History Main / ThirdOptionLoveInterest

* During Season 7 of ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'' we had the love triangle of Holly J (Veronica) and Mia (Betty) going after Sav. The two girls brutally tear into each other for Sav's attentions, finally leading to Mia thinking Sav picked her... until it turns out he likes Anya.

* The first two seasons of ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' saw a [[LoveDodecahedron wide variety]] of {{love interest}}s for Saito, but by the end of season two it was pretty much narrowed down to [[{{Tsundere}} Louise]] and [[{{Meido}} Siesta]]. Enter the [[BuxomBeautyStandard buxom Tiffania]] and [[ACupAngst Louise's reaction in particular could be heard from space]]. And then Tiffania was pushed to the back and replaced by Princess Henrietta, whereupon both Louise and Siesta were simply dumbfounded and stricken with worry: Louise had a HeroicBSOD and Siesta finicked about how she could easily remove all opposition and be alone with him.

* The second anime season of ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana'' introduces Fumina Konoe, a NewTransferStudent who Shana and Kazumi see as a potential love rival for Yuji. [[spoiler:However, nothing actually happens because Fumina isn't even a real person, but a puppet created by one of the villains.]]

* In the ''LightNovel/DisgaeaNovels'', Laharl is given a rather big harem of girls as the novel series goes on, but Flonne and Etna are his closest friends and therefore his primal love interests, and he is not all that fond of the rest. But in the 3th novel we are introduced to Ozonne, Flonne’s little sister, and she & Laharl hit it off pretty well.

* {{Invoked}} in the season five finale of ''Series/OneTreeHill'', where the audience sees Lucas call a girl and propose to her. The show gives three options for who he could be calling- either [[RunawayBride Lindsey]] and [[FirstGirlWins Peyton]], who had been part of a season-long love triangle, as well as high school ex-girlfriend [[SecondLove Brooke]], who hadn't even really been part of the equation until the finale threw her in as an option. [[spoiler: It was [[TheyDo Peyton]].]]

* The first two seasons of ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' saw a [[LoveDodecahedron wide variety]] of love interests for Saito, but by the end of season two it was pretty much narrowed down to [[{{Tsundere}} Louise]] and [[{{Meido}} Siesta]]. Enter [[GagBoobs Tiffania]]. Louise's reaction in particular could be heard from space. And then Tiffania was pushed to the back and replaced by Princess Henrietta, whereupon both Louise and Siesta were simply dumbfounded and stricken with worry: Louise had a HeroicBSOD and Siesta finicked about how she could easily remove all opposition and be alone with him.

* In ''Anime/{{Vandread}}'', romantic tension is developing between Hibiki and his three love interests, and then in the second season a GirlInABox shows up and decides he's cute.

* [[DisabledLoveInterest Ayase]] from ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'' appears to be this to Shu. [[spoiler: At the end of the story, she's his ONLY surviving love interest.]]

* In ''Anime/DualParallelTroubleAdventure'', Yayoi, Mitsuki Sanada, and D's chances with Katsuki are ''apparently'' ruined when he meets Mitsuki Rara. The girls themselves (apparently) come to an unspoken mutual agreement to all [[MarryThemAll share him by living together]], even in the newly created combined world. For his part though, Kazuki only really shows any reciprocated feelings for Mitsuki Rara.

%%* Fumina Konoe in ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana''.
* In the ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'' anime the main character, Rin Tsuchimi is being pursued by Lisianthus (Gods) and Nerine ([[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demons]]), and his childhood friend Kaede. Who does he fall in love with in the end? [[spoiler:The close buddy and tease, Asa.]]

* [[AnimeChineseGirl Vivian Wong]] is this in the fifth season of ''Anime/YuGiOh''. There is an unspoken rivalry over Yugi between his close friend Téa who cares for Yugi a lot but is mostly [[LovesMyAlterEgo interested in Yami Yugi]] and the aggressive BrattyHalfPint Rebecca who is quick to shower him with affection. When Vivian starts trying to shoehorn in, Rebecca and Téa are quick to unite against her, including Téa cheering Rebecca on in her duel against Vivian.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': [[GayOption Jesse]] and [[{{Hermaphrodite}} Yubel]] are both is this to Alexis’s Betty and Blair’s Veronica. At first, the two aforementioned girls are both interested in Jaden, but in season 3, Jesse comes as an exchange student who immediately becomes close to Jaden and Yubel as a villanous StalkerWithACrush toward Jaden. [[spoiler: In the end, due to Jaden [[HeelFaceTurn making them good]], Yubel wins.]]

* [[AnimeChineseGirl Vivian Wong]] is this in the fifth season of ''Anime/YuGiOh''. There is an unspoken rivalry over Yugi by his close friend Anzu, who cares for Yugi a lot but is mostly [[LovesMyAlterEgo interested in Yami]] and the aggressive BrattyHalfPint Rebecca who is quick to shower him with affection. When Vivian starts trying to shoehorn in, Rebecca and Anzu are quick to unite against her, including Anzu cheering Rebecca on in her duel against Vivian.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': [[GayOption Johan]] is this to Asuka's Betty and Rei's Veronica.

* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': [[GayOption Johan]] and [[{{Hermaphrodite}} Yubel]] are both this to Asuka's Betty and Rei's Veronica. At first, the two aforementioned girls are both interested in Judai, but in season 3, Johan comes as an exchange student who immediately becomes close to Judai and Yubel as a villanous StalkerWithACrush toward Judai. [[spoiler: In the end, due to Judai [[HeelFaceTurn making them good]], Yubel wins.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'', Mordecai spends much of the series pining after Margaret, then later Cloudy Jay, and ends up ruining his romance with both of them due to his indecision about who to choose. In the DistantFinale, he is shown to have married and had children with an unnamed bat woman who's a fellow artist he met after getting his painting career off the ground.

* Jannah to Finn in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' sequel trilogy. In the first two films, Finn gets a bit of ShipTease with Rey (though they're mostly presented as PlatonicLifePartners) and ''Film/TheLastJedi'' sets up a romance between him and Rose Tico; he then meets Jannah in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' and soon becomes close with her, while he and Rose decided they were BetterAsFriends offscreen.

* Jannah to Finn in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' sequel trilogy. In the first two films, Finn gets a bit of ShipTease with Rey (though they're mostly presented as PlatonicLifePartners) and ''Film/TheLastJedi'' sets up a romance between him and Rose Tico; he then meets Jannah in ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' and soon becomes close with her, while Rey is paired with [[spoiler: Ben Solo]] and Rose decided they were BetterAsFriends offscreen.

* Series 3 of ''Series/RobinHood'' had the title character in a LoveTriangle with outlaw Kate (Betty) and villainess Isabella (Veronica). If you're wondering where his traditional love interest Marian is, she'd been [[spoiler: KilledOffForReal at the end of the previous series]], and became the third option when Robin [[spoiler: also dies and is reunited with her in the afterlife.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'', Mordecai spends much of the series pining after Margaret, then later Cloudy Jay, and ends up ruining this romances with both of them due to his indecision about who to choose. In the DistantFinale, he is shown to have married and had children with an unnamed bat woman who's a fellow artist he met after getting his painting career off the ground.

** While [[ActionGirl Hungary]] is more often than not paired up with [[ShelteredAristocrat her ex-husband Austria]] or [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend her old friend/enemy Prussia]], some fans think that her ''other'' enemy [[MaskPower Turkey]] shouldn't be completely discarded due to the FoeYay prospects. And now that [[BadassLongcoat Romania]] has received a face and profile, fanarts of him and Hungary having loads of FoeYay are springing up too...

** Spain, who's mostly trapped between chosing [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Romano]] and [[GirlNextDoor Belgium]], has to option of being paired off "rather" easily with [[FoeYay Netherlands]]. The bonus is in form of ShipMates that shipped of Romano and Belgium sweetly.

** The love interests Ringo (the Betty), and Simca (the Veronica), (and [[GayOption Akito]]) for Ikki were shaken up by the arrival of Kururu. [[spoiler: Ultimately averted: Ikki chooses his Betty -- Ringo]].

*** The other Lord of the game, Ephraim, can end up with [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Tana]] and L'Arachel... and, if you're willing to go for the BrotherSisterIncest path, Eirika.

** In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Blazing Blade]]'', the main lord Eliwood's potential wives are [[{{Tritagonist}} fellow lord Lyn]], the MysteriousWaif [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragon girl]] Ninian, and... Fiora, a pegasus knight who is an optional recruit and has no plot significance.

* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': [[GayOption Johan]] and [[{{Hermaphrodite}} Yubel]] are both this to Asuka's Betty and Rei's Veronica. At first, the two aforementioned girls are both interested in Judai, but in season 3, Johan comes as an exchange student who immediately becomes close to Judai and Yubel as a villanous StalkerWithACrush toward Judai. [[spoiler: In the end, due to Judai [[HeelFaceTurn making them good]], Yubel wins.]]

* Sasuke Uchiha from ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' has two girls that have a crush on him pre-time skip, Ino and Sakura. Post-time skip he gets another admirer in [[StalkerWithACrush Karin]], while Ino stops crushing on Sasuke and moves onto Sai [[spoiler:who she marries]]. At best, [[DumpThemAll Sasuke never shows romantic interest in any of the girls.]] At worst, [[AxCrazy he stabs through them]] to further [[RevengeBeforeReason his revenge]]. [[spoiler:He ends up with Sakura in the end.]]

** [[http://joze-chiiyo.deviantart.com/art/Thailand-to-visit-Russia-3-End-309359649?q=%20sort%3Atime%20hetalia%20thailand&qo=68 Thailand's also a viable option for Russia's Third-Option Love Interest]] based on their mostly positive relationship, although this fandom is MUCH smaller than the others. The unique thing is that it's often portrayed that he likes Russia back as well and that his [[BewareTheNiceOnes 1 percent hidden personality]] completely(or at least, almost) shutoff any sort of {{Wimpification}} that may appear. Similarly, Poland is a viable third option for Lithuania who's actually [[FanPreferredCouple way more popular]] than the other two options. He's also a pretty popular option for Hungary below, considering their good relations.

*** Tailtiu could easily be this for Prince Lewyn: Serious, honorable Erinys and flirty, clingy dancer Silvia compete for Lewyn's affections (well, [[UnknownRival Silvia does most of the competing]]), but the player can easily push them aside and pair him with Tailtiu, a girl with no prior plot connections to him. [[spoiler: Erinys' CoolBigSis Annand could have also been this if she'd survived.]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral'':
*** Tailto in ''Fire Emblem: Geneaology of the Holy War'' could easily be this for Prince Lewyn: Serious, honorable Ferry and flirty, clingy dancer Sylvia compete for Levin's affections (well, [[UnknownRival Sylvia does most of the competing]]), but the player can easily push them aside and pair him with Tailto, a girl with no prior plot connections to him. [[spoiler: Ferry's CoolBigSis Mahyna could have also been this if she'd survived.]]
*** A male example would be Arden for Ayra; Lex and Holyn both have canon crushes on her, but Arden is her third predestined lover even if she never speaks to him outside their chapter five love talk.
*** Lachesis has... ''two'' of these, actually. Her most "canon" love interests are Finn and Beowulf, to the point that in ''Thracia 776'' [[spoiler: her son Delmud is Beowulf's kid and her daughter Nanna is Finn's.]] However, if she gets enough love points with either Dew or Noish, she can have love talks with them as well.

** In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'', [[Really700YearsOld Ti]][[OurDragonsAreDifferent ki]] is this for a [[PlayerCharacter Male Robin]], due to only being recruited to your army if you complete [[BonusDungeon Paralogue 17]], the last paralogue that isn't Spotpass-based at that, without her dying, and her paralogue doesn't appear until the main game is three-quarters over.

** And it should be noted that the Lulu dialogue option is PlayedForLaughs:
--> '''Lulu:''' Interesting. I suppose I could add you to my list.

*** Out of Chrom's potential girlfriends, Olivia is set up as this since she's recruited in Chapter 11, aka ''right before Chrom must get married''. Even more, under certain circumstances she can potentially become the girl with the highest marriage priority, ''beating out even [[ImpliedLoveInterest Sumia and the Female Avatar]]''.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffectAndromeda'' has an interested variation, the Veronica on each gender and sexual orientation combination is often the last one met, while the second option combines both aspects of Betty and Veronica. Bettys would be either Cora (for straight males), Liam (straight females), Gil (gay males), or Suvi (lesbians) and Veronicas would be either Peebee (straight males and lesbians) or Reyes Videl (straght females and gay males). Combining both aspects on all sexual orientations would be the good hearted turian smuggler Vetra and the very openly emotional angaran Jaal (after a patch made him a bisexual option).

* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'':
** [[PsychopathicManchild Russia]]'s part of a canon PsychoticLoveTriangle, harboring MadLove for [[TheWoobie Lithuania]] and being chased by his [[BrotherSisterIncest sister]] [[{{Yandere}} Belarus]], but he also seems to display some interest in his southern neighbor China in a couple of strips (if "putting on a panda suit and stalking him" or "inviting him to live at his house in a very creepy way" can be considered ShipTease, which it probably can given [[PsychopathicManchild Russia's]] [[StalkerWithACrush nature]]). Many fans happily take this third option, especially given the two countries' extensive real-life history together, to the point where Russia/China is actually more popular than Russia/Lithuania and Belarus/Russia combined. Russia gets plenty of other love interests in fanworks, [[LauncherOfAThousandShips of course]], but China is the one who has the most canon support after Lithuania and Belarus (even if he probably isn't very happy about it in canon).
** [[http://joze-chiiyo.deviantart.com/art/Thailand-to-visit-Russia-3-End-309359649?q=%20sort%3Atime%20hetalia%20thailand&qo=68 Thailand's also a viable option for Russia's Third-Option Love Interest]] based on their mostly positive relationship, although this fandom is MUCH smaller than the others. The unique thing is that it's often portrayed that he likes Russia back as well and that his [[BewareTheNiceOnes 1 percent hidden personality]] completely(or at least, almost) shutoff any sort of {{Wimpification}} that may appear. Similarly, Poland is a viable third option for Lithuania who's actually [[FanPreferredCouple way more popular]] than the other two options. He's also a pretty popular option for Hungary below, considering their good relations.
** Greece and Turkey are the most canon-supported BettyAndVeronica pair for Japan. However, fans almost never view Turkey [[HopelessSuitor as having a real chance to get Japan's attention]] and hence almost always treat [[{{Tsundere}} England]] as the Veronica instead (making him a technical third option) and bring up [[LoveFreak America]] as a plausible third (fourth?) option too. In fact, [[LauncherOfAThousandShips an entire article could be devoted to all the *other* "third options" chosen for Japan in fanworks]], but England and America are the ones that have the greatest fandom support and actual canon interaction with Japan.
** Also, in regards to England's "love life", we have America, Japan and France. Then Himaruya reveals that he's working on sketches for Portugal. Cue to fangirls latching onto Portugal and hoping they become this in one, two, three... ButWaitTheresMore [[TallDarkAndHandsome India]] has entered the fray as well, having been one of the more important English colonies in the past. While the fandom tends to pair him up with Prussia due to their UsefulNotes/{{Bollywood}} dancing scene that's easy to see as a DanceOfRomance, some people have also added him to England's list of possible love interests...
** While [[ActionGirl Hungary]] is more often than not paired up with [[ShelteredAristocrat her ex-husband Austria]] or [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend her old friend/enemy Prussia]], some fans think that her ''other'' enemy [[MaskPower Turkey]] shouldn't be completely discarded due to the FoeYay prospects. And now that [[BadassLongcoat Romania]] has received a face and profile, fanarts of him and Hungary having loads of FoeYay are springing up too...
** Although less popular, she also playfully flirts with [[LesYay Ukraine]] in a bonus strip in the fourth volume.
** Korea himself might find the way into this too. As even though he groped Japan and China, he does take interest in Taiwan and is surprisingly nice to her. To summarize, both are actually the third option for each other, considering Taiwan's own share of ship tease ''also'' related to China and Japan...
** Spain, who's mostly trapped between chosing [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Romano]] and [[GirlNextDoor Belgium]], has to option of being paired off "rather" easily with [[FoeYay Netherlands]]. The bonus is in form of ShipMates that shipped of Romano and Belgium sweetly.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}: Subterranean Animism'', those playing as Marisa had to choose between the two biggest contenders of her harem (in fanon, at least) Alice and Patchouli...and Nitori, a character that had only been introduced the previous game and had little, if any, connections with Marisa prior.