History Main / UnrequitedLoveLastsForever

* A sad reality for many people who cannot bring themselves to move on, even if they know that they should.
** This can become crippling if it crosses the lines between TheFourLoves. People have been known to withdraw from human contact entirely, rejecting the thought of ANY kind of love after what they have lost.

** [[spoiler:Snape was in love with Lily through their childhood and Hogwarts years. Lily refused to associate herself with him after he broke all the trust she had in him. Lily instead ended up with his archnemesis and rival, James Potter, whom had taken down his ego since their last encounter. They had a child named Harry, then they died and Harry grew up to become a student of Snape, who treats Harry like shit because his dad is James… and because he's still angry and in love with Lily, long after her death, as he demonstrated with his Patronus, causing [[TearJerker Dumbledore to tear up]].]]

** It's been implied that Albus Dumbledore never fully fell out of love with Gellert Grindelwald, even after the man more-or-less destroyed his family, and later became the worst Dark Wizard in history (at least until Voldemort showed up). While Dumbledore did oppose him, he avoided a personal confrontation until the body count became too high to ignore -- even then, his reasons for doing so were purely emotional, involving things from their past together. Then there's the fact that Dumbledore swore off romance after their friendship fell apart. [[spoiler:However, the biggest piece of evidence is when Harry suggests that the reason why Grindelwald refused to tell Voldemort the location of the Elder Wand was to prevent him from breaking into Dumbledore's tomb, and Dumbledore is oddly comforted by that thought]].

* A played-with example in ''Literature/ThePrincessBride''. Buttercup swore "I shall never love again" after Westley was killed by pirates. She was going to marry Prince Humperdink, but she didn't love him, and it didn't matter to him that she didn't love him because he planned to kill her and frame Guilder.

-->-- '''Vince''', ''Series/QueerAsFolk''

* ''Anime/FiveCentimetersPerSecond'' got backlash because the unrequited love ultimately did not last forever, with Creator/MakotoShinkai's intent to depict Takaki's maturation and his ability to move on, ending his obsessing over Akari.

** In ''Manga/{{Chobits}}'' it is stated that persocoms have a specific weakness to this. As [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Ridiculously human robots]] they have a combination of emotional sensitivity and perfect recall that makes them highly susceptible to continual, ongoing traumatization long after the original event has passed; they literally ''can't'' let it go. One of the main characters becomes so depressed over her unrequited love situation that she loses her will to live and lapses into an irretrievable vegetative state.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has a number of ''very'' JustForFun/{{egregious}} cases of this. As in, OmnicidalManiac levels of JustForFun/{{Egregious}}.

* ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'': Peter Parker was her great love but his feelings for Mary Jane were greater. Then he dies and she goes underground, though she still mourns and misses Peter and her ImagineSpot in Ultimate Spider-Man 200 at Peter's memorial is seeing a future where they get married and work as a BattleCouple.

* ''Manga/RedRiver1995'': Zannanza and Rufasa are unrequitedly in love with Yuuri [[spoiler:and they both died after trying to shield her from the enemy’s attack.]]

* ''Fanfic/ManOfDreams'': [[spoiler: Even after Madara leaves him and betrays the village, Hashirama is still in love with him.]]

* ''Film/{{Lagaan}}'': Upon realizing that Bhuvan would never return her feelings, Elizabeth returned to England, where she remained unmarried for the rest of her life.

* A played-with example in ''Literature/ThePrincessBride''. Buttercup swore "I shall never love again" after Westley was killed by pirates. She was going to marry Prince Humperdink, but she didn't love him, and it didn't matter to him that she didn't love him because he planned to kill her and frame Guilder.

* Baby Kochamma in ''Literature/TheGodOfSmallThings'' falls in love with an Irish priest in her teens and remains in love with him even when after he has died and she has reached old age.
* ''Literature/{{Glennkill}}'': [[spoiler:Beth. Also Ham]].
* Norwegian poet Creator/HenrikWergeland did the trope four times over, crossing into a {{stalker with a crush}}. The four girls combined led to his {{ideal woman}} or {{personal muse}}: Stella.
* ''Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame''
** In the book, Quasimodo falls in love with Esmeralda and [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy does selfless things for her for the rest of the book]] until they [[spoiler: [[DownerEnding both die]].]]
** Frollo, on the other hand, also falls in love with Esmeralda... obsessing over her, stalking at her, [[spoiler: attempting to kidnap her, and finally inducing her death.]] Understandably, his "love" was unrequited.
** Esmeralda is unrequitedly in love with Phoebus, who in the book is a jerk.

* ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath'': Trishien and Ganth liked each other when they were young, but Ganth's father {{Parental Marriage Veto}}ed it. After said father died, they could've been together… but by then Ganth had seen the Dream-weaver and fallen in LoveAtFirstSight with her--Trishien couldn't hold a flame to her. But through all these years, Trishien's feelings haven't vanished.
-->'''Trishien''': I loved you once. Perhaps I still do.
* ''Literature/HiveMind2016'' offers Morton's love for Celandine. They knew each other for one year, and she spent the whole time very openly hating him until she faked her death to get away from him. Forty years later, he's still in love with her.
* ''Literature/ThePortraitOfALady'': None of Isabel's refused suitors get over her in a tiniest degree even years after she's married. They include Caspar Goodwood who was refused several times, Lord Warburton, Ralph who didn't even try to propose to Isabel, even though he adored her.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': Ross and Rachel's feelings only ever surface when [[IfICantHaveYou they can't have each other]]. In the entire show they are together for ''one'' season, during which they fight unhappily and drive each other away. They spend the other nine seasons pining, sabotaging one another's new relationships, and getting jealous, but never actually reaching out to the other with clear, respectful communication.

%%* [[spoiler: Kaire]] in ''VideoGame/{{Quintessence}}.''

* In ''VisualNovel/MajikoiLoveMeSeriously'', during every route but her own, Miyako is depicted as still loving Yamato (even during [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue the epilogues that take place years after]]) and during [[spoiler: Azumi]]'s route, she even [[spoiler: becomes a servant to follow him years after he started]].

* Most relationships in ''{{Webcomic/Homestuck}}'' fall under this trope at some point. For example, Nepeta Lejion harbors feelings for Karkat Vantas who has feelings for Terezi Pyrope. [[spoiler:It is also made clear that Karkat knows about Nepeta's feelings but doesn't want to hurt her feelings by flat out rejecting her. To make matters worse, she dies before she can tell him herself.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons,'' Lurline was a character in an early episode who fell in love with Homer; though tempted, he ultimately turned her down and stayed with Marge. Many years later [[TheBusCameBack she returned]], with it shown that she married multiple times since her first appearance...with men who all [[ReplacementGoldfish bore a remarkable resemblance to Homer]].
** It's likewise been shown that Artie Ziff, whom Marge went to prom with in high school before dating Homer, has maintained an obsession with her many years later.
* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', [[GirlNextDoor Isabella]] is hopelessly infatuated with [[ObliviousToLove Phineas]]. In the FlashForward episode "Act Your Age", Isabella has ostensibly outgrown these feelings, but has second thoughts just as she's leaving for college. Turns out, Phineas has realized he feels the same way about her at the least convenient time. [[spoiler: It eventually culminates in a RelationshipUpgrade as they decide to attend the same college and share TheBigDamnKiss.]]

* In ''Film/LoveActually'', Mark harboured a crush on his best friend's fiancee/wife and admitted to her that he may never fully get over it. The sequel, however, [[SubvertedTrope shows that he does]].

* May or may not be the case with "Lovesong" by Music/TheCure, depending on your interpretation.

* [[spoiler: Kaire]] in ''VideoGame/{{Quintessence}}.''
* [[spoiler: Gudrun]] in ''VideoGame/ExitFate.''

Not to be confused with: AllLoveIsUnrequited, {{Asexuality}} (a character fitting this trope is sometimes mistaken for asexual), StalkerWithACrush (it ''can'' lead to this, but doesn't necessarily).

* In ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' when Tenmyouji's backstory is revealed we learn that [[spoiler: he's actuallly Junpei, the protagonist of the [[VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors previous game]], who never got together with Akane and continued to seach for her for decades. He joined the Nonary Game willingly when Zero told him that he'd see Akane again.]] For over fourty years he never stopped loving her.

* This is the theme of most "torch songs", which derives from the phrase "to carry a torch for someone".

* In ''Film/LoveActually'', Mark harboured a crush on his best friend's fiancee/wife and admitted to her that he may never fully get over it.

* ''Manga/AnatoliaStory'': Zannanza and Rufasa are unrequitedly in love with Yuuri [[spoiler:and they both died after trying to shield her from the enemy’s attack.]]

* In ''VisualNovel/MajiDeWatashiNiKoishinasai'', during every route but her own, Miyako is depicted as still loving Yamato (even during [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue the epilogues that take place years after]]) and during [[spoiler: Azumi]]'s route, she even [[spoiler: becomes a servant to follow him years after he started]].

* ''Manga/AoNoFlag'': [[spoiler:Mita Touma has been in love with his childhood friend Ichinose ever since they were kids, and still holds a candle for him, apparently, but doesn't know how to deal with these feelings as they reconnect in their last year of high school]]. Subverted in the final chapter, [[spoiler:when it's revealed that, at some point between the end of high school and Kuze's wedding 7 years later, Mita and Ichinose got married.]]

[[folder:FanFiction]]
* ''FanFic/{{Sehnsucht}}'': [[spoiler:Cynthia was still in love with Daemon Spade even after he betrayed the Vongola First Generation, hence why she ultimately spared his life. It's implied those feelings linger within her reincarnation Noriko, which complicates her relationship with Daemon's Tenth Generation counterpart, Mukuro, and Daemon himself when he reappears during the Inheritance Ceremony arc]].

* ''Bollywood/{{Lagaan}}'': Upon realizing that Bhuvan would never return her feelings, Elizabeth returned to England, where she remained unmarried for the rest of her life.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter''

* ''Literature/HiveMind'' offers Morton's love for Celandine. They knew each other for one year, and she spent the whole time very openly hating him until she faked her death to get away from him. Forty years later, he's still in love with her.

* ''Manga/AoNoFlag'': [[spoiler:Mita Touma has been in love with his childhood friend Ichinose ever since they were kids, and still holds a candle for him, apparently, but doesn't know how to deal with these feelings as they reconnect in their last year of high school]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse,'' it slowly becomes apparent that [[TheSmartGuy Pearl]] was in love with [[PosthumousCharacter Rose Quartz]], even after she [[TheOneThatGotAway wound up with Greg]] and "[[OnlyMostlyDead died]]" [[DeathByChildbirth giving birth]] to [[HalfHumanHybrid Steven]]. The episode "Mr. Greg" seems to have her finally getting over this, fourteen or so years after Rose became TheLostLenore.

%% Also, [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Moaning Myrtle]] pops up in every other book to complain about how Harry never visits her. Then again, she's stuck as a thirteen(ish)-year-old girl forever, so it kind of fits. --"Kind of fits" ins't enough. If you want to claim it's an implied version, then do that. But if even you can't claim it's really an example, DON'T ADD IT.

** Esmeralda herself is unrequitedly in love with Phoebus, who in the book is a jerk.

* Robert's wife Cersei was in love with [[spoiler:Rhaegar Targaryen]] since she was a child. It was something of a PrecociousCrush and there's no indication he was ever even really aware of her. Cersei always hated Robert for [[spoiler:killing him in battle]].
** Then there's Petyr Baelish, who has always claimed to love Catelyn Stark, who saw him as a brother. [[spoiler:He starts a massive war that tears the seven kingdoms apart, as his way of lashing out to the world when he lost her to Brandon--and later Ned--Stark]].
** Catelyn's sister Lysa long loved the above mentioned Petyr.

* Lancelot from ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' never gets over Guinevere. Despite that, he's supportive of her marriage to Arthur and keeps it a secret to everyone but Merlin that he's still in love with her.

* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', [[GirlNextDoor Isabella]] is hopelessly infatuated with [[ObliviousToLove Phineas]]. In the FlashForward episode "Act Your Age", Isabella has ostensibly outgrown these feelings, but has second thoughts just as she's leaving for college. Turns out, Phineas has realized he feels the same way about her at the least convenient time. [[spoiler: It eventually culminates in a RelationshipUpgrade as they decide to attend the same college and share a BigDamnKiss.]]