The show Veronica Lodge may seem like the girl who has it all, but she has serious struggles of her own.
With money and privilege comes responsibility and debts to pay, and while she may not have always been the empathetic person she is now, she has tried to right her wrongs. She hasn't had things easy, and it's proven quite sad that her life is complicated and difficult in various ways.
She Tried To Get Her Parents Back Together And Couldn't
After everything Hermione and Hiram had endured together, they still followed through with breaking up in Season 3. This devastates Veronica, and she tried to get them back together. It was terribly sad when her family broke up; they'd already been through so much together.
However, her parents eventually decided to renew their vows in Season 4, which Veronica was hesitant to attend. Why shouldn't she be? She clearly wasn't sure if her parents would stay together or not, and she had to be upset that her previous efforts failed despite the fact that her parents eventually reunited anyway. The entire ordeal certainly wasn't fun for Veronica to endure.
Has A Rivalry With Her Father
Audiences would think that Hiram would want to see Veronica succeed, even beyond his own successes, wanting the best for his daughter. It would make sense that Hiram would want to hand off the family business to his daughter and see her take it in a direction he couldn't, bettering their company overall.
However, Hiram is highly competitive and instead he and Veronica carry a steady rivalry with one another. They wouldn't mind seeing one another fail. Father and daughter are quite brutal to each other in this regard, and it's sad that they don't use their resources to help one another instead.
She Has A Past As A Mean Girl
While still mean girl extraordinaire. She wasn't nice and she partied hard. She didn't have the meaningful relationships that she later had with her friends when she got to Riverdale. It's not a past that Veronica is proud of, and she still struggles with it from time to time.
Especially given the time she was charged with entertaining Nick St. Clair and fell back into her party self. It's a side of her that's darker, and not unlike Betty, Veronica has to battle that dark side and learn to control it.
She Was A Bully
Part of that mean girl past includes Veronica as a bully who was quite persistent and brutal. She bullied a girl named Paige so terribly that Paige eventually transferred schools and entered therapy.
Despite the changes she's made since then, including her efforts to be a better person, Veronica can't erase her past and undo her actions, no matter how much she may want to. Sadly, she has to live with what she did, and knowing that she hurt another person that badly is a very regretful part of her past. Though it's more painful for those she hurt, it still is a sad aspect of her character too.
Went From Riches To Rags
Veronica and her mother lost everything when Hiram went to prison. They left their home in New York City and returned to Hiram and Hermione's hometown of Riverdale. It's a big change, financially and culturally. Veronica already had quite a bit to process with her father in prison; losing the only life she knew along with him was clearly difficult.
It was undoubtedly devastating for both her and her mother, and made a hard time that much harder. They both survived and even began to rebuild their fortune, but starting over isn't easy, and it was a difficult time that changed the Lodge family forever.
She Was Slut-Shamed
Being the new kid in school is hard enough, and Veronica was also dealing with a new town, a loss of her family fortune and her father being in prison on top of that. She happily accepts a date with Chuck, but it doesn't lead anywhere good.
Unfortunately, she ends up slat-shamed by Chuck and several of her fellow classmates, which is both heartbreaking and embarrassing. Veronica didn't need that awful experience on top of everything else, and it's terrible that she had to endure that at all.
Doesn't Trust Her Parents
It's pretty sad when a child can't even trust their own parents on any level. Veronica has several reasons not to trust her parents, given they're both criminals and have been shown to be quite ruthless when it comes to getting what they want. Hermione is certainly manipulative and has used Veronica before, and takes several opportunities to gloat to her daughter.
Hiram, meanwhile, has lied and schemed before, and he cut his daughter out of the family business. Why would Veronica trust her parents after all they've done and put her through?
A Terrifying Halloween
After fighting off an escaped patient from Shady Grove in "Chapter Sixty-One: Halloween", Veronica probably didn't care for the spooky holiday afterwards. The patient just so happens to be a serial killer named "The Family Man", and Veronica bravely evaded him and set him on fire.
Still, the fear and adrenaline that must have been rushing through her at the time likely left a lasting impression, and definitely made for an awful memory in Veronica's mind that probably haunts her.
Her Harvard Acceptance Didn't Go As She'd Hoped
Veronica is ecstatic when she finds out she's been accepted to Harvard, but unfortunately, that feeling quickly fades when she finds out her father had something to do with it. She had every right to be angry; she should be accepted to college based on her own merits, and not because of her father's actions.
It's detrimental to Veronica's self-esteem, as she wants to do things for herself. She and her father have several issues; Veronica deserved to be accepted based on her achievements and nothing else, and it's sad that her acceptance was spoiled because of Hiram.
Carries The Weight Of Her Father's Crimes
Especially in the first season, Veronica expresses regret for the people her father hurt in conducting the crimes that eventually landed him in prison. When Veronica learns that Ethel's father was an investor and attempted suicide due to losing so much, she felt terrible.
It was a hard dose of reality for her, making her father's crimes that much more horrible and close to home. Bearing the weight of crimes that are not her own takes a toll on Veronica, and it's despairing that she has to live with such a heavy burden.