9 Sad Love Stories That'll Break Your Heart

BY CORINNE SULLIVAN
OCT. 9, 2019
Love stories don't always have a happy ending. You might fall for someone who
doesn't return your phone calls or dates your best friend or simply doesn't feel
the same way you do. DW, heartbreak won't stop you from moving on and pursuing new
relationships. But before you get a happy fairytale ending, there's a chance you'll
collect a few sad love stories along the way. Sorry to be a downer, you guys. But
it's true.

The end of a relationship doesn't necessarily include betrayal and big blowups.
Sometimes, a relationship reaches a quiet conclusion, which can be even more
painful than a messy split. People move away, change their priorities, find new
careers, and — on the path to finding themselves — they may find their partner
doesn't fit into the equation.

Though losing a lover can be an isolating experience, it might make you feel better
to know that you're not alone. I came across an AskReddit thread inviting Reddit
users to share the most heartbreaking story from their love lives, and hundreds of
brokenhearted people replied with their tales of love gone wrong. I hope you have
some tissues handy because these stories might just make you ugly cry.

This Cultural Divide

Miscommunication can lead to sad love stories
Shutterstock
My boyfriend and I broke up over religion. We were in a relationship for four years
and a couple of months ago, both his parents (who are Jewish) and my parents (who
are Hindu) made us break up with each other because both families believed that
there was no future for us.
His Jewish parents didn't want a Hindu daughter-in-law and my parents felt the same
about him. Although we had tried for the past four years to get our parents to
accept the other, they never did, which always led to arguments.
We continue to remain friends now and it breaks my heart every time I see him
because I still love him immensely.
— honeycomb29

This Final Date Night

We dated for over a year and were each other's best friends, we completely
understand each other, and we are still madly in love with each other, but it was
best for us to break up because we weren't in the same place. She's 20 and wants to
be married and have kids soon, and I'm 21 and wanted to date her for a while and
get married and have kids around age 30.
It was mutual and we both knew it was best for us, so we decided one day to break
up. On the last day of our relationship, I decided to take her out on one last date
night. We spent the entire date thinking back and talking about favorite times
together, things we'll miss about each other, how we've affected each other's life
in so many good ways. I bought her flowers, took her to a nice romantic restaurant
with live music, and went to see The Hobbit, through all of which we held hands. It
was one of the most perfect, romantic, happy, and yet heartbreaking date we ever
had.
At the end of the night, we said our goodbyes as we hugged and kissed passionately
for one last time and went our separate ways, never to see each other again. It was
the hardest thing I've had to do to this date, but I wouldn't want it to end any
other way. It was as perfect as a heartbreak could be.
— hamdalore510
This Tragic Miscommunication
I had a bit of a thing for this girl Caitlin for over a year back in school. I used
to speak to her whenever I could — I'd help her with her English homework, sit next
to her on the bus, etc. The typical teenage romance crap.
Caitlin and I both had a liking for this local band who had made it relatively big,
so for her birthday, I got two tickets to see them at a homecoming show as a way of
asking her out. I put the tickets in her card and wrote some crap about looking
forward to taking her.
Her birthday comes around, I give her the card, watch her open it, get a hug and a
massive thank you, etc., but that was about it. [I] didn't think too much of the
lack of comments regarding the 'asking out' part.
Concert day rolls around, I text her asking when she wants to get pick up. She
doesn't understand what I mean [and] tells me she's already on her way there with
*****.
Turns out she went with another guy. They started dating for a year or two.
— MrAmsterdammit

This Devastating Dissolution

My first boyfriend of two years dumped me near the beginning of college for another
girl and stopped speaking to me cold turkey. Left me friendless in a new place.
Didn't even acknowledge me when we passed on the same staircase in campus. Two
years together and I was dead to him in a day.
— Mandelish

This Unrequited Romance

[I] fell in love with a guy. In an attempt to get closer to him, we became best
friends. I fell harder and harder in love with him. We shared everything — we went
on trips together, he taught me how to change the oil on my car, I introduced him
to some great books/movies/music.
I watched him marry the girl of his dreams. It wasn't me.
— whengaysattack

This Fickle Lover

Long-distance relationships can lead to sad love stories
Shutterstock
I realized that I had fallen madly in love with him completely by accident, so I
broke up with my boyfriend so I could be with him. He was thrilled with this, and
we spent a couple absolutely blissful weeks together where we sang love songs to
each other, cooked meals together, danced like crazy, watched old Disney movies,
developed hilarious inside jokes (making a duck face every time Skyfall is
mentioned, due to Daniel Craig's face), complimented each other every few
minutes... He was so wonderfully happy, I was so wonderfully happy, and everyone
around us thought we were an amazing couple. Those were a couple of the happiest
weeks of my life.
Fast forward another two weeks and he realizes he's not in a position where he can
commit to a serious relationship. Feels too young, feels like he wants to explore
the world, scared of commitment, etc. He decides he'll try to push aside the doubts
because he thinks I'm amazing and that we have something really special going on.
We kiss like we're in the movies and everything is great again. One week later, the
doubts are back and I can't handle always being afraid he'll end it any minute, so
we end it and go back to being friends.
Except that I'm still madly in love with him. But secretly.
— go-with-the-flow

This Crushing Revelation

I met her in college and I fell instantly for her on our first date. We were
together for about a year and a half before she got accepted into a grad school
across the country. We discussed whether or not we were to have a long-distance
relationship and we decided not to since it would be easier on both of us. I've
been miserable ever since she's left. It's been about four months since she's been
gone. We spent time together over break and it was as if she never left. It was
wonderful until she said that she had started dating again.
I couldn't be mad at her because we weren't together. I think the overwhelming
shock that the girl I had meant to propose to was already moving on with her life
after having such a wonderful relationship with me is what is making me sick to my
stomach every day. Every single day I wish that things were different, that she
hadn't moved away, and that we were still together.
— cloudy_pants

This Friend Envy

I loved a girl for two years. She was beautiful, and I still think about her every
now and then. We were pretty good friends and she told me everything. But last
year, she told me she's in love with my best friend. My best friend is a pretty
oblivious person, so he often doesn't know anything happening around him. ...And I
made one of the stupidest mistakes. I didn't want her to be sad, so I helped her
and my best friend to get closer. It ended up [with] them being together, and I was
just loner. I have always regretted for not being brave enough to confess to her
that I love her. One thing that I feel most jealous of is that my best friend is
still a very uncaring person, but she's so tolerant for him, and seeing them
everyday at school, I sometimes imagine myself as if I was my best friend.
— justinwongtop

This Long-Distance Disappointment

I was 22 when I had my first girlfriend. I loved her a great deal. I had just moved
to California (I'm originally from Texas) where she lived after several months of
long-distance dating, so getting to spend time with her was great, but I couldn't
support myself there and wound up having to move back to Texas. It was heart-
breaking for me and I couldn't bear doing the long-distance thing again so I broke
up with her. We're still in contact everyday and she has moved on, where I haven't.
I've been there for her through every ill-advised relationship, always the shoulder
to cry on and the voice of reason to listen to. I used to tell myself that I was
over her, but if I'm truly honest, I guess I never will be.
— Nathrie

Every happy love story probably involves encountering some form of heartbreak along
the way. Just remember this: You're not alone in your pain, and you're not any less
deserving of a happy ending. The more painful the heartbreak in your past, the more
satisfying true love may be when you find it in the future.