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People Break Down Which Romantic TV Moments Would Actually Be Traumatic In Real Life

People Break Down Which Romantic TV Moments Would Actually Be Traumatic In Real Life
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

As much as we love tv and movie love, we have to admit, some stories are a but much when you break it down.

When we're in the moment with bated breath, we can't help but be mesmerized.

But are we considering logistics?

And safety?

Is this relationship more toxic than healthy?

RedditorSmeggfaffawanted to know:

"What situation is always made out to be really sexy or romantic on TV, but is actually horrible and traumatizing in real life?"

TV romance is the stuff of legend. Can we be wrong?

Let's Talk...

Season 3 Episode 21 GIF by FriendsGiphy

"They always make awkward situations look like a good way to start a convo, but in reality it just makes you wanna die."

Aromatic-Car-824

Knock Knock

"When the guy knocks on the girl’s bedroom window in the middle of the night."

snazzylittlequetzal

"An ex did this to me after we had broken up (he cheated). I was going through a phase of blasting music in my headphones and staying up til like 5am, and for hours I kept hearing this lil knock now and again, until I was like okay wtf is that and turned off my music and realised it was pebbles being thrown at my window. My ex was there... throwing pebbles at my window... for several hours... it wasn't romantic."

GrossWordVomit

Fireworks

"When you've broken up but then get back together. In movies it seems like fireworks fly, but in reality there are a lot of trust/commitment issues to work through."

theoptionexplicit

"I met up with an ex years ago (about 3 years after we'd broken up) and within 2 hours their voice was like nails on a blackboard and I thought 'now I remember!'"

kij101

Speak Now

"Stopping a wedding to profess how they love/never stopped loving him or her. Then they both run off together."

227743

"I absolutely agree except for in one case... The Graduate. That shot of them on the bus where reality of their actions sink in is brilliant. Their laughter going to smiles and then the smiles fading as they stare straight ahead and don’t face one another."

UniDublin

"I quite like how they handled this on Frasier. Daphne and Niles finally confess their feelings for each other right when she's about to marry someone else, decide to run off together, get into a car, and that's how the season ends. But in the first episode of the next season they're shown to only have made it to the end of the driveway where they decide to turn around and go deal with the situation like adults. Which of course doesn't do much to soften the fallout - Daphne's fiancé even sues her for emotional damages."

48pieces

Following You

wo glenn close GIFGiphy

"-Stalking a person until they agree to go on a date with you."

"-Lock two people in a room to confess their feelings, (they did it to me, I ended up escaping through a window)."

Environmental_Hall42

Stalking can be sexy. Right?

Yuck

Giphy

"Beach sex is just not good."

BigKitchen84

Kissed

"Being forcibly kissed to make you shut up."

bobobonon135

"I went to a party with a male friend who I knew liked me. I always made it clear I didn't feel the same about him. Before the party he told me that he thought I would like one of his friends that was going to be there and he was right."

"The friend and I hit it off and I ended up staying the night with him (he lived there). In the morning, the guy went outside, I was standing in a doorway, and my friend was across the room. He walked over to me, grabbed my face and kissed me before I knew what was happening. He asked me if I felt anything and I said no. I was shocked, like dude I just hooked up with your friend, you can't kiss me like we're in a movie or some crap.

J09Lynn

“run away”

"A person dropping their entire life to 'run away' with someone they just met. My sister literally just did this. Took off on a boat for 2 weeks with a man she met 3 weeks before. They found out they are NOTHING alike and it was all just lust not love. Too late now they are stuck together on boat. They quickly realized they CANNOT handle living together and were miserable. It’s not all just roses and rainbows when you run off with 'the love of your life.'"

momogirl200

Bye...

"When a guy shows way too much interest in you after you've made it crystal clear you are not interested."

bootsandmittens11

"The only time I found it flattering when a guy kept asking me was in high school. I only turned him down because his parents were the owners of the grocery store I worked at and I thought it’d be awkward if it ended badly. And I did like him, he was a great guy, but I always said no. When I quit, I finally agreed to go out with him."

Ok-IrrelevantIdol

Bad Idea

couple making out GIFGiphy

"Sex in the shower. The amount of times I’ve had patients come into the ER after slipping and falling after having shower sex? Numerous."

signaturefox2013

In Red

"My mind automatically goes to kissing while covered in other peoples blood."

HenmandingoYT

"28 Days Later comes to mind. Dude just killed a man with his bare hands after saving his woman from assault, and they passionately kiss with another man's blood all over them."

ZealousFeet

YIKES

"Most romantic storylines. High drama romances are usually terrible to live through. Imagine being will-they-won't-they for several months or years in real life? Yikes."

"Storytelling, especially in written media, is a great place to experiment with dubious consent. It's interesting, dramatic, plays into some classic tropes. Real life... ehhhh not so great, unless you've got your safety words and are actually consenting."

ladyalot

Too Freaky...

"I see this happen in a lot of shows and movies, but I'm currently watching Outlander. No matter what happens, these people are freaking. Just been in battle? Let's get freaky. Oops, I had to kill my favorite uncle and I'm devastated. Wanna f**k? We just time traveled to a place and time we know nothing about... let's get naked in someone's shed and do the 17th century no-pantaloom shuffle! People f**king through trauma and imminent danger is not a thing."

OfficeChairHero

Learn

Wow Excited GIF by Steve Harvey TVGiphy

"Making stalking romantic, I'm a man and it feels weird and wrong pursuing a girl after she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with the guy."

funnywax

No

"Sex scenes where they kiss for like 5 seconds and then the man suddenly shoves his dick inside without any foreplay and they start f**king. That does NOT feel good at all in reality, but in movies the woman is always so into it. Yeah… just… no."

CaptainFriendlies

Pictures

"Bit of an aside, but at least one of the movie couple always has a photo on their work desk of them and their partner doing things like pushing one another on a tire swing, but the angle of the shot is as if the photographer was in the bushes spying. Who is taking all these pictures?? This ended up having nothing to do with OP’s question and will probably get deleted."

theWildBore

Wet

"Shower sex is just annoying. Water only his one of you so the other gets really cold. There isn't really enough room unless you have a big a** shower. Just overall a bad time."

Goobula

"Get the detachable shower heads (the kind with 2 heads) then you can easily position it so everyone is warm and wet!"

flantastic_sam

hands off...

Episode 9 Joey GIF by FriendsGiphy

"Sharing a plate of spaghetti."

Halloweenspice

"It’s not romantic it’s a war. I’ll fight tooth and nail for that noodle."

ChopperStrawhat

THAT Movie

"I forget exactly what it was called but it’s a movie w Adam Sandler, like 500 first dates or something. She can’t make memories so every day she’s freaked out that this dude is in her bed, and yeah it’s half comedy half romance but it never say right w me lol."

Dumba**Asian

"If it helps, he makes her update movies so she understands what’s going on ever morning. They end up living on a boat and having kids."

Legitimate_Length263

TV and movies have ruined us all. I'm on a break!!

person holding photo of three girls near chainlink fence
Anita Jankovic on Unsplash

Life is all about learning new things, including learning new things about the people in your life. Sometimes, the things you learn are shocking, disgusting, or even scary.

I was the new kid in town when I was in fifth grade and my first friend was this quiet (and cute) boy in my class. He and I remained friends through middle school, and even though we drifted apart in high school, our interactions when we ran into each other in the halls or the cafeteria were really nice.

All throughout school and even beyond, he remained quiet, polite, and reserved. Just a few years ago, I read a news article written about him. He had apparently fatally wounded his father after an argument.

I had to reread the article several times to make sure it was really about my old friend. I think about it a lot, and still can't believe it!

I'm not the only one that has a shocking story like that. A lot of Redditors learned shocking or scary things about people from their childhood, and are ready to share.

It all started when Redditor ValuableHovercraft90 asked:

"What's the scariest thing you have found out about someone from your childhood (old friends, teachers, etc)?"

So Creepy

"That the boy who lived across the street and moved when I was 6 is still obsessed with me and my sister 30+ years later and posts ramblings on Facebook with our names and that he's going to be with us. Pretty terrifying honestly."

– mrscrawfish

The Worst List

"A neighbour died when he was 30. Police searched a trailer he owned and found weapons, bombs and a list of people he wanted to kill. My uncle was on that list."

– Flashy_Somewhere_648

"I'm glad this ended the way it did."

– CreepyCandidate4449

Terrifying

"One of my best friends (and locker partner) from high school was kidnapped by terrorists in Iraq. After a nightmare of 6+ months, all went silent. We buried an empty casket in his memory 10 years later."

– francois_du_nord

"This is horrifying. How incredibly sad for family to never get any closure. Very sad to read this. :("

– fizzycherryseltzer

"About 15 years ago my dad received a very good offer for work in Iraq, as a construction specialist. He was considering going, since at the same time the financial crisis started in Europe, but then one of his friends, a civil engineer, was kidnapped. Never returned back either."

– 19lgkrn70

"Same thing for my dad old coworker told him how great the money was. Dude got sniped working on a radio tower or something. My dad luckily was like, "I got a wife and family that would kill me for doing something so dangerous.""

– tristanjones

End Of The Friendship

"One of my dad's good friends, and my "uncle", just stopped coming around one day. I was told he was always busy with work, away, etc."

"Turns out, he killed 3 people in a drug deal gone bad and got life in prison."

"What's scary, is that we were over at his house for a weekend BBQ with a bunch of people earlier in the day of the night he did it, and it happened at his house."

– pnwking509

School Friends

"Don't know if it was scary, but I grew up with a kid whose birthday was the day before mine so we almost always shared birthdays in elementary school. We were friends, even spent the night at his house growing up. Later on in our teens, he started getting into some really dark stuff. I recognize that now as his being a sociopath, but like most everybody else at the time, figured it was just him going through some kind of emo phase. Over the years, we lost touch but I would occasionally run into him around town and our meetings were cordial, if not friendly."

"Last year, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for killing a man back in 1993, roughly 3 years after we got out of High School. Apparently he, his sister and another man lured this guy out to the boonies and killed him to steal money he had gotten in an insurance settlement."

"The only reason they were caught is the other guy got religion, felt remorse and went on the local TV station and aired a confession before turning himself in (He got 25 to life)."

– 530_Oldschoolgeek

"A girl I went to school with did the same thing. She was the nicest girl, got good grades & was kind of a dork. Mixed with the wrong people after graduation. She and two others lured an old man into an abandoned building, stabbed him and robbed him. He later died from his wounds."

– HereF0rTheSnacks

The Worst Afternoon

"I had a friend in grade school who was being raised by her single dad. She had a unique name and pretty face. She never talked about her mom, and she was super outgoing, so all us kids just made friends with her quickly. It was weird her dad never brought her to our birthday parties, even though she was always invited, but we didn’t think much of it. A couple times, she was allowed to ride the bus home with me after school, and we played and had fun until her dad came to pick her up. Later in the school year, she invited me to ride the bus to her house, and my mom agreed. I was 10. It was the scariest afternoon of my young life. I cannot articulate the extreme tension in her home. We weren’t allowed to make any noise, and we mostly stayed outside, me desperate for my mom to arrive."

"Her dad screamed at us for opening the door, and I was too nervous to go into the house to use the restroom. I knew she was embarrassed that there were no snacks or comforting interactions, like at my house. I didn’t really tell anyone how uncomfortable the experience was. After that day, I didn’t hang out with her a lot. We were in different classes, drifted apart, and decades later, when my own daughter asked to go to a friend’s house, I thought about that girl."

"As an adult, I figured out her dad probably worked a night shift and tried to sleep during the day…or he was an alcoholic who was really angry. Maybe both? I looked her up on social media, and thanks to her unique name and face, I recognized her immediately. She’s a perfectly well-adjusted woman with a beautiful family. She even had pictures of her kids with her dad and tributes to him as the greatest father and grandpa. Her whole page made me wonder what the hell I experienced that afternoon in the 4th grade?"

– OlderAndTired

School Is Supposed To Be Safe!

"In our school, we had something called "de halte." In English, it means "the halt" literally translated. Basically time out. BIf you had a meltdown in class or you were just a little sh*thead, you were sent there for 15 minutes or so to cool off.

The de hatle teacher got fired and jailed for breaking 4 different wrists of 4 different students by bending them the wrong way..."

– Ok_Win7358

*Skin Crawling*

​"There was this classmate a grade below me but all grades shared the same drama class. She was weird and kind of "off." I tried to befriend her at one point and was rebuffed. It later came out that she was actually an almost 30-year-old woman who would show up in a new area claiming to be a 15-year-old runaway. Kind of freaked me out."

jackfaire

It turns out it was a good thing that the friendship didn't work out!

Group of people dining out at a restaurant
Dan Gold on Unsplash

When we think of the term "red flags," we're quick to think of red flags that might appear in a problematic or abusive relationship.

But red flags can appear in any place in our life, especially the workplace or places that consumers frequent, like big box stores and restaurants.

When it comes to restaurant red flags, these are important to note, as they could have a negative impact on a consumer's health.

Redditor FlintTheDad asked:

"What's an immediate red flag at a restaurant?"

Fair Enough

"When you see the owner breaking apart frozen chicken on the curb outback."

- Mourning-Poo

High Humidity

"High humidity inside."

- Presitigious_Gold_585

"Yes! The small that causes is unmistakable."

- TemperatureTop246

Sticky Furniture

"All of the furniture and menus are weirdly sticky..."

- Silver_Sunshine360

"I know what *some* of that is. Some furniture and cleaning solutions aren't compatible. The cleaning spray reacts with the finish on the table tops, and softens, it, which makes it feel a bit sticky, and dulls it super fast... but it's the sanitizer cleaner they use for *everything*, and they don't want to have to deal with a separate cleaner for certain surfaces."

"I used to sell commercial office furniture, and we'd run into this issue sometimes. The worst was when a company asked us to source some tables they found from a local craftsman (since we were already an approved vendor in their system, they often had us buy and deliver stuff for them). Beautiful, hand-made stuff."

"So we bought them and arranged for the delivery and placement. When we got to the site and saw where they wanted them, I cringed... I knew the tables were finished in shellac, and they were having us put them in their lounge area, where I knew they often had events with drinks."

"Shellac dissolves in alcohol. Spilling a drink on it can ruin the finish. Before we left, I left a note on the tables about being careful and emailed the client some care tips. The NEXT DAY they sent us pictures of the ruined finish, asking, 'What is wrong with our tables?!'"

- NecroJoe

Sounds Fishy

"A seafood restaurant should NOT smell fishy."

- turtyurt

"And conversely, a seafood MARKET that does not smell fishy is indeed fishy."

- FourMeterRabbit

A Specific Smell

"That *smell.*"

"You know the one. floors feel a little slippery/slimy underfoot and it smells like they've been mopping the place with the same dirty mop and bucket water for weeks."

"This isn't something you're likely to see in a nice place but I've encountered it in more fast-casual dining places than I care to remember."

- y2knole

"THAT smell. It always reminds me of yeast rolls. I guess it's bacteria in the mop water that has been setting in that bucket for three days."

- SpeelingChamp

Restroom Cleanliness

"Dirty restrooms."

- carboncanyondesign

"This is a dead giveaway. If they can't keep part of the restaurant that the public DOES see clean, you can imagine how the non-public facing parts look."

- OkaySureBye

"Health inspector here. The key is to look for build-up that looks like it's been there more than a day. Most places don't have bathroom attendants and it's unrealistic to expect public bathrooms to be spotless every minute of the day."

- Vives_solo_una_vez

The Right Audience

"Whenever I have friends come to visit me in Osaka and they're dying to try some authentic ramen. My goto line is:"

"'Look for the most run-down looking, back ally shack you can, the more run-down looking; the better. Guaranteed It'll be the best ramen you'll ever have!'"

"And to anyone who happens to read this, no, Ichiran is NOT the best reman joint. It's nice don't get me wrong but please ask around, research ramen in the area you're visiting, I guarantee you there's SO much better out there!"

- kevo998

"I look for people of that ethnicity eating there. Mexican restaurant with only white people? It might be good. Mexican restaurant with Mexicans wearing high-vis shirts? S**t's going be fire. Bonus points if there’s a grocery store attached."

"The same thing goes for Asian restaurants sans the high-vis shirts."

- PsychoticMessiah

Too Many Variables

"A huge menu."

- dnb_4eva

"A huge VARIED menu."

"Places like Chinese, Mexican, and Indian restaurants generally have large menus, but most items use the same base ingredients."

"It's the places that try to incorporate lots of wildly different dishes that you want to avoid."

- MagnusPI

Unexpected Restaurant Guests

"A raccoon falling through the ceiling tiles. 1:00 AM, drunk as h**l, looking for something to eat, and I found a dive that was still open. I ordered my food, and while waiting for my order, a raccoon fell from the ceiling."

"The waitress ran to the back screaming. The cook came out armed with a cleaver and chased it into the kitchen. The look on his face was like it had happened before. Other people eating there were in shock and got up and left."

"Mystery meat: the new special. Get me the f**k out of there."

- alwaystired707

That Wait Time

"I immediately look to see if there is anyone actually eating. If there are a half dozen tables with no food on them, and people looking anxiously to the kitchen, I'm out."

- scotttr3b

Cleaning Response Time

"Multiple dirty tables that haven’t been cleared. If the restaurant isn’t crowded, staff should have time to clean them. If it is crowded, staff should be trying to turn tables over quickly."

"Dirty tables mean they are either severely understaffed or the staff just doesn’t care. Either way, you will be waiting a long time."

- 787la57la47al

Inappropriate Smells

"Once went into a restaurant that boasted the biggest Cinnamon Rolls in the city/state... Only for there to be a pervasive smell of absolutely raw stagnate sewage throughout the dining room. Needless to say, did not return."

- nekroves

Construction Said It Best

"A green flag for a restaurant is when you see a lot of construction workers going there for lunch. You'll know it's cheap and good, hearty food."

"In my old city, there was this tiny little family-owned Chinese restaurant with delicious and cheap lunch specials. Every construction worker downtown sat at the counter at the front for lunch."

"Meanwhile, the waiters would be in this little back room watching TV and the chef must have been at least 70 years old. The food was genuinely so delicious and filling. Probably not good for your cholesterol but so tasty!"

- okaymoose

Atmosphere Matters

"Not a red flag about the food but if a place has their music up so loud I can’t hear the person I’m with, then I won’t eat there."

- Adro87

"Conversely, if it's TOO quiet; as in, not only is the sound system way too low, but if the customers are also weirdly quiet (barely having conversations, just sort of sitting there) and the atmosphere seems almost stifling."

"A couple of years ago we walked into a gastropub in Scotland just like this - very low music, the room was half full (and this was at peak lunch time), and everyone who was there were just sitting, looking sullen, barely speaking, waiting for their food. Just really... odd... vibes."

"After five minutes of sitting at the bar trying to get the attention of staff (who were all standing around looking at their phones), we left and went to a definitely *not fancy* cafe down the block that was the absolutely opposite: people just seemed happy to be there, staff were attentive, and the vibe was really welcoming."

- Good_Difference_2837

The Ultimate Red Flag

"Gordon Ramsey walking in with a camera crew."

- Tint-kicker

"One of the local restaurants we like was recently closed for a bit due to filming for 'Kitchen Nightmares.'"

"My husband still likes to get their food, but I'm waiting until the episode airs!"

- Lington

No restaurant is going to be perfect 100 percent of the time. They're going to have a slow night or poor response time or get some orders wrong from time to time.

But there are far more problematic behaviors and characteristics to find in a restaurant that are perfectly good reasons to never go back there again, no matter how good they may have been in the past.