It's less the existence of romance as a theme that puts me off the boil, tedious as I personally find 80% of such subplots: it's more the probability of Romance tropes that tend to trot in unexamined, like one partner weilding vast social power over the other and that never being discussed, because he's One Of The Nice Ones or so shiny she doesn't want to say no. Which, I mean, great for you, characters, you be nice people, that's good, but I'm still going to be over here kind of wincing.