The Cullen family is one of the most interesting parts of the Twilight series. For many fans, learning all they can about these characters is really exciting, and they wished there were more details about them in the actual books themselves.
Each of the members of the Cullen family has a distinct personality, and they also come from very different backgrounds and places. However, they are all united as a family as they navigate being vampires and also trying not to harm others. But, many of them also have gone through some very sad things in their lifetimes.
Rosalie was never able to have children like she wanted
Seeing as how it’s impossible for a vampire to have a child with another vampire, Rosalie isn’t able to have her own children. This is clearly something she feels very sad about, and she often wishes that she hadn’t been turned into a vampire even though it saved her life.
While she might not always be likable, it clearly is difficult for her to see Bella and Edward have a child when she can’t.
Jasper was used as a pawn by Maria
Jasper’s backstory is fairly sad, but it’s also a bit complicated and involves a troubling part of American history. Jasper was a confederate soldier before he was turned by Maria.
She then used him to create her vampire army and to use his skills as a soldier to recruit and train the newborn vampires. This was clearly a rather traumatic thing for him.
Edward almost of the Spanish Flu at a young age
Carlisle Cullen is the one who brought all of the Cullen family members together over the years. He only ever turned people who would likely have died otherwise as a means of saving them as was the case with Edward.
Edward was just 17 when he was nearly dead from the Spanish Flu. It’s definitely pretty tragic that he nearly lost his life when it was really just getting started.
Carlisle’s mother died giving birth to him
Carlisle’s story is a bit different than the other members of his family because he’s just a lot older. While Edward might seem old, he’s nothing compared to Carlisle. The father of the family was actually born in 1640 in London, and his mother died while giving birth to him.
Losing a parent before you ever even get the chance to know them is always a horrible thing. Many people don't even know this element of this fan-favorite character's history.
Esme’s child died at two years old
After Esme’s husband returned from the war, things got even worse for her. Her husband continued to escalate his abuse, and she realized she was pregnant. She then ran away from him to protect her child.
But, her child died at the age of 2 from lung fever, and in her grief, Esme tried to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff. She was basically dead from this attempt when Carlisle turned her.
Carlisle feared his own father would kill him after he was turned into a vampire
Carlisle was raised by his father who was an Anglican pastor. His father was committed to killing supernatural beings such as werewolves, witches, and vampires, and he also killed many humans in his quest.
Carlisle as a human followed in his footsteps until he was eventually bitten by a vampire himself. He was so repelled by the monster he spiraleddeeply. He also worried he would be killed by his own father.
The entire family was often at risk from the Volturi
While the backgrounds and pasts of many of the Cullen family individuals are particularly dark and sir bing, they did also face trials in the series itself.
While they lived fairly happy and secure lives with one another to rely on, things got shaken up once Bella came into the picture. This leads to them dealing with things like trying not to be attacked by the Volturi and having to fight Victoria’s vampire army.
Esme had an abusive husband
While Esme’s story isn’t really detailed in the books, her past wasn’t easy at all either. She married at a young age to a man named Charles Evenson, and soon into their marriage, she realized that he was abusive.
Given that she was born in 1895, there wasn’t much she could really do to leave her husband, so she had to endure his poor treatment until he left to fight in World War I.
Alice was institutionalized
Alice had psychic abilities even before she was turned into a vampire. Because she was born in 1901, any discussion of this kind of thing was concerned with satanic, so she was thrown into a mental institution by her parents.
This experience would likely have been super traumatic given how cruel many of these institutions were during this time period.
What Rosalie’s fiance did to her
Perhaps one of the most difficult things to talk about from the Twilight series is what happened to Rosalie. She was born in 1915 to a rich family, and she was engaged to a man named Royce King.
While walking home one night, Royce and his drunk friends brutally assaulted her to the point that she was almost dying. Carlisle saved her life.