Top 10 Most Unforgivable TV Breakups

When Pacey and Joey finally – FINALLY – sailed off into the sunset together at the end of season three, shippers everywhere squealed in delight. Alas, nothing lasts forever – especially on a teen drama. Throughout season four, Pacey’s self-doubt reared its ugly head time and time again. Whether he was insecure about his intellect, his family, or Joey’s relationship with Dawson, Pacey was always ruminating on something. At prom, it all finally came to a head. He screams at Joey in the middle of the dance floor, thoroughly humiliating her while also coming to terms with some pretty uncomfortable truths about himself. We know these two end up together in the end, but that doesn’t make this any easier to watch.

If there’s one thing “Grey’s Anatomy” is going to do, it’s give us a dramatic, long-winded relationship. So is the case with Jackson and April, two of the Mercy West doctors who joined the Seattle Grace team in the show’s sixth season. Jackson and April started off as just friends, but that all changed in season eight when April lost her virginity to Jackson the night before their medical board exams. Multiple other partners and seasons of drama later, the two got married – but pretty quickly, there was trouble in paradise. In season twelve, the two get divorced, and in typical “Grey’s Anatomy” fashion, the signing of the divorce papers scene is an emotional doozy.

Sometimes, it isn’t the writers who break up a beloved TV couple – it’s the actors. Sam and Diane have some of the best will they/won’t they energy in TV, but, in season five, things were looking pretty steady for our favorite barflies. In a shocking turn of events, the season five finale ends with Diane deciding to leave Boston to further her writing career. Off-screen, actress Shelley Long had just made the decision to leave the show to pursue more movie roles, causing a change in direction for the show. It was a tough blow to shippers everywhere, and a rough breakup to watch.

As “Shameless” got further along in its run, one ship emerged triumphant among the rest: the romantic relationship between Mickey and Ian. It quickly became a fan favorite – leaving audiences all the more devastated when the two broke things off at the end of season five. Throughout the season, Ian had been dealing with his bipolar disorder, and his struggles inevitably saw him decide to end things with Mickey. In a heartbreaking scene, he tells him that there’s “too much” wrong with him, and there’s nothing that Mickey can do to fix that. Luckily for us, these two reconcile later – but this one is a tearjerker for sure.

Leave it to “Glee” to give us an entire episode about breakups – and, of course, songs that come along with them. Brittany and Santana started the series run as just friends, but quickly became one of the more beloved couples on the show. In the fourth season, the two are dealing with long distance – Santana has moved to New York City while Brittany has stayed in Ohio. On a trip to visit Brittany, Santana slowly starts to realize that this whole long distance thing just isn’t going to work. So, she tells Brittany in the best way she knows how – through song. The moment is bittersweet, and this version of Taylor Swift’s “Mine” still makes us weep.

A lot of Buffy fans would probably choose Spike as their favorite romantic partner for Buffy, but let’s not discount the power of her relationship with Angel – or the sadness of their breakup. Angel and Buffy might have been doomed from the start – he was a vampire, she was a vampire slayer – but that didn’t stop us from rooting for them. In the third season, however, Angel decided he had enough. He ends up breaking things off with Buffy, telling her that it’s unfair for her to be in a relationship with him. He tries to convince her she deserves more, but it’s impossible to ignore the tragedy of this one.

Sometimes, even the strongest of couples go through rough patches. Take Lily and Marshall on “How I Met Your Mother.” Towards the end of season one, Lily starts to get cold feet in the lead up to her and Marshall’s wedding. After she is accepted into an arts program in San Francisco, she ends up calling off the engagement. The split itself is incredibly difficult to watch because both parties have good points – Lily is scared she won’t get to follow her dreams, and Marshall is right in saying Lily should have spoken with him about all this if it was that important. The two do patch things up, but not without a lot of heartbreak.

Besides the Meredith and McDreamy of it all, Burke and Cristina were one of the first main couples that audiences cared about on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Unfortunately for these two, their personalities always seemed to come into conflict with each other – right up until the very end. When the two get engaged, they butt heads over the type of wedding they want, leading Burke to feel like he’s pushing her to compromise too much. On the day of, Burke abruptly decides he’s done and calls the wedding off. The right person, wrong time kind of separations are so difficult and it makes Cristina’s breakdown all the more devastating.

Arguably the best of Carrie’s significant others (yes, we’re including Big), Aidan deserved way better than what he got throughout the course of “Sex and the City.” For a while, things looked like they were going swimmingly for Carrie and Aidan, but, as is typical in TV series, all good things must come to an end. When Carrie runs into Big, he tells her that his marriage is falling apart, and the two begin an affair. Carrie kept it a secret from Aidan for a while, but finally told him the truth at Charlotte’s wedding. Alright, say it with us: Aidan deserved better!

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Blair Waldorf & Chuck Bass, “Gossip Girl” (2007-12)
Trading Your Girlfriend for a Hotel Is Never a Good Idea

Brooke Davis & Lucas Scott, “One Tree Hill” (2003-12)
We Are Also Holding On for Dear Life Watching These Two

Alexis Rose & Ted Mullens, “Schitt’s Creek” (2015-20)
Sometimes the Timing Is Just Wrong

Luke Danes & Lorelai Gilmore, “Gilmore Girls” (2000-07)
Lorelai Gives Luke an Ultimatum

Jackie Burkhart & Steven Hyde, “That ‘70s Show” (1998-2006)
Nobody Likes a Cheater

Ross and Rachel have had many iconic moments on “Friends.” From getting off of planes to screaming “We were on a break!” who knows how many times, there’s so much history baked into these two. But all the good comes with a hefty dose of bad – including this heartwrenching breakup. In season three, Ross cheats on Rachel – or doesn’t, depending on which side of the argument you fall on – and tries to keep her from finding out. She eventually does, and what follows is one of the roughest moments in all of sitcom history. Rachel and Ross’ breakup feels real, grounded, and brutally honest, making it one of the worst of all time. This only leaves one question, were they on a break? Settle it in the comments!