Fireplace scene makes me want to puke
I agree that the fireplace scene is cringe worthy as it currently exists, but if a good editor deleted Anakin’s worst lines, the fireplace scene could be saved:
ANAKIN: “From the moment I met you, not a day has gone by when I haven’t thought of you . . . If you are suffering as much as I am, please tell me.”
PADMÉ: “I can’t. We can’t. It’s just not possible.”
ANAKIN: “Anything is possible. Padmé, listen to me.”
PADMÉ: “No, you listen. We live in a real world. Come back to it. You’re studying to become a Jedi Knight. I’m a Senator. If you follow your thoughts through to conclusion, they will take us to a place we cannot go, regardless of the way we feel about each other.”
ANAKIN: “Then you do feel something.”
PADMÉ: “I will not let you give up your future for me.”
ANAKIN: “It wouldn’t have to be that way. We could keep it a secret.”
PADMÉ: “Then we would be living a lie - one we couldn’t keep even if we wanted to. I couldn’t do that. Could you, Anakin? Could you live like that?”
ANAKIN: “No, you’re right. It would destroy us.”
If you delete Anakin’s worst lines, such as, “And now that I’m close to you again, I’m in agony. The closer I get to you, the worse it gets. The thought of not being with you . . . I can’t breathe. I’m haunted by the kiss you should never have given me. My heart is beating, hoping that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me. What can I do? I will do anything you ask,” it would be possible to save the fireplace scene through careful editing.
The edited scene would only be around a minute, but it would explain why Anakin and Padmé kept their marriage secret in Episode III.