So this is just a purely rant article on my part.
I'm generally not a huge fan of romance… BUT, if it's done well, I am not a (complete) snow queen. I can melt accordingly and love it in a story. I even have some romance in my stories happening discreetly in the sidelines of all the other bombastic stuff.
That said, there's a couple of tropes I absolutely abhor. And right now I want to rant about the one I loathe. It should be dragged out to the back yard and put down.
And that is the “established romantic couple suddenly are torn apart because one of them discovers they're secretly dying, thus pretends falling out of love with their SO to protect them from pain when they die.”
WHAT A LOAD OF -
Not only does this sudden breakup also breakup the overall plot that is happening, forcing us to go back to ‘oh noes will they won’t they' in a warped kind of revisiting earlier stages of the couple's relationship, but it literally makes NO sense. To the point that the partner in the couple that does this comes across as an idiot to me. Honestly:
Pushing their loved one away for no apparent reason is causing their loved one intense emotional pain. A breakup of this type can cause grief on its own, which will be compounded when the dumbass does die. They are literally causing double the pain with the hopes of not causing pain upon death. 
It just that silly, when done in this context and with this motivation. Could there be exceptions to the rule?
NO.
Let your characters talk to their significant other. Don't create plot that hinges on them not talking to each other for ten episodes, when they're supposed to be intelligent, in love, trusting each other implicitly, having taken vows and/or promises of sincerity and/or soulmates that aren't in the game of emotionally scarring each other.
There I said it.
Okay, rant over.
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A Romance Trope I Hate
Tantz_Aerine at 12:00AM, Jan. 11, 2025
6 likes!
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EssayBee at 12:46PM, Jan. 13, 2025
I frequently equate the "tragic fatal disease" or "sudden cruel death" romance genre (aka Nicholas Sparks romance) to torture porn. Both genres exist solely to inflict pain, misery, and ultimately death on its protagonists (one through emotional torture, the other through physical torture). Torture porn at least has no artistic pretensions.
Tantz_Aerine at 8:04AM, Jan. 11, 2025
Just dropping in to clarify that while I might hate the trope, I won't necessarily hate the story/comic/webcomic that contains it. I often really like everything else in the story, hence the rant. ;)
Pita Gene at 5:52AM, Jan. 11, 2025
100000% agree. Maybe this is just me, but I HATE when there's a forced misunderstanding that could've been so EASILY avoided/talked through(of any kind, not JUST romance). Like yeah, they happen, of course! But some stories just take it waaaaaaay too far. If you gotta lie/keep secrets, at least make it worthwhile or make it make sense as to WHY they lie, not just because they want to be a martyr. I'm guilty of using this trope in some of my other stories from YEEEAARRRRRSSSS ago but as I got older I just get irritated by "forced" drama when it serves no purpose/is unnecessary/could've been fixed. But hey, tropes are tropes for a reason!
usedbooks at 4:56AM, Jan. 11, 2025
That doesn't happen in real life. In real life, many partners just leave when their partner gets a bad diagnosis. It's not romantic. It sucks. But it's real. So, it makes more sense if a character tries to cover up a diagnosis to prevent a breakup. Anyway, I agree. I really just hate lack of communication and secret keeping. In life or fiction. I guess I'm not a fan of drama in general. I love romance when the conflicts are external to the couple. (Which is why romance is a better B plot than A plot for me.)
PaulEberhardt at 2:35AM, Jan. 11, 2025
Similarly, I only dislike this particular trope here when it's played too straight: you know, if one of them can keep something that huge that secret that their significant other doesn't notice a thing, something must be going quite wrong in that relationship anyway. It's a couple that has stopped being on talking terms. I'd give the trope a chance, if they're somewhat confused about their feelings towards each other. --- @Inky: some rants do come across that way, don't they? I'd strongly advise against getting hung up on them, too. ;) Also, your many readers clearly love what you do - with good reason.
Roberto Fabris at 2:35AM, Jan. 11, 2025
Sooo... what can I say... guilty as charged!
PaulEberhardt at 2:29AM, Jan. 11, 2025
If, like many Romance tropes, this is used to force some Romance into a plot that doesn't actually need it, because some executive said there has to be some Romance in it, as according to statistics, it'll attract 0.69 % more viewers (or something along these lines), I'll totally second that, and I do feel this particular trope is really prone to being used that way. BUT: it's a tool like every trope. This is more about not using a tool the way it's made for. I've always enjoyed "Mr and Mrs Smith" - another twist on lovers with secrets from each other - just for the sheer absurdity of the situation, and that movie does a great job playing with it.
InkyMoondrop at 2:26AM, Jan. 11, 2025
I used to read such rants here on the duck (it was frequent as description to quakcasts) and just immediately notice "okay, yeah I use these" tropes you people hate, you'll probably hate my work as well if you haven't read it already. :D I'm trying not to get hung up on it too much anymore.
Stahlberg at 1:47AM, Jan. 11, 2025
Agree. I hate any kind of lying or keeping important secrets between friends or lovers as a plot device. I know it does happen in real life, but very rarely. And never like in a story, where it ALWAYS leads to a one-in-a-million misunderstanding, that could have been averted by 5 seconds of chatting "hey I'm seeing my old high school buddy later" type of thing. It's like a big flashing sign "contrived mess coming up".
InkyMoondrop at 1:36AM, Jan. 11, 2025
One of my favorite movies of all time (The Quiet Duel) is built on a variant of that trope and it's (otherwise questionable) morality. So I won't be too harsh on the trope. Still, I think it offers a much more interesting perspective if it gets resolved instantly or sooner rather than later. And I love exploring relationships where doubts and lies have the potential to do great damage, because it's the few things that make a relationship's portrayal really interesting. It's just best if there is some overall clarity over what's healthy and what's not and if people can find healthy ways to love each other.
Corruption at 12:42AM, Jan. 11, 2025
And for extra bad, if the one who thinks they are dying actually survive. This means their partner thinks the other just wanted to come back after messing around or were messing with their heads.