Top 20 Forbidden Loves in History

Top 20 Forbidden Loves In History

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most notable romantic couples in history who defied societal and familial objections to be together. We’ll be skipping mythical duos like Guinevere and Lancelot or Paris and Helen.

#20: Alexander I of Greece & Aspasia Manos

In 1917, Alexander I unexpectedly became King of Greece after his father, Constantine I, was exiled during World War I. Alexander had fallen in love with his childhood friend, Aspasia Manos, and was determined to marry her even though she was a commoner. Initially, his father persuaded him to wait until after the war, but by 1919, Alexander defied him and married Manos in a secret ceremony. This wedding caused a huge uproar as it was done without the Archbishop’s consent, which went against the Greek constitution. The couple was forced to flee temporarily to Paris, and Manos was never officially recognized as Queen. Their marriage was, however, short-lived, as Alexander tragically died in 1920 from an infection caused by a monkey bite.

#19: Oscar Wilde & Lord Alfred Douglas

The love affair between Irish playwright Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas began in 1891, while Wilde was married to his wife, Constance Lloyd. This relationship was illegal, as homosexuality was criminalized in Victorian England, under the gross indecency law. Not only was their love frowned upon by society, it was also antagonized by Douglas’ father, John, the Marquess of Queensberry. Determined to end the affair, John publicly accused Wilde of being gay, which led to a libel suit. However, the trial unearthed Wilde’s intimate letters to Douglas, resulting in him being arrested and convicted of gross indecency. After serving two years in prison, Wilde spent his final years in exile, briefly living with Douglas before they parted ways forever.

#18: Camila O'Gorman & Father Ladislao Gutiérrez

Camila O'Gorman was only 23 years old when she was executed by Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas, simply for falling in love. O’Gorman was a close friend of Rosas’ daughter, Manuelita, but after meeting Catholic priest, Father Ladislao Gutiérrez, they eloped, knowing their relationship was forbidden. The couple settled in a small town, where they lived as a married couple under assumed names. However, their disappearance became a public matter after O’Gorman’s father claimed the priest had kidnapped her, and Rosas was accused by his opponents of corrupting Argentine women. This pressured him to quickly find the couple and set an example. In 1848, despite pleas from his daughter, Rosas ordered their execution, even though O’Gorman was reportedly eight months pregnant.

#17: Mala Zimetbaum & Edward Galiński

This tragic love story was set against the harrowing backdrop of the Holocaust. Mala Zimetbaum and Edward Galiński were both prisoners who met at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Despite the unimaginable horrors around them, they fell in love and dreamed of a future together. After devising a plan to escape, they managed to do so in June 1944, with Galiński dressed as an SS guard and Zimetbaum posing as a prisoner being taken to work. However, they were caught after just two weeks and returned to Auschwitz, where they were sentenced to death. As they faced the gallows, Zimetbaum put up a final act of defiance by attempting to take her own life before the Nazi executioners could carry out their orders.

#16: Mary & Percy Shelley

Born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin to philosopher William Godwin and feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley is best known as the author of the classic Gothic novel “Frankenstein.” In her teenage years, she met Percy Shelley, a radical poet who was her father’s protégé. Although Percy was married, the two began seeing each other and subsequently fell in love. When he learned of this relationship, William Godwin was infuriated and forbade Percy from seeing Mary. This only led to them eloping to France. After Percy’s wife took her own life, he officially married Mary, hoping it would change her father’s opinion of their relationship. Unfortunately, their marriage was marred by loss, as their first three children died young and only one survived into adulthood.

#15: Elizabeth Barrett & Robert Browning

Elizabeth Barrett began writing poetry at a young age, and by the 1840s, she was a prominent figure in the Victorian literary scene with a large body of work. It was her poetry that caught the attention of her eventual husband, Robert Browning, who wrote to her praising her 1844 collection “Poems.” This kicked off a correspondence between the two that eventually blossomed into a romantic relationship. However, Barrett was under the watchful eye of her father, who forbade any of his children from getting married. As a result, she wed Browning in secret and eloped to Italy, which led to her disinheritance. Barrett lived the rest of her life there and died in 1861 after a prolonged illness.

#14: Francesca da Rimini & Paolo Malatesta

The daughter of Guido I da Polenta of Ravenna, Italy, Francesca da Rimini was betrothed to Giovanni Malatesta, the son of Malatesta da Verucchio, lord of Rimini. The marriage was purely political, intended to broker peace between the two warring families. However, Giovanni didn’t attend the wedding, and was instead represented by his younger, more handsome brother, Paolo. Francesca was instantly captivated by Paolo, and they soon began a 10-year affair, despite both being married to other people. This affair ended tragically when Giovanni caught them in bed together and, in a fit of rage, murdered them both. Their relationship and tragic death became immortalized in Dante’s “Inferno,” as a symbol of love’s destructive power.

#13: Prince Rudolf of Austria & Baroness Mary Vetsera

As the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, Prince Rudolf was the heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne from birth. His marriage to Princess Stéphanie of Belgium started happily but deteriorated following the birth of their daughter. After purchasing Mayerling, an imperial hunting lodge, Rudolf began an affair with a teenage baroness named Mary Vetsera. Their relationship was scandalous due to their age difference, Rudolf’s marriage, and the fact that Vetsera came from a lower noble family. When Vetsera’s family found out about the affair, they were reportedly enraged and disapproved of it. Perhaps seeing no future together, Rudolf and Vetsera made a pact to end their lives at the hunting lodge, in what is now known as the Mayerling Incident.

#12: Archduke Franz Ferdinand & Countess Sophie Chotek

After the deaths of Prince Rudolf and his father Karl Ludwig, Archduke Franz Ferdinand became the presumptive heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. As such, he was expected to marry a woman from a European dynasty. However, he fell in love with Countess Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting whose family did not meet that standard. Ferdinand was determined to marry Chotek, but he faced resistance from her mistress, Archduchess Isabella, and Emperor Franz Joseph. The Emperor initially refused to permit the marriage, but ultimately relented amid pressure from Ferdinand’s stepmother. They were allowed to marry in 1900, under the condition it would be a morganatic marriage, meaning their children couldn’t inherit the throne. Their love endured despite this limitation until their assassination in 1914, which sparked WWI.

#11: Inês de Castro & Pedro I of Portugal

Pedro I of Portugal first wed Constanza of Castile in 1340, a union arranged by his father, King Afonso IV. However, it was Constanza’s lady-in-waiting, Inês de Castro, who truly caught his eye. King Afonso strongly opposed their affair, as he feared Inês’ influence over his son and viewed her as a threat to the kingdom’s stability. After Constanza died in childbirth, Afonso urged Pedro to marry another woman, but he refused. Frustrated by his inability to separate them, Afonso ordered Inês’ assassination, which devastated Pedro. When he ultimately became King, Pedro declared Inês queen posthumously, then hunted down her killers and executed them. Legend has it he even exhumed her remains, placed them on the throne and forced the nobles to pay her homage.

#10: Edward VIII & Wallis Simpson

What could cause a man to give up his title as King of England? A great love, of course. In the early 1930s, before he was crowned, Edward VIII met American socialite and divorcee Wallis Simpson, with whom he would eventually begin a relationship. He wished to marry her, but because she had been divorced, it was unprecedented and forbidden. Making a monumental sacrifice in the name of love, he abdicated the throne, leaving the position to his brother, George VI. Sadly, not every tale of forbidden royal love gets a happy ending. Queen Elizabeth II’s sister Margaret was ultimately prevented from marrying the divorced man she loved, Peter Townsend.

#9: Alexander I of Serbia & Draga Mašin

Be warned: this love story ends in tragedy. Aleksandar Obrenović became king of Serbia when he was only 16 years old. In 1900, seven years later, Aleksandar shocked the court when he announced his intention to marry Draga Mašin, a widow 12 years older than himself who had previously been a lady in waiting for his mother. Because of her lower birth status, and the fact that she was deemed too old to produce an heir, they received strong opposition from both the government and wider public. After going ahead with their nuptials anyway, the King and Queen were killed by conspirators in 1903.

#8: Héloïse & Peter Abelard

12th century French Philosopher Peter Abelard is known for his theology, but with the passing of time, his love affair with the young maiden Héloïse d'Argenteuil has become arguably his most famous legacy. Seven letters still exist which were passed between the two lovers, and this is the basis of what historians know of their courtship. After studying under his tutelage, Héloïse became pregnant. Though married in secret, their nuptials became public knowledge, and so Héloïse was sent to become a nun. Her uncle, Fulbert, then proceeded to have Abelard castrated. Disgraced, the philosopher became a monk. Though they would never meet again, their correspondence has gone on to inspire many lovers.

#7: Richard I of England & Philip II of France

Alright, there isn’t a ton of evidence that Richard the Lionheart was gay, but we do know that he had a curiously close relationship with Philip II of France. A contemporary account stated that the two kings ate from the same dish and even shared a bed, but at the time, two men sleeping side by side didn’t necessarily have homosexual overtones. Their relationship could’ve been a fraternal bond founded in politics or a case of courtly love, but considering the fact that they wound up feuding in their later years, a bonafide romantic relationship doesn’t seem so far-fetched. Either way, Richard I has since been claimed as a gay icon.

#6: Dante Alighieri & Beatrice Portinari

Though there isn’t much concrete evidence linking these two lovers, Beatrice Portinari lived near Dante in Florence and is widely accepted by scholars as the same Beatrice referenced in his writings. Not only did Beatrice serve as Dante’s muse for his work, La Vita Nuova, but also as the heavenly guide in his Divine Comedy. Was Dante’s love an unrequited one, or was it societal pressures and proper decorum that kept these lovers apart? We’ll never know for sure. What we do know however, is that Beatrice was married to another man (and Dante to another woman) and that she died young at the age of 24.

#5: Richard & Mildred Loving

You may be familiar with this racially-charged tale of forbidden love, which was adapted into an Academy Award nominated film in 2016. But in case you missed it, allow us to fill you in. Richard and Mildred Loving were happily married in 1958 in Washington, D.C. and then went back home to Virginia. The only problem? Mildred was black and Richard was white, and while their community was notably integrated, interracial marriage remained illegal. Soon after their wedding, they were arrested for violating sections of the Virginia Code. Their case ended up in the Supreme Court and they made history when they caused the law prohibiting interracial marriage to be abolished. Talk about a love that can conquer all boundaries and obstacles!

#4: Nicholas II of Russia & Alexandra Feodorovna

For Nicholas II, it was reportedly love at first sight when he met his future wife Alexandra, formerly known as Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, the favorite granddaughter of Queen Victoria and presumed future Queen of England. The two fell for each other at the marriage of Alix’s sister to Nicholas’ uncle. Despite this history of intermarriage between their two families however, Alix’s German ancestry made her an unfit match in the eyes of Nicholas’ father, Tsar Alexander III. Though the family eventually relented, sadly, as anyone familiar with Russian history will tell you, there’s no happy ending. Nicholas, Alexandra and their children were all executed by the Bolsheviks in 1918.

#3: Seretse Khama & Ruth Williams

In 1947, Seretse Khama, a prince from the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana, was studying in London when he met an English woman named Ruth Williams. Despite their different backgrounds and the racial tensions at the time, they fell deeply in love and got married the following year. Their interracial union faced strong opposition back home, both from Khama’s tribal elders and neighboring South Africa, which had just instituted apartheid. South Africa banned the couple and pressured Britain to strip away Khama’s chieftainship. In response, Britain exiled Khama to London, only allowing him to return home years later, after he renounced the tribal throne. Khama eventually led Bechuanaland to independence in 1966 and became Botswana’s first president, with Williams as his First Lady.

#2: Napoleon & Joséphine

The love story between Napoleon Bonaparte and Joséphine de Beauharnais is a well documented, and tumultuous one. When the couple met, Napoleon was immediately smitten, but because Josephine was his elder by several years, already had two children and had previously been the mistress of several other prominent figures, their partnership was strongly contended by his family. They were married nonetheless and their love letters to one another will go down in history as some of the most romantic ever written. Several years into their marriage and following multiple affairs, when Josephine had still not produced an heir to the throne, Napoleon divorced her for the sake of his legacy, despite still loving her.

#1: Mark Antony & Cleopatra

Though depictions of Cleopatra have varied greatly in works of fiction, there is no doubt about the veracity of the love that the Ptolemaic Queen of Egypt shared with the married Roman General Mark Antony. Their affair was the cause of much strife between regions, with Octavian, who was his fellow Triumvir and brother-in-law, ultimately declaring war on Anthony’s mistress, Cleopatra. There is debate amongst historians as to how exactly these two lovers met their end, but the most widely accepted is that they both ended their own lives shortly after one another. Before the film adaptations, their story was first immortalized and made popular in Shakespeare’s famous play “Antony and Cleopatra,” which adheres loosely to the real-life events.

Which of these tales of forbidden love resonated with you the most? Let us know in the comments below.