HISTORY’S WORST ROMANCES

With Valentine’s Day approaching this month, it might have been fitting to look at some of the greatest love stories of all time but, in the words of Shakespeare, the course of true love never did run smooth! There are many examples of torrid romances from the past, with couples like Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who loved each other deeply but at the same time brought out the worst in one another. On the other hand, there are also plenty of couples like Mary, Queen of Scots and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley who, on paper, could have worked well together but in reality were a complete disaster. From partners who got married, divorced and married again, to those who ultimately just despised each other, take a look at our list of some of the most fascinating and tumultuous relationships in history.

FRIDA KAHLO & DIEGO RIVERA

When opposites attract

LENGTH OF RELATIONSHIP: 24 YEARS

To say that Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, two of the greatest artists in Mexico and indeed, the 20th century, had a complicated relationship is an understatement. The couple briefly met in 1922 when Kahlo was 15 and Rivera was 36, and three years later Kahlo was seriously injured in a bus accident that would leave her in lifelong pain. To pass the time during her recovery, she took up painting. In 1928, Kahlo reconnected with Rivera after she joined the Mexican Communist Party, and she showed