American Horror Story is known for its terrifying scares, grisly deaths, and dark humor, but the show certainly hasn't been short on romances either. Amongst all the horror, characters have often found themselves entangled in unconventional and unusual relationships.
Although fans have loved to watch these compelling relationships, many of them were twisted and toxic. Right from the off, Ben and Vivien Harmon set the tone for unhealthy relationships on the show which has continued right up to the most recent season with Harry and Doris Gardener.
Ben And Vivien Harmon (Murder House)
Ben and Vivien move to The Murder House in season one following his affair with Hayden, but the move does nothing to repair the cracks in their relationship. The Harmons move is a direct attempt for the couple to paper over the cracks of their already failed marriage.
Ben continues to lie to Vivien, though, keeping Hayden's pregnancy a secret and helping to cover up her murder. The couple continues to ignore their problems and constantly argue with each other. Early on, it's clear the two no longer trust one another, and their continued attempts to fix their marriage are only serving to damage their daughter, Violet.
Constance Langdon And Larry Harvey (Murder House)
Larry became involved with Constance when he was still married, and their union resulted in several deaths. Upon discovering his feelings for Constance, Larry's wife killed herself and their two daughters, which led to their souls being trapped in The Murder House.
Larry even went as far as to kill for Constance, murdering her son at her request. Larry and Constance's relationship was certainly a contributing factor in Tate's turn to evil, too. In the end, Constance told Larry she never loved him, meaning all the pain that came from their relationship was meaningless and could have been avoided.
Violet Harmon And Tate Langdon (Murder House And Apocalypse)
Violet and Tate had a long road to a relationship, first meeting in season 1 but not getting together until the characters returned in season 8. It was never the most conventional relationship, with Tate being a ghost trapped in Violet's new house.
Tate is one of the scariest villains from American Horror Story, and Violet rightly told him she wanted nothing else to do with him, even after she died in the house. Season 8 did attempt to change the narrative of the relationship, insinuating that it was 'the evil of the house' that made Tate do the terrible things he had done. Even with this explanation, seeing Violet get together with her mother's attacker was certainly questionable and makes thsi one of the most toxic couples on the show.
Fiona Goode And The Axeman (Coven)
Fiona and The Axeman were a match made in Hell, and, ironically, she literally ended up trapped there with him at the end of season 3. Considering The Axeman's murderous history and the fact he fell in love with Fiona after silently observing her from childhood, the relationship was certainly unhealthy.
Fiona uses The Axeman for her own gain and eventually plants a false memory in his mind to ensure he is killed by The Coven. While they were arguably just as wicked and twisted as each other, she never really cared for him. When Fiona dies, she finds herself in her own personal hell, trapped with The Axeman, which proved exactly what she had really thought of him.
Cordelia And Hank Foxx (Coven)
Cordelia was one of the bravest characters in American Horror Story: Coven and she certainly deserved better than Hank. While Hank did eventually develop real feelings for Cordelia, his relationship with her began as part of a plot for the witch hunters to take out The Coven.
Hank killed several other witches during his marriage to Cordelia, and he also cheated on her. Unbeknownst to her, he often used their relationship in order to find witches he killed. Ultimately, Cordelia deserved far better than Hank, as he constantly used her and broke her trust, and she became much stronger as a character once she had separated from him.
James Patrick March And The Countess (Hotel)
James Patrick March was a homicidal monster, but his wife, The Countess, wasn't much better, and she actually encouraged her husband's dark desires. James was besotted with The Countess from the start, but she married him for nothing other than wealth and power.
James was so desperate to keep his wife that he sealed her lovers, Valentino and Natacha into the walls of his hotel. Despite The Countess having many other relationships, James remains enamored by her even in death and insists they dine together once a month. Both these characters were ruthless killers, and they only brought out the worst in each other.
Donovan And The Countess (Hotel)
Another one of The Countess' lovers was Donovan, who she saved from overdosing by infecting him with the blood curse. The Countess may be one of the best female characters in American Horror Story, but her relationship with Donovan was anything but conventional or healthy.
The first time viewers see the couple together, they seduce another couple and then kill them and drink their blood. The Countess eventually drops Donovan in favor of Tristan. While he does plot revenge on her, he later changes his mind, and, tellingly, most of his attempts to hurt her were indirect. The relationship between this pair is the definition of toxic; they kill together and constantly try to one-up each other.
Matt And Shelby Miller (Roanoke)
During the reenactment portion of season 6, Matt and Shelby seem like a united and solid couple. However, in the time between My Roanoke Nightmare and Return to Roanoke, their relationship breaks down.
Shelby cheats on Matt with his TV portrayer, and he refuses to talk to her until they both return to the Roanoke house. Shelby is so intent on winning Matt back that she returns to the house even after everything she went through the first time, and her feelings for him seem borderline obsessive by this point. The couple's relationship becomes so volatile that it eventually leads to the destruction of both participants.
Ally And Ivy Mayfair-Richards (Cult)
Ally and Ivy's relationship always felt unequal, and the former always seemed to view her wife as a burden. Ivy constantly gaslights Ally and makes her feel as if her phobias are ridiculous.
Ivy eventually joins Kai's cult in order to terrorize Ally and drive her mad. In an AHS plot twist that everyone saw coming, Ally eventually finds her strength, getting revenge by killing her wife. Throughout season 7, the married couple uses their son as a pawn in their power battle and are far from a united partnership.
Montana Duke And Richard Ramirez (1984)
After Richard killed for Montana, she thought he was the perfect partner to help in her quest for revenge on Brooke. Montana is so focused on destroying Brooke that she overlooks just how evil Richard is and pursues a twisted relationship with him.
Montana and Richard's relationship was built entirely on her obsession with avenging her brother. As Richard attacked and killed so many women, it's unlikely he had any real feelings for Montana. Montana does eventually seem to realize how misguided her relationship with Richard was when she participates in killing him, but, when they were together, they made for a toxic pairing.