For the past fifty years, the love triangle between Archie, Betty, and Veronica has been iconic. The bedrock for Archie Comics since the dawn of time, there is no Riverdale without romantic tension. Betty and Archie may have been short-lived, but there is no shortage of hookups and breakups to satisfy the teen drama fan.
Every couple had broken up at some point. No pairing was safe when it came to high school romance. While some of these breakups seemed rational and somewhat normal, most of them were seemingly out of nowhere and used to further the plot into whatever crazy antics were meant to follow.
The Black Hood Forced Betty To Leave Jughead
Season two took a turn for the worse with the introduction of the Black Hood. Obsessed with ridding the town of sin, the Black Hood attempted to tutor Betty in the ways of darkness. She played along, fearing for the safety of those around her. Soon the Black Hood took the opportunity to isolate Betty from her friends.
He forced Betty to publicly humiliate her mother and destroy her friendship with Veronica. But the worst instance was the callous way he wanted Betty to discard Jughead. There were many ways for Betty to get out of breaking up with Jughead as the Black Hood was a relatively toothless villain who would not have hurt her. This was proven when Betty told Jughead what happened after the fact, and they got back together immediately.
Cheryl And Toni Moved In Too Quickly
Cheryl and Toni’s relationship was whirlwind from the beginning. This included moving Toni into Cheryl's bedroom once she had been emancipated from her mother. Often the teens on Riverdale grow up too fast and act too much like adults.
Because of this, Cheryl and Toni splintered relatively easily. This situation was entirely avoidable. Instead of talking about their issues, they lashed out at each other and let it destroy what they had. It wasn’t long before they were back together, making the fight even more ridiculous.
Archie Went On The Lam
There were many times when Archie should have broken up with Veronica. The antagonism Hiram had against him veered close to child abuse. This only escalated when he framed Archie for murder. That would have been a likely end to his relationship with Veronica.
But they only broke up after Archie broke out of jail. Veronica had cleared his name, but Archie ran away all the same. He broke up with Veronica even though he was free and clear, and she was ready to welcome him home.
Veronica Wouldn’t Promote Reggie
One of the best character developments on the show was for Reggie Mantle. He found his calling in being a support system for Veronica and a business partner, as well. After Archie left town this quickly turned romantic. While Veronica could never get over Archie, she and Reggie formed an attachment. Reggie became dependable and wanted more responsibility.
Veronica had lost trust and wasn’t able to give him the position that he wanted. Reggie took this over the top and used it as an excuse to break up with her and almost start a war with the drug kingpin of Riverdale.
Toni Lost Interest In Jughead
When she first arrived on screen, Toni was considered a legitimate threat to Betty and Jughead’s relationship. They were being driven apart by Jughead’s commitment to Southside High and it seemed that Toni was the person who he could turn to. They had decent chemistry in addition to Betty keeping secrets about the Black Hood.
In the end, Toni was no threat at all. She and Jughead hooked up once in his trailer and the thread of the story was lost. In a most undramatic fashion, Toni let things fizzle out, allowing Jughead to patch things up with Betty.
Josie Left To Pursue Music
It wasn’t a surprise when Josie left the show. Her character was often sidelined and more accurately forgotten. This included her short-lived relationship with Archie. Archie was always waiting in the wings for Veronica but for that short time, had a romance with Josie.
They bonded over music but there were no stakes to their relationship. Josie decided to leave Riverdale to pursue music even though they hadn’t graduated yet. No one questioned Josie’s choice to leave, least of all Archie. Their dalliance was forgotten almost as soon as it started.
Jughead Tried To Protect Betty
One of Betty and Jughead's infamous breakups began with one of the most cringe-worthy scenes in Riverdale history. FP had returned from prison and the Serpents were throwing him a party. Betty took control of it and to prove how much she supported Jughead, she decided to do a striptease known as the Serpent Dance.
Jughead used this as an excuse to break things off. Jughead immediately decided he didn’t like Betty being involved in the Serpent lifestyle and shut her out. Betty was the last person to need protection and it wasn't long before Jughead changed his mind on the subject.
Fred Disavowed The SoDale Project
After first moving to Riverdale, Hermione took advantage of her husband being in prison by rekindling things with old flame Fred Andrews. This was one time where Hermione went for something that she wanted.
The relationship wasn’t long for this world as Hiram would be returning from prison shortly. Fred and Hermione’s fling was quick and not explored after he discovered what she and Hiram were up to. There was no preamble in their break up and the relationship was never mentioned again.
Betty And Jughead Drifted Apart
Betty and Jughead had the most anticlimactic breakup of the series. After Betty and Archie kissed, there was no major fallout. Jughead seemed to forgive her at the moment, but there were still unresolved issues.
They never spoke of the incident and after they went to college, the couple drifted apart. For a relationship that was strong since season one, there was no catharsis or resolution for their issues.
Hermione Divorced Hiram
After everything that Hiram had put the Lodges through, Hermione seemed as though she would stick by him for the long haul. She allowed him to wage war against their daughter as they hurt and cheated on each other. Once graduation was in sight, Hermione revealed that her one true dream was to be a Real Housewife of New York.
There were better reasons for her to leave Hiram. Not only was their relationship toxic but he was a criminal who barely seemed interested in their marriage. Hermione was well within her rights to leave him, but her reasons were odd and lackluster.