Intimacy is a natural part of any romance. Couples touch each other to display affection, a fact that holds true for humans and animals since the dawn of time. Any movie, TV show, or video game portraying such relationships obviously adheres to that rule.
Sadly, some couples are robbed of this basic need. Fiction has created several instances where romantic partners can't touch each other. Oftentimes, this is due to some circumstance or condition surrounding one or both parties makes physical contact dangerous or impossible. With Valentine's Day approaching, what better time to pay tribute (and pity) to these unfortunate couples? Some people must simply love from a distance.
9 Rogue & Anyone — The X-Men Franchise
If X-Men has taught audiences anything, it's that superpowers can suck. Mutations manifesting in unsuspecting teens often mean that those teens are ostracized from society. Among the more extreme examples is Rogue. She inadvertently saps the life force, memories, and even personality traits of anyone she comes in contact with. This also affects other mutants, absorbing their powers and putting them down for the count.
Thus, Rogue must keep her distance from the very people she'd take comfort in. Needless to say, that handicap severely hinders her love life. The movies see her form an awkward dynamic with Iceman, and that same awkwardness informs her on-again, off-again romance with Gambit in the comics. Whomever she's with, Rogue deals with more isolation than most other mutants.
8 Mr. Freeze & Nora Fries — The Batman Franchise
The 1990s Batman series' reinvention of Mr. Freeze is a tragic one. When his wife comes down with a terminal disease, Dr. Victor Fries puts her in suspended animation until he can find a cure. Sadly, his actions result in a cryogenic accident that leaves him unable to survive outside subzero temperatures. This forces him to don a mechanized suit just to go outside. Talk about a lose-lose scenario.
This family is screwed twice over. Even if Fries can discover a cure to his wife's ailment and bring her out of her cryochamber, that doesn't fix his own problem. She'd die like any other human in a subzero environment, and he can't go anywhere warmer without his cumbersome suit. The need to live in different climates destroys any relationship prospects these two have.
7 Master Chief & Cortana — The Halo Series
The hero of Halo leads a lonely life if his most ever-present companion is a lightbulb. Cortana is an AI construct who accompanies Master Chief throughout the games. They have a deep and loving relationship built on mutual trust. However, they're limited in how they can express that love.
As a holographic presence, physical contact with Cortana is out of the question. She can help Master Chief in various missions by providing info or tapping into machinery, but none of this lets her directly touch him. Ironically, the only time her tech achieves this feat is right before she sacrifices herself to save him.
6 Syd & David — Legion
This is another weird romance in the X-Men realm. The mysterious Syd Barrett has a similar mutation to Rogue, albeit much more literal. Instead of absorbing powers or sucking life, touching her results in a body swap. She takes the place of anyone who comes in contact with her. It only lasts a few minutes, but it's still uncomfortable. Her skin even crawls when someone touches it through her clothing.
For this reason, Syd really lucked out with David. As the son of Charles Xavier, he has potent telepathic abilities. He can project a mental image of himself to commune with others from a distance. That's not all, though. He can also transport himself and Syd to a headspace where they can touch each other to their heart's content. Only when the scene cuts back to reality do viewers see Syd making love to thin air. Compared to other couples on this list, their situation is a relatively content one.
5 K & Joi — Blade Runner 2049
Heroes just aren't meant to be happy in the Blade Runner world. Viewers see it with Deckard in the original, Elle in Black Lotus, and K in 2049. The latter is a replicant who hunts his own kind, so he doesn't have a lot of friends. His only companion is a holographic woman named Joi.
As is obviously the case with holograms, her intangibility makes a physical relationship difficult. It's the same problem as Master Chief and Cortana. K gets around this issue by projecting Joi onto another woman, but this is still a far cry from holding her in his arms. At least he can hold her in his pocket.
4 Theodore & Samantha — Her
Let this movie serve as a lesson: don't fall in love with Siri or Alexa. Due to his impending divorce, lonely Theodore buys a virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence. Dubbed "Samantha," this program gradually helps him get past his relationship problems.
Amidst the blind dates and increasing divorce proceedings, though, Theodore grows ever closer to Samantha. This leads to several scenes of him dancing through the streets with his phone, holding it as though it were a mini person. Not only can he not touch her, but he can't even put a face to the name. That would be tragic enough. However, it gets sadder once all the AIs leave at the end. Theodore no longer has Samantha's disembodied voice to keep him company. On the upside, this forces him to lead a more in-person love life.
3 James Bond & Madeleine Swann — No Time To Die
Just as 007 is about to ride off into the sunset with his lover and daughter, his hopes are dashed by the villain. In No Time to Die, the nefarious Safin has cooked up a chemical weapon involving nanobots. These are transmitted like a virus and kill whomever their programming dictates. Though his plan is foiled, the Dr. No knockoff scratches Bond and infects him with these bots.
Now, if the hero touches those he loves, he'll kill them. He doesn't have long to dwell on this setback, though. Rather than wait for science to develop an answer, the agent lets himself die in a missile strike. Then again, audiences never see a body. Maybe Bond is currently enjoying a long-distance relationship with his newfound family.
2 David & Elizabeth — Just Like Heaven
Just Like Heaven has a unique premise as far as romantic comedies go. Elizabeth gets in a car crash and lands in a coma. For some reason, her grumpy apparition then pesters the downbeat David, who has moved into her old apartment. It turns out they were meant to go on a blind date, and he's now the only person who can bring her back to the world of the living.
It might not be the most logical plot, but it does lead to some cute screwball humor. David spends most of the movie fighting with Elizabeth's spectral form. When she tries to push or slap him, she just fazes right through. It doesn't get any easier once the love-hate relationship blossoms later on. Elizabeth has all the problems of a ghost without actually being dead.
1 Rogue & Johnny Silverhand — Cyberpunk 2077
Characters named Rogue seem to have bad luck with love, but the problem this time is him, not her. The Rogue of Cyberpunk 2077has a part-time relationship with rocker/rebel Johnny Silverhand. Their fling abruptly ends when he dies infiltrating the Arasaka corporation, but that's not the end of his story.
The suits preserve his essence on a biochip, which the mercenary V must slip into his/her head. Now, players see the greasy cyber-star everywhere they go. They can even cede control of V's body to Silverhand, giving him a second chance with Rogue. No matter how intimate they get, though, she can't be completely comfortable. Sure, she's speaking to her old flame, but she's touching someone else's body. Then again, people in this world have so many cybernetic augments that it's hard to tell what's real anymore.
