There has always been the saying, "you're the Bonnie to my Clyde". Is that really a good thing though? Is that really a healthy relationship that everyone should be idolizing? I am not a psychologist or sociologist, but I have read and listened to many podcasts and done the research on this relationship and on Bonnie specifically.
The podcast "Female Criminals" really got me interested in this topic. There was a Bonnie and Clyde episode where they discussed Bonnie Parker specifically. The podcast addressed how Bonnie might have had mental issues and past trauma that caused her to not only be attracted to men such as Clyde, but other criminal men, too.
When Bonnie was four years old, her father passed away. This can cause a lot of trauma and stress on a child. Some of the lasting effects of a death like this could be depression, lashing out or misbehaving, co-dependency, and abandonment issues. It was likely that Bonnie had some, if not all, of these lasting effects.
Friends and family of Bonnie said that when Bonnie did something or loved someone, she would be 100% committed and almost overzealous. Right before Bonnie's 16th birthday, she married a classmate named Roy Thornton. Roy Thorton was physically abusive and ended up going to jail for five years for robbery, and some sources even say murder. Though they were never divorced, they most likely never saw each other again.
When Bonnie met Clyde, she was just 19, and they met through mutual friends. Soon after they met, Clyde was put back in prison but soon broke out thanks to a gun Bonnie had snuck in to him. The escape was soon found, though, and Clyde was put back into prison.
In 1932, Clyde was released on parole and rejoined Bonnie back in a life of crime. It is often thought that Bonnie had a condition called hybristophilia. This is when a person, most often women, are attracted and get arousal from a partner who has committed a known crime. This was never confirmed because Bonnie's brain was never studied, but it was suspected that she may have had hybristophilia.
After Clyde was released on parole, Bonnie and Clyde took off on a life of crime. Clyde tried several times to get Bonnie to leave him but she couldn't bring herself to. This was a toxic relationship that Bonnie, Clyde, and their families all recognized.
Although the public loved this couple, they weren't the most healthy and certainly not a relationship that should be idolized. Think about it, do you really want a relationship that is founded on abandonment issues, hybristophilia, depression, and co-dependency? That may not be a relationship you want to idolize, so are you sure you want be the Bonnie to someone's Clyde?
