In this day and age, most people are anti-situationship. And maybe it’s for good reason. They are tumultuous, back-and-forth, pseudo-relationships that come with all of the trauma and none of the commitment.
Perhaps you are currently in your own pseudo-relationship, and you’re not quite sure that it is a situationship. Is it toxic enough? Is it destructive enough? Do you want to vomit every time you two text?
The best situationship is years, if not decades long. It should hurt many other people to be successful, especially future romantic partners. Remember to spend a lot of time together, flirt publicly and praise them like your life depends on it. But never, seriously never, define the relationship.
To soothe your situationship woes, here are five famous situationships, and what made them so good.
Cleopatra and Mark Antony
Let’s start at the very beginning. Of like, history. Cleopatra and Mark Antony’s relationship spanned over a decade, likely beginning around 41 BCE. Their romance started a powerful allyship, and together they ruled territories and had three children. But they were opposed by Cleopatra’s enemy in Rome, Octavian, who made it his mission to destroy her. A brutal civil war began, resulting in Antony being informed that Cleopatra had died. In his heartbreak and despair he stabbed himself, only to find out Cleopatra was still alive. The two briefly reunited as Antony died in Cleopatra’s arms and she took her own life using poison. All of this drama, and still no ring. It’s true, their relationship wasn’t perfect – what, with the civil war, murders and Octavian’s bizarre propaganda that resulted in their deaths. However, their love was so dramatic that Shakespeare was inspired to write the play Antony and Cleopatra, and that is more important than any empire.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon
Which could mean nothing! But it could also mean everything. We had to do some research on this pairing, a.k.a. watching TikTok edits of the two. Here is what we have discovered. The two became close as children, living in the same neighbourhood, and their friendship blossomed in high school. In university, Damon wrote a one-act play for class that eventually became a film with him and Affleck. The two won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for their Boston bromance Good Will Hunting. Their friendship is a testament to men supporting each other, and also normalising looking much happier with your best friend than with your (theoretical) life partner. We cannot help thinking of those photographs of Affleck with J. Lo, looking as if someone just kicked his puppy. But his drawn face was likely a result of not being with his best bud. Famously, Damon was spotted visiting Affleck’s home without his wedding ring on … which could mean nothing.
Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak
Potentially the messiest situationship of all time, these two met in 2004, working on The Office, where they began an on-again/off-again relationship until 2007, one which mirrors their characters own relationship in The Office. While the two are no longer romantically involved, they don’t seem to know that. In 2022, Novak gave an eight-minute speech at the Producers Guild Awards about the two’s relationship, calling it a “tumultuous romantic toxic boundaryless mess.” If you want a bit more evidence, during a 2015 interview with InStyle, Kaling described her relationship with Novak, saying “he is not my boyfriend, but he is not my best friend. I guess you could describe our relationship as ‘romantically charged camaraderie with loud argument.’” She has also never publicly said who the father of her children is. Anyways, we’re sure it’s all very platonic and normal.
Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones.
We will admit, this situationship is low-hanging fruit. But every day that passes brings to light new evidence supporting the theory that this couple is in love. Recently, a picture of Gracie Abrams was posted in Paul Mescal’s house. The two have been together for over a year. Hanging above Abrams’ head, like a haunting spectre, was an intimate photo. You’re probably thinking it featured Mescal and Abrams together, right? Wrong. It’s a photo of Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones, looking intimately in love, hung on his wall! It’s preposterous. This photograph is merely a single piece of evidence in a historic run of behaviour highlighting Mescal’s love for Edgar Jones. Previously, Mescal was in a tumultuous two-year relationship with singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers. T Ultimately, the relationship ended – perhaps the result of Mescal smiling like a man starved when Edgar Jones arrived at the Met Gala. If you know, you know.
Mr. Big and Carrie Bradshaw
This one just makes us feel sick. What an evil man! Nobody has ever embodied the inability to commit more than Mr. Big. And dare we say nobody has ever tolerated such treatment the way Carrie did? And poor, poor Aidan. He deserved so much better. It is our hope that Carrie was at least writing the best sex and love column that any paper has seen. She sure had the content for it. One thing Big does well in this situationship is refuse to be with Carrie, but keep himself in her life. His inescapable presence ensures maximum damage. Of course, Carrie herself is not flawless, but little can be said without spoiling.
