History Main / UnrequitedTragicMaiden

* In ''Film/ARoomInTown'', Violette is perfectly nice and sincerely loves Francois, but Francois doesn't return her feelings and falls in love with Edith instead.

* PlayedWith in ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' -- TheHeroine Duck/Tutu ''and'' [[AntiVillain Anti-Villainess]] Rue/Kraehe are positioned as ''Theatre/SwanLake''-like love rivals over the handsome PrinceCharming Mytho. The defiance of established narratives is a major theme, though...

* Emily from Tim Burton's ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride'' could qualify as one of these. A beautiful young woman murdered on the night of her elopement [[spoiler:by who she THOUGHT was her true love]], she who spent her afterlife heartbroken and longing to experience real true love. When she found it in Victor, he was already betrothed to a woman named Victoria, [[PerfectlyArrangedMarriage with whom he sincerely was in love.]] Albeit Emily initially insisted that Victor keep a promise to marry and spend eternity with her [[AccidentalMarriage that he made unwittingly]], in the end she was willing to let him go and spend his life with his own true love, rather than keeping him to herself ''and'' causing Victoria a pain that wasn't much different from the one she felt. Once this was said and done, Emily finally released herself from her pain and was able to ascend to Heaven, [[ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth her undead body turning into butterflies that peacefully flew away.]]

** Tirandys to Jamethiel Dream-weaver. When their lord made a DealWithTheDevil, Tirandys followed him, knowingly and willingly damning himself--partly due to MyMasterRightOrWrong, and partly because he loved Jamethiel. She was already the above-mentioned lord's consort, though, and Tirandys didn't get her. But oh, he loved her, and even ''3,000 years of unrequited love later'', he said:
--->'''Tirandys''': She was only his tool and may yet save her compromised honor by choosing to disobey him. I would gladly give what remains of both my honor and soul to see that.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has Molly, whose painful path through adulthood is all the sadder because she had everything going for her- courage, good looks, a loving family, and [[spoiler:significant magical talent]]- before she tried to pursue a man who categorically refuses to have any romantic feelings for her. Which would have been fine if she had ''accepted'' his rejection, but she kept false hope that she could somehow change his mind over the years, and became deeper and deeper entrenched in her angst. [[spoiler:Then he [[MentorOccupationalHazard went the way of all mentors]], and it ''shattered'' her, more than it would have if she only saw him as a teacher.]] Naturally, [[spoiler:she becomes a Lady of Winter, a fae Court that empowers its leaders to fight great battles and survive impossible odds...''if'' they can first defy its temptation to care only about what ''they'' want.]]
* "Literature/{{The Lady of Shalott}}" from Creator/AlfredLordTennyson is based on the Arthurian Legend character Elaine of Astolat, who pined after Lancelot (who, of course, only had eyes for Guinevere) and eventually died of a broken heart.

** Inverted with Daphne, who did not return the feelings of the god Apollo. In an attempt to flee him she beseeched her river god father, who turned her into the laurel tree.

* ''Theatre/{{Giselle}}''. In some versions, Giselle falls in love with Albretch, but Albretch is engaged to Bathilde. After dying of a broken heart ([[HeartTrauma perhaps literally]]), Giselle becomes TheLostLenore.

* Shirley Fenette from ''Anime/CodeGeass''. At first PlayedForLaughs, then for [[PlayedForDrama intense drama]] with a side dish of BreakTheCutie. [[spoiler:And right when it looks like she ''may'' have the chance to get Lelouch's love... BAM! Fatal injury to the gut, pool of her own blood, death in front of Lelouch.]]
** This happens differently in the movies. [[spoiler: Even though she [[SubvertedTrope stays safe]] [[SparedByTheAdaptation this time]], her and Lelouch's roles are basically swapped because ''his'' death still happens.]]

** This happens differently in the movies. [[spoiler: Even though she stays safe this time, her and Lelouch's roles are basically swapped because ''his'' death still happens.]]

* Eponine from ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' is in love with Marius and does everything she can to help him, even though he is in love with Cosette and only views Eponine as a friend. She then goes to the barricade to give him a letter about Cosette and dies, accepting her tragic fate with the song "A Little Fall of Rain". This portrayal contrasts with the one she has in the original [[Literature/LesMiserables book]], where she's more of a StalkerWithACrush.

!This trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16814561320.90343200 under discussion]] in the Administrivia/TropeRepairShop.

Note that this is not about any woman who experiences an unrequited love -- without the tragic ending, you are looking at an example of HopelessSuitor, DidNotGetTheGuy, RomanticRunnerUp, LoveHurts, or LoveMartyr. Contrast to GreenEyedMonster, ClingyJealousGirl, and {{Yandere}}, in which the woman is more prone to sabotage and a devious nature unlike the docile nature of the Unrequited Tragic Maiden. See also UnrequitedLoveLastsForever.

->''"He was never mine to lose."''
-->-- '''Eponine''', ''Theatre/LesMiserables''

She is beautiful. She is sweet. She is sincere. '''''So why can't she get the guy already?''''' The Unrequited Tragic Maiden is (usually) a female character that seems to have all the perfect characteristics to make her the ideal romantic interest or even TheIngenue of the story, but alas, for some reason the object of her affections does not view her as such. Usually this is because she is [[OvershadowedByAwesome overshadowed by another female character]] who has captivated the heart of the guy, placing the Unrequited Tragic Maiden on the sideline only to be seen as a [[JustFriends friend or ward]].

No matter how painful her yearning for love is, the Unrequited Tragic Maiden never truly achieves her happily ever after with the one she loves. She endures it all with a sad smile and is often reduced to a tragic fate. She is the poster child of {{Unrequited Love|Tropes}}. In the end, she will often sacrifice herself or her happiness [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy to make sure her beloved is happy]].

Compare to HopelessSuitor, DidNotGetTheGirl and RomanticRunnerUp, who is the brother of this trope but usually with a less tragic end. May wind up becoming TheLostLenore after death if the person they loved grieves for them, blames themselves for her death or else only discovers that he loved her when it was too late. Contrast to GreenEyedMonster, in which the woman is more prone to sabotage and a devious nature unlike the docile nature of the Unrequited Tragic Maiden.

* ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'':
** Sylvie Arte is a beautiful woman who's in love with a BlitheSpirit friend of hers named Raphael [[spoiler:who simply cannot love her back because he was widowed in very tragic circumstances]]. The trope is also discussed, as Sylvie explains her situation and Raphael's to Nadja and warns her that not everything in love is happiness.
** This is also what [[spoiler:Marianne Hamilton]] turns out to be in the end, since [[spoiler:her love for Francis turns out to be pretty sincere, but she can't do anything to sway him away from Nadja.]]
* ''Manga/CandyCandy'':
** [[spoiler:Annie Brighton]] ''believes'' that she is this to her beloved [[spoiler:Archibald "Archie" Cornwell]] in the BoardingSchool arc, which does ''not'' mixes well with her strong self-esteem issues coming from both [[spoiler:her background as an orphan]] and [[spoiler:her secret jealousy of the titular Candy, her best friend and the girl whom Archie seems to crush on]]. It turns out that [[spoiler: Annie's love for Archie ''is'' requited in the end, as he realizes that while he ''does'' care for Candy, [[SecondLove Annie is the girl he actually loves]]. And Candy is a ShipperOnDeck [[LoveHurts with her own romantic woes]], anyway.]]
** Also subverted with [[spoiler:Susanna Marlowe.]] [[spoiler:She has ALL the signs of being Terry Granchester's tragic maiden -- but he ultimately decides to stay by her side after she falls victim to BreakTheCutie.]]
* [[spoiler:Shirley Marks]] from ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'' loves [[spoiler:Stefan Levin]] deeply, can't tell him her feelings [[spoiler:because his dead fiancée Karen was her best friend]] and she clearly knows he simply can't love her back. This is [[LoveHurts a pretty sucky situation]], but the girl is somewhat savvier than usual and she attempts to not complain about it.
* ''Manga/CaseClosed'':
** Several of these appear, with the most tragic case being [[spoiler: Shouko Utakura from the ''Seance's Double Locked Mystery Room Case''. Who ends up '''murdered''' by the guy she loves (Ryuuichi Mifune) because he mistakenly believes her to be involved in the death of his girlfriend Kira. (She sorta ''is'', but definitely NOT in the way he expected her to.)]]
** The reason why [[ShippingTorpedo Sonoko]] dislikes Shinichi is because she thinks Ran will end up as Shinichi's UTM. For all that she knows, he's out there resolving cases while she pines endlessly for him! (Little do the girls know that Shinichi is the titular Conan, however.) [[spoiler:Sadly, the ''Stranger of Ten Years'' OAV implies that were Shinichi not to return to normal, ''[[IWillWaitForYou Ran would be very likely to play the trope straight]]'', or at least he deeply fears that she would do it.]]
** There was a case where Conan, Eri, and Ran met up with a judo champion named Yuuko. She used to be this to her {{senpai|Kohai}} Hajime, a sportsman whom she adored enough to get into sports to follow his example... but was already HappilyMarried when this took place, so Yuuko's love for him was fully unrequited. [[spoiler:Yuuko married another man, Shirou, who believed she was ''still'' hung up on Hajime... and got so horribly jealous that he ''deliberately had an affair with Hajime's wife'' to "punish" the woman who, in his mind, didn't love him enough. When Yuuko realized this, she was so angry and hurt by Shirou's pettiness she ended up ''murdering'' him.]]

** This happens differently in the movies. [[spoiler: Even though she stays safe this time, her and Lelouch's roles are basically swapped because ''his'' death still happens.]]
* Subverted by Youko Nakagawa in the anime of ''Manga/CardCaptorSakura''. She pines for Touya Kinomoto who (unbeknownst to her) is starting to develop feelings for [[HoYay Yukito Tsukishiro]], and plans to tell him about her love in the SchoolFestival. She does cry when Touya politely turns her affections down at the end of the episode she's featured in, but she actually apologizes for crying and tells him she'll be okay. Her only request is for him to dance with her around the bonfire.

* Heartbreakingly subverted in ''Manga/FushigiYuugiGenbuKaiden''. [[spoiler:Firuka sincerely believed that she was this to Urumiya Hagas... but in reality, Hagas loved her dearly. He couldn't ever show it to her, however, since he was ailing, his days were numbered, and he was planning a SelfSacrificeScheme; Firuka only learned that his other wish was for her to be happy and loved when he was already dead, and the one who told her was his surviving twin brother Tegu aka the one Hagas pulled his SelfSacrificeScheme for, and who'd eventually become Firuka's SecondLove.]]
* ''Manga/InuYasha'':
** At some point, this is discussed... and ultimately defied: [[spoiler:The Baby deals several and ''extremely'' cruel {{Breaking Lecture}}s to Kagome, telling her that she's pretty much condemned to be this to Inu-Yasha himself, due to his feelings for his ex-girlfriend (and Kagome's past self) Kikyou. Kagome is ''this'' close to giving in and having a FaceHeelTurn, which is the Baby's purpose... but then she [[ShutUpHannibal snaps back at him]] via first admitting that yes, she ''is'' often [[ClingyJealousGirl jealous of Kikyou]], but then adding that these feelings are [[HumansAreFlawed proper of human beings]], and finally stating that she ''does'' love Inu-Yasha anyway.]] Such emotional honesty, and especially coming from [[spoiler:a {{Tsundere}} and self-admitted ClingyJealousGirl]], is VERY welcome and refreshing. [[spoiler: And even more so when it keeps her from going the "LoveMakesYouEvil" way.]]
** In the anime, Princess Sara plays it straighter. [[spoiler:Her deal is [[BreakTheCutie much]] [[DespairEventHorizon more]] [[DealWithTheDevil complex]], though.]]

* ''Manga/MarmaladeBoy'':
** In the anime, Anju Kitahara has more than one whiff of this, being a YamatoNadeshiko and loving her ChildhoodFriend Yuu, who already has a girlfriend named Miki by the time they meet again. She immediately [[GenreSavvy recognizes the trope]] and tells Miki that not only she will not step in between them but she'll support them as much as she can. [[spoiler:She ''does'' have a slim chance later when Yuu and Miki break up during a crisis, but since they hook up again later, Anju decides to step aside.]]
** Played much straighter with Ryoko Momoi, a local teacher who is this to her fellow teacher Shinichi Namura, who is in love with [[TeacherStudentRomance his student Meiko and is loved back]] [[StarCrossedLovers despite how everything is against them.]] [[spoiler:She gets better in the end, but not before much heartbreak.]]

* For such a short story, ''Manga/NatsuENoTobira'' has two of these for TheProtagonist, a PrettyBoy named Marion Fiesse:
** The first is Ledania Francoise, a quiet and gentle young woman who holds secret feelings for him, while [[DudeMagnet all the boys in town have crushes on her.]] Marion is doesn't return her love, [[spoiler: and when Ledania ''does'' tell him about, he's already in love with Sara and rejects her]].
** The second is [[spoiler:actually a RareMaleExample: Claude, one of Marion's school friends. Claude claimed to have feelings for Ledania but in reality, his love is all for Marion, and for worse, he's strongly implied to be [[DrugsAreBad drug-addicted]]. When he gives Marion a disastrous AnguishedDeclarationOfLove with a side-dish of AttemptedRape, a terrified Marion hits him, and Claude is found dead in the river the day after; Marion is [[HeroicBSOD devastated]] and [[MyGreatestFailure heavily blames himself]].]]

* In the backstory of ''Manga/PleaseSaveMyEarth'', there is [[spoiler:Enju towards Gyokuran. And arguably Shusuren, [[LesYay in regards to her]].]] In the present, [[spoiler:Enju's reincarnation Issei was about to become a RareMaleExample to Jinpachi, the reincarnation of Gyokuran, but it's averted as he ultimately falls for Sakura aka Shusuren's reincarnation.]]
* PlayedWith quite a bit in ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' -- both TheHeroine Duck/Tutu ''and'' [[AntiVillain Anti-Villainess]] Rue/Kraehe vie for this position. Considering that [[spoiler:Drosselmeyer was trying to write a tragedy]], it's not that surprising. And considering [[ScrewDestiny the theme of the show]], it's not surprising that [[spoiler:they both subvert this role]].
** Duck has an [[UnrequitedLove unrequited crush]] on [[PrinceCharming Mytho]] and at first, she thinks that he'll take notice of her once she starts helping him as [[MagicalGirl Princess Tutu]], but soon she discovers that because she's Tutu, [[StarCrossedLovers she'll die if she ever confesses her love to him]]. Not to mention that although Mytho falls in love with Tutu, [[LovesMyAlterEgo he never finds out that Duck is Tutu]], and only thinks of her as a friend. Ultimately {{Subverted|Trope}}, though, when she realizes that [[spoiler:[[LovingAShadow she was never really in love with him to begin with]]--she ''does'' care greatly for Mytho, but more out of admiration than romantic love]]; therefore she refuses to give up hope as [[spoiler:[[MadArtist Drosselmeyer]]]] clearly intended her to, and [[spoiler: she falls in love with ''another'' man... Fakir, TheLancer to Mytho and the local KnightInSourArmor.]]
** [[DarkMagicalGirl Rue/Kraehe]] is set up as the hypotenuse of the LoveTriangle, TheVamp and temptress who wants to corrupt the heroic Prince. Once [[DarkAndTroubledPast her very tragic reasons to be the way she is]], the massive pain she has gone through thanks to the BigBad and her ''actual'' love for Mytho are shown, though, she becomes more and more of [[AntiVillain a tragic character.]] Mytho starts out [[EmotionlessBoy indifferent]] to her despite Rue actually ''being his girlfriend'', and ends up [[spoiler: downright abusive once she contaminates what's left of his heart]], while he clearly develops feelings for Tutu. After Rue/Kraehe finally manages to express her love [[spoiler:via a mixture of AnguishedDeclarationOfLove and a HeroicSacrifice (and one that Duck/Tutu ''explicitly says that she would have NOT managed to pull off, were she in Rue/Kraehe's shoes'')]], however, [[spoiler: Mytho remembers their shared past]], [[spoiler: recognizes her love as well as his own love for her]], [[spoiler: rescues her from a cruel DeathTrap she's been put inside after her HeroicSacrifice]], and [[spoiler:[[HappilyEverAfter takes her as his princess]]]] at the end.

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', Sayaka Miki is a sharp, vicious {{deconstruction}} of the trope. She ''seems'' to play it straight at first sight (she yearns for Kyousuke's love, but he shows no romantic interest in her and [[spoiler:after Sayaka doesn't confess her love for him in time, he hooks up with Hitomi, who ''does'' come forward when she had the chance)]]... [[HiddenDepths but the truth is FAR more complex]]. [[ShyblueHairedGirl Sayaka]] already had serious self-esteem problems from ''before'' becoming a MagicalGirl, and when she's offered to become one and mentions that [[GreaterNeedThanMine she wanted to use her wish for Kyousuke's sake]], CoolBigSis Mami [[ArmorPiercingQuestion immediately questions her purpose.]] She makes her wish for him against Mami's warnings, since [[AFriendInNeed she sincerely believes it would still be worth it]]; only ''then'' Sayaka learns that being a MagicalGirl [[BlessedwithSuck is NOT as sparkly and beautiful as she thinks it is]], which clashes with her black and white view of the world ''and'' her emotional conflicts. While [[spoiler: losing in the LoveTriangle]] is a part of the reason why [[spoiler: [[DespairEventHorizon she fell]] [[FaceHeelTurn out of grace]] and [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie witched out]] and it took her [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagicaTheMovieRebellion quite a while to recover]] ]], it's not the '''''only''''' reason... but [[FanDumb several of her "fans"]] peg the girl '''only''' as the local Unrequited Tragic Maiden, reducing her to a one-note character and little more.
* Kaede Fuyou from the ''VisualNovel/{{Shuffle}}'' TV series is a rather unusual example, as she plays this straight first... and then dips into ''{{yandere}}''. [[spoiler:Though she gets better, and [[DarkAndTroubledPast she has pretty good reasons]] for her {{Yandere}} episode.]] In the original VisualNovel, whether Kaede is this or not...it actually depends on the player.
* Played for Laughs in ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'', with Lum playing the tragic GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe, pining for the love of a CasanovaWannabe named Ataru. [[spoiler:Interestingly enough, this was supposed to be played straight with Ataru staying with his original girlfriend, [[FirstGirlWins Shinobu]], after all the hijinks ended. But Lum became such a [[SpotlightStealingSquad popular character]] that the storyline was changed so [[LastGirlWins Lum]] wins in the end.]]

* ''Fanfic/TheFlowerPrincessAndTheAlchemist'': [[GenderInvertedTrope A rare male example]]. [[HopelessSuitor Edward]] comes ''so'' close to becoming this when a [[MonsterOfTheWeek villain]] [[TheVamp seductress]] tries to use his [[HeartbrokenBadass heartbreak and despair]] against him. [[BreakThemByTalking She cruelly breaks him by talking, trying to manipulate him into turning against Orihime]] by [[ManipulativeBitch mocking that as long as Orihime is in love with Ichigo]], [[UnrequitedLove she would never return his affections]], [[AlwaysSecondBest even providing him mental images of Orihime choosing Ichigo over Edward]], something she knows deep down he so ''desperately'' craves [[ForTheEvulz just to rub salt on the wound]]. Once she has him in her clutches, she plants a ForcefulKiss on him, which [[KissOfDeath steals his life energy]]. [[SubvertedTrope Luckily]], [[HeroicSecondWind Ed manages to snap out of it in time]] when recalling his DeclarationOfProtection to [[LoveInterest Orihime]] and giving an ''epic'' ShutUpHannibal speech that basically boils down to "So what if he's jealous? [[DisproportionateRetribution That's a stupid reason to betray Orihime]]. [[HumansAreFlawed It's perfectly natural for anyone to feel jealous]], or it could just be [[CrazyJealousGuy another strong aspect of his personality when it comes to Orihime]]. At the end of the day, his feelings are his and his alone, and no one has any ''right'' to take advantage of them." This becomes one of the greatest [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments Moments of Heartwarming]] when Ed passionately admits that seeing Orihime cry would be ''way'' worse than his hurt feelings. However, since most of his energy has been drained, he's rendered too weak to fight back. Ultimately, he is saved once again when Eria pulls a VillainousRescue.
* ''Fanfic/HeartbeatOfTheWarGod'' has Shukidevi, Tenou's seer and half-sister, who holds a great passion for Yasha and equally great enmity towards Ashura to whom Yasha is absolutely devoted and loyal towards. She's also conscious that that [[HopelessSuitor Yasha will never love her the same he does love Ashura]] but she is willing to be happy enough with [[spoiler:being the mother of his child.]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' fanfic series ''Fanfic/TheStalkingZukoSeries'', Jin is a NiceGirl and accepting of Zuko's DarkAndTroubledPast, but Zuko only has eyes for [[FanPreferredCouple Katara]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ResurrectedMemories'': [[spoiler: The biggest reason why Ember (after falling for Danny) is reluctant to reveal the truth of her identity to him, is out of fear that Danny will reject her and she will become one of these.]]

* Myth/ArthurianLegend:
** "The Lady of Shalott" from Creator/AlfredLordTennyson's poem of the same name which is based on the Arthurian Legend character Elaine of Astolat, who pined after Lancelot (who, of course, only had eyes for Guinevere) and eventually died of a broken heart.
** The Arthurian canon also includes a strong aversion of this trope. The young lady in love with Lancelot, in this case, opts for a platonic relationship in which Lancelot becomes her friend and champion. It works.

* ''Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}'': Rebecca of York to Ivanhoe, due entirely to the fact that she's [[ValuesDissonance Jewish]]. She warns Ivanhoe not to fall for her at their first meeting and does a graceful IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy bow out at the end allowing [[FirstGirlWins Rowena]] and Ivanhoe to be together and devotes the rest of her life to doing good works. Notable in that even the ''author'' [[FanPreferredCouple preferred]] Rebecca and Ivanhoe, but couldn't pair them up due to MoralGuardians.

* Deconstructed in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' with Éowyn. She is beautiful, she is of noble birth, she falls in love with Aragorn... who is already engaged to Arwen and has been in love with her for a long time. She even actively works towards a tragic death, which doesn't work. And not only she's saved by [[MedicalMonarch Aragorn]], but he had recognized her feelings and ''specifically'' tells Éowyn's older brother Éomer that she's [[LovingAShadow more in love with the idea of him]] rather than with ''him'', in what's quite the direct potshot to the trope itself. [[spoiler:Once Éowyn calms down and starts recovering, she bonds with the WarriorPrince Faramir, and they develop feelings for one another; the next time Aragorn speaks to them, he notes how she's much happier than before.]]
* Actually subverted in the original ''Literature/LesMiserables'' with Eponine -- she's more pitiful than tragic, and [[{{Yandere}} far from selfless]]. She despairs when Marius falls in love with [[TheIngenue Cosette]], so she figures [[IfICantHaveYou she'll just have him die with her]].
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has Molly, whose painful path through adulthood is all the sadder because she had everything going for her- courage, good looks, a loving family, and [[spoiler:significant magical talent]]- before she tried to pursue a man who categorically refuses to have any romantic feelings for her. Which would have been fine if she had ''accepted'' his rejection, but she kept false hope that she could somehow change his mind over the years, and became deeper and deeper entrenched in her angst. [[spoiler:Then he [[MentorOccupationalHazard went the way of all mentors]], and it ''shattered'' her, more than it would have if she only saw him as a teacher.]] Naturally, [[spoiler:she becomes a Lady of Winter, a fae Court that empowers its leaders to fight great battles and survive impossible odds...''if'' they can first defy its temptation to care only about what ''they'' want.]]
* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Invoked. Ashara was a great beauty from a noble family whose dramatic suicide got the rumormongers going, and one of the more long-lived in-universe theories is that she killed herself after a ill-fated dalliance with a Stark brother. Said rumors even got to Catelyn, Ned Stark's eventual wife, who was so hurt by them that she forbade mention of Ashara within Winterfell.

* Emma on ''Series/BatesMotel'' seems to be one of these. She is every bit as hot as Bradley, but Norman just likes Bradley better.
* Willow on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' was this for a while, pining away for Xander, until she [[spoiler:got a boyfriend of her own. And then became (or realized she was) a lesbian or a lesbian-leaning bi.]]
* [[TheCutie Olive Schnook]] is very obviously "hopelessly devoted to" her boss [[TroubledButCute Ned]] on ''Series/PushingDaisies'', but Ned very obviously only has eyes for his ChildhoodFriend Charlotte "Chuck" Charles.
* An unusual example is Kate from ''Series/RobinHood'', the [[ReplacementGoldfish Replacement Love Interest]] to Robin after the death of his wife Marian at the end of Series 2. The third series puts a huge amount of emphasis on Kate pining after Robin and [[GreenEyedMonster being jealous of his other love interest Isabella]], though in what is seemingly an {{aversion}} of this trope, she gets a RelationshipUpgrade with him towards the end of the season. As the [[invoked]]CreatorsPet, the writers certainly weren't going to deny her anything she wanted -- only for the inevitability of Robin and Marian as the thousand-year-old legend's OfficialCouple to eventually reassert itself. It soon becomes blatantly obvious that Robin is still grieving for Marian, his [[TheLostLenore Lost Lenore]], something Kate either doesn't notice or care about until Robin is fatally poisoned, at which point he can't bring himself to give her any sort of farewell more passionate than a brotherly hug, before going on to get a DiedHappilyEverAfter TogetherInDeath scene with Marian. It's only at ''this'' point Kate realizes how little she really meant to him, making her a contender for this trope... albeit in a rather roundabout way.
* Molly Hooper on the BBC's ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' spend almost the entire show not-so-secretly pining for the main character, with questionable and within the fandom, very debatable results.
* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Chloe is solidly pining after Clark for the first five seasons, and even after [[spoiler:getting together with Jimmy]] for season six and seven, it is pretty obvious that she would be with Clark if she gets to choose. Not to mention an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove in late season seven. Subverted when [[spoiler:she seems to be HappilyMarried with Jimmy]]. Double subverted when [[spoiler:Jimmy divorced her for always taking Clark or Davis' side]]. ''Triple'' subverted when [[spoiler:she ends up with Oliver. Although that probably counts as being StrangledByTheRedString.]]
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''

* Helen Chao from ''Theatre/FlowerDrumSong'' is one of these. Like Eponine, she gets one of the arguably better songs in the show and does everything she can to be a supportive friend to Ta. He first rejects her by chasing the wrong love object before again passing her over.

* Eponine from ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' is in love with Marius and does everything she can to help him, even though he is in love with Cosette and only views Eponine as a friend. This portrayal contrasts with the one she has in the original [[Literature/LesMiserables book]], where she's more of a StalkerWithACrush.
* In the annotated libretto, Creator/LinManuelMiranda wrote that he was trying to "out-Eponine Eponine" with the character of Angelica Schuyler. She meets and is immediately attracted to the titular Alexander Theatre/{{Hamilton}}, finding him extremely similar to her: brilliant, ambitious, attractive. However, she knows that she's unsuitable for him and directs him towards her sister Eliza, who also immediately fell in love. She continues to watch over Alexander and Eliza, even bemoaning her fate of "[languishing] in a loveless marriage in London" and living "only to read [Alexander's] letters" in the CutSong "Congratulations". This is toned down to saying that she married a rich husband who "always pays" but is no match for Alexander's wits and charm in "Non-Stop", before she leaves for London.

* Glinda from ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' is [[EveryoneLovesBlondes traditionally pretty and popular]], seemingly a perfect match for the traditionally handsome and popular Fiyero. Unusually for this trope, the two even date for a while and are engaged at one point. Fiyero however is in love with the fiery, green-skinned outcast Elphaba (who also happens to be Glinda's best friend), and leaves a heartbroken Glinda to go be with her. Throughout the show Glinda struggles with the fact that she's always been able [[EverythingButTheGirl to get everything she wanted except Fiyero's love]].

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'': Potentially Bianca, provided the hero chooses to marry Flora instead. She helps him complete his EngagementChallenge, then gets her hopes briefly raised and then dashed.

** The {{Trope Codifier}}s for ''Fire Emblem'' come from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' and ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem Mystery of the Emblem]]''. Not only that, but they're sisters: the LadyOfWar and the eldest of the Pegasus Knights sisters, Palla, is in love with the cavalier Abel [[spoiler:who marries her youngest sister Est]], while her second sister Catria has feelings for Marth [[ChildhoodFriendRomance who is already in love with Princess Caeda.]]
*** Perhaps an even more tragic example, Princess Nyna. She is in love with General Camus of Grust, who ''does'' [[BodyguardCrush love her back]], [[UptownGirl but they can't be together due to social differences]] and him [[spoiler: having to keep her prisoner for some time to save her life]]. [[StarCrossedLovers The circumstances put them in opposite sides of the conflict]], [[spoiler:and Camus is seemingly killed by Marth over the course of the story.]] Afterwards, Nyna marries Prince Hardin (who ''also'' has a BodyguardCrush on her) for political reasons, has to pretend to romantically love him despite her love for Camus, and this drives him to despair [[spoiler: and ultimately become BrainwashedAndCrazy]] when he finds out. Even worse when it turns out that [[spoiler: Camus is NotQuiteDead but by that time he has assumed a new name and fell in love with the WhiteMagicianGirl Tatiana, [[FlorenceNightingaleEffect who saved his life]]. Though he ''does'' help release Nyna when she's used as a BarrierMaiden, he cannot stay with her any longer.]]
** [[spoiler:Princess]] Julia from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Geneaology of the Holy War]]''. She falls in love with [[spoiler: her half-brother]] Seliph, but cannot be with him... [[GoodBadBugs without glitches and lots of patience in the player's part]]. (And it's even lampshaded in-game, with Seliph's potential love interest [[CoolBigSis Lana]] actually ''feeling guilty'' upon having '''her''' feelings requited.) Averted in the Oosawa manga, where the ending strongly hints at them ending up together even after finding out that [[spoiler:they're half-siblings]], and [[spoiler:Lana's feelings seem to be geared towards another childhood friend of hers, Larcei's twin brother Scathach.]]
*** Ironically, ''Lana'' herself can potentially fit in as well if she doesn't get paired up with anyone. She will mourn about Seliph not noticing her crush on him, but if she stays single she doesn't tell him either.
*** Sylvia also is this in the Oosawa manga. She fell in love with Lewyn [[BecauseYouWereNiceToMe after he showed her the kindness nobody else would]] and proclaims her feelings for him more than once. However, Lewyn already has feelings for Erinys, whom he professes his love to during the Silessa arc, after apologizing to Sylvia due to being unable to like her back. When she confronts Erinys about it, rather than issuing a challenge over Lewyn like in the game, Sylvia explains her backstory and then runs away crying, which brings Erinys to tears too.
** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Blazing Blade]]'' has a DoubleSubversion in [[WhiteMagicianGirl Priscilla]]. She ''does'' have a number of possible lovers she can Support with, but due to her status as nobility, she ultimately ends up in a StarCrossedLovers situation -- with all but one of them [[spoiler:the magician Erk, who has peerage only due to his tutelage under Pent, the Count of Reglay]].
*** Also, if Eliwood reaches an A support with anyone but Ninian, she will become this since her romantic feelings for Eliwood are set in stone regardless of support levels [[spoiler:and she must return with her brother Nils to the land beyond the Dragon's Gate anyway if she's not romanced.]] Though [[BreakTheCutie she also has]] [[SurvivorsGuilt several other reasons]] [[HeroicSelfDeprecation to be depressed]], [[spoiler: and if she has to leave for the Dragon Gate lands, she is able to tell Eliwood goodbye without crying a single tear, [[SilkHidingSteel having recovered]] [[BreakTheCutie from her former trauma]].]]
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' has the VERY {{rare male example}}: [[spoiler:Prince Lyon of Grado, who has always had feelings for Princess Eirika and a very complicated bond with Prince Ephraim. Then it all goes FromBadToWorse...]]
** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance Path of Radiance]]'' has [[LadyOfWar Titania]], second-in-command and TeamMom of the Greil Mercenaries. It's revealed in her Supports with Ike that she grew close to and became enamored with Ike's father Greil while training under him, but [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy she pushed away her feelings for Greil]] when she discovered that he was already married with children. It should be no surprise that she (along with Ike and Mist) is hit the hardest by his death at the hands of the Black Knight (to the point that she breaks down into tears in their A Support when Ike thanks her for taking care of his father in his final years). She ''does'' have ShipTease with Ike, Boyd, and Rhys in ''Radiance'', but ultimately ends up single by the end of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn Dawn]]''.
** Cordelia in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' is in love with Chrom and is hurting ''badly'' over it, but will never say anything because she's sure it'll never work out. The game mechanics don't even let the player pair them! Sadly, while this aspect ''is'' a prominent part of Cordelia's character, the FanDumb ignore her ''[[BrokenAce other]]'' [[SurvivorGuilt reasons]] [[ThePerfectionist to be depressed]] and in the process completely '' [[NeverLiveItDown flatten]]'' [[NeverLiveItDown her]] into either a Chrom-dependent weepy maiden who "deserves" his affection better than any of his other prospect girlfriends, or a creepy StalkerWithACrush who thinks she's entitled to Chrom and will throw everything away for him. And that, in a further subversion, [[SecondLove she can be romanced by other male characters]] -- including [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]]). [[spoiler:In the BadFuture, however, her daughter Severa is under the mistaken impression that she still is one, tries [[CallingTheOldManOut to call her out on it]] in both frustration [[AngerBornOfWorry and fear of losing her in battle]]... [[PartingWordsRegret and it]] [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye backfires TERRIBLY]].]]
** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', Felicia's older sister and fellow NinjaMaid Flora is strongly implied to have a crush on the Avatar's BattleButler Jakob, and even tries to give him a LoveConfession in-story but [[AbortedDeclarationOfLove he interrupts her]]. What happens to her is different, according to what path is chosen... [[spoiler:In the ''Birthright'' path, she commits suicide after a huge BreakTheCutie process completely shatters her. In the ''Conquest'' path she can be recruited towards the end and potentially [[SecondLove be romanced by a male Avatar]]. In the ''Revelation'' path, she must run away with the survivors of her tribe but can potentially be recruited later too ''and'' have the Male Avatar as a SecondLove.]]
*** Cordelia's expy [[spoiler:and, in the ''Revelation'' path, possible granddaughter]] Caeldori subverts it since she's more of a mix of SerialRomeo and SmittenTeenageGirl. She tells the Male Avatar that once had a deep crush on her caretaker [[spoiler: from the Deeprealms]] but had her feelings rejected, and she's crushed on other men without much more luck. Still, she can be romanced by other guys (the Male Avatar included) without much trouble.
** In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' remake, ''Echoes: Shadows of Valentia'', the GirlNextDoor Faye is quite in love with her childhood friend Alm and joins his group out of desire to stay with him, despite him having feelings for their ''other'' female childhood friend Celica. Her ending says [[TheOneThatGotAway she never fully gets over him.]]
*** Defied by a potential RareMaleExample, the CampGay archer Leon. He's secretly in love with his best friend Valbar and is perfectly aware that he's not likely to return his love (especially since Valbar is a {{Crusading Widow}}er), but he doesn't angst about it and all but states that he's perfectly okay with just having said feelings [[BashBrothers and being close to Valbar forever.]] If Valbar lives to the end, he opens a shop and they stay friends forever; if Valbar dies, Leon becomes a well-respected military instructor [[TheMourningAfter but never gets over him.]]
*** In Alm's route, there's an NPC Rigelian girl who can potentially fill in. [[spoiler:If the group fight/kills the aforementioned Zeke and then goes to the nearby village, when Alm speaks to the girl she reveals that she loved Zeke from afar and then curses the group. If Zeke ''and'' Tatiana are rescued and recruited instead, she'll greet the group happily and tell them [[FlorenceNightingaleEffect how Zeke and Tatiana met]], implying that she likes him but [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy thinks that if he's happy with Tatiana, then she's happy for them]].]]

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' has [[SquishyWizard Melia]] fall in love with [[TheHero Shulk]]. As Princess of the High Entia and a very attractive girl in general, she would be a great LoveInterest for Shulk... if it weren't for the fact that he was already in love with [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Fiora]]. Ironically, [[spoiler: Fiora is the one who apparently gets killed long before Melia is even introduced.]]

* Played with in regards to Sakura Matou from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''. [[spoiler: Because of [[DarkAndTroubledPast her]] [[RapeAsBackstory past]], she believes that she [[DefiledForever doesn't deserve]]]] Shirou's affections and thinks this is how she'll eventually end up. And while we don't know her fate in the first two routes [[spoiler:(which, considering that Zouken Matou, the one behind her suffering, is still alive by BOTH route's ends...)]] in the third she is [[spoiler:driven mad by a combination of jealousy and being possessed by an evil spirit, but is saved and redeemed]] by Shirou and [[spoiler:her sister, Rin]].
* Subverted during [[spoiler: Shizune]]'s path in ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo''. [[spoiler: Misha]] fits in this trope well... but [[spoiler: the person she's hopelessly in love with is ''Shizune'', not Hisao.]] Which also makes her [[spoiler:the rare lesbian version of the trope.]]
* You Tsukuba from ''VisualNovel/SayaNoUta'', in UnrequitedLove with Fuminori and totally outclassed by Saya. [[spoiler: Since theirs is a CrapsackWorld, [[BreakTheCutie it]] [[ButtMonkey does]] [[RapeAsDrama NOT]] [[SexSlave end]] [[KillTheCutie well]].]]
* [[spoiler:Beatrice]] from ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'' may qualify, depending on [[MindScrew which versions of reality the players believe]].

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* Up to episode 50, this seemed to be Daphne on ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated''. And that was mainly because Freddy was acutely clueless about Daphne's love for him.
* Pearl from ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' can very easily be seen as being this for Steven's MissingMom [[HomoeroticSubtext Rose Quartz]], who she was deeply in love with because she made Pearl feel like she was "everything". This [[HeroicSelfDeprecation and]] [[NervousWreck several]] [[NobleBigot other]] [[DevotedToYou factors]] left [[BrokenBird Pearl]] seriously messed up, and she's still reeling from [[TheLostLenore Rose's death]] [[TheMourningAfter after at least 14 years]]. Over the course of the series, she manages to outgrow this and learns to fight for herself instead of always serving others.
[[/folder]]

* ''Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners'': Rebecca is smitten with David and openly flirts with him to get him through his depression, but by the time she meets him David's already head over heels for Lucy. Despite David and Lucy's relationship only holding on by a thread, Becca laments to Kiwi that David never notices her. Despite this, Becca's ride or die commitment to David leads to [[spoiler:her sudden and tragic death at the hands of Adam Smasher once David storms the Arasaka building in a fit of cyberpsychosis.]]

[[quoteright:350:[[Art/TheLadyOfShalottWaterhouse https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/waterhouseshalott.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[- "Art/{{The Lady of Shalott|Waterhouse}}", by Creator/JohnWilliamWaterhouse (1888). -].]]

** There was a case where Conan, Eri, and Ran met up with a judo champion named Yuuko. She used to be this to her {{senpai|Kouhai}} Hajime, a sportsman whom she adored enough to get into sports to follow his example... but was already HappilyMarried when this took place, so Yuuko's love for him was fully unrequited. [[spoiler:Yuuko married another man, Shirou, who believed she was ''still'' hung up on Hajime... and got so horribly jealous that he ''deliberately had an affair with Hajime's wife'' to "punish" the woman who, in his mind, didn't love him enough. When Yuuko realized this, she was so angry and hurt by Shirou's pettiness she ended up ''murdering'' him.]]

* ''Fanfic/ThisIsAWildGameOfSurvival'': I-sak is giddy over crush on Joon-yeong... not knowing that he's actually in love with his best friend Woo-jin, which leads to her getting her heart broken. She tries to be brave about, since she's young but a month later things go to hell at their high school and she's among the first victims.

*** Defied by a potential RareMaleExample, the CampGay archer Leon. He's secretly in love with his best friend Valbar and is perfectly aware that he's not likely to return his love (especially since Valbar is a CrusadingWidower), but he doesn't angst about it and all but states that he's perfectly okay with just having said feelings [[BashBrothers and being close to Valbar forever.]] If Valbar lives to the end, he opens a shop and they stay friends forever; if Valbar dies, Leon becomes a well-respected military instructor [[TheMourningAfter but never gets over him.]]

* Played for Laughs in ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'', with Lum playing the tragic CuteAlienGirl, pining for the love of a CasanovaWannabe named Ataru. [[spoiler:Interestingly enough, this was supposed to be played straight with Ataru staying with his original girlfriend, [[FirstGirlWins Shinobu]], after all the hijinks ended. But Lum became such a [[SpotlightStealingSquad popular character]] that the storyline was changed so [[LastGirlWins Lum]] wins in the end.]]

This is starting to become either a DiscreditedTrope (as romantic portrayals of females become less dependent on the male characters), a DeconstructedTrope (to showcase a point-of-view of it being an unrealistic idea of romantic love) or a GenderInvertedTrope (since male examples are starting to be more common).

* Surprisingly, once [[RareMaleExample his]] actual motivations are explored, [[spoiler:Juzo "Ultimate Boxer" Sakakura]] from ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'' ends up fitting in this trope. [[spoiler:He loves Kyosuke "Ultimate StudentCouncilPresident" Munakata deeply but knows he can't have his romantic affection, would rather step aside and give Chisa "Ultimate Housekeeper" Yukizome the chance to love him and being loved back, suffers enormously for such feelings (even if he shows it in very different ways than the standard trope), and ends up dying in a terribly tragic manner to, among other things, protect Munakata with his life. His last words are about how much he wants Munakata to live no matter what.]]

** Duck has an [[UnrequitedLove unrequited crush]] on [[PrinceCharming Mytho]] and at first, she thinks that he'll take notice of her once she starts helping him as [[MagicalGirl Princess Tutu]], but soon she discovers that because she's Tutu, [[StarCrossedLovers she'll die if she ever confesses her love to him]]. Not to mention that although Mytho falls in love with Tutu, [[LovesMyAlterEgo he never finds out that Duck is Tutu]], and only thinks of her as a friend. Ultimately {{Subverted|Trope}}, though, when she realizes that [[spoiler:[[LovingAShadow she was never really in love with him to begin with]]--she ''does'' care greatly for Mytho, but more outta admiration than romantic love]]; therefore she refuses to give up hope as [[spoiler:[[MadArtist Drosselmeyer]]]] clearly intended her to, and [[spoiler: she falls in love with ''another'' man... Fakir, TheLancer to Mytho and the local KnightInSourArmor.]]
** [[DarkMagicalGirl Rue/Kraehe]] is set up as the hypotenuse of the LoveTriangle, TheVamp and temptress who wants to corrupt the heroic Prince. Once [[DarkAndTroubledPast her very tragic reasons to be the way she is]], the massive pain she has gone through thanks to the BigBad and her ''actual'' love for Mytho are shown, though, she becomes more and more of [[AntiVillain a tragic character.]] Mytho starts out [[EmotionlessBoy indifferent]] to her despite Rue actually ''being his girlfriend'', and ends up [[spoiler: downright abusive once she contaminates what's left of his heart]], while he clearly develops feelings for Tutu. After Rue/Kraehe finally manages to express her love [[spoiler:via a mixture of AnguishedDeclarationOfLove and a HeroicSacrifice (and one that Duck/Tutu ''explicitely says that she would have NOT managed to pull off, were she in Rue/Kraehe's shoes'')]], however, [[spoiler: Mytho remembers their shared past]], [[spoiler: recognizes her love as well as his own love for her]], [[spoiler: rescues her from a cruel DeathTrap she's been put inside after her HeroicSacrifice]], and [[spoiler:[[HappilyEverAfter takes her as his princess]]]] at the end.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has Molly, whose painful path through adulthood is all the sadder because she had everything going for her- courage, good looks, a loving family, and [[spoiler:significant magical talent]]- before she tried to pursue a man who categorically refuses to have any romantic feelings for her. Which would have been fine if she had ''accepted'' his rejection, but she kept false hope that she could somehow change his mind over the years, and became deeper and deeper entrenched in her angst. [[spoiler:Then he [[MentorOccupationalHazard went the way of all mentors]], and it ''shattered'' her, more than it would have if she only saw him as a teacher.]] Naturally, [[spoiler:she becomes a Lady of Winter, a fae Court that empowers its leaders to fight great battles and survive impossible odds...''if'' they can first defy its temptation to care only about what ''they'' want.

** There was a case where Conan, Eri, and Ran met up with a judo champion named Yuuko. She used to be this to her [[SempaiKouhai sempai]] Hajime, a sportsman whom she adored enough to get into sports to follow his example... but was already HappilyMarried when this took place, so Yuuko's love for him was fully unrequited. [[spoiler:Yuuko married another man, Shirou, who believed she was ''still'' hung up on Hajime... and got so horribly jealous that he ''deliberately had an affair with Hajime's wife'' to "punish" the woman who, in his mind, didn't love him enough. When Yuuko realized this, she was so angry and hurt by Shirou's pettiness she ended up ''murdering'' him.]]

** At some point, this is discussed... and ultimately defied: [[spoiler:The Baby deals several and ''extremely'' cruel {{Breaking Lecture}}s to Kagome, telling her that she's pretty much condemned to be this to Inu-Yasha himself, due to his feelings for his ex-girlfriend (and Kagome's past self) Kikyou. Kagome is ''this'' close to give in and have a FaceHeelTurn, which is the Baby's purpose... but then she [[ShutUpHannibal snaps back at him]] via first admitting that yes, she ''is'' often [[ClingyJealousGirl jealous of Kikyou]], but then adding that these feelings are [[HumansAreFlawed proper of human beings]], and finally stating that she ''does'' love Inu-Yasha anyway.]] Such emotional honesty, and especially coming from [[spoiler:a {{Tsundere}} and self-admitted ClingyJealousGirl]], is VERY welcome and refreshing. [[spoiler: And even more so when it keeps her from going the "LoveMakesYouEvil" way.]]

** [[DarkMagicalGirl Rue/Kraehe]] is set up as the hypotenuse of the LoveTriangle, TheVamp and temptress who wants to corrupt the heroic Prince. Once [[DarkAndTroubledPast her very tragic reasons to be the way she is]], the massive pain she has gone through thanks to the BigBad and her ''actual'' love for Mytho are shown, though, she becomes more and more of [[AntiVillain a tragic character.]] Mytho starts out [[EmotionlessBoy indifferent]] to her despite Rue actually ''being his girlfriend'', and ends up [[spoiler: downright abusive once she contaminates what's left of his heart]], while he clearly develops feelings for Tutu. After Rue/Kraehe finally manages to express her love [[spoiler:via a mixture of AnguishedDeclarationOfLove and an HeroicSacrifice (and one that Duck/Tutu ''explicitely says that she would have NOT managed to pull off, were she in Rue/Kraehe's shoes'')]], however, [[spoiler: Mytho remembers their shared past]], [[spoiler: recognizes her love as well as his own love for her]], [[spoiler: rescues her from a cruel DeathTrap she's been put inside after her HeroicSacrifice]], and [[spoiler:[[HappilyEverAfter takes her as his princess]]]] at the end.

* Actually subverted in the original ''Literature/LesMiserables'' with Eponine -- she's more pitiful than tragic, and [[{{Yandere}} far from selfless]]. She despairs when he falls in love with [[TheIngenue Cosette]], so she figures [[IfICantHaveYou she'll just have him die with her]].

** The {{Trope Codifier}}s for ''Fire Emblem'' come from [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia the Archanea continent]]. Not only that, but they're sisters: the LadyOfWar and the eldest of the Pegasus Knights sisters, Palla, is in love with the cavalier Abel [[spoiler:who marries her youngest sister Est]], while her second sister Catria has feelings for Marth [[ChildhoodFriendRomance who is already in love with Princess Caeda.]]

** [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade Blazing Blade]] has a DoubleSubversion in [[WhiteMagicianGirl Priscilla]]. She ''does'' have a number of possible lovers she can Support with, but due to her status as nobility, she ultimately ends up in a StarCrossedLovers situation -- with all but one of them [[spoiler:the magician Erk, who has peerage only due to his tutelage under Pent, the Count of Reglay]].

* PlayedWith in regards to [[ShrinkingViolet Hinata]] [[NiceGirl Hyuga]] in ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. For the majority of the series, she ''seemingly'' played this trope straight--Naruto did grow to care for her quite a bit, but [[ObliviousToLove he never noticed]] [[EveryoneCanSeeIt her feelings for him]], even after the times she put her own life on the line to save him, and instead had a [[LovingAShadow one-sidedcrush]] on [[{{Tsundere}} Sakura]]. Even when [[ShipSinking he let go of Sakura]] after Chapter 469, and even when he and Hinata started having [[UnresolvedSexualTension significant]] [[HoldingHands moments]] [[MindlinkMates together]] from the WarArc onward, Naruto ''still'' never noticed Hinata's feelings for him. In the GagSeries spin-off and some of the anime {{Filler}}s, this situation was often parodied for the sake of comic relief. It finally got Subverted in the [[DistantFinale epilogue]], where [[OfficialCouple Naruto and Hinata]] are HappilyMarried with two children. It got completely Averted in the {{canon}} movie ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', where, judging by the dialogue from the other characters ([[ShipperOnDeck including]] [[CoolBigSis Sakura]]), it's heavily implied that Naruto ''had'' been in love with Hinata for quite some time, but he couldn't fully realize it until the movie for two reasons. First, his emotionally-stunted childhood and lack of a stable and loving home environment left him unable to properly tell the difference between familial love or even the love for ramen from [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove romantic love]]. Second, Naruto confirms in his HeroicVow that, deep down, [[InsecureLoveInterest he's insecure around Hinata]] because [[ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe he never thought someone like her]] would genuinely [[WartsAndAll love him for him]]--which was implied by [[ShipperOnDeck Kiba]] in the WarArc.

* Naminé from ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' is drawn to Sora and wishes she were Kairi ([[spoiler:which, in a way, she ''is'']]). In the end, [[spoiler:she wants Sora and Kairi to be happy and merges with Kairi thus destroying her own identity and existence in some ways.]]

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' has [[SquishyWizard Melia]] fall in love with [[TheHero Shulk]]. As Princess of the High Entia and a very attractive girl in general, she would be a great LoveInterest for Shulk... if it weren't for the fact that he was already in love with [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Fiora]].

* Heartbreakingly subverted in ''Manga/FushigiYuugiGenbuKaiden''. [[spoiler:Firuka sincerely believed that she was this to Urumiya Hagas... but in reality, Hagas loved her dearly. He couldn't ever show it to her, however, since he was an IllBoy whose days were numbered ''and'' was planning a SelfSacrificeScheme; Firuka only learned that his other wish was for her to be happy and loved when he was ''already'' dead, and the one who told her was his surviving twin brother Tegu aka the one Hagas pulled his SelfSacrificeScheme for, and who'd eventually become Firuka's SecondLove.]]

* ''Theatre/{{Giselle}}''. In some versions, Giselle falls in love with Albretch, but Albretch is engaged to Bathilde. After dying of a broken heart ([[IllGirl perhaps]] [[HeartTrauma literally]]), Giselle becomes TheLostLenore.

* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Invoked. Ashara was a great beauty from a noble family whose dramatic suicide got the rumormongers going, and one of the more long-lived in-universe theories is that she killed herself after a ill-fated dalliance with a Stark brother. They even got to Catelyn, Ned Stark's eventual wife, who was so hurt by said rumors that she forbid mention of Ashara within Winterfell.