We love TV love. But all great couples split every now and then. We’ve seen a lot of bad TV breakups in our time, but these are the 19 that still break our hearts every time we see them.
1. Ross and Rachel, Friends
They were on a break! That didn’t make Ross cheating on Rachel with the copy girl hurt any less.
2. Summer and Seth, The O.C.
Seth finally had the girl of his dreams until he set sail without her. We can’t blame Summer for ditching Cohen, but thankfully, these polar opposites made their way back to each other eventually.
3. Zack and Kelly, Saved by the Bell
Kelly and Zack had the perfect high school romance, until Kelly set her sights on that pervy older guy who worked at The Max. We wonder how that worked out. Oh yeah, he cheated on her. But Zack and Kelly later eloped in Vegas, so fate trumped poor teen decision making.
4. Nick and Jess, New Girl
These two kind of brought out the worst in each other while they were together. So we weren’t exactly devastated when they broke up... though we can’t help but wonder what things would be like a second time around.
5. Sydney and Vaughn, Alias
Nothing says “I think we should break up” like marrying someone else while your missing/presumed dead girlfriend is tortured for two years.
6. Rory and Logan, Gilmore Girls
We felt like we were intruding on a private moment when Rory rejected Logan’s proposal. Just so much awkward.
7. Luke and Lorelai, Gilmore Girls
The Gilmore ladies sure know how to do breakups. Watching Luke try to make things right with Lorelai not knowing that she had just slept with Christopher was absolute heartbreak. Because Christopher is to blame for pretty much every bad thing that ever happened on this show.
8. Mindy and Danny, The Mindy Project
We rejoiced when Danny took the initiative to make out with Mindy on that plane. But just as quickly as he decided he wanted to be with her he got scared. We agree that this little bump was needed early in their relationship, but wow were we sad for a few episodes there.
9. Will and Grace, Will & Grace
Without a doubt, this platonic duo was made for each other. But when the series finale showed that they had drifted apart, we couldn’t believe it. And that it took their two college-aged children to bring them back together again? Nope, we’re calling B.S.
10. Finn and Rachel, Glee
There was no denying that Finn wanted to be with Rachel. But he wouldn’t let their relationship stand in the way of her dreams, sending her off to pursue a career in New York without him.
11. Robin and Barney, How I Met Your Mother
They both liked Scotch, and they weren’t so great at commitment, a match made in heaven if we do say so ourselves. So imagine our shock that they called it quits several years into their marriage and that Ted tried to win Robin back after his wife (yep, the mother) died. Ugh, so much about this is wrong.
12. Brad and Emily, The Bachelor
We’ve seen a lot of Bachelor couples split. But Brad and Emily seemed like they were getting a second chance at love, which is why it was so hard for us to jump from feeling their elated bliss during Brad’s proposal to seeing the tension that had developed since on After the Final Rose.
13. Amber and Ryan, Parenthood
This relationship was extreme from the very beginning, with Ryan’s PTSD often standing in the way of his happiness with Amber. But we were distraught when they didn’t try to make it work after all they’d been through. We’re also going to choose to disregard that series finale flash forward that put the final nail in their coupledom coffin.
14. Pacey and Joey, Dawson’s Creek
There’s no great place to stage a breakup, but the prom? That will never end well.
15. Leslie and Ben, Parks and Recreation
We were overjoyed when Ben and Leslie decided to give it a go, but Ben sacrificing their relationship so that she could run for city council was perhaps the most selfless romantic gesture of all time.
16. Logan and Veronica, Veronica Mars
LoVe—official couple name, by the way—broke up and made up a lot of times. But none made us more unhappy than their demise at the series’ end. Watching Logan pine for Veronica as she moved on to Piz was excruciatingly painful. Fortunately, we only had to wait seven years for them to reunite in the show’s Kickstarter-funded film.
17. Spencer and Toby, Pretty Little Liars
Thinking Toby was A was enough to send Spencer off her rocker. Not gonna lie: we almost checked into Radley, too.
18. Jim and Pam, The Office
So they never technically broke up but testing our favorite office romance during the show’s final season was completely unnecessary. Don’t even toy with our emotions like that!
19. Chuck and Blair, Gossip Girl
Whew, this one’s a doozy. Some fans never got over Chuck trying to trade Blair for his hotel, but we’re glad Blair did.
Which of these breakups are you still not over, collegiettes?