Game Of Thrones had some very uncomfortable relationships (Picture: HBO )

Game Of Thrones star Joe Dempsie made headlines this week after revealing he felt ‘uncomfortable’ about Arya and Gendry’s romance in the final series, given he’d watched co-star Maisie Williams grow up on the show.

Fans were split over the pairing back in 2019. Some loved seeing #Garya get together, while others were a little freaked out over Arya’s first romantic storyline.

In terms of Game of Thrones’s problematic couples though, Gendry and Arya are pretty small fry compared to what we’d seen on the show before it.

Game of Thrones brought us a conveyor belt of uncomfortable relationships throughout the course of its eight series, each nastier than the last.

There were some nice moments among it all. Gilly and Sam were good together – if a little boring – and we’re still waiting for a Tormund and Brienne spin-off show, but the bad far outweighed the good.

Take a look back at some of the show’s most awkward romances below, from the icky to the downright indefensible.

Jon (Kit Harington) and Ygritte (Rose Leslie)

Ygritte and Jon on Game of Thrones (Picture: HBO)

We’ll start off with a relatively nice one. For the majority of their time together, Jon and Ygritte enjoyed the most touching romance of the entire series. They fell in love beyond the wall and had some of the best on-screen chemistry we ever saw on the show (stars Kit Harington and Rose Leslie of course met on set and went on to get married in 2018).

To say their characters’ relationships ended badly is an understatement, though, with the two ending up on opposing sides at the battle of Castle Black and Ygritte dying in Jon’s arms as enemies.

Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Shae (Sibel Kekili)

Tyrion and Shae in Game of Thrones

These two outsiders formed a nuanced and heartwarming relationship early on in season one, but things were doomed for Tyrion and Shae as soon as they moved to King’s Landing together in season two.

Shae had to remain hidden and it put great strain on them both. It all came to a devastating conclusion after she betrayed Tyrion following his forced marriage to Sansa. Seeing her sleep with his father broke Tyrion’s heart, and he ended up shooting Tywin with a crossbow and strangling Shae to death as a result. As far as breakups go, it’s pretty messy.

Jon and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke)

Daenerys and Jon didn’t get their happy ending on Game of Thrones (Picture: HBO)

‘Wait, aren’t they related?’ That’s what thousands of fans found themselves wondering after the show’s two biggest characters got together in the later throes of the series.

Game of Thrones has never shied away from portraying incestuous relationships, and if you can briefly ignore the fact that Daenerys is technically Jon’s aunt you can almost get past it – they did a good job against the white walkers together, after all.

But Jon and Daenerys’s relationship failed to deliver the emotional blows that series eight required, and their romantic story all played out a bit too quickly after years of buildup. There was also the small matter of Jon stabbing Daenerys to death in the final season. Not the happy ending many were hoping for.

Stannis (Stephen Dillane) and Melisandre (Carice van Houten)

Melisandre and Stannis on Game of Thrones (Picture: HBO)

Stannis Baratheon seemed a nice enough bloke at the start of Game of Thrones, but his obsession with power and his romance with the Red Woman Melisandre led to increasingly twisted plot turns.

After welcoming the Lord of the Light into his life, it wasn’t long before he was agreeing to have his brother killed by a shadow demon, before sacrificing his daughter at Melisandre’s behest in one of the show’s most devastating moments.

After he’d lost everything through cruelty, Melisandre decided to up sticks and leave him anyway.

Daenerys and Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa)

Khal Drogo and Daenerys on Game of Thrones (Picture: HBO)

A mismatched pairing from the start, the early days of Daenerys and Khal Drogo’s relationship were steeped in abuse.

As Daenerys grew in stature, she earned the respect of her husband across the first season and became the Queen of the Dothraki following his death. She ended up learning a lot about leadership and ruthlessness from Khal, but it came at a great cost.

The fact that Khal slowly grew to recognise her as his equal certainly didn’t undo his unforgivable actions at the beginning, either.

Cersei (Lena Headey) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau)

Jaime and Cersei on Game of Thrones (Picture: HBO)

The OG problematic couple. Cersei and Jaime tick just about every single box on the controversy scale. From incest, to murder and extortion, the pair were up to just about anything you could think of over the course of the series.

The twin siblings formed a romantic relationship to keep the Lannister bloodline pure, doing anything to protect their secret. In the very first episode of the show, we saw Jamie push Bran Stark (Issac Hempstead Wright) off a tower just to keep the truth about their romance safe. For all of their sins, it was still an emotional gut-punch to see them reach an (albeit slightly anti-climactic) death together in season eight.

Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Joffrey (Jack Gleeson)

Sansa and Joffrey in Game of Thrones (Picture: HBO)

One of the most detestable, loathsome, hateful villains in the history of TV, Joffrey stole the show in the first four seasons of Game of Thrones, and it was poor old Sansa who bore the brunt of his malevolence. Their marriage didn’t get off to a great start, what with Joffrey killing Sansa’s father and imprisoning her at King’s Landing.

It only got worse, too. The young king spent their entire relationship being abusive to the young Stark, visibly enjoying her misery and pain. He was one of the show’s finest characters, portrayed perfectly by Jack Gleeson, but we have to admit we were cheering when Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) popped something in his drink in season four.

Sansa and Ramsay (Iwan Rheon)

Ramsay Bolton and Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones (Picture: HBO)

Just when you thought Joffrey was the biggest s*** that Westeros could ever possibly produce, along came Ramsay Bolton.

Sansa, again, was the one subjected to this monster’s actions. One of the darkest chapters in the show’s history saw Ramsay force Theon Greyjoy to watch as he raped Sansa on their wedding night, with many viewers claiming the show had gone too far.

The relationship was a living hell for Sansa throughout. Their conclusion saw her feed Ramsey to the Bolton hounds. It was a grim moment of revenge to close off one of the most disturbing storylines ever on Game of Thrones.

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