Happy Endings

   As I sit here contemplating on where I want to go with the romance novel I am currently working on I find myself wandering about happy endings. I want to write about real life situations, I want what I write to be believable. Real life isn't a fairy tale, and yet most of the romances out there today have the fairy tale ending. Don't get me wrong I don't want to torture my characters but more times than not there won't be a white knight rushing in to save the day, more times than not we have to save ourselves. So I ask would you rather have the fairy tale ending or would you rather read about  real life?  I am trying to balance a happy medium in between the two. Only time  and writing can and will tell I suppose.