History Main / FalseSoulmate

* Rachel Dawes for Bruce Wayne in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''.
Despite them being [[ChildhoodFriendRomance childhood friends with a mutual attraction]], Rachel says she wants to be with Bruce rather than Batman. She initially says [[IWillWaitForYou she will wait]] until Gotham City no longer needs Batman, but as time goes on she starts to believe Bruce will [[LoveCannotOvercome never be able to stop being Batman]] and enters a relationship with Harvey Dent. Bruce is under the impression that she will still choose to be with him, [[spoiler: but then she's murdered so it's rendered moot]]. Prior to [[spoiler: her death]], she wrote Bruce a letter saying she was in love with Harvey and intended to marry him, while still caring for Bruce more [[LetsJustBeFriends as a friend]]. Alfred initially kept this from Bruce to spare him further pain, but he eventually tells Bruce the truth when he feels Bruce's grief is consuming him. Bruce ultimately gets a happy ending [[spoiler: with [[SecondLove Selina Kyle]] (after a false start with [[LoveInterestTraitor Miranda Tate]])]].

* Rachel Dawes for Bruce Wayne in ''Film/TheDarkKnightTrilogy''. She and Bruce have been [[ChildhoodFriendRomance friends since childhood]] and they have romantic attraction to each other, but Rachel says she wants to be with Bruce rather than Batman. She initially says [[IWillWaitForYou she will wait]] until Gotham City no longer needs Batman, but as time goes on she starts to believe Bruce will [[LoveCannotOvercome never be able to stop being Batman]] and enters a relationship with Harvey Dent. Bruce is under the impression that she will still choose to be with him, [[spoiler: but then she's murdered so it's rendered moot]]. Prior to [[spoiler: her death]], she wrote Bruce a letter saying she was in love with Harvey and intended to marry him, while still caring for Bruce more [[LetsJustBeFriends as a friend]]. Alfred initially kept this from Bruce to spare him further pain, but he eventually tells Bruce the truth when he feels Bruce's grief is consuming him. Bruce ultimately gets a happy ending [[spoiler: with [[SecondLove Selina Kyle]] (after a false start with [[LoveInterestTraitor Miranda Tate]])]].

** In season four, [[UnholyMatrimony Baatar is engaged to Kuvira]] and because of this [[FoolForLove turns a blind eye]], and even actively participates in Kuvira's slow descent into dictatorship. This changes quickly in the series finale when [[spoiler: Kuvira reveals she is not above [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness sacrificing Baatar to accomplish her goals]]]].

* ''Film/LegallyBlonde'':[[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold Elle Woods]] is sure that her college boyfriend Warner is going to propose to her, but he ends up unceremoniously dumping her because he only sees her as a pretty face. Elle spends the better part of the first half of the film working to fit in with his new life at Harvard Law School to win him back, only to realize by the climax that she [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre doesn't need Warner's approval to know that she is smart and worthy of being at a place like Harvard Law]].

** [[ThePollyanna Kenneth]] falls in love with Hazel, a fellow page, but the relationship doesn't work out when her AxCrazy tendencies get her [[spoiler: fired from [[ShowWithinAShow ''TGS'']]]].

* The premise of ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' is that Rebecca reshapes her entire life and goals to revolve around winning back her one-time summer camp boyfriend Josh. Josh, while a bit of a [[TheDitz himbo]] is a well-meaning guy, but he does not reciprocate Rebecca's feelings to nearly the same degree. On her part, Rebecca realizes that her LoveEpiphany for Josh is actually a way to distract herself from her less pretty, very real problems, [[spoiler: including undiagnosed BPD among other things]].

* In Creator/JaneAusten's ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'', Marianne Dashwood is sure that Mr. Willoughby is her OneTrueLove, and is devastated to find out that he [[is actually engaged to another woman]].

* ''Film/LettersToJuliet'' has Victor and Sophie. Being a bit of a CloudCuckooLander, Victor unintentionally neglects Sophie throughout the whole movie. It wasn't that neither of them didn't love each other but ''both'' sides didn't see the other's presence as a necessity. Not to mention they have differences that didn't make their relationship work (Sophie didn't share Victor's passion for cooking and Victor didn't appreciate Sophie's passion for writing as much).
* In ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'', King Stefan is this to Maleficent. They have a ChildhoodFriendRomance and on her 16th birthday he gives her what he calls a TrueLovesKiss. However, over time his [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]] causes him to grow distant and stop visiting her. When he does finally come to see her again, he uses their close relationship to lower her guard, drugs her and cuts off her wings to gain King Henry's favor and become king himself. Maleficent is so devastated by Stefan's betrayal she is convinced that true love doesn't even exist and when she curses his daughter in revenge, she uses true love's kiss as the escape clause precisely for this reason.
* ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'': Daniel and Miranda Hillard divorce and never get back together.
* ''Film/{{Sleeping with the Enemy}}'': Martin is a wealthy investment counselor who's charmingly handsome on the outside, but [[LoveMakesYouCrazy his true colors]] don't show until after he and Laura are already married in the beginning.

This often overlaps with RomanticFalseLead. Compare LoveCannotOvercome, LovingAShadow, StarcrossedLovers and UnluckyChildhoodFriend. Compare and contrast with OneTrueLove. If the audience thinks a love interest ''unintentionally'' comes off this way, it's likely a case of DesignatedLoveInterest or StrangledByTheRedString.

* During season one of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', it seemed like Mako and Korra were meant to be each other's OneTrueLove like Aang and Katara were in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. PoorCommunicationKills however, and Mako and Korra prove to be incompatible and break up for good at the end of season two.

** Tenzin and Lin are alluded to have been in a very serious relationship, but WordOfGod stated that Lin's aversion to motherhood and Tenzin's need to have kids after Aang dies, leaving him the LastOfHisKind doomed their romance.

* Peyton for Mac on ''{{Series/CSINY}}''. They were fairly serious in season 3 and very early in season 4, although Mac still struggled with losing his wife. But she eventually leaves him with a [[DearJohn Dear Mac]] letter. When she returns for an ep in season 6, she explains that she knew that she couldn't give up her ties to her home and family in London, and didn't want to force him to choose between her and his life in New York.

A False Soulmate is a [[LoveInterest person]] who someone has a deep romantic love for, but the relationship is for some reason not meant to be, perhaps because of the love interest [[AllLoveIsUnrequited not sharing the same feelings]], incompatibility, or [[LovingAShadow misjudgment of character]]. Alternatively, the relationship ends up being a failure or catastrophe because the love interest's personality or behavior has changed in a negative way (e.g. the Love Interest may be unfaithful, a [[AllTakeAndNoGive user]], a criminal, mentally unstable, or a drug-addict). This may stem from PuppyLove, or personality traits that the love interest either had or had more of when they were younger. The SerialRomeo is particularly prone to encountering this.

A False Soulmate is a [[LoveInterest person]] who someone has a deep romantic love for, but the relationship is for some reason not meant to be, perhaps because of the Love Interest [[AllLoveIsUnrequited not sharing the same feelings]], incompatibility, or [[LovingAShadow misjudgment of character]]. Alternatively, the relationship ends up being a failure or catastrophe because the Love Interest's personality or behavior has changed in a negative way (e.g. the Love Interest may be unfaithful, a [[AllTakeAndNoGive user]], a criminal, mentally unstable, or a drug-addict). This may stem from PuppyLove or personality traits that the Love Interest either had or had more of when they were younger. The SerialRomeo is particularly prone to encountering this.

This often overlaps with RomanticFalseLead. Compare LoveCannotOvercome, LovingAShadow, StarcrossedLovers and UnluckyChildhoodFriend. Compare and contrast with OneTrueLove.

A False Soulmate is a [[LoveInterest person]] who someone has a deep romantic love for, but the relationship is for some reason not meant to be, perhaps because of the Love Interest [[AllLoveIsUnrequited not sharing the same feelings]], incompatibility, or [[LovingAShadow misjudgment of character]]. Alternatively, the relationship ends up being a failure or catastrophe because the Love Interest's personality or behavior has changed in a negative way (e.g. the Love Interest may be [[YourCheatingHeart unfaithful]], a [[AllTakeAndNoGive user]], a criminal, mentally unstable, or a drug-addict). This may stem from PuppyLove or personality traits that the Love Interest either had or had more of when they were younger. The SerialRomeo is particularly prone to encountering this.

* ''{{Manga/Parasyte}}'': Kana has an unexplained power to locate people infected by parasytes, and the first person she meets with one happens to not only not be corrupted but be introduced to her by his defending someone from bullying. She believes her power to be an innate connection to her soulmate, her KnightInShiningArmor. Her misguided belief is furthered by her being the first person he opens up about TheMasquerade to, and his girlfriend can neither sense nor understand TheMasquerade. But he explicitly, repeatedly tells her that her power is not a connection specific to him, but to a certain type of dangerous person, and for her own sake, she should ''flee'' if she feels it. But then again, he's also a MasterOfTheMixedMessage, by at times being closer and more open to her than he is to his girlfriend, and skipping a date that she overheard him planning in order to meet her. [[spoiler: Except because of their arranging to meet, she picks up on a similar signal to his, and meets a parasyte that gives her a fatal wound just as he show up, and she dies in his arms.]]

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': It's indicated the [[TheLostLenore late]] Lyanna Stark is this to Robert Baratheon, who is in denial. While he undoubtedly loved her a great deal, his view of her and their relationship is very rose-tinted. Robert views Lyanna as the only woman he ever truly wanted and is convinced they would've been happy together, often unfavorably comparing her to his [[UnwantedSpouse hated wife]] Cersei. However, Eddard Stark notes that Robert [[LovingAShadow didn't know Lyanna as well as he thought he did]]. Lyanna also [[AllLoveIsUnrequited wasn't nearly as keen]] on their betrothal as Robert was and was doubtful Robert would stop [[TheAlcoholic drinking]] and [[ReallyGetsAround womanizing]] after they married. A popular fan theory is that she may even have willingly run off with Rhaegar Targaryen, rather than being kidnapped by him (in the television adaptation [[spoiler: this theory is confirmed in Season 7]], though it [[OvertookTheManga remains to be seen]] how this plays out in the books).