Imagine being so in love that your relationship inspires one of the most romantic love songs of all time...only for that love to crash and burn.
Here are 14 romantic songs inspired by couples who ended in devastating breakups:
1. THE SONG: In "Margaret," Lana Del Rey sings, "He met Margaret on a rooftop, she was wearin' white / And he was like, 'I might be in trouble' / He had flashes of the good life." In the chorus, she adds, "When you know, you know."
THE STORY: The song was inspired by producer Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley, his wife, whom he met on the roof of the studio where he works — and he knew he'd marry her "the second [they] met." He told The Howard Stern Show, "There was a party, and it was during COVID. And I saw her, and it was like a fucking Hallmark movie that doesn't seem believable." While the couple was living in Paris, Jack proposed over a simple chicken dinner at home. They got married in 2023.
THE SPLIT: Three years later, Jack and Margaret reportedly separated. Addressing rumors of infidelity, Margaret's rep released the following statement: "The narratives running in the press about Margaret and Jack are categorically untrue. There are no trust issues. There was no infidelity or anything outside of respect and partnership in this relationship. They have deep love and care for one another. There are only two people in this marriage, and the sources who are talking to the press and commenting on their relationship are not people who know them. Please respect their privacy."
2. THE SONG: In "You Are in Love," Taylor Swift sings, "One night, he wakes, strange look on his face / Pauses, then says, 'You're my best friend' / And you knew what it was, he is in love."
THE STORY: The song isn't about one of Taylor's past relationships. In 2014, she told Jimmy Kimmel Live, "It's a song that I wrote that was loosely based on — I wrote it with my friend Jack Antonoff, who's dating my friend Lena [Dunham], whom you know. And Jack sent me this track to the song. It was just an instrumental track he was working on, and immediately, I knew what the song needed to be. And I wrote it as kind of a commentary on what their relationship has been like, and so it's actually me looking in and going, 'Like, this happened, then that happened, then that happened, and that's how you knew you're in love.'"
THE SPLIT: In her memoir Famesick, Lena revealed that she cheated on Jack Antonoff during their almost-six-year relationship. She said that their relationship experienced a downturn when she was dealing with endometriosis-related chronic illness, but in 2017, she got a hysterectomy that "changed the game." Then, she reached out to her middle school ex-boyfriend. She wrote, "I'd just had major surgery and I needed to be cheered up. 'Meet me by the bridge? Bring me a stuffed animal?'" When they met up, she "let [her] lips wander slowly across his face and onto his."
She told him, "I've been through something awful. I don't want to talk about it, but I need you to fuck me, and I need you to do all of the work." The affair lasted a few days, and afterward, Lena tried to believe her relationship with Jack would be okay. She wrote, "I had fixed myself, proved I could be the freaky sexy lively young woman he fell in love with. I had exorcised the demon. In a way, I had fucked Nick for both our sakes, to make our house a home again. It would all be better now. I fell asleep to the rhythm of Jack's breathing, like I had been doing for almost six years." But the relationship didn't last. They had a conversation about not "making each other happy" and decided to split.
3. THE SONG: In "Differences," Ginuwine sings, "My whole life has changed (My life has changed) / Since you came in (Since you came in), I knew back then (I knew) / You were that special one / I'm so in love (So in love), so deep in love (So deep) / You made my life complete (You made my life complete) / You are so sweet (You are so sweet), no one competes (No one) / Glad you came into my life (My life) / You blind me with your love (Your love) / With you I have no sight (Yeah)."
THE STORY: Written after the deaths of Ginuwine's parents, the song was inspired by the unwavering support he found in Solé, his then-girlfriend (later wife). He told Curtain Call, "I wrote every bit of it... At that time, I had got my wife. She wasn't my wife yet, but she changed my life. And I have my daughter, Story, so I wanted to combine the two and write a song about that, which was very therapeutic." He specified that the line "My whole life has changed" was about Solé.
THE SPLIT: Ginuwine and Solé started dating in 1999 and got married in 2003. They divorced in 2015. He admitted that his infidelity led to the end of their relationship, telling Drink Champs, "I shouldn't be mad at him [Professor Griff, Solé's new husband] for scooping up a good woman that you was too dumb to know that you had. That's my fault. Accept that, man. Accept that, dude."
4. THE SONG: In "Pete Davidson," Ariana Grande sings, "I thought you into my life (Woah), look at my mind (Yuh) / No better place or a time (Look), how they align / Universe must have my back, fell from the sky into my lap. / And I know you know that you're my soulmate and all that."
THE STORY: The track was named after the Saturday Night Live cast member with whom Ariana had a whirlwind engagement in 2018. They met on his debut episode in 2014, when she was the musical guest. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she recalled, "I'm not a crush-y person, I don't have, like, crushes on people I don't know. But I left [Pete's writing room at SNL], and I jokingly said to my tour manager — I was like, 'I'm marrying him 100 percent.' I was like, 'I'm literally marrying him.'" Ariana returned to the show two years later. Then, in 2018, she got back in touch with Pete. Around a month into their relationship, Pete and Ariana announced their engagement.
In an Instagram comment, Ariana said "Pete Davidson" was "a special song about the most special human being i've eva met."
THE SPLIT: They called off their engagement after six months. Pete knew their relationship was ending after Mac Miller, Ariana's longtime friend and ex-boyfriend, died unexpectedly. Pete told Charlamagne Tha God, "I totally got it. She would even tell you this. I was like, 'Listen, I get it, do whatever you've got to do, I'll be here.' I think I said, 'I'll be here until you don't want me to be here.' I pretty much knew it was around over after that. That was really horrible, and I can't imagine what that shit is like. All I do know is that she really loved the shit out of him, and she wasn't putting on a show or anything. That was fucked up. Prayers to his family and all of his friends."
5. THE SONG: In "All That Matters," Justin Bieber sings, "You're all that matters to me, yeah, yeah / Ain't worried about nobody else / If I ain't with you, I'm with myself / You make me complete / You're all that matters to me."
THE STORY: Confirming that the song was about his long-term on-and-off relationship with Selena Gomez, he told Power 106 Los Angeles, "'All That Matters' was written when I was in a great place in my relationship. At that time, you know, she was all that mattered in my life... I was definitely in love."
THE SPLIT: Justin and Selena initially dated from late 2010 to 2012. A year later, Justin told Power 106, "I wrote the best music once my heart was broken... It affected us, you know, especially when we are in front of so many people and such a public thing. It's hard for the both of us. But, you know, she's a great woman, and, you know, I love her to this day."
6. THE SONG: On "Golden Hour," Kacey Musgraves sings, "I used to get sad / And lonely when the sun went down / But it's different now / 'Cause I love the light that I've found in you."
THE STORY: Much of the Golden Hour album drew inspiration from Kacey's 2017 marriage to Ruston Kelly. She told Entertainment Weekly, "Getting married. That's a big one. My world just completely changed. I met my now husband around the time that I set off on a new creative journey, and songs just started coming out of me. I hear a lot of songwriters say, 'I'm happy now, I can't write anymore.' And I don't really understand that. I want to write about everything. I don't want to just write sad songs. So, naturally, that new chapter brought out new sounds."
THE SPLIT: Kacey and Ruston divorced after three years of marriage. She told Rolling Stone, "[It] just simply didn't work out. It's nothing more than that. It's two people who love each other so much, but for so many reasons, it just didn't work. I mean, seasons change. Our season changed."
She later told Crack magazine, "I've been grappling with the fact that I’m always going to have to sing Golden Hour for the rest of my life. I could choose to be an asshole to my fans and not sing it, but I don't wanna do that to people who come dying to hear a song that they love. It's about finding a balance between giving someone the show that they want and respecting my heart too, and what I'm handling. I may have to disassociate a little bit when I'm singing the Golden Hour stuff, but I do think what's cool about it is that, yes, Golden Hour was written about someone in particular, but the magic and the feelings of that time don't have to die with that relationship. I'll find new meaning in those songs."
7. THE SONG: In "So Good," Halsey sings, "When you left, I thought you held her body closer / I never knew that you would tell her it was over / 'Cause I'm all you think about and everywhere you look / I know it's bad, but we could be so good."
THE STORY: They tweeted, "guys stop texting your exes lmao this song isn't about an ex that worked out later on! It's about the friend that was always there for me, who I realized I was in love with one day. text that angel instead!!!!!" The singer was referring to Alev Aydin, their partner at the time, who also starred in the "So Good" music video. The couple first met in 2018 when Alev was hired to write a screenplay for Halsey's biopic. When a fan asked why the movie never came to fruition, they replied, "bc alev was supposed to be writing it the past 3 years and we slowly fell in love instead. you know the rest!"
8. THE SONG: In "Everything," Michael Bublé sings, "And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times / It's you, it's you, you make me sing / You're every line, you're every word / You're everything."
THE STORY: It was written about his relationship with Emily Blunt, which lasted from 2005 to 2008. They met backstage at his concert. He reportedly said, "I wrote the song about the great happiness of real love, but at the same time, I was making a statement about the world. We're living in really crazy times, and I wanted to say that no matter what's happening, this person in my life is what really makes it worthwhile."
THE SPLIT: Michael told ET Canada, "Emily was a substantial person and amazing still. Top girl. Top class. In my business, it's tough to go out with another artist because you're never together. You're lucky if you can see the person once every two to three months, and with Em, she was on her movies, and I was doing my thing, so it made it more difficult... [Still] I'll go home, and I'll curl up in a ball, and I'll cry. I'm not kidding. I'll just cry."
9. THE SONG: In "Thinking Out Loud," Ed Sheeran sings, "And darlin', I will be lovin' you till we're 70 / And baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23."
THE STORY: Ed told Seventeen that the track was inspired by the "girl from home" he was dating at the time, Athina Andrelos. He said, "She was the tour manager for a girl that was my opening act, and now she doesn't work in music anymore, she works for a chef!"
THE SPLIT: Ed and Athina dated in 2014. The following year, he told Entertainment Weekly, "I wrote 'Thinking Out Loud' in a relationship at a really, really happy point. If my most successful song was written in a happy place, maybe that's the key. I can't remember who was saying it to me, but they were saying if you can write a happy song that isn't cheesy, it'll be the biggest song in the world. They're like, 'Look at "Uptown Funk" and look at "Happy" by Pharrell — both songs are really well-written, not cheesy at all, and they're both the biggest songs in the world.' Everyone wants to hear happy songs, but sad songs get written more because more people are sad than happy, I think."
10. THE SONG: On "Lover," Taylor Swift evokes wedding vows, singing, "Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? / With every guitar string scar on my hand / I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover / My heart's been borrowed, and yours has been blue / All's well that ends well to end up with you / Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover / And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me / And at every table, I'll save you a seat, lover."
THE STORY: The song is widely speculated to be about Joe Alwyn, whom Taylor dated from 2016 to 2023. Per Capital FM, she said it's based on "two people choosing to spend their life together" and "making their own traditions." Specifically, she wanted the bridge to "sound like when people write their own vows and how they change the traditional part to fit their relationships."
She said, "Obviously…I have a lot of guitar string scars on my hand from changing strings, tuning over the years, but there's also the symbolic part of it, which is I've written a lot of songs about breakups and let downs, so you kind of hope that if somebody's going to choose you, they're going to choose you along with all the hurt in the past and that you're going to do the same for them. And then the rest of the song, I wanted to paint a picture of two people who are learning to live together for the first time, realizing you can make your own traditions, stay up as late as you want, keep the Christmas lights up as long as you want, you can let your friends stay over if the night goes on too long... because this is your life and your family that you are choosing."
THE SPLIT: When the notoriously private couple ended things, a source told People, "They had plenty in common and fell in love in a safe bubble while she was retreating from the world during Reputation. Then the pandemic hit, and they were locked down together and able to continue growing their relationship in this insulated way. But he didn't really 'know' her yet outside of that bubble. ... Joe has struggled with Taylor's level of fame and the attention from the public. The differences in their personalities have also become harder to ignore after years together. They've grown apart."
Joe later told the Sunday Times, "I would hope that anyone and everyone can empathize and understand the difficulties that come with the end of a long, loving, fully committed relationship of over six and a half years. That is a hard thing to navigate. What is unusual and abnormal in this situation is that, one week later, it's suddenly in the public domain, and the outside world is able to weigh in. So you have something very real suddenly thrown into a very unreal space: tabloids, social media, press, where it is then dissected, speculated on, pulled out of shape beyond recognition. And the truth is, to that last point, there is always going to be a gap between what is known and what is said. I have made my peace with that."
11. THE SONG: In "Drop Dead," Olivia Rodrigo sings, "Oh, one night I was bored in bed / And stalked you on the internet / It's feminine intuition / 'Cause I always had a vision of us standing like this / All pressed up in the bathroom line / You're lookin' like an angel on the walls of Versailles / The most alive I've ever been / But kiss me, and I might drop dead."
THE STORY: The song is widely speculated to be inspired by Olivia's relationship with British actor Louis Partridge. The couple reportedly met while she was visiting London in 2023. Discussing her latest album, You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love, she told British Vogue, "I've found a lot of inspiration from being in London. I've spent so much time here over the course of making this album. It has a lot of songs that are London vibes, about experiences that I've had here."
THE SPLIT: Olivia and Louis reportedly broke up in late 2025. She later told Dazed, "This album is about my first time being in an adult relationship; it's me discovering what romantic love looks like in real time. I've been in relationships before that were really exciting and tumultuous in a teenage way, but this was my first time being in a real, 'big girl' relationship. And when you're in an intimate relationship, it holds up a mirror and shows you parts of yourself that you would never normally see. That was an endless source of inspiration – something that I'm still mining."
12. THE SONG: In "We Made It," Louis Tomlinson sings, "'Cause we made it / Underestimated / And always underrated / Now we're saying goodbye (Goodbye) / Waving to the hard times / Knew that we would be alright / From the first time / Met you at your doorstep / Remember how it tasted / Looking into your eyes." In the verse, he adds, "Oh my, I remember those nights / Meet you at your uni, cheap drinks, drink 'em all night / Staying out 'til sunrise / Share a single bed and tell each other what we dream about."
THE STORY: The song is partially about visiting Eleanor Calder, his long-term off-and-on-again girlfriend, at university during his One Direction days. He told Pedestrian, "It's kind of about two things because we started out with just the title and what it meant to me in that moment was me picturing our first show of the tour and all the hard work it took me to get there and with the fans, it's a collective, we made it here together, and that's how the song started out. And then in the verse, you have to add a bit more of a story, so we're talking about me going to visit my girlfriend at the university halls while I was on tour with the boys, so I was going off that dynamic."
13. THE SONG: In "Hesitate" by the Jonas Brothers, Joe Jonas sings, "I will take your pain / And put it on my heart / I won't hesitate / Just tell me where to start / I thank the oceans for giving me you / You saved me once, and now I'll save you too / I won't hesitate for you."
THE STORY: In 2019, Nick Jonas told Billboard that "Hesitate" was Joe's "love letter" to his then-fiancée, Sophie Turner. The couple followed each other on Instagram because their mutual friends had been trying to introduce them for a while, and he slid into her DMs "out of the blue" one day. They got married in 2019.
THE SPLIT: After a major argument on his birthday, they split in 2023. He allegedly filed for divorce without her knowledge. The court documents said, "The breakdown of the parties' marriage happened very suddenly. The parties had had an argument on August 15, 2023. On or about September 1, 2023, the Father filed a divorce case against the Mother in Florida. On or about September 5, 2023, the Mother found out through the media that the Father had filed for divorce."
14. And finally, THE SONG: In "If We Were Vampires," Jason Isbell sings, "It's knowing that this can't go on forever / Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone / Maybe we'll get forty years together / But one day I'll be gone / Or one day you'll be gone."
THE STORY: The song was inspired by Amanda Shires, his second wife. He wrote it after she encouraged him to stop watching Hoarders and get some writing done before his upcoming studio session. He told the Boot, "So I turned off the Hoarders and started writing, and that is the song I wrote. And I'm really grateful to her for lighting the fire under my ass and making me work that day, because that song turned out to be pretty special to a lot of people. It was even really moving for me, the first few times I tried to play it for [Amanda]. In fact, at first, I couldn't even get through it; I had to turn around and leave the room and come back in and try again. That's when I knew it could be a really special song to a lot of people."
THE SPLIT: Jason and Amanda got married in 2013, but he filed for divorce after 11 years. He told NPR, "I can [play old love songs]. I can also not [on] some nights, and that feels really good, too. Just because I feel like I can arrange a show that is satisfying for me and the audience without putting that one in there. ... The old songs, they mean different things to me now, because I have hindsight, and the emotions that I'm feeling now when I'm playing those songs, they're not the same as they were when I wrote them."
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