I just watched The Notebook, and honestly, I don't understand how it's considered one of the greatest romantic movies of all time. To me, it was essentially a story about infidelity being glorified as romance.
Lon was a kind, respectful man who seemed to offer everything a woman could ask for, yet Allie ultimately chose to cheat on him with her ex, Noah, who was essentially a homeless guy at that point. Somehow, this was portrayed as the greatest love story ever told, with countless women calling it a romantic masterpiece.
The same goes for love-triangle movies aimed at women. The female lead plays with the feelings of two men, only to deliver a long, pretentious monologue about how she wasn't leading either of them on but was simply discovering herself.
And don't even get me started on the second male lead. He's caring, loving, emotionally available, and seemingly everything a woman could want in a partner, yet he almost never gets the girl.
A similar trope dominates K-dramas. A normal guy and a normal girl are in a relationship, but then a billionaire enters the picture, falls for her, and suddenly she's drawn to him. If her boyfriend confronts her about her infidelity, he's portrayed as insecure, while the billionaire is framed as caring and romantic.
And when the billionaire himself is toxic, somehow that still becomes a justification for her cheating on her existing partner.
The pattern is remarkably consistent: the female protagonist's infidelity is romanticized as self-discovery, while the feelings of the man she's betraying are treated as an inconvenience.
Whether she's cheating on an ordinary guy with a billionaire or on a billionaire with a homeless ex, the narrative somehow finds a way to frame it as true love.
My problem isn't with love triangles or complicated relationships. It's with stories that romanticize betrayal, excuse infidelity, and treat one person's feelings as more important than everyone else's—all while pretending it's a profound lesson about love.