Television thrives off of drama. Without it, there would be nothing to keep the audience’s interest.
But there is a point where it stops being entertaining and starts becoming annoying.
Related: 11 Declarations of Love That Slipped Out by Accident
Drama simply for the sake of drama, can end up hurting a relationship that had the potential to be incredible.
We created a slideshow below of 23 couples who split to keep the spark alive!
Jane and Rafael – Jane the Virgin
If the writers of Jane the Virgin were always planning on a Jafael endgame, their multiple breakups feel a bit redundant. What was the point of bringing Michael back to life if he wasn’t going to be with Jane? To stir up more drama between Jane and Rafael, of course.

Nick and Jess – New Girl
The only reason why Nick and Jess broke up is that New Girl wanted to keep the “will they/won’t they” aspect alive. They were afraid that if Nick and Jess were happy for the entire series the audience would grow bored. But the drama wasn’t worth it, and the two should have stuck together for good.

Ross and Rachel – Friends
Ross and Rachel’s on again/off again drama was the most infuriating part of Friends. We wish they would have just called it quits after the “we were on a break” incident, mostly so we would never have to hear Ross scream that again.

Will and Natalie – Chicago Med
Will and Natalie may not be together now, but the season finale of Chicago Med left us with a lot of questions. It’s clear that their breakup was just meant to drag out their inevitable endgame even longer.

Michael and Alex – Roswell, New Mexico
It’s been obvious from the beginning that Michael and Alex are the endgame couple. It might be painful now, but tearing them apart is just going to bring them back together.

Liza and Josh – Younger
Liza and Josh have broken up so many times, yet each breakup tends to be more dramatic than the last. But we still have hope that their love will win out and Liza and Josh will get back together for good.

Derek and Meredith – Grey’s Anatomy
It feels like Derek and Meredith broke up at least once every season. Even after they got married they were separated for a brief period. The drama was interesting at the beginning of Grey’s Anatomy, but as the show went on it just got annoying.

Logan and Veronica – Veronica Mars
Who doesn’t love a good enemies to lovers ship? Despite the drama, we’re more thankful than ever that Logan and Veronica got back together and that we’re going to see them back in action on the Veronica Mars revival.

Claire and Jamie – Outlander
Claire and Jamie definitely didn’t want to break up, but their separation was used to add more drama and angst to the relationship. We always knew they were meant to find their back to each other.

Damon and Elena – The Vampire Diaries
It took Damon and Elena seasons to get together, so when they happened and there were still seasons left of the show, The Vampire Diaries had to break them up to “keep things interesting.”

Aria and Ezra – Pretty Little Liars
It’s hard to keep track of how many times these two split up. Ezra was Aria’s high school teacher, so of course, there were a lot of things that prevented them from being together. Maybe they should have taken those things into consideration rather than pursuing a totally inappropriate and illegal relationship.

Oliver and Felicity – Arrow
Oliver and Felicity’s romance was adorable throughout the first few seasons of Arrow, but it was their breakups and inability to make the relationship work that destroyed them. They may have ended up together, but it wasn’t as satisfying as we always dreamed it would be.

Liv and Major – iZombie
Liv and Major are the definition of soulmates. Their breakup felt unnecessary since we have complete faith that they’re going to end up back together in the end.

Alex and Piper – Orange is the New Black
Alex and Piper’s crazy drama was too much. It was so complicated and overboard that it destroyed everything we loved about their relationship. The series waited too long to make a decision about their future.

Rebecca and Greg – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Rebecca and Greg were always meant to be, but they both had to do a lot of soul searching before they could make a relationship work. The spark between them never died out, but it was annoying to watch a couple we love be kept apart. Despite the series’ ending, we believe that they’ll find each other when they’re both ready.

Kurt and Blaine – Glee
The cheating storyline was the worst thing Glee could have done to this groundbreaking couple. They wanted to create obstacles and give a valid reason for them to be apart, but they did too good of a job. Klaine will always have a special place in our hearts, but that was just unforgivable.

Penny and Leonard – The Big Bang Theory
Penny and Leonard’s relationship is probably one of the most complicated ones on television. There were so many ups and downs that it was downright exhausting wondering how long it would take for them to get back together again.

Chuck and Blair – Gossip Girl
Chuck and Blair’s drama was the thing that ruined them completely. Gossip Girl even felt the need to throw domestic violence into the relationship, but that didn’t stop them from getting back together.

Belle and Rumpelstiltskin – Once Upon a Time
Belle and Rumple’s breakups went the same every time. Rumple would do something horrible and get someone badly injured or killed, Belle would break up with him, and the cycle would repeat. She should have stuck with her first decision to leave him.

Kat and Adena – The Bold Type
Kat and Adena have been on and off for seasons, supposedly to keep the spark between them alive. But Kat and Adena don’t need to break up for us to want them together. They’re at their best when they’re in each other’s lives.

Archie and Veronica – Riverdale
As much as we hate to admit it, Archie and Veronica are probably going to end up together at the end of Riverdale. Their time apart is just to stir up the plot, or maybe Riverdale finally realized that Archie and Veronica are horrible together.

Eric and Donna – That 70’s Show
Eric and Donna always felt like they were in a weird limbo on That 70’s Show. Whether they were broken up, together, or pining for one another it all meshed together into an unenjoyable relationship.

Lucifer and Chloe – Lucifer
When Lucifer left Chloe right after she told him she loved him, it wasn’t because he wanted to. Lucifer had to go back to hell permanently to protect both Chloe and the world. Lucifer’s sacrifice created an enormous obstacle between them that they’ll have to overcome to get back to each other.
