When it comes to romance, there are many well-known tropes and clichés: best friends to lovers, first love, secret identity, destiny and more. However, if there’s one that has proven time to time to give some of the best love stories, it’s the famous enemies to lovers or rivals to lovers.
Why do people love it so much? Well, it might be that, as they say, that from love to hate there’s just one step… And vice versa. Hate is a very intense emotion, and sometimes that passion can become something softer.
On the other hand, the journey from hate to love in enemies-to-lovers movies is often pretty satisfying, thanks to the mixing of elements such as banter, tension, confusion and more. Not all enemies-to-lovers are the same, and here we got 15 movies with the trope.
Best Enemies To Lovers Movies
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Of course, the OG pair of enemies-to-lovers had to make the list. Elizabeth Bennet, played by Keira Knightley, and Mr. Darcy, played by Matthew Macfayden, are one of the most beloved couples in film, but they didn’t have a great start.
Lizzie and Darcy don’t think too highly of each other after they meet at a ball. However, those erroneous impressions will be corrected through the course of several awkward encounters until they both reflect on their own mistakes and learn to respect (and love) one another
Life As We Know It (2010)
Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel star in this rom-com as a couple that meet thanks to their friends set-up but end up hating each other. However, they both will have to learn how to work together as they become the legal guardians of their friends’ orphaned child.
Despite the gritty premise, the film manages to perfectly blend drama, fun and earnestness. Heigl shines as the type-A controlling woman who learns how to flow, while Duhamel plays this man-child who has to mature perfectly and, we, as audience, can’t help but fall for them.
The Princess Diaries 2 (2004)
While we all got sad when Michael didn’t return for the sequel of ‘The Princess Diaries,’ those feelings quickly went away after the introduction of Mia’s new love interest: Lord Nicholas Devereaux (Chris Pine), the man who wants to take her crown.
Anne Hathaway and Pine’s chemistry is off the charts the second their characters meet at a ball. However, their electricity just intensifies with every argument until they finally admit their feelings for each other.
Leap Year (2010)
Critics didn’t love this rom-com, but they just didn’t get it. Amy Adams plays a real estate agent who travels to Dublin to propose to her boyfriend on leap day to follow an Ireland tradition. However, her plans are put in jeopardy after a series of events, and she has to hire a grumpy innkeeper (played by Matthew Goode) to take her to the city.
The two of them hate each other almost immediately. He thinks she is pretentious and a hopeless romantic, while she thinks he is rude and cynical. However, as they spend time together, they learn more about each other leading to different feelings.
Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)
This adaptation of the novel of the same name by Casey McQuiston follows the romance between the son of the US president, Alex Clermont Diaz, and the Prince Henry of the UK. However, before they are swooning for each other, they first are rivals.
Played by Taylor Zakhar Perez and Nicholas Galitzine, their dynamic is fun because they are totally different: one is confident and outspoken, and the other is broody and sensitive. It doesn’t hurt that the actors are perfectly casted and have excellent chemistry.
The Proposal (2009)
While Sandra Bullock has appeared in other rom-coms that could be considered rivals to lovers (Two Weeks Notice), “The Proposal” is an excellent example of the trope, while also combining the classic fake-dating.
Bullock plays a Canadian executive editor-in-chief of a NYC book publisher who has to pretend to be in a relationship with her assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to avoid being deported. Reynolds plays the part of the suffering perfectly, and he and Bullock have a chemistry that builds up during the film.
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
One of Nora Ephron’s classics, “You’ve Got Mail” is not only an excellent enemies-to-lovers tale but also a great rom-com that explored online relationships long before the hell of Tinder and other online dating apps.
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, in their third pairing, played two people that are in an online relationship unaware that they are also business rivals. Whether you actually enjoy the premise or think that is a nightmarish scenario, this film is definitely iconic.
The Ugly Truth (2009)
In this workplace enemies-to-lovers rom-com, Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl play their signature roles to perfection: she as a neurotic, controlling woman, and he as an incorrigible, cynical rake who eventually falls in love. However, before love, there’s plenty of hatred.
The film also embraces the classic trope of “helping you win over another man,” and while it treads familiar ground, it succeeds in delivering a sense of fun, thanks in large part to Heigl and Butler’s playful on-screen chemistry.
Something’s Gotta Give (2003)
Nancy Meyers’ classic rom-com stars Jack Nicholson as Harry and Diane Keaton as Erica, two professionals who fall in love later in life, despite being opposites. And despite the fact that Harry is also dating Erica’s daughter at first.
Of course, this creates friction between them at first, but then they find charming qualities in each other. Besides being a great enemies-to-lovers example, the film also has a great cast including Keanu Reeves, Frances McDormand and Amanda Peet.
Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001)
Inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, “Bridget Jones’ Diary” smartly brings Lizzie and Darcy’s hate-love dynamics to the 2000s. However, this time, our protagonist is a 32-year-old woman, played by Renée Zellweger, who is a little bit lost about what she wants out of life.
However, the story gets complicated when she meets Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth, a man she first despises for considering him pretentious but then they get each other. Of course, a love triangle (with Hugh Grant) is also in the mix for a great dose of rom-com.
The Sound of Music (1965)
“The Sound of Music” is also a classic tale of an enemies-to-lovers romance. Based on the 1949 memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp, the movie follows Maria (Julie Andrews) as she works as governess to seven children and her eventual marriage with their father Captain Georg von Trapp.
The Captain, played by Christopher Plummer, isn’t approving of Maria’s teachings to his children at first and they clash because of it. However, they then learn how to understand each other and they fall in love.
The Bodyguard (1992)
This film serves as an enemies-to-lovers in the middle of an excellent action thriller. Kevin Costner plays the titular bodyguard, Frank, who is hired to protect singer and actress Rachel, played by Whitney Houston, whose life is being threatened by an unknown person.
However, at first, she doesn’t want to follow Frank’s new rules and he isn’t impressed by her diva attitude. But after getting to know each other, Frank ends up breaking his own rules of getting emotionally involved with his clients.
Rosaline (2022)
This rom-com starring Kaitlyn Dever is based on the 2012 young adult novel “When You Were Mine” by Rebecca Serle, which in turn was inspired by William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It follows Rosaline, after she was dumped by Romeo.
In this reinterpretation of the classic story, Rosaline finds her own love story with Dario, portrayed by Sean Teale. Their first encounter doesn’t go very well, as she is still pining after Romeo, but then, she realizes that love isn’t how one thinks.
Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
This classic rom-com follows Reese Witherspoon as Melanie, a successful fashion designer who has to return to her town in Alabama to divorce her high-school sweetheart Jake (played by Josh Lucas) to be able to marry her new boyfriend (portrayed by Patrick Dempsey).
Yes, technically, the pair were first lovers, but then they turned enemies after their breakup. Melanie’s new lifestyle is incompatible with what he loves about her. However, after she spends some time home, she discovers that she hasn’t changed that much.
What Happens in Vegas (2008)
Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher star in this movie about a couple who spontaneously get hitched and hit the jackpot in a Las Vegas casino. Their initial plan to quickly divorce and split the money takes a twist when the judge in divorce court throws in an unexpected ruling, making things more complicated.
As they have to try to save their marriage due to the ruling, these two first try to make their lives miserable but, as it happens, quickly they once again find themselves involved romantically.
