There must be a happily ever after. Women don't want to read about romantic stories that fall apart. We want romance that will last through the ages, through time, until the end of all eternity.

Some people insist that a romance book has to have a “happily ever after” ending. (The linked post refers to YA paranormal romance, but I believe the blogger is also referring to romance in general.)

I don’t like this mindset that a romance has to end happily, with the main couple together for what might be until they die together in old age. It feels like an unhealthy mindset to impose on an entire genre.

Most romances don’t last until the grave! People split up. People divorce. People find someone else. People become abusive.



And we need to teach that stuff happens. Saying that a romance has to end happily every single time is a disservice, especially in YA literature, where some people think Bella and Edward are in a healthy relationship.

Yes, bad endings are painful, but they’re apart of a spectrum. Maybe the man leaves the woman, and the woman finds that she’s more empowered without him. Maybe the woman dies, and the man eventually copes with her death and continue a content life. Maybe one boy find that staying with the other boy wasn’t worth it, and it’s better to keep looking elsewhere, instead of staying with that one boy forever.

An ending doesn’t have to be Happily Ever After to be satisfying. Anyone who says otherwise is closing themselves off to a world of wonderful stories.