History Main / TrueLoveIsBoring

* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama,'' definitely. It helps that the host Chris [=McLean=] is a firm believer in this trope and loves relationship drama, which he says is good for ratings.
** The first season ended happily, which included six couples having formed. In season two, however: [[SassyBlackWoman Leshawna]] breaks up with [[{{Geek}} Harold]], and then becomes a DesignatedVillain so that he [[spoiler:helps vote her off]] (though the two remain AmicableExes); [[ChickMagnet Trent]] and [[PerkyGoth Gwen]] break up when he suddenly develops an OCD obsession with the number nine (they become AmicableExes by season three); [[SurferDude Geoff]] gets AcquiredSituationalNarcissism all season, straining his relationship with [[GranolaGirl Bridgette]] (he gets restored to his senses and they happily continue their relationship); and [[WellExcuseMePrincess Courtney]] [[TookALevelInJerkass Takes A Level In Jerkass]] and begins [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale abusing]] [[TroubledButCute Duncan]] (they reconcile at the end of the season).
** Then, in season three, Bridgette ends up cheating on Geoff when [[DashingHispanic Alejandro]] manipulates her (they reconcile and move on as happy as ever; as of ''The Ridonculous Race'', they're still together), Duncan cheats on Courtney with Gwen (they break up; Duncan and Gwen then break up as well in season five), and [[CloudCuckoolander Izzy]] breaks up with [[BigFun Owen]] (although Izzy is a few shades of special, so they were pretty on-and-off; their current status is unknown due to falling OutOfFocus in the later seasons). In fact, the only one of the original six pairings that never faces any relationship problems are [[DumbBlonde Lindsay]] and [[LovableJock Tyler]], even despite the fact Lindsay couldn't remember who Tyler was for nearly two seasons. That said, the later seasons' couples face less issues due to having been on the show for a shorter amount of time.

* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama,'' definitely. The first season ended happily, which included six couples having formed. In season two, however: [[SassyBlackWoman Leshawna]] breaks up with [[{{Geek}} Harold]], and then becomes a DesignatedVillain so that he [[spoiler:helps vote her off]]. [[ChickMagnet Trent]] and [[PerkyGoth Gwen]] break up when he suddenly develops an OCD obsession with the number nine. [[SurferDude Geoff]] gets AcquiredSituationalNarcissism all season, straining his relationship with [[GranolaGirl Bridgette]]. [[WellExcuseMePrincess Courtney]] [[TookALevelInJerkass Takes A Level In Jerkass]] and begins [[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale abusing]] [[TroubledButCute Duncan]]. Then, in season three, Bridgette cheats on Geoff (they reconcile), Duncan cheats on Courtney with Gwen (they break up), and Izzy breaks up with Owen. Of course, Izzy is a few shades of special, so it's slightly ambiguous how "together" they were to start with.

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Theatre/LoveNeverDies'', set ten years after the events of ''Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', reveals that Christine and Raoul are now in an unhappy marriage thanks to the latter's gambling and drinking problems, which have turned him into an insensitive jerk towards both her and their son Gustave. All this is to set up the possibility of Christine and the Phantom getting together.

[[folder:Videogames]]

* In ''ComicBook/TeenTitans'', before Nightwing and Oracle was Nightwing and ComicBook/{{Starfire}}. Not only were they engaged as well, they even made it to the altar before a possessed ComicBook/{{Raven}} interrupted the proceedings. Their relationship never really recovered from that, with Dick even taking it as a sign that they were too young and weren't ready to take the next big step to marriage, and that eventually led to them drifting apart and breaking up for good. Even so, they still slept together occasionally, and chances are that if Barbara Gordon isn’t Dick's OneTrueLove, then Starfire is.

* This sums up the relationship between Han Solo and Princess Leia in the official ''Film/StarWars'' canon. The classic trilogy is three movies' worth of SlapSlapKiss; a TimeSkip to ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' reveals that they got married and had a son [[spoiler:who fell to TheDarkSide, ruining their marriage]]. Oh, and [[spoiler:Han is now dead by his son's blade, though not before reconciling with Leia]].

This must not be taken as that happy couples can't face conflict at all, mind you. They might face difficulties like paying bills together or learn how to be parents, and that doesn't really affect what they feel for each other in the slightest. Problem is, then the relationship itself ceases to be a source of conflict, and rather becomes an asset for the characters to face ''other'' conflicts. Romance plots are not a superior form of conflict, but they are very familiar and emotionally powerful--and thus easy. Removing romance as conflict means that other conflict has to pick up the slack, [[TropesAreNotBad but this doesn't mean those are lesser stories because of it]].

-->-- '''Website/{{Cracked}}''', [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-flawed-life-lessons-movies-accidentally-taught-us_p2/ "4 Flawed Life Lessons Movies Accidentally Taught Us"]]

* ''Theatre/LoveNeverDies'', set ten years after the events of ''ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', reveals that Christine and Raoul are now in an unhappy marriage thanks to the latter's gambling and drinking problems, which have turned him into an insensitive jerk towards both her and their son Gustave. All this is to set up the possibility of Christine and the Phantom getting together.

* SoapOpera magazines have explicitly stated multiple times that "happy couples are boring couples", thus explaining why soap couples are constantly put through so much melodrama.

* ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'': While Steve and Peggy's budding romance progresses happily for most of the movie, a brief scene has the two of them argue over Steve getting forced into a kiss with another woman... [[AbortedArc and then is promptly resolved a minute later]] and never mentioned again. The two of them end up having their romance sunk, though, after Steve makes a HeroicSacrifice and [[ItMakesSenseInContext arrives in the future where Peggy is on her deathbed]]. The following movie, ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'', then skips over having any kind of romantic subplot at all.

* Meanwhile, ''MassEffect'' by the same developer has its fair share of this trope as well.
** [[spoiler:Ashley/Kaidan will break up with Shepard in the second game]], although it's possible to make up with them eventually.
** [[spoiler:In MassEffect3, Thane dies no matter what, while Jacob is revealed to have cheated on Shepard.]]

{{Happy Ending}}s can only happen if things... you know... ''[[CaptainObvious end.]]'' This is the reason the finish line in a love story is at the ''start'' of the relationship. {{Romance Arc}}s only deal with couples ''getting together in the first place'', and in happy stories, it ends there. If it doesn't, the majority of screen time will be about watching the relationship self-destruct, introducing the possibility of an affair (or having an actual one), breaking up, or struggling with the aftermath of such a breakup. Alternatively, it'll skip straight to a DistantFinale, never showing any of their married life but some distant milestone like a second honeymoon or death in old age.

* This sums up the relationship between Han Solo and Princess Leia in the official ''Film/StarWars'' canon. The classic trilogy is three movies' worth of SlapSlapKiss; a TimeSkip to ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' reveals that they got married and had a son [[spoiler:who fell to TheDarkSide, ruining their marriage]]. Oh, and [[spoiler:Han is now dead by his son's blade]].

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' Season 8 episode, "The Autumn of Break-ups", Future Ted lampshades this regarding the relationships of him and Victoria, Lily and Marshall, Barney and Quinn, Robin and Nick. He narrates that for the past three months, they were all contented and happy...which he pointed out that those events don't matter in the present and that brings us to the episode proper where all the couples are arguing. At the end, Barney and Quinn ended their engagement. The following episodes have Ted/Victoria and Robin/Nick breaking up too; though in Ted's case, it's due to his feelings with Robin which is the same reason Victoria broke up with him in the first place. The three-month timeskip was most likely done due to the first eight seasons of the show taking place in real time and the show needed an excuse to pick up in September after the last season ended in June.

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' Season 8 episode, "The Autumn of Break-ups", Future!Ted lampshades this regarding the relationships of him and Victoria, Lily and Marshall, Barney and Quinn, Robin and Nick. He narrates that for the past three months, they were all contented and happy...which he pointed out that those events don't matter in the present and that brings us to the episode proper where all the couples are arguing. At the end, Barney and Quinn ended their engagement. The following episodes have Ted/Victoria and Robin/Nick breaking up too; though in Ted's case, it's due to his feelings with Robin which is the same reason Victoria broke up with him in the first place.

* ''Series/MadamSecretary'': {{Inverted}} with the HappilyMarried core couple. The show finds more than enough drama inside Elizabeth and Henry [=McCord's=] relationship ''without'' trying to break them up. The closest they come is in the second half of season two when their professional obligations put them significantly at odds: [[spoiler:Liz is forced to give up a high-level mole Henry has been running inside GRU to secure a peace deal with Russia in Ukraine, which ultimately sends them to couples counseling. They still make up in the end.]]

** Avert with [[HotScientist Liara]] ([[DiscountLesbians both gender]]), [[EnsembleDarkhorse Tali, Garrus]], [[BloodKnight Jack]] (provide if you didn't cheat / broke up with them) and, ironically enough, [[BiTheWay Kaidan]] / Male Shepard (the option was DummiedOut in the first game and not made legitimate until the third, by which point Shepard had died and came BackFromTheDead, and they have substantial scenes on their time together in the Citadel DLC that is roughly equal to the time they have being angsty, all on the virtue that you can't get together with him as M!Shepard in the first game, no matter how much HoYay involved, unlike F!Shepard, forcing them to deal with their drama while they were JustFriends).

* ''ComicBook/TheHulk'' once averted this trope for the same reason as above. (Creator/PeterDavid's wife said ComicBook/BettyRoss Banner was her favorite character, and he swore never to break them up or kill her off.) After a very messy divorce between the RealLife couple, guess [[CreatorBreakdown what he did]]. He later regretted that decision. Furthermore, Betty has subsequently come BackFromTheDead and become an [[EvilCounterpart Evil]][=/=][[DistaffCounterpart Distaff]] for Hulk and ComicBook/SheHulk. Their reunion is still ironing out some wrinkles.

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' ended with Julian Bashir and Ezri Dax getting together. So naturally the continuation novels broke them up, Ezri having decided that their relationship was based on residual feelings for ([[TheNthDoctor and by]]) Jadzia Dax; Bashir was subsequently paired off with Sarina Douglas.
** Ben Sisko emerges from the wormhole, having been released by the Prophets from his obligations as the Emissary. Sounds like he gets that happy ending with SecondLove Kasidy Yates after all. Nope: in ''Literature/StarTrekTyphonPact'' Ben starts {{angst}}ing over the Prophets releasing him, which, combined with the resumption of his Starfleet career strains their marriage to the point where he files for divorce. [[spoiler:They patch things up in ''Literature/StarTrekTheFall''.]]

* Franchise/{{Superman}}:

* ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy:

* Franchise{{Superman}}:

** There is also the matter of The Hulk's other wives and love interests. Caiera, Jarela, Kate Waynesboro, etc. Kate Waynesboro is the only one that hasn't died at least.

** Gray Hulk (aka Joe Fixit) had his own "love interest" (though more like a [[FriendsWithBenefits Friend with Benefits]]) in Marlo Chandler. Any romance between the two ended after Marlo disapproved of Joe's brutality and cruelty, and she later married Hulk's on-again-off-again sidekick Comicbook/RickJones. This relationship ''started off'' on the wrong foot, as the feature at Rick's bachelor party was a softcore nude film Marlo had done in the past. They got married anyway, but would often separate for brief periods of time before getting together again. And then... the ''real'' weirdness started. First, Marlo began having an affair with Moondragon and briefly left Rick before Moondragon realized she'd always be second to Rick in Marlo's eyes. After that, Marlo disappeared and was transformed into the Harpy while Rick was transformed into A-Bomb. They've rarely been seen since then, but maybe now Marlo and Rick ''finally'' have a solid relationship.

* ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' has Alexander and Eliza go through several trials, including him having to go to war while she's pregnant with their first son, him cheating on her (and then publishing the affair all over the place), and then their son dying (which, arguably, is what brings them back together). It doesn't help that Alexander and Angelica, Eliza's sister, are billed as true soulmates, despite never having an actual affair. Oh, and of course, he bites it at the end.