Tortured or Normal?

There are a variety of romantic heroes and heroines, but one of the most popular types seems to be the 'tortured hero/heroine'. The man with a lot of pain in his past who is afraid to love, the woman who had a horrible experience and must be tamed like a wild colt, and so on.

I confess to loving these just like so many others. But can't regular, or close to regular, folks star in romances, too? Or is it just that we can't have both romantic leads be normal?

I ask because I find myself writing a tortured hero without even intending to. My current leading man has quite a lot of pain in his past, even though I think he's turned out pretty well, all things considered. I caught myself giving my leading lady a similarly tortured past and decided that had to go onto the cutting room floor, so to speak. Her life isn't perfect (whose is?) but I don't think I can take two 'angsters' for a full novel. And if I can't take them, I surely doubt my readers could.

So, I wonder, why is that -- why do we seem to gravitate to the tortured hero or heroine? And why is two being tortured one too many? Is it because we want to ensure that one of the couple will be grounded and able to save the other emotionally? Or is it simply too much drama is indeed too much?

I don't know the answer, but perhaps I'll find out as the novel goes along.

X&O,
Marie Gerrard