The ultimate anti-Valentine's Day list: 10 lesbian tearjerkers because sometimes love sucks
| 02/13/25
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Footage stills from 'Gia,' 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire,' and 'The World to Come.'
HBO FIlms; Neon; Sea Change Media
Listen, congratulations to all of those Sapphic ladies out there who are in love and planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day with champagne and strawberries. Truly, we’re all happy for you. But for those of us who are living in Singleland, sometimes you don’t want sappy love stories shoved down your throat, what you want are tragic, doomed romances in the form of movies that will have you crying your eyes out because they are devastatingly sad and not because you've been dumped and your ex moved on too quickly for your liking.
So, on Valentine’s Day, instead of mopping around, grab a box of Kleenex and marathon these lesbian tearjerkers!
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Neon
Portrait of a Lady on Fire follows the doomed love story between a noblewoman and the female artist hired to paint her portrait. It's the definition of a tearjerker because, despite their passion for each other, they can’t stay together.
Where to watch: Hulu
Gia
HBO Films
Gia is a late ‘90s biopic starring bi-con Angelina Jolie that tells the story of supermodel Gia Carangi, who struggles with drug addiction and passed away from AIDS-related complications in 1986.
Where to watch: MAX
Blue is the Warmest Color
Scope Picures
Many Sapphics out there hate the portrayal of queer sex in Blue is the Warmest Color, but it is about a love story that ends in a breakup, which seems fitting when you’re trying to drown out all of the sappy love stories that normally take over on Valentine’s Day.
The World to Come
Sea Change Media
In The World to Come, two farmers' wives fall for each other in 19th century America, and because of the time period, the ending is predictably a “Bury Your Gays” situation.
Where to watch: Rent on Amazon Prime
Huesera: The Bone Woman
Shudder
While the ending of this horror movie is likely to be cathartic to queer women who have a deep understanding of compulsory heterosexuality and being reduced to a womb, the film is also tragic, and the lesbian love story doesn’t have the happy ending you normally get in traditional romances.
Where to watch: Shudder and AMC+
Lost and Delirious
Lost and Delirious, starring Piper Perabo, is a haunting love story about two young women in a New England boarding school that ends in a way that will have you ugly crying in your Kleenex.
Where to watch: YouTube
Monster
Allstar
Starring Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci, Monster is about the story of real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos (Theron) and her romantic relationship with Selby (Ricci). But if you know anything about the true life story of America’s most famous female serial killer, then you already know this one ends in tragedy for the queer couple.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Tell it to the Bees
Vertigo Releasing
If you’re in the mood for a happy ending where the women ride off into the sunset together, then Anna Paquin's Tell it to the Bees is not for you, but if you want something that’ll make you tear up, this is the one for you!
Where to watch: Hulu
The Last Thing Mary Saw
Shudder
The Last Thing Mary Saw is a bleak and devastating horror movie that will have you feeling very glad you aren’t part of a 19th-century Puritan community. Prepare for scares and tears with this one.
Where to watch: Shudder and AMC+
So, grab a box of tissues and gear up for a cathartic cry because these movies are guaranteed to have you weeping by the time the credits roll!
