History Main / ImaginaryLoveTriangle

May overlap with MistakenForCheating or RelativeError. Practically the opposite of HopelessSuitor. Subtrope to MistakenForRomance. Frequently involves an InsecureLoveInterest.

* ''Literature/IBecameTheVillainTheHeroIsObsessedWith'': Due to SuperVillain Egostic's tendancy as an AttentionWhore to live-stream his terror attacks, and specifically call out to his ArchNemesis Stardus before alternating between fawning over and [[IShallTauntYou taunting her]], any time Egostic is friendly with another woman on camera, Entertainment channels and web portals end up getting filled with gossip and ShipToShipCombat discussions describing these. Egostic has to touch women somehow because that's the only way he can move them with his PsychicTeleportation, so it's unavoidable. Stardus, for her part, gets in the habit of breaking things out of jealous frustration.

** In [[Comicbook/Supergirl1972 a classic issue]], a guy named Jeff who previously hit on Linda -aka, the titular heroine-, thought she was cheating on him with a professor. However, Linda is not interested in either of them.

* {{Downplayed}} in ''WesternAnimation/NextAvengersHeroesOfTomorrow,'' but Francis[[note]]the son of Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}} [[WordOfGod and Mockingbird]][[/note]] apparently thought that James[[note]]son of Comicbook/CaptainAmerica and Comicbook/BlackWidow[[/note]] also had a thing for Torunn[[note]]daughter of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]][[/note]]; the pair were actually raised together.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter,'' people keep assuming that [[TheHero Harry]] and his [[LikeBrotherAndSister platonic]] friend [[TheSmartGuy Hermione]] are dating. First, [[{{Paparazzi}} Rita Skeeter]]'s tabloids invent their relationship, leading to issues with her current boyfriend, [[HuskyRusskie Krum]]; Harry finds it rather surreal that a professional Quidditch player four years older than him considers him to be an actual "threat". In the next book, Harry mentions Hermione on his date with [[LovableAlphaBitch Cho]]; she gets the wrong idea and storms off. Finally, in the last book, his [[ThreeAmigos other best friend]] Ron, who's clearly in love with Hermione, is [[MoreThanMindControl manipulated]] by [[ArtifactOfDoom Slytherin's locket]], part of which involves trying to convince him that Hermione ([[WhyAreYouNotMySon and his family]]) loves Harry more than him.

* In ''The Song of Hiawatha'' by Henry Longfellow, Shawondasee, the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the South Wind, falls for a yellow-haired girl but is so lazy that he doesn’t try to approach her and gazes at her from afar instead until he sees her hair has turned white and sadly thinks she has been seduced by his Old North Wind brother Kabibonokka. In fact, nothing of the sort has happened, because Shawondasee has mistaken a yellow dandelion for a girl.

* On ''{{WesternAnimation/Rugrats}},'' Grandpa gets a NewOldFlame named Morgana in one episode. It turns out their relationship had ended when she saw him "kissing" another girl; in reality, he had been performing [[CPRCleanPrettyReliable CPR]] on her as she suffered an asthma attack. Ironically, his eventual wife had the same name as the girl he'd performed CPR on, implying they did later get together.

* On ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' M'gann wants to reconcile with ComicBook/{{Superboy}}, but when she asks ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} where he is he tells her that he's on a date with their old friend Wendy. Later M'gann finds out that he was basically PlayingCyrano for Wendy's actual new boyfriend, Marvin.

* In the historical novel ''Literature/TheVirginWidow'', Richard of Gloucester is reunited with his former betrothed after he kills her husband. Anne is horrified by the manner of her husband's death, and Richard is tormented by the idea that she must have loved him. In truth, the marriage was never consummated and the young man had been quite cruel to Anne so she is relieved to be a widow. Once Richard explains that he only killed her husband when ''he'' had attempted to kill the king, Anne agrees to marry Richard, whom she had always loved.

* In the historical novel ''Literature/TheVirginWidow'', Richard of Gloucester is reunited with his former betrothed after he kills her husband. Anne is horrified by the manner of her husband's death, and Richard is tormented by the idea that she must have loved him. In truth, the marriage was never consummated and the young man had been quite cruel to Anne so she is relieved to be a widow. Once Richard explains that he only killed her husband when ''he'' had attempted to kill the king, Anne agrees to marry Richard.

* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/TheLadyOrTheTiger''. The princess believes that another woman is after her lover and that he might return the woman's interest. This sets up her SadisticChoice when the man is put on trial for courting the king's daughter -- she must decide whether he marries the other woman or gets EatenAlive by a tiger.

We all know the classic LoveTriangle [[TriangRelations and all its many configurations]]. It can be a major source of drama in any situation, but there are times when the love triangle only ''appears'' to be there. Maybe one of the corners misinterprets something one of the others said, or someone outside the triangle gets the wrong impression.

Imaginary love triangles that come to be seen as real by one or more of the corners blur the line between imagined and real. They can then be represented in the diagrams in TriangRelations, either alongside the real triangle or ''as'' the real triangle. The second example above, for instance, is the "forbidden {{love triangle}}" ''a → b ↔ c'' when "a" fails to act. The AllLoveIsUnrequited triangles ''a → b → c'' and ''a → b → c → a'' are also useful both as imaginary triangles and as real triangles to superimpose imaginary triangles on.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotter,'' people keep assuming that [[TheHero Harry]] and his [[LikeBrotherAndSister platonic friend]] [[TheSmartGuy Hermione]] are dating. First, [[{{Paparazzi}} Rita Skeeter]]'s tabloids invent their relationship, leading to issues with her current boyfriend, [[HuskyRusskie Krum]]; Harry finds it rather surreal that a professional Quidditch player four years older than him considers him to be an actual "threat". In the next book, Harry mentions Hermione on his date with [[LovableAlphaBitch Cho]]; she gets the wrong idea and storms off. Finally, in the last book, his [[ThreeAmigos other best friend]] [[ClassicalAntiHero Ron]], who's clearly in love with Hermione, is [[MoreThanMindControl manipulated by]] [[ArtifactOfDoom Slytherin's locket]], part of which involves trying to convince him that Hermione ([[WhyAreYouNotMySon and his family]]) loves Harry more than him.

** [[WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove Kuzco]] playfully flirts with his [[VitriolicBestFriends Vitriolic Best Bud]] [[LovableAlphaBitch Jasmine]], leading WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} to think they're actually dating.

** [[WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewGroove Kuzco]] playfully flirts with his [[VitriolicBestFriends Vitriolic Best Bud]] [[LovableLibby Jasmine]], leading WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}} to think they're actually dating.

* The trope is a BatmanGambit by Frank Castle in film the 2004 adaptation of ''Film/{{The Punisher|2004}}'', where he makes a mob boss think his wife is having an affair with his (secretly gay) NumberTwo.

* In ''Literature/BratFarrar'' by Creator/JosephineTey, the protagonist's love interest has a romantically-inclined kid sister who tells him that she's going to marry somebody else -- who turns out to be just an old friend, and already married.

* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/TheLadyOrTheTiger''. The princess believes that another woman is after her lover, and that he might return the woman's interest. This sets up her SadisticChoice when the man is put on trial for courting the king's daughter -- she must decide whether he marries the other woman or gets EatenAlive by a tiger.

* In ''The Song of Hiawatha'' by Henry Longfellow, Shawondasee, the AnthropomorphicPersonification of the South Wind, falls for a yellow-haired girl but is so lazy that he doesn’t try to approach her and gazes at her from afar instead, until he sees her hair has turned white and sadly thinks she has been seduced by his Old North Wind brother Kabibonokka. In fact, nothing of the sort has happened, because Shawondasee has mistaken a yellow dandelion for a girl.

** In Season 2, Angel worries that Xander is a rival, because he can spend his days as well as nights with Buffy. However, while Xander is definitely interested in Buffy, the [[JustFriends reverse is not true]].

* The ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' episode "The Rivals" has ''two'' imaginary triangles: the usual miscommunication between Frasier and Niles leads to them both believing they're in competition for the same woman, when they're actually seeing two different women. In the end, they freak ''both'' women out and end up alone, and they ''still'' only figure it out after Frasier proposes a toast to "one pretty remarkable woman" and they say different names.

* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' there is a rumor in Themis Legal Academy that Juniper Woods is object of affection of her two best friends, Robin Newman and Hugh O'Conner. Their rivalry in a mock trial is presented as battle over her heart, and rumor claims that Hugh is going to confess his love for her. In reality neither has any romantic feelings for her; what Hugh really wanted to confess is [[spoiler: that he's actually much older, and failed his class 7 times in a row]], while Robin [[spoiler:is actually a girl]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHollow'': Kai thinks that there's something going on between Mira and Adam, which he fears since he's developing a crush on Mira, [[spoiler:but it's shown that nothing will come out of Mira and Adam's relationship when she kisses him and he reacts by awkwardly saying he isn't interested. Season 2 goes further with this, revealing that the reason two had instantly good rapport is because they're childhood friends. [[IncompatibleOrientation Also Adam rejected her because he's gay.]] Mira is distraught when she finally remembers this and profusely apologizes for the kiss]]. As for Kai, he moves on to another girl anyway, making this a moot point.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' had the family visiting a dude ranch and Lisa falling for a cute boy. When she runs into a girl who is looking for the boy, Lisa tries to get rid of her. It turns out that girl was the boy's sister, and Lisa's actions make him hate her.

* {{Downplayed}} in ''WesternAnimation/NextAvengersHeroesOfTomorrow,'' but Francis[[note]]the son of Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}} [[WordOfGod and ComicBook/{{Mockingbird}}]][[/note]] apparently thought that James[[note]]son of Comicbook/CaptainAmerica and Comicbook/BlackWidow[[/note]] also had a thing for Torunn[[note]]daughter of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]][[/note]]; the pair were actually raised together.

* Franchise/WonderWoman once laughed when a fellow Franchise/{{Justice League}}r mentioned the idea of Diana being romantically involved with Franchise/{{Superman}}. Her heart, at the time, lay [[Franchise/{{Batman}} elsewhere]].

* {{Downplayed}} in ''WesternAnimation/NextAvengersHeroesOfTomorrow,'' but Francis[[note]]the son of Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}} [[WordOfGod and Mockingbird]][[/note]] apparently thought that James[[note]]son of Comicbook/CaptainAmerica and Comicbook/BlackWidow[[/note]] also had a thing for Torunn[[note]]daughter of Comicbook/{{Thor}}[[/note]]; the pair were actually raised together.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'':
** [[PlayingWithATrope There is]] [[TriangRelations a sort of love triangle]] between Suzu, Matsuri, and Soga, but various events makes Suzu very mistaken as to what kind. She knows she loves Matsuri, believes Soga is openly a romantic rival over him, and worries Matsuri may already be falling in love or fooling around with him. In reality, [[TwiceShy Matsuri returns her feelings but won't admit it]], Soga knowingly loves her but only told Matsuri, and his attraction to Matsuri is an InconvenientAttraction that Matsuri [[ObliviousToLove doesn't notice]], much less reciprocate.
** Similarly, Lu and Yayo (who only know Matsuri [[GenderBender as a girl]]) think Soga and Matsuri form a ''different'' love triangle where Reo also love Soga. The reality is that Soga and Reo are mutually disinterested, and Reo ''also'' loves Matsuri.
** Matsuri comes to fear Garaku as a romantic rival for Suzu's affection because [[spoiler:Garaku [[ReincarnationRomance knew Suzu's past life]]]], even though there's no signs of attraction between them (not to a mention [[MayflyDecemberRomance a huge age difference]]).
* ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'': During an episode of Side:Despair, It seems that there is one, with Chisa thinking that she is competing with [[TheDragon Juzo Sakakura]] for the heart of their mutual friend Munakata, but Juzo states that it's an idiotic idea. [[spoiler:Then it turns out that this is subverted, and she was RightForTheWrongReasons, Juzo is indeed in love with Munakata, but [[ArmoredClosetGay afraid of his reaction]] and seeing as Munakata [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy is in love with Chisa, he decides to back down]], so he was never competing in the first place]].
* ''Manga/FairyTail'' has a love triangle existing only in the mind of Juvia, who misinterprets something Gray says to think he loves Lucy, and thus believes her to be a rival in love. Ironically, Gray and Lucy are just friends and Gray doesn't seem to [[ChasteHero have an interest in love]], let alone notice [[ObliviousToLove Juvia's affections]] for him. The imaginary rivalry settles down after a while, but that doesn't stop Juvia from sometimes flaunting her "progress with Gray-sama" in front of Lucy. Later she believes that she's in a LoveDodecahedron in which most of the female characters who know Gray are in love with Gray.[[note]]That being said, apart from the pairings involving Gray, her chart is generally accurate. Most of the pairings or unrequited loves on her chart are at least hinted at in canon.[[/note]] After Lyon falls in love with Juvia, Juvia also imagines that Gray is in love with Lyon.
* ''LightNovel/Gamers2015'' has a setup where all the characters involved think they're in a LoveDodecahedron, but it's really just a love triangle with an OfficialCouple on the side. Aguri loves Tasuku who loves her back. Karen loves Keita who reciprocates. Chiaki and Keita are made for each other but their relationship is a little complicated. This is muddied however with people's perceptions. Keita and Aguri think that Tasuku is two-timing Aguri with Chiaki and/or Karen. Karen at points thinks that Keita is in love with Chiaki. Chiaki initially thinks Keita is being led on by Aguri until he asks Karen out and thus "escapes" her. And Tasuku is deliberately setting up Keita's love triangle, at least in part because he thinks that Aguri's two-timing him. The imaginary triangles and dodecahedrons are complicated from the start, and the constant misunderstandings mean it just goes downhill from there.
* ''Manga/{{Horimiya}}'': Chapter 86 has an imaginary ''harem'' forming around Sakura in the eyes of two background characters. Said "harem" includes [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer Hori]].
* Matsuri from ''Manga/IBelongToTheBaddestGirlAtSchool'' is convinced that her childhood friend Yutaka and NewTransferStudent Youdou are both competing for the affections of [[ExtremeDoormat Unoki]], who himself may or may not have a one-sided crush on infamous [[JapaneseDelinquents delinquent]] Toramaru. She's wrong on pretty much every count; Yutaka has feelings for ''[[ChildhoodFriendRomance her]]'' that she wrongly assumed were directed at Unoki, Youdou openly admits she's in love with him but [[spoiler: has chosen not to pursue a relationship out of fear that she'd end up abusing him]], and while Unoki does have a crush on Toramaru, he only ''thinks'' it's one-sided; Toramaru is smitten with him to the point that she believes they're already a couple.
* ''Manga/IchaichaSuruToOkaneGaWaichauFutariNoHanashi'': Hanasaki is planning to give Aki a LoveConfession, but he has his friend Touma over that day. Due to his referring to his friend in gender-neutral terms, and Hanasaki seeing a helmet with flower patterns, the [[{{Bishonen}} androgynous]] Touma, and lingerie and handcuffs that Touma had bought for his own girlfriend, she assumes Touma is Aki's girlfriend and runs off.
* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'':
** Kaguya sometimes thinks that there is one going on between her, Shirogane and Fujiwara. However, this is all just on Kaguya's bad habit to resent Fujiwara for her qualities. Shirogane only has eyes for Kaguya. She, in general, [[ClingyJealousGirl doesn't look too favorable on Shirogane making female friends]].
** Chapter 74, due to the three of them having binged too much shojo manga, shows Kaguya in an imagined love triangle, where Shirogane and Ishigami try to court Kaguya.
** In Chapter 182 and 187, Hayasaka's and Shirogane's friends assume there is a love triangle going on between Kaguya, Shirogane and Hayasaka.
* In ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'', as she began to develop feelings for Solomon, Sheba became jealous of Solomon's close friend Arba, seeing her as the ultimate rival. But in reality, the relationship between Solomon and Arba were only familial and once Arba realized Sheba would be a good match for Solomon, she approached Sheba and gave her the blessing to be Solomon's wife.
* ''Manga/MintNaBokura'' has [[HopelessSuitor Chris]], who falls for [[AttractiveBentGender Noel]] and goes to great lengths in order to steal "her" away from her "boyfriend" (who in reality is the SecretKeeper for Noel's true gender).
* In ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'', Ryousuke thinks that his crush Miyako is dating Nozaki and that he has to win her over. In truth, Miyako and Nozaki are just fellow manga authors (a profession that Miyako hides) who happen to be neighbors, his reputation being just a misunderstanding of their discussions over manga plots.
* Takeo from ''Manga/MyLoveStory'' initially believes his crush Yamato likes his {{Bishonen}} best friend Suna, since [[ChickMagnet girls usually flock around Suna]] while Takeo is ignored due to being a bit of a {{Gonk}}. Takeo is very wrong - Yamato only has eyes for him. [[spoiler:Suna is the one who arranges to clear up the misunderstanding and get them together]].
* ''Manga/NarutoGaiden'' has a variation on this as the one believing the love triangle is the ''child'' of two of the members involved. Sarada is Sasuke's and [[spoiler:Sakura's]] daughter. Her father has [[DisappearedDad been gone]] her entire life and she knows little of him. One day she spots a picture of Sasuke and Karin, which causes her to start doubting her parentage. She finds more evidence of Karin being her mother as time goes on. [[spoiler:It turns out she is Sakura's biological daughter. Karin gave up on Sasuke years ago. Karin and Sakura are even actually friendly as adults.]]
* Episode 5 of ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation'' centers around on of these, though ''parts'' of it are real. Ai Ebihara likes Kou, who likes Chie. The imaginary [[LoveDodecahedron dodecahedron]] is created when Ai gets Yu Narukami to pretend to be her boyfriend, and then everyone starts thinking Chie likes Yu...
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Several one-off characters who develop crushes on Ash aren't happy to see Misty, May, or Dawn travelling with him.
** Miette [[InvokedTrope invokes]] this, pretending to have a romantic interest in Ash, all just to see Serena get jealous. Serena doesn't buy it, for the most part.
* ''Anime/SamuraiFlamenco'' has a very odd inversion where [[spoiler: the hypotenuse themself is imaginary, but everyone involved treats her as real. Goto is "dating" a girl through texts. He spurns Mari's advances because of her. The girlfriend is jealous of Masayoshi at one point, implying that Goto has feelings for him, but feels guilty about straying from his girlfriend. But she isn't actually an obstacle to either of these relationships, because 1.) [[NeverFoundTheBody she mysteriously disappeared years ago]], and 2.) by that point Goto's texts from her were really a coping mechanism he used to keep sane, up to and including ''imagining how she'd react to any of these developments''. [[MindScrew It's that kind of a show]].]]
* In ''Manga/VirginLove'', Chiharu's knowledge of Kaoru's sex life starts to make Daigo think there might have been something between them and Chiharu decides to fan the flames. Kaoru later reveals to Daigo that Chiharu is his cousin and he's just being had.
* In the elementary chapters of ''Manga/WanderingSon'', Saori develops a crush on Nitori but becomes very jealous of Nitori's friendship with Takatsuki. The two are frequently MistakenForRomance and are very close. This causes a drift in Saori's and Takatsuki's friendship. None of this is helped by the fact Nitori is confused about whether she likes Takatsuki platonically or romantically. She confesses to Takatsuki but is turned down, only for later that day for Saori to confess to her. When Nitori declines Saori's affections and mentions that she confessed to Takatsuki, this causes Saori to fall into a depression and her friendship with both to be ruined for several years. By high school the drama had died down, with all three being friends (especially Takatsuki and Chiba). [[spoiler:It helps that Saori and Nitori both have a boyfriend and a girlfriend respectively]].
* ''Manga/YonaOfTheDawn'' had a LoveTriangle played completely straight in its beginning chapters, but it slowly morphed into this as the series went on. When they were [[ChildhoodFriend growing up together]], Yona had always loved Su-Won, while Hak had always loved Yona. After [[spoiler: Su-Won murdered Yona's father and usurped her throne while she escaped with Hak]], Yona naturally fell out of love with him. Much later, [[spoiler: she's fallen for Hak]], but he believes her still keeping [[TragicKeepsake the hairpin]] Su-Won had given her means that she still loves him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': Ritsuko loves Gendo and believes that Rei is a threat to her "relationship" with him. In reality, Rei is not in love with Gendo [[spoiler:(but rather with Shinji and Asuka)]] or romantically drawn to him, and Gendo regards Rei as his daughter... and Ritsuko as a useful pawn.
* ''Fanfic/ButterflyNets'': Candace gets jealous when she spots Chase and Angela being friendly. It turns out that Angela was asking Chase advice on how to make herbal tea for Candace.
* ''Fanfic/{{Divorced}}'': Ganondorf is jealous of his wife Zelda's relationship with Link. Despite being bearers of the Triforce, Zelda and Link are just friends. Link already has a kid with Illia anyway.
* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': Subverted. Saburo thinks that he is in a LoveTriangle with Kaworu and Rei, since [[UnbrokenVigil Kaworu spends a long time watching over Rei when she's in a coma]] and later they often go out together. However, Kaworu sees Rei like a friend, and their "dates" are mostly two friends hanging together. Ironically, Saburo's actions - breaking up with Kaworu out of jealousy and later [[StalkerWithACrush stalking him]] - push Kaworu towards Rei.
* ''Fanfic/HigherLearning'': Shinji and Asuka love each other. However, after half-hearing - and ''severely'' misunderstanding - a conversation between Asuka and their teacher Kaoru, he thinks the older man has seduced Asuka. He spends several days depressed and on the verge of a nervous breakdown until he finally confronts Asuka and learns that nothing has happened between her and Kaoru.
* In ''Fanfic/HopToIt'', [[WesternAnimation/{{MiraculousLadybug}} Marinette]] spends several chapters treating Jack as a rival for Adrien's affections, though Jack is completely oblivious to this. They only find out what was going on after Jack happens to mention her boyfriend Diego to Alya, who panics and scrambles to call off the cruel prank Marinette had set up.
%%* In ''Fanfic/MarksOfTime'', Lyla and her husband each suspect that the other has found a new lover.
* In ''Fanfic/MyPainMyThrill'', Peach gets irrationally jealous upon meeting the Koopalings because she thinks they're Bowser's children, and thus he has a wife. She became so angry that during one kidnapping, she barged into Bowser's bedroom to find out who his wife was, only to find him alone; this then leads into TheirFirstTime. Bowser is actually the Koopalings' ''uncle'', but Peach doesn't learn this until three years after she began her affair with Bowser. Peach still believes Bowser has some other lover as he does have an actual son, Bowser Jr., but later learns [[spoiler:she's his mother and gave birth to him while comatose]].
* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'':
** Michelle thinks that he's competing with Kyril over Maia, regardless of how Kyril and Maia's relationship is merely professional. Later {{subverted}}, as the imaginary triangle becomes a reality due to Maia developing a one-sided affection towards [[CelibateHero Kyril]].
** During Chapter 8, remastered version, Kyril pulls off a BatmanGambit in order to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] the trope; he makes Morgan think that he wants to engage in a CockFight with Morgan over Grace by grabbing her by the forearm and pulling her to him close.
* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': Misato and Kaji are dating. At the same time, Shinji is in love with Asuka and completely oblivious to her loving him back. Misato misunderstands Shinji when he remarks that he is in love with a girl and wrongly thinks Shinji has fallen for her. She spends several chapters trying to let him down gently every time he asks for relationship advice to win Asuka over. Misato's reaction when she finally finds out the truth is priceless.
* This happens ''twice'' in ''[[Fanfic/TwiceUponAnAge All This Sh*t is Twice as Weird]]'', both times with the same characters. Most of the cast can see what's actually going on; but since [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Cullen]] and Victoria are TwiceShy and she's LikeBrotherAndSister with two other men, it's an easy mistake to make. He gets better, though not before Dorian takes the chance to troll him over it.
%%* Two of these are found in the first piece of the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' HighSchoolAU series ''Fanfic/SkyholdAcademyYearbook''. In both cases, two-thirds of the triangles are unaware that the third person thinks there is a triangle at all.
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/10355529 A Proud, Unpleasant Sort of Man]]'', both Han and Cassian mistook the other as a love rival competing for the hand of their respective love interests, Leia and Jyn. They made up after realizing that they're not interested in the same girl, and that the whole rivalry was a waste of time.
* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' AU fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10060669/1/Work-Your-Magic Work Your Magic]]'', Castiel is a wedding consultant who helps Dean and Jo in choosing her wedding dress. Dean is there as Jo's best friend, but this doesn't come up in conversation, so Castiel assumes he's her fiancé and tries to ignore his attraction to Dean, even though Dean actually reciprocates. [[spoiler:When Dean finally makes a move, Castiel is ''appalled'' that he's apparently cheating on Jo.]]
[[/folder]]

%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1650304331026618500&page=1
%%Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.

[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nozakikun_triangle2.png]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld'': Snotlout feels he needs to compete with Eret over his infatuation with Valka because Valka respects him more. This is especially perplexing for Eret, who has no idea what Snotlout is talking about. Since it is made clear that Valka is aware of Snotlout's infatuation and is disturbed by it[[note]]not least because Snotlout is her ''nephew'', albeit by marriage[[/note]], it is equally likely that she listens to Eret more as a deterrent.

* The trope is a BatmanGambit by Frank Castle in film the 2004 adaptation of ''Film/{{The Punisher|2004}}'', where he makes a mob boss think his wife is having an affair with his (secretly gay) NumberTwo.

* In ''Literature/BratFarrar'' by Creator/JosephineTey, the protagonist's love interest has a romantically-inclined kid sister who tells him that she's going to marry somebody else -- who turns out to be just an old friend, and already married.

* Zig-zagged in ''Literature/TheLadyOrTheTiger''. The princess believes that another woman is after her lover, and that he might return the woman's interest. This sets up her SadisticChoice when the man is put on trial for courting the king's daughter -- she must decide whether he marries the other woman or gets EatenAlive by a tiger.

* In the ''Arrows'' trilogy of the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' series, Herald Talia falls in LoveAtFirstSight with homely Herald Dirk before spending a long internship in a comfortable friends-with-benefits situation with his handsome best friend Herald Kris. When they return, Kris doesn't do a good job telling Dirk that the way is clear to Talia, so Dirk spends most of a book languishing in despair [[DrowningMySorrows and alcohol]], pining for the girl he thinks he can't have.

* ''Series/LoveAndRedemption'': Ling Long and Si Feng both assume Min Yan and Xuan Ji are in love with each other. When Min Yan tries to confess his love for Ling Long, she rejects him and Si Feng warns him not to hurt Xuan Ji.

* On ''Series/DharmaAndGreg,'' Dharma's old friend visits and begins spending a lot of time with her father, Larry. Dharma begins to think she's trying to steal him away from Abbie; in actuality, the friend wanted to spend time with Larry because [[spoiler:there was a chance he was her biological father]].
* ''Series/NoahsArc'': Interesting subversion between [[spoiler:Alex, Trey and Guy. Alex suspects Trey may be cheating on him with Guy. It turns out Trey is completely innocent, though we learn later that Guy has been secretly pursuing Trey (with Trey being oblivious to this)]].

* ''Deadly Women'' explores this in many episodes, where the killer will often kill the person she believes to be in love with her boyfriend/husband/stalker victim to MurderTheHypotenuse.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** In the episode [[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E11Triangle "Triangle"]], Anya becomes convinced Willow will try to steal Xander away from her. Despite Willow being in a lesbian relationship with Tara by this time, she isn't entirely unjustified in her concerns; Willow had already broken up Xander's previous relationship with Cordelia (which is what brought Anya to Sunnydale as a vengeance demon on Cordelia's behalf in the first place), ''and'' Willow doesn't want Anya around.
** In Season 2, Angel worries that Xander is a rival, because he can spend his days as well as nights with Buffy. However, while Xander is definitely interested in Buffy, the [[JustFriends reverse is not true]].

* The ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' episode "The Rivals" has ''two'' imaginary triangles: the usual miscommunication between Frasier and Niles leads to them both believing they're in competition for the same woman, when they're actually seeing two different women. In the end, they freak ''both'' women out and end up alone, and they ''still'' only figure it out after Frasier proposes a toast to "one pretty remarkable woman" and they say different names.
* On ''Series/TheMusketeers'', Rochefort is obsessed with Anne and is convinced that she loves him back. Thus, he believes that he is in a love triangle with both her husband (the king) ''and'' the Musketeer Aramis (with whom she had an affair).

* Briefly in ''Webcomic/SandraAndWoo''. Woo thinks his rival, Tibor, [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2010/03/25/0149-woo-jumps-to-a-conclusion-part-2/ is interested in]] [[LoveInterest Lily]]. Turns out [[http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2010/03/29/0150-explanation-attempts/ she's his daughter]].
* Robin of ''Webcomic/{{Shortpacked}}'' has a thing for love triangles, and an even bigger thing for Ethan. When she sees Ethan comforting Amber, she immediately thinks she's involved in a love triangle -- even though Ethan [[IncompatibleOrientation is gay]] and not attracted to either of the girls.

* In ''Webcomic/DearChildren'', Cailie regarding herself, Gabe, and Sabrina. Gabe probably doesn't like Cail that way and Sabrina barely knows Gabe exists.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' had the family visiting a dude ranch and Lisa falling for a cute boy. When she runs into a girl who is looking for the boy, Lisa tries to get rid of her. It turns out that girl was the boy's sister, and Lisa's actions make him hate her.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheHollow'': Kai thinks that there's something going on between Mira and Adam, which he fears since he's developing a crush on Mira, [[spoiler:but it's shown that nothing will come out of Mira and Adam's relationship when she kisses him and he reacts by awkwardly saying he isn't interested. Season 2 goes further with this, revealing that the reason two had instantly good rapport is because they're childhood friends. [[IncompatibleOrientation Also Adam rejected her because he's gay.]] Mira is distraught when she finally remembers this and profusely apologizes for the kiss]]. As for Kai, he moves on to another girl anyway, making this a moot point.
* On ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', one episode has [[KidHero Finn]] and [[OlderSidekick Jake]] both believe that Finn's former PrecociousCrush, [[ScienceHero Princess Bubblegum]], has [[UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo suddenly started to like Finn]] right when he's become interested in [[EvilIsBurningHot Flame Princess]]. In reality, she was objecting to their relationship for [[ApocalypseMaiden another reason]].

* On ''{{WesternAnimation/Rugrats}},'' Grandpa gets a NewOldFlame named Morgana in one episode. It turns out their relationship had ended when she saw him "kissing" another girl; in reality, he had been performing [[CPRCleanPrettyReliable CPR]] on her as she suffered an asthma attack. Ironically, his eventual wife had the same name as the girl he'd performed CPR on, implying they did later get together.