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Don’t watch these sad romance movies without a box of tissues handy. 😭
Everyone loves a great love story—unless, of course, you’re not in the mood for a happy ending. Even the best romantic movies of all time can feel stale after a while because they feature the same classic tropes. You know the clichés we’re talking about: enemies to lovers, second-chance romances, forbidden love, fake relationships, childhood crushes, bets gone awry, and so on. Now, this isn’t to say that we don’t love a cheesy, feel-good movie every now and then. But if tears are what you’re after, then skip the romantic comedies and head straight to the sad romance movies on Netflix.
There are so many romantic movies on Netflix to choose from, it can be hard to uncover which films are of the tear-jerking, heart-shattering, soul-crushing variety. Some of the saddest romances start out really happy, like Dear John and All the Bright Places. Others begin with heartbreak and end up okay in the end, like Someone Great and Fatherhood. And then there are the movies that leave you gutted from start to finish, like Irreplaceable You and Five Feet Apart. (You’ve been warned!)
No matter which of these sad romance movies on Netflix you decide to watch, one thing is certain: You’re going to need a big box of tissues.
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Someone Great proves that breakups are the worst, but best friends can always make them better. And sometimes, a sad ending is the new beginning you didn’t know you needed.
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The devastating realities of divorce play out in real time in this achingly personal story of one couple’s bitter, coast-to-coast split.
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Abbie and Sam have loved each other since childhood. When their plans to marry are shaken by Abbie’s cancer diagnosis, she sets out on a mission to find a new person for the love of her life.
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Two teenagers struggling with their painful pasts and unknown futures find solace in each other and all the bright places in-between. Warning: The ending of this one is a real doozy.
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A young journalist is plagued by seizures and voices in her head in this biographical drama. Follow along as she tries to save her career, her relationship, and her life from a rare neurological disorder.
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The rewarding highs and devastating lows of fatherhood are chronicled in this touching tale of a single father trying to raise his daughter after his wife’s sudden death.
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Based on the novel by the same name, Five Feet Apart is filled with love and loss as it follows the relationship of two young teens with cystic fibrosis.
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A widow looking for a fresh start escapes to her aunt’s rundown farm. In the end, country life (and love!) is just what she needed to heal.
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A hardened soldier and an idealistic college student have the summer romance of a lifetime before his deployment. They keep in touch over the next seven years through letters, but nothing turns out the way they’d planned.
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A romantic sailing adventure turns into a fight for survival in this heartbreaking, real-life story about a couple caught in a catastrophic hurricane.
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Before physicist Stephen Hawking rose to academic fame, he fell in love with his fellow student Jane Wilde at Cambridge University. Even before his motor neuron disease diagnosis, neither of them could have imagined how their life together would unfold.
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This movie about the surprising paths our lives take is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, so you already know it’s a tear-jerker.
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Based on a true story, 2 Hearts is about a pair of college students who fall in love—while in another time and place, an immigrant and a flight attendant fall for each other, too. You’ll have to watch to find out how these two love stories intertwine!
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A 17-year-old with a deadly sensitivity to sunlight finds life after dark in this sweet drama about first love.
