17 TV Breakups That Were So Cringey They Were Hard To Watch, And 18 That Were Surprisingly Mature
When TV couples break up, it can be a bit hard to watch. Maybe you loved those characters together...or maybe the breakup itself is super cringeworthy.
NBC
The hope is that both characters can communicate their feelings in a mature way...but this doesn't always happen.
Fox
So, as TV relationship-obsessed nerds, we decided to go through some of the best and worst TV breakups of all time. Here are 18 breakups that were mature as heck, and 17 that literally made us want to cover our eyes.
🚨🚨WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!🚨🚨
1.Mature: Troy and Britta from Community (Season 4, Episode 11, "Basic Human Anatomy")
Troy spends the whole episode struggling to break up with Britta (leading to faux body swap hijinks that were DEFINITELY not mature), but in the end, he actually is surprisingly mature in his breakup with Britta. It actually feels like a big moment of growth for Troy, and you end up respecting him despite the rest of the episode.
2.Not so mature: Kat and Ethan on Euphoria (Season 2, Episode 6, "A Thousand Little Trees of Blood")
THIS SCENE IS SO CRINGE. We hated even having to watch it again to screencap it. Kat lies to Ethan about having a brain disorder because she doesn't have the guts to break up with him, then doubles down and acts like he's the bad guy. It's basically peak immaturity. Kat needs to get her act together.
3.Mature: Ted and his wife on Ted Lasso (Season 1, Episode 5, "Tan Lines")
This scene is sad, but we know it's been a long time coming. Ted has framed his failing marriage to his wife as a failure on his part that he can fix — but in this scene, he's able to accept that they're better off apart, and no one is to blame. It's a great moment for his character and super mature of both of them!
4.Not so mature: Chidi and Simone on The Good Place (Season 3, Episode 6, "The Ballad of Donkey Doug")
Chidi spends the whole episode practicing breaking up with Simone, then gets thrown off by a few unexpected things and ends up with the worst possible breakup. He basically turns into Episode 1 Eleanor, and it's not a good look on Chidi. Poor Simone 😔.
5.Mature: Skye and Clay on 13 Reasons Why (Season 2, Episode 8, "The Little Girl")
Skye and Clay's relationship was not healthy, so it was refreshing to see it end in such a mature way. Skye is finally putting herself first and getting the help she needs, and Clay is finally able to let go of someone and understand that he, as a teenage boy with his own issues, is not able to "save" anyone. It's a great moment for both characters.
6.Not so mature: Nate and Serena on Gossip Girl (Season 3, Episode 22: "Last Tango, Then Paris")
We have to admit we cheered a little when Nate said this. However, this whole breakup was honestly a mess. It was a classic Serena move to mess up and then jet off to another country rather than deal with everything. We can understand her wanting to take a break with Nate, but dumping all this on him and then dipping to Paris was not the way to do it.
7.Mature: Max and Sophie on Ginny & Georgia (Season 1, Episode 9: "Feelings Are Hard"):
This definitely broke our hearts, but honestly? It was one of the most mature breakups we've seen on a teen show. Sophie realized Max had deeper feelings for her than she did and that it just wasn't going to work, at least right now. She didn't blame Max for anything and wanted to make sure that she was OK. It was also refreshing to see a queer TV couple have a breakup that felt so realistic and relatable — often, it feels like queer characters either have an "epic" romance with the first person who likes them back, or their relationships all end incredibly tragically. This just felt like a regular high school breakup.
8.Not so mature: Miles and Tristan on Degrassi: The Next Generation (Season 14, Episode 10: "Hero vs. Villain")
Hoo, boy. So, Miles clearly handled this poorly, and we definitely don't blame Tristan for being upset and confused at all. But this just felt kind of...mean? It's worse for the audience knowing the context that Miles was actually being abused by his father during all of this. Oh, and Tristan ends this whole speech with, "Sayonara, Miles Hollingsworth," which?? What? We wish we could say their communication improved when they got back together later on (ugh), but it honestly didn't. Their relationship should have ended way before this.
9.Mature: Alexis and Ted on Schitt's Creek (Season 6, Episode 8, "The Presidential Suite"):
This one broke our hearts and came as a shock to many viewers, but we still appreciated the way it happened. It felt so mature and realistic — there are so many times that life takes two people on different paths, and that breakup can be really painful but needed. They both handled it with such grace!
10.Not so mature: Ross and Rachel on Friends (Season 3, Episode 15, "The One Where Ross and Rachel Take a Break"):
Alright, we'll weigh in on the ultimate Friends debate: To us, a "break" is a type of breakup, hence why we're including this scene. BUT that still doesn't excuse Ross's immediately sleeping with another woman, which to us was a sign that he didn't see a future with Rachel. Anyway, Ross's behavior in this episode was possessive and disrespectful, even in their fight. Rachel was a little rash in suggesting a break, especially considering how much she seemed to regret it, but it was mostly Ross who made this breakup messy and immature. They didn't hear each other out!
11.Mature: Brooke and Lucas on One Tree Hill (Season 4, Episode 1, "The Same Deep Water as You"):
We can't really count Lucas's behavior as mature here, since he says nothing except, "I'm sorry," but Brooke was great in this scene. She knew what she wanted to say, and instead of making it about Peyton, she made it about the way she felt in their relationship. She was honest and real, and she deserved more from Lucas.
12.Not so mature: Cece and Schmidt on New Girl (Season 1, Episode 24, "See Ya"):
Neither of Cece and Schmidt's breakups was very mature, but at least in the second one, Schmidt apologized. Here, it was so frustrating to see Schmidt insult Cece and himself at the same time, and it was really immature to accuse Cece of something when it was really his own lack of self-confidence that was the problem.
13.Mature: Scott and Allison on Teen Wolf (Season 2, Episode 12, "Master Plan"):
Scott knew that Allison needed time apart and never tried to argue with her, even if he didn't want to spend time apart himself. He was so kind but also reassuring without being forceful — while he says he believes that they'll be together, he doesn't push her to agree. And after the breakup, he continues to give her space and they have their own relationships. Allison also does the mature thing by breaking up with Scott here, since she knows she has her own problems to deal with, and is kind and fair to Scott.
14.Not so mature: Bonnie and Jeremy on The Vampire Diaries (Season 3, Episode 7: "Ghost World"):
Being fair to Bonnie here, we think she was pretty mature, given the situation she was put in, but this whole breakup was just a mess. Jeremy cheated on Bonnie with a LITERAL GHOST and wouldn't even tell her about it until after the whole thing was over. He didn't even break up with her — he came to her after it was over to explain what had happened. We hated when he said, "I owe you an explanation" — he owed her a lot more than that!! Bonnie handled it well, but Jeremy was just SO immature that this breakup still goes under "not so mature" for us.
15.Mature: Dre and Bow from Black-ish (Season 4, Episode 21, "Blue Valentime"):
Normally, we think a breakup should involve more discussion, but Dre and Bow had talked enough at this point, and it always ended in fighting. Taking a break was the most mature thing they could've done in this situation — and what we love about this scene is what ISN'T said. You can really feel the pain and the love and the heartbreak and the confusion, and it's both more mature and effective than watching them fight again. We're so glad they got back together!
16.Not so mature: Miranda and Steve on And Just Like That... (Season 1, Episode 8, "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"):
To be clear, we are absolutely here for Miranda discovering her sexuality and wanting to explore her queer identity. But the way she didn't even seem to notice just how sad and heartbroken Steve was when she told him she wanted a divorce and then immediately being all giddy and jetting off to see Che just felt off-putting and kind of heartless. Who says, "Oh my god, I'm in a rom-com!" in this situation? We think they could have handled this whole storyline much better, honestly.
17.Mature: Vanya and Sissy on The Umbrella Academy (Season 2, Episode 10, "The End of Something"):
This breakup was really heartbreaking, but it felt right. No one should have to compromise their own safety or that of their children for a relationship, and even beyond that, no one should have to leave behind their entire life and family for a relationship. Neither pushed the other to go with them — they just thanked each other and wished each other the best.
18.Not so mature: Damon and Elena on The Vampire Diaries (Season 5, Episode 16, "While You Were Sleeping"):
All of their breakups were the worst, but this one felt the most toxic to us. They argue about how their last breakup caused Damon to go on a killing spree and kill Elena's friend, and agree that they should break up, but they end up sleeping together again anyway. It all feels presented as "romantic," but it was just kind of messed up. Also, imagine if you told someone you loved them and they told you to stop, LOL.
19.Mature: Nick and Jess on New Girl (Season 3, Episode 20, "Mars Landing"):
While the reason for this breakup was largely that Nick wasn't a responsible adult, the actual breakup was very responsible and mature. They realized that their friendship was healthier and better than their relationship, and went back to being friends, both putting in the time and effort and care to do so. They didn't try to force the other to change. Of course, in the end, they both naturally changed and came together again, but they definitely needed this time apart.
20.Not so mature: Riley and Buffy on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 5, Episode 10, "Into the Woods"):
Is this one really a surprise? Everything about Riley was awful, and this breakup was no exception. We're glad Buffy didn't catch him before he left on the helicopter. The way he twisted his letting vampires feed on him into something that was not only Buffy's fault but also her responsibility to fix was so manipulative. And then he asked her to hit him?! Because that was "fire" to him? Riley did NOT deserve a proper goodbye, and we're glad he didn't get one.
21.Mature: Drew and Amy on Parenthood (Season 5, Episode 15, "Just Like at Home"):
Amy coming back and hiding out in Drew's dorm for a month was a bit of a weird storyline, but we were really glad they ended things so maturely. Drew realized that the relationship wasn't healthy, and Amy eventually understood that she couldn't hide from her problems forever. It was really sweet when Drew added that she could call him for anything, and their last kiss broke us a little.
22.Not so mature: Alex and Jo on Grey's Anatomy (Season 16, Episode 16, "Leave a Light On"):
OK, we know Justin Chambers was leaving the show and all, but this was such a bizarre way to wrap up Alex's character. Imagine finding out through a note that your partner has left you to go raise their children, which they didn't even know they had, with their ex. It was such a bizarre way to end this relationship and Alex's character arc in general.
23.Mature: Logan and Veronica on Veronica Mars (Season 3, Episode 9, "Spit & Eggs"):
This one was definitely painful to watch, but Logan made the right call here. As much as we all wanted to see Logan and Veronica make it work, the relationship just wasn't healthy for either of them at that point. As Logan said, Veronica wasn't built to have people help her, and he wasn't built to stand on the sidelines. We think this breakup helped them have a more mature relationship when they eventually got back together years later.
24.Not so mature: Rory and Dean on Gilmore Girls (Season 1, Episode 16, "Star-Crossed Lovers and Other Strangers"):
We can all agree that Dean sucks, right? We understand being hurt that Rory didn't immediately return his "I love you," but holy crap, dude — who builds their high school girlfriend a car for their three-month anniversary, professes their love, and then dumps her? We hated that Rory was made out to be in the wrong here, when it was perfectly reasonable for her not to be ready to say "I love you" back, especially given the circumstances she grew up in.
25.Mature: Samantha and Richard on Sex and the City (Season 5, Episode 3, "Luck Be an Old Lady"):
"I love you, but I love me more" is a line we all need to remember. Samantha choosing herself and her own happiness was the best possible outcome here. Maybe Richard was sincerely trying to make the relationship work, but Samantha was smart to realize that she just couldn't trust him anymore after he cheated.
26.Not so mature: Ted and Victoria on How I Met Your Mother (Season 1, Episode 18, "Nothing Good Happens After 2 A.M."):
Seriously, what kind of logic is this? "I'm going to dump my girlfriend over the phone the next day anyway, so what does it matter if I cheat on her?" Ted trying to justify his cheating by saying that Robin was "the one" just summed up how insufferable he was as a character. The scene of him arguing with a hallucination of Victoria was just weird.
27.Mature: Lola and Miles on Degrassi: Next Class (Season 3, Episode 6, "#ThatFeelingWhen"):
This whole coma–love triangle plot was soap opera levels of ridiculous, but Lola and Miles were so mature and understanding of each other. Lola understood the complexity of the situation and never once pressured Miles to leave Tristan for her, and Miles made it clear how much he still cared about her even if they couldn't be together. Although the circumstances weren't great, it was both characters' best, healthiest relationship by far, and they deserved a fair shot at being together.
28.Not so mature: Ander and Omar on Elite (Season 3, Episode 6, "Rebeca"):
To be fair, we're not sure what the "mature" response would be to finding out that your boyfriend has been cheating on you with his sister's boyfriend while you're going through chemotherapy. This was still a terrible way for the writers to handle it, though. Ander's wanting to protect himself was understandable, but having him make up an affair instead of confronting Omar for actually cheating made no sense. Their entire Season 3 relationship was so awful, and we still haven't forgiven the writers for it.
29.Mature: Santana and Brittany on Glee (Season 4, Episode 4, "The Break-Up"):
As much as we wanted Santana and Brittany to make long distance work, this was a really mature decision on Santana's part. She genuinely just wanted Brittany to be happy and didn't want her to have to put her life on hold for their relationship. The scene showed how much both Santana and Brittany had grown as characters and how much they truly cared for each other.
30.Not so mature: Rory and Paul on Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (Episode 4, "Fall"):
To clarify, we're not blaming Paul at allll here. But the fact that Rory couldn't be bothered to remember that she even HAD a boyfriend to break up with?? This entire storyline in the revival was just so weird and unnecessary and only made Rory look worse. Like, yeah, you kinda do suck.
31.Mature: Ryan and Marissa on The O.C. (Season 1, Episode 27, "The Ties That Bind"):
For such a dramatic couple, pretty much all of their breakups were surprisingly mature. Marissa didn't want to let Ryan go at the end of Season 1 but understood why he wanted to be there for Theresa and the baby. Watching them slow-dance and say their goodbyes like this shattered my heart into a million pieces — we just felt so bad for both of them. The way they handled this situation was so mature beyond their years.
32.Not so mature: Kelly and Ryan on The Office (Season 4, Episode 2, "Dunder Mifflin Infinity"):
To be fair, the whole point of their relationship was that they were hilariously terrible together. They had so many breakups, but this one probably ranks among the worst. Mindy Kaling totally obliviously saying, "Why not?" makes us laugh and want to cry tears of frustration every time.
33.Mature: Archie and Josie on Riverdale (Season 3, Episode 19, "Chapter Fifty-Four: Fear the Reaper"):
Yeah, yeah, we know they used the word "endgame" in this scene, but this breakup was a thousand times more mature than any of Archie's other relationships. Josie just wanted to focus on herself and her music, and Archie understood. As much as we wanted them to stay together, it was nice to see a teen drama couple admit that their relationship had just run its course, no drama necessary.
34.And finally, not so mature: Lucas and Peyton on One Tree Hill (Season 3, Episode 5, "I Forgot to Remember to Forget"):
Look, regardless of who you ship, we can all agree that Lucas Scott is dumb as all heck, right? Flying out to LA to propose to Peyton when they were like 18 was just ridiculous — there is only one Naley, Lucas, and you are not it! Peyton not being ready to get married so young was completely reasonable, and for Lucas to dump her over it just made us dislike him even more. Brooke made some points here.
