Happily Ever After

Some love stories are immortal, echoing through time long after the couple has passed on. Some burned short and bright, others slow and steady; some ended in tragedy, while others really were happily ever after. Here are 20 of the greatest love stories in history.

20th Century Fox on Wikimedia

1. Lauren Bacall & Humphrey Bogart

Most of Old Hollywood's most famous love stories ended in disaster. That wasn't the case with Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall. Although there was a significant age gap, and Bogart was already married, the chemistry was immediate, and they stayed together until the end of Bogart's life.

Liberty Publishing on Wikimedia

2. June Carter & Johnny Cash

With music relationships, there's a silver lining that, if the couple ever breaks up, they'll get some good music out of it. That wasn't the case with June Carter and Johnny Cash. Carter helped Cash recover from addiction, and the two stayed together for the rest of their lives, dying within 4 months of each other.

Joel Baldwin on Wikimedia

3. Martin Luther King Jr & Coretta Scott King

Sometimes, politics can be a deal-breaker in relationships, but not for Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott. After her husband's assassination, Coretta was integral in upholding his mission and continuing the quest for social justice. The Kings aren't the only couple on this list to devote their lives to the fight for Civil Rights.

Gene Herrick on Wikimedia

4. Katherine Swynford & John Of Gaunt

In a move that was not uncommon for royal couples, Katherine Swynford and John of Gaunt had something in common: John's wife. When the infamous pair met, Katherine was unhappily married and serving as a lady-in-waiting to John's wife. Decades later, John had both Katherine and her children legitimized as his family. 

Said variously to be attributed to Lucas Cornelisz de Kock (1495–1552) (who however died 41 years before the painting is said (by Oliver Harris, 2010) to have been commissioned, sometimes erroneously ascribed to Luca Cornelli. on Wikimedia

5. Napoleon Bonaparte & Empress Joséphine

Few people in history have ever fallen harder than Napoleon fell for Joséphine. In fact, Napoleon was the one to give her the name she is known by today, taken from her middle name. Though the Imperial couple eventually divorced, it was due to fertility issues rather than falling out of love.

Harold Piffard on Wikimedia

6. Justinian & Theodora

Another imperial couple, Justinian and Theodora of Byzantium were proof that opposites attract. Justinian was heir to the throne, while Theodora was an actress from a lowly background. Because the law did not allow actresses to marry above their station, Justinian changed the law so that he could marry Theodora.

Petar Milošević on Wikimedia

7. Emma Stebbins & Charlotte Cushman

If you've ever walked around Central Park, you've probably seen the Angel of the Waters statue. However, you probably don't know that the artist, Emma Stebbins, modeled the angel after her partner, Charlotte Cushman. The pair were together for 19 years, and Stebbins devoted the rest of her life to writing Cushman's biography.

Photographer unidentified on Wikimedia

8. Pedro I & Inês De Castro

Pedro of Portugal was unhappily married when he met the love of his life, Inês de Castro, one of his wife's ladies-in-waiting. Unfortunately, the king refused of the illicit affair and ordered Inês to be assassinated. After getting revenge on his father, Pedro elevated his deceased beloved to the status of queen.

Ernesto Ferreira Condeixa on Wikimedia

9. Héloïse D'Argenteuil & Peter Abelard

Living almost 1000 years ago, Héloïse and Abelard are one of history's most famous love stories for a reason. An educated woman, Héloïse received private tutoring from Abelard and their academic relationship quickly turned romantic. Tragically, the pair were forced apart, living out their lives as a nun and a monk, respectively.

Edmund Leighton on Wikimedia

10. Hadrian & Antinous

It isn't uncommon for people to put their lovers on a pedestal, but the Emperor Hadrian did so literally. After his lover, Antinous, drowned, Hadrian elevated Antinous to godhood and devised a cult around him. Hadrian also raised a city in his beloved's honor called Antinoöpolis.

Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany on Wikimedia

11. John & Abigail Adams

Exchanging thousands of letters, the love between John & Abigail Adams is one of the best-documented in American history. The two were not only lovers but also intellectual equals. At a time when marriage was often something endured rather than enjoyed, John & Abigail Adams proved that you could have love and marriage.

Christian Schussele on Wikimedia

12. Pierre & Marie Curie

If there's anything to be learned from this list, it's that a relationship should be a partnership in every sense of the world. Pierre and Marie Curie not only shared a life together, but also a Nobel Prize in Physics. Together, the pair isolated both radium and polonium, leading science into a new age.

Smithsonian Institution from United States on Wikimedia

13. Shah Jahan & Mumtaz Mahal

The Taj Mahal is more than just a Wonder of the World; it's also a supersized monument to enduring love. After his wife, Mumtaz Mahal died in childhood, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan devoted the rest of his life to memorializing her. Today, Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal are buried side by side.

Dennis G. Jarvis on Wikimedia

14. Mary Godwin & Percy Shelley

Scandal, miscarriage, and social ostracization followed Percy & Mary Shelley after they were shunned by society. Undeterred, the literary couple stayed devoted to each other and their art. Tragically, Percy drowned at the age of 29; Mary kept his calcified heart wrapped in one of his manuscripts until her own end of days.

Richard Rothwell on Wikimedia

15. Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow

While Bonnie and Clyde weren't exactly paragons of virtue, you can't argue that they aren't one of America's most iconic couples.The pair went out exactly as they wanted to: side by side in a blaze of glory and bullets. Being on the run never seemed so romantic.

Probably Buck Barrow, Clyde's brother. Published by the Joplin Globe, on Thursday, April 12, 1934, page 7. on Wikimedia

16. Oscar Wilde & Alfred Douglas

Not all the couples on this list lived happily ever after, as was unfortunately the case with Oscar Wilde & Alfred Douglas. The relationship between the two was stormy and scandalous. Eventually, Douglas's father exposed his son's relationship, which led to Wilde's prison sentence and eventual passing.

Gillman & Co on Wikimedia

17. Robert Browning & Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning had to marry in secret, as Barrett's father promised to disown any of his children who wed. While Barrett never saw her father again, she remained with Browning until her passing. A bronze cast of the couple's clasped hands is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Thomas Buchanan Read on Wikimedia

18. Harry T. Moore & Harriette Simmons Moore

Another love story that ended in tragedy, but one that is nonetheless important to remember. Harry and Harriette Moore founded a chapter of the NAACP and tirelessly campaigned for civil rights. Tragically, a bomb was detonated under the couple's house on the occasion of their 25th anniversary: Christmas Day, 1951.

Intellectualpropri on Wikimedia

19. Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas

In 1920s Paris, the place to be for aspiring writers and artists was the salon of Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas. The two women were a couple for 40 years, a union that only ended with Stein's death. Today, Stein's Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas is remains her best-known work.

Original work: Man RayDepiction: 19h00s on Wikimedia

20. Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward

When asked how he stayed faithful to his wife, Paul Newman said "I have a steak at home; why go out for hamburger?" Newman & Joanne Woodward were together for 50 years, during which time they won Oscars and established charities. Woodward claimed that laughter was the most important thing in their marriage.

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