TOP 7 FICTIONAL LOVE CONFESSIONS: And how they changed the way I see love.
These aren't ranked by how hard I cried or which confession is objectively "better." They're simply seven fictional love confessions that have stayed with me, listed in the order that feels right today. Ask me again in six months, and this list might look completely different. Therefore, this list is subject to change over-time! If you disagree, that’s ok! You’re allowed to disagree. But this list isn’t the Top 7 that everyone should accept. They’re my personal Top 7. Which will definitely change, knowing that the world of fiction is ever-changing! (Plus, I will never be able to stick with it for a year!)
07.: Alex Nilsen to Poppy Wright (People we Meet on Vacation)
This couple is on spot number 10 because I basically just saw the movie and am reading the book so it’s still fresh in my mind. Rain soaked kisses are widely agreed upon as being 10/10 romantic. Although you can get a cold quite easily because of it, romance movies and rom-coms often utilize rain to make it more emotional (and potentially hide tears among the rain drops).
Alex Nilsen (in the movie) hasn’t been quite out there. We hear both him and Poppy talk about Alex’s on-and-off relationship with Sarah. Who I thought we would never meet but lo-and-behold we do! But! The confession in the rain, 10 summers after they met? chefs kiss
Give me a friends-to-lovers story like this please!
The confession It’s not only a way for Alex to probably finally tell Poppy what’s on his mind for god knows how long. And … if I’m honest? I’m kind of digging that dress too. I’d stumble and fall wearing it, but I’d rock that dress!
But, my point? This movie made me see that despite a friendship, and a lot of time… people can indeed connect with each other on a more intimate level. Friends-to-lovers is one of those tropes I’ll never get tired of!
Sometimes the strongest relationships don't begin with fireworks. They begin with friendship, shared memories, and the courage to risk losing both.
06.: Rhysand to Feyre Archeron (A Court of Thorns and Roses book 2)
This confession still lingers. Because I imagined Rhysand looking completely “broken” and vulnerable. The fan art doesn’t help at all!
This confession was filled with vulnerability, and it left both our throats tight with emotion—mostly mine. What I loved the most? It was allowed to happen! Rhysand was allowed to be vulnerable. In real life, men would rather put their finger in their nose than be this vulnerable. (do NOT tell me I’m wrong! I know I’m not!)
But Feyre? She listens, she actually listens! Honestly, I can’t wait until I reach this scene in my Dutch re-read again! And see if the scene I imagined changes at all in my head. When I read this, I wanted to hug Rhysand and tell him everything was fine and that he was safe. That he wasn’t Under the Mountain anymore. The scene in the book just … It didn’t break me. But it taught me that vulnerability and emotions are what draws me in. Not grand gestures. Not someone buying me a star. Not someone doing a flash mob in a train station. No. That’s not something I want. I don’t need grand gestures. I don’t want them. Keep them away from me, SHOO!
05.: Damon Salvatore to Elena Gilbert (The Vampire Diaries)
I had to rewatch this scene to write this entry.
Damon confessing to Elena in Season 2 was jaw-dropping the first time I watched it. He knew Stefan and Elena were dating but he had to tell her. Yes, it was selfish of him. Very much so. And he can count himself lucky he could compel Elena to forget. (Hell, I’d count myself lucky if I could compel some guys to forget I ever confessed to them) The way his voice got heavy and cracked? Top-tier!
And that zoom-in on the eye when he compels her and you see the tear falling down his face?
Yes, Damon was selfish. But, this confession taught me that sometimes letting go of the person you love, because you love them, is the most beautiful and selfless thing you can do. It’s painful, it hurts, it stings. But it’s real. Sometimes loving honestly hurts. But getting rejected, letting go, it’s human. It happens.
04.: Simon Bassett to Daphne Bridgerton (Bridgerton Season 1)
This scene made me fall in love with Bridgerton.
It made me fall in love with the characters. No, Bridgerton isn't historically accurate—and honestly, that's never been the point. It's a guilty pleasure that wears its heart on its sleeve. And the “I burn for you” speech is a great example of vulnerability, albeit shouted vulnerability at one point. But a vulnerable confession nonetheless.
What this first season of Bridgerton taught me was that, despite you thinking the other doesn’t burn for you, it may very well be the case. It may be that they burn you too. You never know how someone feels until you actually talk to them about it. You never know how someone feels because you’re not inside their head. Or their heart for that matter. Matters of the heart are only known to those who own said heart. And Simon didn’t know how Daphne felt until she told him and he told her. He wrongly assumed she didn’t feel the same way.
Miscommunication often happens in love stories, regardless of their time period. Even that may hurt, but if it’s meant to be… Love will always find a way.
03.: Anna to Declan (Leap Year 2010)
Anna proposes to Declan on a cliff. While first asking him to “not make plans with her” in his pub.
Leap Year, tells the story of a woman named Anna Brady who has everything in its place. She has plans. But when she travels to Dublin, Ireland to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy, those plans get derailed. Fast! Not only does American Anna Brady meet the Irish Declan O’Callaghan, she also realizes he’s very, very quickly that her neat proper, planned out American life is not fitting in among the locals.
Declan and Anna can’t be more different! Not only does Anna seem like a fish out of water, she completely clashes with Declan. Talk about opposites attract!
While the movie explores certain minor topics I won’t reveal here, it also shows Anna at her most vulnerable during her proposal to Declan. She tells him she left Jeremy and practically her whole life behind just to marry a man she has been yelling at and fighting with every step of the way. While I wouldn’t categorize this movie as enemies-to-lovers, it’s very much opposites attract!
What matters most though? Anna says to Declan that she had everything she wanted but not everything she needed. Which basically taught me this: You can plan out your life all you want. But life will throw a curve ball any way it deems fit. By the time you realize what’s happening, you realize that all this time you’ve been living a rigid life and not at all concentrating on what’s right in front of you. You can plan every milestone of your life, but life has a habit of introducing you to the people and opportunities you never planned for.
This movie taught me that the two most unlikely people can end up in love when on the road together and very much experiencing forced proximity. Just be prepared to fall for a scruffy Irish man and his beat-up car!
02.: Mr. Darcy to Elizabeth Bennett
“You have bewitched me body, mind and soul.”
This is practically the entirety of Mr. Darcy's confession. The entire movie we see him react to Elizabeth almost with adversity towards her. Until both realize they don't hate each other. They love each other.
Pride and Prejudice is one of the earliest (that I know of) enemies-to-lovers story that I know. The 2005 movie was a good. But… While this movie and book are a classic, I had to think about adding this. Because it felt expected. I did yell at my TV-screen: “JUST KISS HER ALREADY!”
I almost left it off because it's such an obvious choice, but every time I thought about removing it, I couldn't. Mr. Darcy's confession is iconic for a reason. While it teaches you not to judge a book by its cover, it's a classic.
And I didn't want classics to take over this list. But here we are. Perhaps I shouldn't judge this list too soon! Just like Elizabeth and Darcy shouldn't have judged each other so early.
01.: Dracula to Mina (Dracula 2025)
While there are so many iterations of Dracula. This one made me sob.
It didn’t depict Dracula as this love-hungry psychopath. This iteration made us fall in love with Vlad and Elisabetta before her untimely death and his journey to become the notorious count.
The movie also does something else. It actually makes Mina fall for Dracula and remember her life as Elisabetta. There are no 3 brides, but just dumb gargoyles. Which add some lightness to the tragic tale. Because despite the hope that maybe this time Dracula gets the girl, he doesn’t. He never does.
And maybe that’s a lesson we all need to learn sometimes: To leave the past in the past.
What this story taught me is that despite time ticking by, love can prevail. You can find each other in the next life. Sure, it’s fantasy. But, what’s so bad about dreaming? And Dracula dreamt, hoped.
Here are my top 7. Of course, this list is subject to change! I'm sure I forgot plenty of love confessions that I adore. But these came to mind immediately! (I actually spend 3 days on this!)
