There’s no greater feeling than finally finding your other half. Having someone to experience life with is one of life’s most incredible gifts; there’s always someone for everyone. This doesn’t only apply to people but to your beloved webtoon characters as well! Hundreds of webtoon couples have treated millions of fans globally with romantic stories and fantastic chemistry.
But that isn’t always the case. Unfortunately, not all webtoon couples are healthy and supportive—some are even blatantly toxic, abusive, and incompatible. Despite how cute these couples may look together, their relationships are walking red flags. Here’s a list of toxic webtoon couples who need to throw in the towel and break up for their own good!
10. Erna Hardy and Björn Denyster (The Problematic Prince)
The Problematic Prince—hopefully, the title hasn’t given it away yet. The webtoon revolves around the innocent daughter of a ruined noble family, Erna Hardy, as she goes to the kingdom’s capital. There, she is interrupted by Prince Björn Denyster, who courts Erna to get his ex-wife off his back. Little does she know that the Prince is notorious for his toxic traits that earned him the title of “Royal Poisonous Mushroom.”
After reading the title, you should know what to expect. Prince Björn Denyster is the titular Problematic Prince and isn’t the usual simp of romantic webtoons. With his royal background, he grew narcissistic and condescending—signs of a truly toxic male lead. Given her countryside background, he doesn’t respect Erna as his equal and never sees her importance or priority. These types of toxic webtoon couples lack the foundation to live happily ever after, so pack your bags and leave, Erna!
A Redditor said on a thread: “The whole story is trying to complement MLs Narcissistic behaviour and nothing more. He is an open a**hole, who is clearly after FLs body.”
9. Duke Matthias von Herhardt and Layla Llewellyn (Cry, or Better Yet, Beg)
Cry, or Better Yet, Beg is a webtoon about Layla Llewellyn’s journey to find a home. After being passed from one relative to another, she was taken in by a distant relative from another country. As she opens up to her new world, she meets the enigmatic and handsome Duke Matthias von Herhardt from the Empire of Berg. A dashing duke and a kindhearted nomadic girl, how will this webtoon couple defy the odds?
It’s undeniable. Cry, or Better Yet, Beg‘s male lead, Duke Matthias, is one handsome bloke. The only problem is he’s a complete sociopath and rubs his royal blood in front of everybody’s faces. Arrogance from these characters is not an alien concept, but readers have already revolted about how he takes it one step further. Matthias takes pleasure in tormenting and blackmailing Layla, and no one around her seems to care or notice. Talk about toxic webtoon couples! Is this the knight in shining armor Layla deserves? Definitely not.
A Reddit user said this about the Duke: “There’s literally nothing going on from the ML’s end. He’s a sociopath and psychopath who gains pleasure from torturing MC.”
8. King Karloi of Croisen and Evonne (Wished You Were Dead)
Wished You Were Dead revolves around the life of King Karloi of Croisen, who fears that his throne is in danger. His wife’s father, Duke Deluah, claimed his dibs on the royal seat, sending King Karloi into a spiral. This ultimately affects his relationship with his wife, Evonne, who has been cursed to keep secrets of her own in the hopes of saving their marriage. With a domino effect of misunderstandings and kept secrets, this webtoon couple is only hanging on by a thread.
King Karloi is a tyrant, among many other things, such as abusive, manipulative, and an overall unlikable character. He doesn’t give Evonne any space to breathe, let alone say a word to possibly defend herself. He might be the king, but that doesn’t mean degrading and yelling at his wife is okay! Fights and disagreements are normal for any relationship, but toxic webtoon couples like King Karloi and Evonne make it seem like there’s only one side to the story.
A thread user from Anime Planet said this about the webtoon: “What I enjoy about this is how complex the conflict is. It’s a slow burn, so you have to be patient. And it’s hard, especially since the characters are so unintelligible. Then when it feels like they’re finally taking a few steps forwards, they take several steps back. Maybe I’m just a masochist, but I like stories that make me want to die inside.“
7. Empress Robellia Le Castilla and Alexandros the Second (Divorcing My Tyrant Husband)
Divorcing My Tyrant Husband is an interesting read, one you might even like despite the nature of this list. The webtoon is about Lim Jeongah who one day wakes up as Empress Robellia Le Castilla—a character from the novel she read the night before. Empress Robellia is the wife of Alexandros the Second, a tyrant who Jeongah always wanted the former to divorce. Now that the empress’ life is in her control, will she be able to defy Alexandros’ tyranny?
Are protagonists unable to find themselves suitable partners nowadays? Empress Robellia Le Castilla and Alexandros the Second are among some of the most toxic webtoon couples, mostly because of the latter. Alexandros is a rude, borderline evil male archetype who faces no consequences for his actions because of his royal status. He has abused Robellia for years despite her doing whatever she can to make him love her. Imagine putting up all your efforts for a man only to be shunned and mistreated. These toxic webtoon couples are getting out of hand now!
A Reddit user said this about the webtoon: “I don’t like the ML but I am very fond of the FL. She’s v smart and her actions are not bad. She sees ML as a sociopath for much of it too so ig it has been kinda interesting to read. But idk if I can ever like this dude.“
6. Jeongmin Choi and Siyun Baek (Dreaming Freedom)
If we’re talking toxicity, there’s no way we can leave out Dreaming Freedom. This webtoon starts with the “friendship” between two girls, Jeongmin Choi and Juhyeon Cha. In elementary, Jeongmin befriended a narcissistic girl named Juhyeon who eventually develops a sort of possessiveness towards the former. This led to Jeongmin straying away from her for good… or so she thought.
After a couple of years, they reunite in high school, and Juhyeon has one goal: to make Jeongmin’s life miserable and even accuse her of being the bully. Left out in school and without friends, Jeongmin finds relief in lucid dreaming—a realm where she can lash out all her concealed feelings of hate and anger. While dreaming, she finds an unexpected ally, Siyun Baek, who promises to help her satisfy her vengeance against Juhyeon.
Toxic webtoon couples are in the air, and it doesn’t get more toxic than Jeongmin Choi and Siyun Baek. However, as opposed to the other love birds on this list, this couple’s toxicity stems from Siyun Baek’s extreme possessiveness towards Jeongmin Choi. Not only does he manage to isolate Jeongmin from her friends (to the point where she’s afraid of even bringing it up), but he isn’t afraid to threaten other people who make advances on her. His possessiveness and mood swings worsened, and it got a little bit scary for Jeongmin to live her life. If your partner hinders you from your everyday life and enjoyment, that’s not the relationship for you.
A Reddit user said about the webtoon: “I feel this story is pretty upfront about the toxic elements being just that: toxic. It’s not meant to be taken as a fluffy, happy romance. It’s dark, the characters are messed up and that’s okay.“
5. Zeus and Hera (Lore Olympus)
One of the biggest webtoons there is, Lore Olympus, features a toxic couple many should be familiar with. The webtoon focuses on the goddess of Spring, Persephone, and her surprising relationship with the god of the Underworld, Hades. Unfortunately, it won’t be these two we’ll talk about despite some comments from the public. Instead, it’s Zeus and Hera—the god of Lightning and the goddess of Marriage.
Lore Olympus has stated its case to become one of the biggest webtoons on the internet. However, it also features some of the most toxic webtoon couples on the platform. Despite Zeus and Hera being supporting characters in the webtoon, they made sure to let audiences know who the real king and queen of Olympus are. Firstly, they’re relatives—and that alone should close the case. But the god of Thunder says otherwise. He cheats on Hera, disregards her feelings, and is undeniably egomaniacal. When something doesn’t go his way, he lets everyone know of his wrath.
An original poster of a Reddit thread said this about these toxic webtoon couples: “There’s multiple sayings about what love is because, let’s face it, everyone has their own definitions. One of these sayings is that, if you love someone, you want them to be happy no matter what. What Zeus is doing to Hera is not making her happy at all and only causing her pain, sadness, and anger. Is that how you should treat someone you love? No.“
4. Iyeon Chu and Seungjo Lee (Secretary’s Escape)
Secretary’s Escape is about a girl named Iyeon Chu, whose father drove for Jaekyung Group’s CEO. When she was in high school, she bullied one of the grandsons of the CEO, Munjo, who had a crush on Chu. But she only has eyes on Seungjo, the CEO’s other grandson. Jumping to the future, Chu is now seen working as Seungjo’s secretary. With her father dying alongside the CEO in a car accident, she believes that it was all arranged and plans to get to the bottom of this mystery… but not without a dramatic love triangle between the irresistible secretary and the heirs of the company.
Toxic webtoon couples and a love triangle? Secretary’s Escape has it all! Unlike the other webtoons, this one features not one, but two toxic leads! Starting with Munjo, who knows Chu doesn’t like him but still presses his love for her and constantly asks for her whereabouts. He even requests Chu to his team so he can be closer to her. Seungjo, on the other hand, is the usual webtoon company heir archetype: entitled, selfish, and incredibly pompous. He makes her do extra work to stay behind, runs background checks on her dates, and takes over her life outside of work.
One Reddit user said this about the two: “Although dreadfully similar, both male leads have something in common, they are in need of a mommy to do emotional damage control coddle them while they get everything they want through money and connections, and neither of them truly love or care for the female lead, because they keep putting her in situations that could affect her job and her interpersonal relationships.“
3. Woobin and Suji (Trash Belongs in the Trash Can)
This is not the first time we’ve written about someone from Trash Belongs in the Trash Can. This time, we’ll talk about one of the most toxic webtoon couples on the platform: Woobin and Suji. The webtoon features how Woobin lives vicariously through the gifts of rich women he flirts with and seduces. His next prey, however, proves to be a bit more problematic than the others: Suji. Who he thought was a cute, innocent angel, came to be someone who unexpectedly matched his freak.
Trash Belongs in the Trash Can is a fantastic webtoon fans have loved and adored. Who would’ve thought that not all webtoons with toxic webtoon couples are hard reads? But toxic characters must be apprehended, and we’ll start with Woobin. He was introduced as an absolute player and con—using women to satisfy not only his wants but also his needs.
Throughout the webtoon, Woobin portrays how malicious intents last forever—and it’s not so easy to “change” just like that. Suji, on the other hand, is just as bad. Extremely manipulative and selfish, Suji’s scheming behavior perfectly fits her dominant character. This webtoon is supposed to be on the romantic side, but this pair has found a way to turn it inside out.
A user on Reddit posted this on a thread about the webtoon: “Woobin is stuck in this abusive love-hate cycle with suji where, as much as he wants to hate her, he can’t fully and that’s exactly what has trapped him into that relationship.“
2. Ezekiel Nichs and Calliope Regina Alfensiad (The King and the Paladin)
The King and the Paladin is about how the dignified paladin, Ezekiel Nichs, was sent off to marry Her Majesty, the tyrant King Calliope Regina. This isn’t some random pick-me because the two were childhood friends. Fast-forward to the present, Calliope becomes the violent dictator of the Kingdom of Alfensiad, and Ezekiel lives a life of nobility as a paladin. Unfortunately for him, Calliope holds a grudge against him for leaving her when they were kids. Now, it is up to him to put up with her crazy antics and attempt to save whatever is left of their relationship.
The fact that the webtoon has a warning about viewer discretion is enough to put audiences on the edge of their seats. This is mostly because of Calliope, the sexually abusive, outright toxic, and vengeful King of Alfensiad. After feeling betrayed by Ezekiel’s departure, she seeks revenge by doing the worst things possible to him—from being abused to getting laced. Calliope always shunned Ezekiel’s attempt to defend himself and speak about what caused his departure. Talk about toxic webtoon couples—they might have just taken the cake.
A review on Anime-Planet said this about the webtoon: “Yeah, Fl really was traumatized, but her trauma doesn’t justify her horrible actions.“
1. Ripley de Liverpool and Duke Zeronis (The First Night With the Duke)
The First Night With the Duke is a first of its kind. It all starts when a college student magically wakes up in a romance novel as a character named Ripley. Since the character wasn’t part of the main cast, she thought that she could live peacefully as an extra and enjoy her suddenly luxurious lifestyle. Things change when she unknowingly sleeps with the heartless Duke Zeronis, whom she thought would marry the novel’s female lead.
As with all handsome men of royal blood, it seems fans of the webtoon have given Duke Zeronis a pass for his cruelty. He forced Ripley into marriage, sexually abused her, and even threatened to kill her family. Ripley is supposed to be the best friend of the novel’s female lead—so full of talent and a determined entrepreneur. The only person holding her back is her supposed “love interest.”
A Reddit post said this about Duke Zeronis: “And again, I’d like you to try and imagine this story if Zeronis wasn’t attractive. It would be a no-brainer. His behavior is straight up nasty and illegal and no one should be rooting for this sh*t.“