Between the struggles of everyday life and the emotionally powered surges of the borderline torment that romance can bring – relationships can be rough. So, inevitably we try to distract ourselves by watching television to get our minds off our problems. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you come across a story you’re watching that inspires you.
There are countless on-screen romances that inspire us, but frankly, I’m done with the clichés. I mean, if I have to hear about how “romantic” The Notebook is one more time I may be sick. Spoiler alert: it’s really only cute how Noah stays with Ally until the very end and eventually they die in each other’s arms (the start of their relationship isn’t even romantic *gag*).
And, if I have to hear people talk about Romeo and Juliet when it comes to romance I may just pull a muscle rolling my eyes. I’m here to give you a better, more thorough list. I mean, come on! Love doesn’t always have to be so damn dramatic. In my opinion, the drama should come from the obstacles the couple have to face, not just two dramatic people who think they love each other.
Our love lives aren’t always all we hope they would be. Therefore, we need to find romantic inspiration somewhere. Check out these 10 awesome on-screen couples and let them inspire you!
Jack and Rose (from The Titanic)
You know I had to include this one, right? Jack saving Rose “in every way a person can be saved” and Rose living her life for him after his death is just too beautiful to not include them on this list. Jack and Rose inspire couples everywhere to let themselves be changed and inspired by love. Heck, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet seemed so moved by the film that they have been very close friends ever since meeting on the set!
Wade and Vanessa (from Deadpool)
This is one of my more recent favorite movie couples! Their weird, sadistic, sarcastic, copulation-crazed romance is what all of us damaged individuals hope for in a lover. Sure, it’s a little messed up. But, when you may be a little messed up yourself, it’s nice to find someone who accepts and compliments you (traumas and all).
Lily and Marshall (from How I Met Your Mother)
Through cheesy couples’ costumes, nauseatingly cute nicknames, and being all over each other despite being each other’s only sensual partners, Lily and Marshal give us hope that opposites really do attract (the artist and the lawyer). And that love really does mean supporting each other through everything (even a dramatic breakup and competing job offers on different continents).
Lucy and Henry (from 50 First Dates)
I don’t know about you, but I absolutely adore when Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore pair up in romantic comedies. 50 First Dates, however, has to be my favorite (closely followed by their more recent film together – Blended). I mean, Henry trying to make Lucy fall in love with him every day (as her mind erases every night due to short-term memory loss) and Lucy finding out and erasing him from her life (i.e. her journals), so he can have a normal life is just one of the sweetest things to happen in a movie. When she doesn’t completely forget about him (because she still dreams about him) and they end up together at the end – I almost cry every time.
Jamie and Landon (from A Walk To Remember)
There had to be at least one Nicholas Sparks inspired story, right? This is another couple that inspires couples everywhere that opposites can attract and that some love stories are so powerful they can make us a better person for having experienced it. Landon loving and marrying Jamie even though she is dying of cancer is a way better love story than The Notebook! This couple inspires us that even short-lived love stories are worth it because love can be so powerful.
Monica and Chandler (from Friends)
Am I the only one who thinks that the whole Ross and Rachel thing is SO overrated? I mean, give me a break! Monica and Chandler are the real love story worth telling in the series! They inspired couples everywhere that being best friends that fall in love and make each other better is the ultimate love story. Unlike Ross and Rachel, Monica and Chandler support each other through life’s obstacles and only grow stronger in their love through their trials (like when they found out they couldn’t have children naturally despite Monica’s dream to be a mother, and when Chandler got a job in a different city).
Princess Fiona and Shrek (from Shrek)
This couple inspired us by showing us that love goes beyond mere appearances. When you’re in love, it’s less about what the person looks like and more about just being together. In the long run, it’s more about who is there for you when you need them the most, anyway.
Margaret and Andrew (from The Proposal)
Personally, I think I love this one because of the gender role reversal (it’s usually the woman that’s the assistant). This couple gives all of us dominate, borderline cold-hearted, bossy women hope that we can find a man who will love us despite our flaws. Also, this couple inspires us by reminding us that sometimes you find love in the last place you thought you would.
Mike and Abby (from The Ugly Truth)
Mike and Abby inspire couples who may be a little worried that they’re too damaged (or caught up in their fantasies and biases) to find love that it does happen even for people who seem to be on completely opposite sides of the “romance spectrum.” Mike loving a “neurotic” (his words, not mine) woman despite his belief that men care more about copulation than love and Abby letting go of some of her traditional (frankly – naïve) fantasies about love and them finding a middle ground is quite beautiful.
Johnny and Baby (from Dirty Dancing)
Johnny made all of our hearts flutter with “no one puts baby in a corner” and Baby inspired us that not all of our rebellious experiences have to end badly. Sometimes, a summer romance can change a person and you end up having “the time of your life.”
