You’re Ready for This Conversation: Glee’s Most Beloved Couple Was Beyond Toxic

Glee was a staple show for many millennials when they were teenagers trying to navigate the tricky path to adulthood. It wasn't always good — in fact, there are entire valid lists of crimes committed by Glee characters floating around the internet today — but it was fun, and it was the first show to talk openly about the issues that "loser" kids faced without making them change.

Speaking of Glee, you can't overlook its LGBTQ+ representation, as the show pioneered the first openly gay and lesbian teen relationships on television.

They weren't perfect, but they were there when the vulnerable audience needed them most. The sad thing is that too many people took the model they saw and tried to replicate it in their own lives.

Let's be clear: it's very rare for high school relationships to last past graduation. And that's not necessarily a bad thing because people grow and change, as do their priorities.

However, when you run such an influential TV show, you cannot just break up the most popular couple and not have them get back together, or there will be a backlash.

For Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson, however, this meant entering a very toxic phase of their already unhealthy relationship. Although there are some things that people are willing to count as learning experiences in high school, such as cheating on your partner, envying them over solos, and being overly dramatic about little things, it’s not okay to carry them into adulthood.

The lack of communication between Blaine and Kurt was the thing that ultimately killed them and made the couple unlikable even for die-hard fans. The sweetest moments were always interrupted by some sort of argument that Kurt would try to resolve through adult dialogue and Blaine would seemingly deny it just to manipulate him into feeling guilty later.

The lack of dating experience outside of their relationship only exacerbated their codependency. While it could be possible for them to reconcile and possibly even get married, it would have to be years down the road.

And as much as we loved the nostalgic proposal on the steps of Dalton Academy, it's not a strong enough foundation for a happy life together. Sometimes all you need is not just love but a little self-awareness too.

If you want to take another look at Klaine's relationship and judge how well or poorly their development was handled during the show's final seasons, you can re-watch Glee on Hulu or Disney Plus.