shredder in front of [his] friends" and "beat [her] to a pulp on a Saturday night," though the film adaptation clarifies that he was simply exaggerating his faults out of anger and self-pity. In actuality, he was emotionally distant from his wife rather than aggressive. This contradiction is consolidated in "The Trial", where Pink envisions his now-ex-wife giving him a tremendous TheReasonYouSuck speech about how much pain his lack of warmth and commitment caused.
* Music/{{Maroon 5}}'s "One More Night" is about a guy that keeps arguing with his significant other, but he can't leave her due to her excellent love-making in bed. He regrets doing it, but he keeps coming back for more, thus being unable to break out of the abusive relationship.
* Music/MirandaLambert's "Bring Me Down".

* Music/PoetsOfTheFall's "[[https://youtu.be/DwmNefMrVB0?list=PLjACqN5i5sDUEienDV52g85W6J7chzLXV Kamikaze Love]]" has a pair reveling in their illicit, volatile and presumably doomed romance.
-->Take me where the angels fall\\
You take it all\\
You give no quarter for my love\\
You raise me high to tear me down\\
Leaves you reeling, feels like stealing\\
Frantic moments of kamikaze love
* Music/SufjanStevens:
** "Drawn to the Blood", about Domestic Abuse.
--->The strength of his arm, my lover caught me off-guard
** "The Owl and the Tanager", about a secret, emotionally painful relationship (also involving some violence).
--->I'm bleeding in spite of my love for you, it bruised and bruised my will
** "All of Me Wants All of You", about a relationship that's lost all passion and intimacy.
--->I'm just a ghost you walk right through
* Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine's "Kiss With a Fist" is either this or RomanticizedAbuse:
-->You hit me once\\
I hit you back\\
You gave a kick\\
I gave a slap\\
You smashed a plate over my head\\
Then I set fire to our bed
* [[https://g.co/kgs/TtyH2B Ga1ahad and Scientific Witchery]] by Mili tells the story of a pair of doomed lovers who do their best to kill each other.

* "Laid" by James is another that could either be about this or RomanticizedAbuse:
-->Caught your hand inside the till\\
Slammed your fingers in the door\\
Fought with kitchen knives and skewers\\
Dressed me up in women's clothes\\
Messed around with gender roles\\
Line my eyes and call me pretty\\
\\
Moved out of the house so you moved next door\\
I locked you out, you cut a hole in the wall\\
I found you sleeping next to me, I thought I was alone\\
You're driving me crazy, when are you coming home
* "Concrete Wall" by Zee Avi is about a relationship gone sour and bordering on a break-up.
* "Sea of Sorrow" by Music/AliceInChains is a BreakupSong from the perspective of a narrator escaping a toxic codependent relationship who reminds his ex that without him, their problems are now theirs alone and they no longer have him to lean on and prop them up while they drown in their own dysfunction.
* "[[https://youtu.be/tCWCiGx68dA Circles]]" by Series/AmericanIdol alum Will Makar is told from the point of view of a broken man who is trapped in an unhappy relationship. Fighting over nothing in particular is commonplace, and he is regularly getting calls from this woman begging for forgiveness for whatever she's done. He knows very well that he needs to get out of the relationship, but he just keeps finding himself going back to her, [[DespairEventHorizon and he spends sleepless nights contemplating the hopeless situation he's in]].

* Music/AliceCooper:
** "Poison":
-->I hear you calling and it's needles and pins (and pins)\\
I want to hurt you just to hear you screaming my name\\
Don't want to touch you but you're under my skin (deep in)\\
I want to kiss you but your lips are venomous poison\\
You're poison running through my veins\\
You're poison\\
I don't want to break these chains\\
Poison
** "Bed of Nails":
-->You can make me die\\
I can make you cry\\
Opposites attract\\
That's the reason why
* Much of Stabbing Westward's catalogue is made up of songs about toxic relationships, playing the TrueArtIsAngsty trope to the hilt. To wit, "Lies" from ''Ungod'':
-->Hatred runs through me marrow deep\\
I long to tear your eyes out in your sleep\\
This passion can lead to evil crimes\\
Do I kill you or do I choose to die?\\
Acid burn etched in my brain\\
Someone dies before I go insane\\
I was searching for some answer in your eyes\\
I find malicious laughter and a love that has died
* Chelsea Collins's "Happy Together" is about one of these; the singer and their partner are both miserable with each other, but neither can bring themselves to leave.
-->I'm an indecisive lover, I keep hurting you again\\
But you're not any better, baby, so it never ends\\
I know we'll never be happy together
* "Heart to Break" by Music/KimPetras is about her giving her heart to someone whom she knows will probably lead her to ruin.
-->Even if it means that I'll never put myself back together\\
Gonna give you my heart to break\\
Even if I'll end up in shatters, baby it doesn't matter\\
Gonna give you my heart to break\\
I tried to fight, but I can't help it\\
Don't care if this is my worst mistake\\
'Cause no one else could do it better\\
That's why I give you my heart to break

* Music/SharonVanEtten: "Your Love Is Killing Me"'s lyrics are clear that the relationship is incredibly toxic:
-->''Break my legs so I won't walk to you\\
Cut my tongue so I can't talk to you\\
Burn my skin so I can't feel you\\
Stab my eyes so I can't see\\
You like it when I let you walk over me\\
You tell me that you like it\\
Your love is killing me''

-->''Mess with their heads. Get it so the victims love their keepers, will do anything for them (even better if they can work one of the couple against the other--[[LampshadeHanging so sweet, that betrayal]]).''
--->'''Night Horrors: Immortal Sinners, pg. 74'''

* Norma and Joe's relationship in ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'': and ''oh'', what a dysfunctional one it is, with Norma's outbursts and Joe's passive-aggressive BS. Close to the end, it turns out that [[spoiler:Norma's relationship with her butler is even worse.]]

* ''Theatre/ExitPursuedByABear'': Even though she's trying to take her stand against him, Nan still isn't completely over Kyle - and he knows exactly how to manipulate her feelings for him, [[spoiler:sending her from vengefulness to questioning her motives to a breakdown to submission to falling in love all over again in the course of a few pages.]]

* In ''WebComic/{{Erfworld}}'', the romance between Wanda and Jillian is shown to be unhealthy, tinged with abuse, and possibly sanity-damaging for both women. Wanda uses their BDSM sex as an opening to lace MindRape spells on Jillian, turning her into an unwitting mole who would willingly betray her side time and time again in order to return to the pleasures of Wanda's dungeon sessions. When Jillian becomes aware of the spell, she forcibly breaks it and calls Wanda out on abusing her like that. Despite this, both women remain obsessed with each other. Jillian first endangers herself trying to slay Stanley, then offers to help Wanda sack the kingdom of Jetstone -- her ally and the kingdom of Jillian's boyfriend, Ansom -- if she will defect to Jillian's kingdom, despite knowing that this will bring her other allies screaming after her head. Though she shakes this off when she realizes that Wanda will never allow her any autonomy, in the bedroom or outside of it, that just makes Wanda [[ItsAllAboutMe sink deeper into obsession]]. Once Jillian makes it clear that she has truly chosen Ansom over her, [[GreenEyedMonster that's when Wanda]] ''[[GreenEyedMonster really]]'' [[GreenEyedMonster snaps]]: she makes it her new dedicated goal [[IfICantHaveYou to kill Jillian]] and revive her as a Decrypted, forcing her to [[AndIMustScream mindlessly love and obey Wanda alone]].

* In ''Literature/{{Twig}}'', Sylvester confesses to Lillian that his fear of engaging in one of these is why he hasn't acted on his and Mary's mutual attraction. Mary, a LaserGuidedTykeBomb who has been [[DefusingTheTykeBomb defused]] by ThePowerOfFriendship, is both deadly and emotionally vulnerable enough to push Sy's ManipulativeBastard button so that he starts pushing her by instinct, while she in turn eggs him on, which Sy fears could culminate in them making each other into the worst possible versions of themselves.
* Between Frank and Courtney on ''Series/TheCryOfMann''. The two of them are implicitly having an affair, with Frank even calling her "princess" and the two being very physical with each other...but they both also spend the whole time bitter and angry, mocking and threatening each other and dragging each other down. Frank even betrays Courtney by giving her Gergiev's "medicine".

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' gives us [[AscendedExtra Heidi Turner]] and [[FatBastard Eric Cartman]], which started out [[SickeningSweethearts very sweet and loving]] in Season 20, before it devolved into this in Season 21. Eric Cartman becomes miserable in his relationship with Heidi but doesn't want to end it because of his [[AttentionWhore constant need for attention]] and is emotionally manipulating her into staying with him. Likewise the only reason Heidi is still with him is that [[HonorBeforeReason she doesn't want to admit to her friends she made a bad decision,]] even if [[TheCorrupter his influence]] turns her into his DistaffCounterpart. The relationship has also affected other people as well, especially Kyle who was upset that he wasn't able to convince Heidi to leave Cartman blaming Canada for this,[[spoiler: which resulted in him getting the country nuked.]] Eventually [[HeelRealization Heidi realizes]] how much of a negative impact her relationship with Cartman had and how they only [[PlayingTheVictimCard saw themselves as the victim of the other spouse's emotional abuse]] and decides to end the relationship herself, not letting Cartman's emotional manipulation affect her anymore.
* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', [[FusionDance Malachite]] is quite literally an abusive relationship personified. In "Jail Break", Lapis Lazuli is persuaded to fuse with Jasper, but then she drags them both under the ocean, forcing Jasper to stay fused with her for months. This takes a heavy psychological toll on them both. In "Alone at Sea", Lapis admits that she was abusive towards Jasper, even while in the fusion ("I ''liked'' taking everything out on you [Jasper]. I needed to, I-I hated you! It was bad!"). However, Jasper seems too attached to the relationship they had, ''begging'' Lapis to become Malachite with her again. Lapis declines, saying that "what we had wasn't healthy" and that she never wants to feel like she did with Jasper again.

* ''LightNovel/MirageOfBlaze'': Kagetora and Naoe's relationship when Naoe starts proving himself to be a {{Yandere}}, tries to rape Kagetora, and MurderTheHypotenuse.

* Surprisingly, the ''Literature/ThreeHundredSixtyFiveDays'' trilogy ultimately comes to this conclusion about Laura and Massimo's relationship (considering that Massimo is initially portrayed as a [[FetishizedAbuser legitimate love interest]] despite his ''many'' flaws); the books increasingly present Massimo's aggression, manipulation, jealousy and ControlFreak tendencies towards Laura as being something negative. Both are often miserable around each other and are driven to substance abuse to cope, as well as cheating on each other. [[spoiler:After Massimo tricks her into choosing him over Nacho, only to drug her, imprison her, and attempt to impregnate her against her will, Laura escapes and ends their relationship for good]].

-->'''Josef:''' You have to understand, Mick and Coraline's relationship was one of those terrifying, completely self-destructive freakshows that you spend your whole life searching for knowing it can only end in one or both of you dead.
-->'''Beth:''' That's your idea of love?
-->'''Josef:''' What can I tell you, I'm a romantic.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Daniel Molloy describes Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt's romance as an abusive one, calling it "classic Stockholm." Lestat is a classic example of a DomesticAbuser, and Louis is a victim of intimate partner violence who still loves his abuser. The last few episodes of Season 1 play out the "cycle of abuse" -- tension culminating in an incident of abuse (Lestat almost killing Louis), followed by apologies (Lestat is thrown out until he grovels and is allowed back home), reconciliation, a calm "honeymoon" phase, until tension starts to mount again. There's an uncomfortable scene in episode 6 where Louis is UnfocusedDuringIntimacy because he doesn't actually want to have sex, but he's so frightened that Lestat will punish him again for not loving him enough that Louis simply lies on their bed and lets Lestat have his way with his body. Louis later has a bout of suicidal ideation when he imagines himself as a [[WeakenedByTheLight pile of ash]] because he dreads returning to the "crypt" of the "undeserving Lestat." By episode 7, Lestat has enclosed Louis in a GildedCage and keeps his lover on such a tight leash that the only escape route that's available to Louis is to [[DivorceRequiresDeath murder his boyfriend]]. Louis ''almost'' does, but his love for Lestat is stronger than his hate, so he's unable to perform the final step, which is to burn Lestat's body. Louis flees to Europe, but Lestat is NotQuiteDead.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Daniel Molloy describes Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt's romance as an abusive one, calling it "classic Stockholm". Lestat is a classic example of a DomesticAbuser, and Louis is a victim of intimate partner violence who still loves his abuser. The last few episodes of Season 1 play out the "cycle of abuse" -- tension culminating in an incident of abuse (Lestat almost killing Louis), followed by apologies (Lestat is thrown out until he grovels and is allowed back home), reconciliation, a calm "honeymoon" phase, until tension starts to mount again. There's an uncomfortable scene in episode 6 where Louis is UnfocusedDuringIntimacy because he doesn't actually want to have sex, but he's so frightened that Lestat will punish him again for not loving him enough that Louis simply lies on their bed and lets Lestat have his way with his body. Louis later has a bout of suicidal ideation when he imagines himself as a [[WeakenedByTheLight pile of ash]] because he dreads returning to the "crypt" of the "undeserving Lestat." By episode 7, Lestat has enclosed Louis in a GildedCage and keeps his lover on such a tight leash that the only escape route that's available to Louis is to [[DivorceRequiresDeath murder his boyfriend]]. Louis ''almost'' does, but his love for Lestat is stronger than his hate, so he's unable to perform the final step, which is to burn Lestat's body. Louis flees to Europe, but Lestat is NotQuiteDead.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Daniel Molloy describes Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt's romance as an abusive one, and he also adds that Louis is suffering from StockholmSyndrome [[note]]the trope's description has "It can also happen in [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] [[MaritalRapeLicense marriages or relationships]]"[[/note]]. Lestat is a classic example of a DomesticAbuser, and Louis is a victim of intimate partner violence who still loves his abuser. The last few episodes of Season 1 play out the "cycle of abuse" -- tension culminating in an incident of abuse (Lestat almost killing Louis), followed by apologies (Lestat is thrown out until he grovels and is allowed back home), reconciliation, a calm "honeymoon" phase, until tension starts to mount again. There's an uncomfortable scene in episode 6 where Louis is UnfocusedDuringIntimacy because he doesn't actually want to have sex, but he's so frightened that Lestat will punish him again for not loving him enough that Louis simply lies on their bed and lets Lestat have his way with his body. Louis later has a bout of suicidal ideation when he imagines himself as a [[WeakenedByTheLight pile of ash]] because he dreads returning to the "crypt" of the "undeserving Lestat." By episode 7, Lestat has enclosed Louis in a GildedCage and keeps his lover on such a tight leash that the only escape route that's available to Louis is to [[DivorceRequiresDeath murder his boyfriend]]. Louis ''almost'' does, but his love for Lestat is stronger than his hate, so he's unable to perform the final step, which is to burn Lestat's body. Louis flees to Europe, but Lestat is NotQuiteDead.

'''Daniel''': Lover, murderer, maker. ''(incredulous)'' [[invoked]][[WhyWouldAnyoneTakeHimBack You took him back.]]\\

Compare WomanScorned for when the destructiveness is caused by the termination of the romance rather then the romance itself. Contrast SafeSaneAndConsensual and CasualKink for stuff that might ''look'' like destructive romance without actually being it. ADeadlyAffair is a subtrope for when the romance involves infidelity and leads to death. See also SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': The relationship between [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex Asuka]] and [[ExtremeDoormat Shinji]] quite literally causes [[spoiler: TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt]]. Despite their mutual attraction, she's too much of a {{Tsundere}} and he's too much of a ShrinkingViolet for them to truly understand each other, much less be open with each other about their feelings. Their failed attempts at doing so throughout the series is one of the biggest causes of {{Angst}} for both of them. This finally comes to a head during TheMovie, after [[spoiler: Rei blows off Gendou and leaves the ultimate outcome of the Human Instrumentality Project in Shinji's hands. Shinji and Asuka are two of the first to be absorbed by the LCL, and when their souls meet together it's essentially the first time in the series that they're open about their feelings with each other. Only by this point, Asuka is so angry and disgusted with him (assuming it was not a {{Flashback}}, the infamous masturbation scene was probably the last straw for her) that she rejects him, which causes him to jump at her and choke her. However, Shinji does reject Instrumentality at the last minute, and in the last scene it is implied that they may or may not be getting over their issues and reaching out to each other.]]
* An interpretation of Chiaki and [[{{Yandere}} Hatori's]] relationship in ''Manga/SekaiIchiHatsukoi''. While it's obvious they're an {{Official Couple}} from the two openings from the anime, their relationship in series doesn't seem to work. What could have been a {{Childhood Friend Romance}} ended up becoming this due to how different the two are in work ethics and personality. (Chiaki is a [[ManChild childish]], [[LazyBum lazy]] person despite being one of the top manga authors in Japan while Hatori is [[TheStoic serious]], [[MarriedtotheJob hard working]] and has to force Chiaki to do almost everything.) It gets to the point that neither can live without the [[LivingEmotionalCrutch other supporting them.]] This has shown to backfire though as once they do get together [[spoiler: after Hatori brutally [[RapeAsDrama rapes]] Chiaki, mind you, and it's not [[BreaktheCutie played for fanservice or laughs]]]], the episodes after that show them fighting more than making love to each other to the point where it seems like both of them can't seem to trust each other to not cheat on them and snap whenever one accuses the other of cheating. And even though they reconcile at the end of the episode, it ends up being repeated in the next episode simply because the only reason they're in a relationship to begin with is the fact they can't function without the other. And of course, both drag in Chiaki's friend [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend Yanase]] into the picture who always ends up suffering from their arguments and disagreements [[spoiler: physically and emotionally.]]

* Very much so in ''Manga/FutureDiary'' between Yuno and Yuki. The best example is probably when [[spoiler: Yuno drugs Yuki, takes him to an abandoned hotel and keeps him chained down in a basement so that the 'happy end' her diary predicts can't be interfered with. Then, when Yuki's friends finally track him down, she traps them and then tries to gas them to death.]] Thankfully, their relationship get sorted out by the end of the series. It's brought up that the relationship is also abusive on Yuki's part, although he's nowhere near as bad as Yuno. He admits to only using her in order to survive the game and move ahead, and is just exploiting her devotion for his own needs. Yuno later acknowledges that she understands this, and is content with him using her so long as they can pretend to have a real relationship. Though later in the game, Yuki does come to genuinely care for her and stops using her.
* ''Manga/GoodnightPunpun'' has the eponymous protagonist and his love interest, Aiko. The only thing uniting the two is an unhealthy obsession, and the fact that they're two damaged, broken people. They keep hurting each other more and more, and the realization that their romance has no real foundation and is fundamentally destroying them both may be a big reason why [[spoiler: Aiko eventually killed herself]].

* ''Manga/VampireKnight'': [[spoiler:Yuuki and Kaname, being prone to bring out the worst in each other. With him, Yuuki changes from her determined, energetic, joyful and relatively action-driven self to being a needy, insecure, whiny and timid StayInTheKitchen girlfriend, being "reminded of her place" and how weak she is, should she ever oppose him. In turn, Kaname keeps manipulating and killing whoever he sees fit “for her sake” (awaiting no request from her), leaving her with the guilt and sadness from it afterwards. There are also very few, if any, cases of the two looking happy together (unless you refer to five-year-old Yuuki.)]]

* In ''Manga/TheLoveAndCreedOfSaeMaki'', Sae is a PsychoLesbian who's wildly, madly in love with Misao, "expressing" it by abusing and controlling her. She's loved two previous girls this way before; Ena and Madoka, resulting in one dead, supposedly DrivenToSuicide, and the other disappeared along with her family.

* In ''ComicBook/BitchyButch'', one of the main sources of the protagonist's permanent foul mood is that she got her heart broken by her first serious girlfriend. First the girlfriend was unfaithful, sleeping with another woman without asking for an open relationship first. When discovered, she declares an open relationship retroactively, and Butchy accepts it on a theoretical level. On a emotional level, she obviously never got over it.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Fables}}'', the relationship between Jack and Rose Red has more then a hint of this even from the start, with Rose Red eventually realizing that they only brought out the worst in each other. When she later reconnects with him, it's out of pure self-hatred. Their new relationship drags her down even further.

* Issue #11 of the comic series ''Flinch'' features a short story titled "Red Romance" (illustrated by Creator/BruceTimm, of all people) where a man and a woman, both sociopathic lowlifes, fall in love and begin a relationship that involves sickening amounts of [[MasochismTango Masochistic Tangoing]] until even this violence isn't enough to satisfy their desires. It leads to the jaded man hiring a specialist to torture and kill her while he watches, only to discover she hired the specialist for the exact same reason. The story ends with the couple in orgasmic ecstasy as they watch one another get horribly brutalized, before the specialist finally kills them and leaves them in each other's arms on the bloodstained bed. A story that manages to be touchingly romantic AND incredibly disturbing at the same time.

* Roy Harper and Cheshire's relationship in ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'' and other related series is this, on the part of the former. No one can understand as to how Roy could possibly have any sort of feeling of love towards Cheshire, who is a PsychoForHire genocidal maniac and the mother of his daughter, Lian. Although there is the fact that most of it stems from him not wanting Lian to see her mother be caged like an animal. In the first ''Titans'' series Roy's conflicting feelings towards Cheshire were causing problems with his relationship with Donna Troy, which Donna eventually ended. Not long after Roy finally came to terms with the fact that Cheshire would always be a heartless murderer and eventually put his feelings to rest after she was convicted. That hasn't stopped Cheshire from multiple attempts at exploiting their past relationship to manipulate Roy for her own ends. The ''Villains United'' miniseries leads strength to the argument that Cheshire is incapable of love unless it's a means for her goals.

* ''ComicBook/RequiemVampireKnight'': Heinrich and Rebecca's relationship turned into this when he joined the Nazis and later found out she was Jewish. They remained together, but they became abusive towards each other where he would beat, insult and degrade her up until she was discovered by other Nazis and sent to an concentration camp while he joined the Eastern Front to die. They were reunited in Résurrecion where Heinrich feels shame over his actions and they briefly rekindle their love. [[spoiler:He eventually realizes that if Rebecca remained with him, she'd be in torment and opts instead to release her from Résurrecion so she can ascend to Heaven]].

* The ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27236230 Heart Thief]]'' has Marc's relationship with his ex, Lucien. While the relationship seemed perfect at first, Lucien soon became emotionally abusive, separating Marc from his friends, threatening everyone who either tried to hurt or flirt with him (and apparently sending at least one guy to the hospital), treating him like his property, and slowly exerting complete dominance over him; the fact that he was a VillainWithGoodPublicity didn't help. Eventually, Marc managed to break up with him and transfer to a new school to escape him, but he still has his scars from the relationship -- and even worse, Lucien ended up transferring to the same school, and upon discovering Marc has a new boyfriend, went full {{Yandere}} and got akumatized. [[spoiler:Fortunately, his good reputation gets torn down at the end of the story and he disappears from Marc's new school -- and life -- for good.]]

* ''Film/NineAndAHalfWeeks'': Elizabeth and John's relationship is ''not'' a healthy one and takes a toll on Elizabeth's mental stability in particular. John's BDSM-themed behavior and mind games border on or cross into physical and emotional abuse, as Elizabeth is clearly uncomfortable with and openly protests some aspects of the relationship. She becomes increasingly dependent on him [[LivingEmotionalCrutch for emotional stability]] despite him holding her at arm's length emotionally-speaking, while he begins [[ControlFreak controlling all aspects of her life]]. John treats it as a game, apparently oblivious until the very end to the fact his behavior is having a serious negative impact on Elizabeth. [[spoiler:John finally admits he does truly care about Elizabeth, but his manipulative and cruel behavior has already prompted her to leave him]].

* ''Film/{{Gilda}}'' is all about the love-hate relationship between Johnny and Gilda. The entire plot revolves around the psychological, emotional and physical abuse they inflict on one another, which gets increasingly nasty and violent and bizarre, to the point where both of them are practically mentally unhinged by the end of the film.
* In ''Film/IShotJesseJames'', the relationship between Cynthy Waters and Robert Ford is largely based on Cynthy's fear of Robert after he kills UsefulNotes/JesseJames. Her fear that he'll hurt her in some way makes her grow more distant, until she [[spoiler: dumps Robert for [[TheRival his rival]] John Kelley]].

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': As sweet as it can be at times, Anakin and Padmé's relationship wasn't healthy. When you have two people trained from a ''very'' young age to live a life of nothing but duty, and essentially forbid them normal, healthy relationships, there's no way it can end in anything but this trope. It's especially bad for Anakin because this prohibition is one of the seeds that would lead him to TheDarkSide when he becomes obsessed with protecting her at any cost. After Anakin turns to the Dark Side in ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', the relationship becomes blatantly abusive – he twists the truth or just straight up lies to Padmé to cover up his crimes, starts treating her more like a possession than his wife and lashes out at her with the Force, ultimately causing her death. Anakin is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone horrified]] at this once he comes to his senses, but by then it's too late.

* Surprisingly, the ''Literature/ThreeHundredSixtyFiveDays'' trilogy ultimately comes to this conclusion about Laura and Massimo's relationship (considering that Massimo is initially portrayed as a [[FetishizedAbuser legitimate love interest]] despite his ''many'' flaws); the books increasingly present Massimo's aggression, manipulation, jealousy and ControlFreak tendencies towards Laura as being something negative. Both are often miserable around each other and are driven to substance abuse to cope, as well as cheating on each other. [[spoiler:After Massimo tricks her into choosing him over Nacho, only to drug her, imprison her and attempt to impregnate her against her will, Laura escapes and ends their relationship for good]].

** Firstly between the innocent Molly and the manipulative Stan who constantly mistreats her, cheats on her and coerces her into criminal acts she doesn't want to take part in.

* ''Literature/TheTenantOfWildfellHall'': Helen and Huntingdon's marriage. Huntingdon associates love with complete submission and compliance, Helen associates love with trying to improve her husband's faults. At first this only causes a few spats, but later Huntingdon starts going out of the way to be horrible just to spite Helen and Helen stops giving him any affection and encouragement at all. It's more Huntingdon's fault than Helen's, but after a few years their marriage crumbles completely.

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Jimmy's relationship with Kim. Jimmy helps bring out the self-destructive streak hidden within Kim, and Kim's tolerance of Jimmy's schemes has also made it easier for Jimmy to rationalize and act on his worst impulses. [[spoiler: This gets terribly deconstructed late in the series. The two have so much fun in their joint attempt to discredit Howard Hamlin, planting fake evidence and espionage to discredit him and make him come off as a drug addict, all due to a mutual grudge shared towards him between Jimmy and Kim. This leads to Howard confronting them at their apartment over this, when Lalo Salamanca shows up as well, also due to being associated with Jimmy and Kim. [[HeKnowsTooMuch He kills Howard on the spot for realizing his involvement with the two lawyers]], which utterly shocks Jimmy and Kim. Later, they have to attend a funeral wake for Howard at his law firm, which is downsizing because the last remaining founder of it is gone, and are forced to lie to his widowed wife to deflect blame off of them and make her view her deceased husband as an addict who killed himself. All of this culminates in Kim [[HeelRealization realizing how much trouble they have caused]], and leaves her fully convinced that the two together ruin people's lives around them as a couple. So she decides to break up with Jimmy, move out of the apartment they shared together, and leave Albuquerque]].

** Matt Murdock and Elektra Natchios. When they dated in college, Matt nearly ruined his future because of how much of a bad influence Elektra was on him. When she comes back into his life on Stick's orders to bring him into Stick's war against the Hand, his career and budding relationship with Karen Page are shattered as a direct result. And it's a two way street: Matt's ''positive'' influence has a ''negative'' effect on Elektra; she struggles with self-loathing because Matt's restraint makes her feel like a monster, her strive to be better because of him causes her to reject her teachings and puts her in the crosshairs of the Chaste (who, by virtue of her being the Black Sky, consider her too dangerous to leave as a WildCard), and ultimately [[spoiler:results in her death and resurrection by the Hand when she chooses to side with him against them.]]

* ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'' has Miles and Esme in season 15. Pre-relationship, he already had a lot of trust issues and mental health problems that stemmed from his abusive father. Then he met Esme and they became friends-with-benefits and he got even worse. She seems to be just as messed up and in an attempt to help him got him hooked on pills. Together they isolated themselves from everyone else and encouraged each other in their destructive behaviour. When he decided to get clean and become friends with his former boyfriend/best friend again, she faked a suicide attempt to get his attention, scared of being alone.

** Maddy and Nate are agonizingly unhealthy. Nate is a poster-boy for toxic masculinity, belittling Maddy and physically attacks her at points. Maddy is unable to separate herself from him and frequently goes back.

* ''Series/{{Glee}}'': Terri spells out to Will that the only reason their marriage works is because it's one of these. Will, actually wanting to be in a healthy relationship, leaves.

* Music/KellyClarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You", especially since it's about an off and on relationship.

* Music/{{Megadeth}}'s Dave Mustaine had an infamously turbulent relationship throughout the 80's. In fact, several songs -- most famously "Last Rites/Loved to Deth" and "Tornado of Souls" are about this woman. Needless to say... the lyrics paint quite a picture. Just take a peek at some choice lyrics.

Not from the tears, just self abuse

* Music/{{Miserable}} by Music/{{Lit}} is all about this type of relationship, as exemplified by its chorus ''"You make me come/You make me complete/You make me completely Miserable"''. Judging by the video it is far more destructive for the (male) singer than for the woman he's with. As while she is [[GiantWoman enormous]] and very casually in control of him the whole time, he's [[TinyGuyHugeGirl small]] and very much at her mercy. Once she's done using him for her amusement she happily devours him via tossing him into her mouth like a grape while he flails helplessly, then strutting off into the horizon.

* Norma and Joe's relationship in ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'': and ''oh'', what a dysfunctional one it is, with Norma's outbursts and Joe's passive aggressive BS. Close to the end, it turns out that [[spoiler:Norma's relationship with her butler is even worse.]]
* Eddie and May in Sam Shepard's play ''Fool for Love''. For over a decade their relationship's been a nonstop violent power struggle consisting of one trying to run away from the other only for the two to come back together time and again. For extra {{Squick}}, [[spoiler:they also happen to be [[BrotherSisterIncest half-siblings]]...and even after finding this out they still kept seeing each other. They're also mirroring the dysfunctional dynamic their father had with each of their mothers]].
* J.D. and Veronica in ''{{Theatre/Heathers}}'' are a hot mess. Veronica knows it. J.D. doesn't. They're only seventeen, and start dating barely twelve hours after they first meet (when J.D. beats up two guys Veronica hates, which gets her ''[[InLoveWithYourCarnage very]]'' interested...), and the relationship becomes very serious and intense very quickly. When J.D. finds out an AlphaBitch is giving Veronica trouble, he decides to solve the problem by murdering her. Then, when two {{Jerk Jock}}s spread hurtful rumors about her, he kills ''them'', and [[ManipulativeBastard manipulates Veronica into helping]]. Despite this, Veronica stays with him, pleading with him to stop the killings, and he listens -- for maybe a week. Finally, Veronica decides enough is enough and dumps him, but he still remains madly in love with her, and she clearly still has some affection for him in spite of herself. [[spoiler:In the end, J.D. blows himself up to save her, and his last action before being blown sky-high is to simply reaching out for her, and she reaches back...]] ''Jeez''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodwash}}'': The few hints we get about Sara and Liam's relationship suggests it's not a healthy one. Liam is extremely lazy and unsupportive of Sara, even though she's studying full-time, trying to find a job and pregnant with his child. Sara is so angry with him at the start she can't bring herself to talk to him. Sara also indicates he [[TheAlcoholic drinks a lot]]; Stan expresses concern he could become abusive towards her and offers to help her leave him if she needs to. [[spoiler:Post-game, it's revealed that Sara broke up with him afterwards because she realized he was a risk to her child.]]
* ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'': [[spoiler:[[AmbitionIsEvil Penelope]] only hooked with Bentley because she believed he held the key to [[TakeOverTheWorld power]] and [[{{Fiction500}} fortune]], but since his childhood friends are in the way, she intends to murder them both to keep Bentley to herself. When Bentley finds out, the revelation of being in an abusive relationship with a [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] GoldDigger who [[DidYouActuallyBelieve insults him in private]] causes him to tuck into his shell in heartbreak. By the time Bentley confronts Penelope of her sins, she [[VillainousBreakdown ignores his words]] and [[MoralEventHorizon attacks him]]]].

* ''Webcomic/LoreOlympus'': Hades knows his relationship with Minthe is toxic and unhealthy, but decided that since they're both unhappy people they might as well be unhappy together. When Minthe thought Hades might be leaving her for Persephone, she admits that what they have might not be love but she's doesn't want it to end, showing that she's emotionally dependent on Hades to some extent.

* All of Romeo's romances in the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse''. He's an incredibly handsome mutant and a member of the Bad Seeds (at least one parents must be a supervillain to be admitted). He picks dowdy girls who feel unattractive and tries to turn the ugly duckling into a swan. No matter how successful he is, he always creates someone who doesn't feel attractive enough compared to ''him'' and so they mistreat him and then break up with him.
* In ''WebOriginal/YouCouldMakeALife'', Nikita broke up with Luke while they were teenagers in such a callous manner that Luke never emotionally recovered from it. Their ensuing on-and-off relationship of hatesex and brutal beatdowns for the next seven years only serve to drag the embittered Luke down even further.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' gives us [[AscendedExtra Heidi Turner]] and [[FatBastard Eric Cartman]], which started out [[SickeningSweethearts very sweet and loving]] in Season 20, before it devolved into this in Season 21. Eric Cartman becomes miserable in his relationship with Heidi but doesn't want to end it because of his [[AttentionWhore constant need for attention]] and is emotionally manipulating her into staying with him. Likewise the only reason Heidi is still with him is because [[HonorBeforeReason she doesn't want to admit to her friends she made a bad decision,]] even if [[TheCorrupter his influence]] turns her into his DistaffCounterpart. The relationship has also affected other people as well, especially Kyle who was upset that he wasn't able to convince Heidi to leave Cartman blaming Canada for this,[[spoiler: which resulted in him getting the country nuked.]] Eventually [[HeelRealization Heidi realizes]] how much of a negative impact her relationship with Cartman had and how they only [[PlayingTheVictimCard saw themselves as the victim of the other spouse's emotional abuse]] and decides to end the relationship herself, not letting Cartman's emotional manipulation affect her anymore.

* Kasuga and Nakamura's relationship in ''Manga/TheFlowersOfEvil'' (as well as the anime, which is a close adaptation) is the definition of a destructive romance that is [[RomanticizedAbuse glorified]]. Their entire relationship's basis is Nakamura taking an opportunity to blackmail Kasuga. It goes even further, as she takes a great deal of disturbing pleasure out of physically and mentally abusing him without any empathy or even an inkling of remorse for his situation in sight. Pretty hard to read when you remember that both characters are in middle school during this portion of the story. This is made even worse when it's revealed that [[spoiler:she engages in abusive behaviors because she does not know how to express that she likes him in a healthy way.]] Even more disturbing is the fact that Kasuga behaves much like a real-life abuse victim. He views her in an unhealthily dependent way, [[spoiler:eventually beginning to behave erratically and out of character in able to please her. He destroys any relationships with everyone else to please her, including his family, close to disrepair. She even physically assaults his father with a baseball bat in a manic fit at random.]] Nakamura's behavior and role in the story is seen by many as [[RomanticizedAbuse endearing]] and [[LovingBully heartwarming]]. In the final chapter, which is written in her point of view, [[spoiler:the only explanation given of her self-destructive and abusive behaviors towards others is a half-hearted declaration of loneliness.]] Her abusive behavior is never properly addressed or corrected.

[[folder: Music Videos]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Daniel Molloy describes Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt's romance as an abusive one, and he also adds that Louis is suffering from StockholmSyndrome. Lestat is a classic example of a DomesticAbuser, and Louis is a victim of intimate partner violence who still loves his abuser. The last few episodes of Season 1 play out the "cycle of abuse" -- tension culminating in an incident of abuse (Lestat almost killing Louis), followed by apologies (Lestat is thrown out until he grovels and is allowed back home), reconciliation, a calm "honeymoon" phase, until tension starts to mount again. There's an uncomfortable scene in episode 6 where Louis is UnfocusedDuringIntimacy because he doesn't actually want to have sex, but he's so frightened that Lestat will punish him again for not loving him enough that Louis simply lies on their bed and lets Lestat have his way with his body. Louis later has a bout of suicidal ideation when he imagines himself as a [[WeakenedByTheLight pile of ash]] because he dreads returning to the "crypt" of the "undeserving Lestat." By episode 7, Lestat has enclosed Louis in a GildedCage and keeps his lover on such a tight leash that the only escape route that's available to Louis is to [[DivorceRequiresDeath murder his boyfriend]]. Louis ''almost'' does, but his love for Lestat is stronger than his hate, so he's unable to perform the final step, which is to burn Lestat's body. Louis flees to Europe, but Lestat is NotQuiteDead.

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Daniel Molloy describes Louis de Pointe du Lac and Lestat de Lioncourt's romance as an abusive one, and he also adds that Louis is suffering from StockholmSyndrome. Lestat is a classic example of a DomesticAbuser, and Louis is a victim of intimate partner violence who still loves his abuser even after Lestat almost killed him in a fit of rage at the end of episode 5. There's an uncomfortable scene in episode 6 where Louis is UnfocusedDuringIntimacy because he doesn't actually want to have sex, but he's so frightened that Lestat will punish him again for not loving him enough that Louis simply lies on their bed and lets Lestat have his way with his body. Louis later has a bout of suicidal ideation when he imagines himself as a [[WeakenedByTheLight pile of ash]] because he dreads returning to the "crypt" of the "undeserving Lestat." By episode 7, Lestat has enclosed Louis in a GildedCage and keeps his lover on such a tight leash that the only escape route that's available to Louis is to murder his boyfriend. Louis ''almost'' does, but his love for Lestat is stronger than his hate, so he's unable to perform the final step, which is to burn Lestat's body. Louis flees to Europe, but Lestat is NotQuiteDead.

* Surprisingly, the ''Literature/ThreeHundredSixtyFiveDays'' trilogy ultimately comes to this conclusion about Laura and Massimo's relationship (considering that Massimo is initially portrayed as a [[FetishizedAbuser legitimate love interest despite his]] ''[[FetishizedAbuser many]]'' [[FetishizedAbuser flaws]]); the books increasingly present Massimo's aggression, manipulation, jealousy and ControlFreak tendencies towards Laura as being something negative. Both are often miserable around each other and are driven to substance abuse to cope, as well as cheating on each other. [[spoiler:After Massimo tricks her into choosing him over Nacho, only to drug her, imprison her and attempt to impregnate her against her will, Laura escapes and ends their relationship for good]].

* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Calling the marriage between Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle a "relationship" would kinda be stretching it, as they only got together because of LovePotion. Once it wore off, Riddle ran back home and claimed that he'd been "hoodwinked" while Merope [[DeathByChildbirth died an hour after giving birth]] to the boy who would become [[BigBad Lord Voldemort]].

* ''VisualNovel/{{Nameless}}'': All of Tei's bad endings portray his relationship with Eri as this, as he's never addressing his underlying issues and enjoys mentally or physically harming her, while she chooses to indulge in this and letting him do whatever he wants. There's also one bad ending for Yeonho where ''Eri'' becomes the destructive one. She becomes obsessed with Yeonho and doesn't want to share him with anyone, and Yeonho's [[DarkAndTroubledPast trauma]] leads to him doing whatever his current owner wants of him because he doesn't want to be abandoned again.

* [[FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon Dahlia Hawthorne]] in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations'' does this to just about everyone she gets romantically involved with, but no one worse than poor Terry Fawles, a dim prisoner whom she tries to set up for a murder she herself committed. When the trial doesn't go her way, she gets him to commit suicide ''on the stand'' just to avoid suspicion.

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Jimmy's relationship with Kim. Jimmy helps bring out the self-destructive streak hidden within Kim, and Kim's tolerance of Jimmy's schemes has also made it easier for Jimmy to rationalize and act on his worst impulses.

* ''Film/SweetSweetLonelyGirl'': Adele gets involved with Beth, who's not only led her into reckless behavior that results in her aunt's death, but also [[spoiler:slowly drains her life force, with Adele left an old woman like her aunt was]].