Wuthering Heights is one of those 2026 movie releases we’re still thinking about months after it came out, especially now that it recently hit streaming (you can watch it with an HBO Max subscription). While audiences who watched the movie without reading Emily Brontë’s classic might not have known this going in, the story is more of a tragedy than a romance, but there is certainly love between Cathy and Heathcliff to talk about. SPOILERS AHEAD.
When CinemaBlend interviewed the cast of Wuthering Heights, we asked Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi about the moment they thought they each fell for the other, and their thoughts totally make sense to me. Here’s what Elordi had to say:
For me, I think it's the moment he saw her. It's one of those galaxy-exploding moments. I think the moment he set eyes on her, he loved her.
Heathcliff and Cathy meet when they are children after Cathy’s father rescues Heathcliff from the streets. While Elordi thinks it’s love at first sight for Heathcliff, here’s what Margot Robbie said:
The first time [Cathy and Heathcliff] really see each other, they're under the bed like as little kids and he's got his hand over her mouth and they're both just kind of terrified, and I don't know, I think it's that moment. That's when they're destined to be each other's demise from that point on.
The actors have the same idea about when the characters get heart eyes for the other, which is the moment they each met underneath a bed. You can check out their comments below:
Their thoughts on when their characters develop feelings for each other definitely add a new layer to Wuthering Heights for me, because it means that these characters were always fighting their urges to be more than siblings/friends since they met. Knowing this only makes their yearning for the other feel more intense and perhaps gives more context as to why their romance becomes so explosive and messy once they do admit their feelings for each other.
It makes me think about Heathcliff and his growing disdain for Cathy as the movie goes on. He loves her and wants to be with her and must have felt her mutual feelings, but he’s rejected and becomes vengeful of her. It also doesn’t help that they were inseparable as kids, because it only makes it more difficult for the pair to not be together.
Ultimately, Cathy dies before they can ever really be a couple. While she doesn’t get to say her last words to Heathcliff, Robbie told us she thinks they would be “I hate you,” which she said “always means ‘I love you.’” Writer/director Emerald Fennell shared with CinemaBlend that she imagines Heathcliff would be “emotionally destroyed” after the end of the movie and live a “kind of half-life” without Cathy. Heartbreaking, isn’t it?
