Line #25 Main/HighSchoolSweethearts


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Series/SavedByTheBell https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zachandkelly.png]]]]
5
6	->'''Itoshiki''': You could even say that relationships in high school are a preview of love, for when you seriously fall in love!... I think I just said something smart.\
7	'''Abiru Kobushi''': No, not really.\
8	'''Itoshiki''': Oh. Yet high schoolers these days skip the preview and go straight for the real thing!... I think I ''really'' said something smart this time.
9	-->-- ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei''
10
11	This is when a married couple first met and started dating as teenagers in high school. Some teenagers treat their relationships like the be-all and end-all of the world, and sometimes the author agrees, implying or directly showing that they marry and live HappilyEverAfter. Fiction writers might do this to avoid addressing the sad fact that the lovely couple making out at the end of a teen romance story would probably break up after high school in the real world, especially if one or both parties go to college. In a darker application of this trope, they might end up MarriedTooYoung.
12
13	In a MagicalGirl setting, sometimes this is justified by the assertion that they fall in love BecauseDestinySaysSo.
14
15	To some extent, this may simply be harkening back to a simpler time, as, prior to the end of World War II, far fewer people went to college, and those who didn't frequently married straight out of high school. This trope is still present today, but is largely limited to more conservative "no sex before marriage" cultures.
16
17	Compare also with ChildhoodFriendRomance, where the couple can also start dating in high school but they've known each other for much longer than that.
18	----
19	!!Examples
20
21	[[foldercontrol]]
22
23	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
24	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has [[spoiler: Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue]], who met in their junior high years ([[DarkAndTroubledPast in very troubled circumstances]]), then were high school classmates and had lots of ShipTease while still in school, and by the end of the manga were HappilyMarried.
25	* Gohan and Videl in ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', and ''Anime/DragonBallGT''. They first meet when Gohan attended public school for the first time. She's at first weirded out by Gohan due to his awkward social skills and freakish strength. However, she starts to get feelings for Gohan during their training for the 25th World Tournament, and even cut her hair after Gohan suggested her to. Videl eventually falls in love when Gohan reluctantly revealed that he was the one who defeated Cell and not Mr. Satan, Videl's father. They end up married and have a daughter.
26	* ''Manga/HighschoolOfTheDead'' has [[AcademicAlphaBitch Saya]] and [[{{Otaku}} Hirano]]. Especially poignant since Saya used to have a crush on Takashi when they were children... but since he's in a LoveTriangle with Rei and Saeko, she and Hirano started having BelligerentSexualTension...
27	* In ''Manga/HisAndHerCircumstances'' we have [[spoiler:Yukino and Arima]], due to [[spoiler:TeenPregnancy]].
28	* ''Manga/{{Horimiya}}'': Hori's parents dated in high-school and got married soon after graduating. [[spoiler:Miyamura also proposes to Hori in chapter 63, though whether or not they count as officially engaged is somewhat hazy (for what it's worth, they do end up married with a son in the original webcomic).]]
29	* In ''Anime/JewelpetSunshine'', Ruby (a Jewelpet) and Mikage (a human) fall in love in the last year of high school and after finishing it, at the end of the show, Mikage makes the decision of [[spoiler:turning into a Jewelpet]] so he can be with her forever.
30	* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'':
31	** Tsubame mentions that this was the case with her older brother and sister-in-law while discussing the legend of the Devoted Hearts Festival.
32	** [[spoiler:Kaguya's cameo in a bonus chapter of ''Manga/OshiNoKo'' (which takes place several years after ''Kaguya-sama'') shows that she and Shirogane are already married since she's using his surname.]]
33	* In the ''Manga/KashimashiGirlMeetsGirl'' manga, the sweethearts [[spoiler:are bound by the "fate-gene" and will both die when one of them stops loving the other]]. Add this to the fact that they are still very young ''and'' of the same gender in a fairly homophobic society and you have a situation which might complicate their future lives.
34	* In the original ''Anime/MazingerZ'' manga, and most of continuities, Kouji and Sayaka are this, meeting and falling in love when they attended high-school.
35	* Suletta and Miorine from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamTheWitchFromMercury'' are an interesting case, not just meeting on Suletta's first day at the elite Asticassia School of Technology, but immediately becoming ''engaged'' per the rules of a DuelsDecideEverything system implemented by Miorine's father. Despite neither planning to go through with it originally, the arrangement does provide an impetus for them to grow closer, [[spoiler:and they do wind up HappilyMarried by the time of the series' epilogue]].
36	* Rino and Nozomu from ''Manga/MyGirlfriendWithoutWasabi'' met their first day of college (Nozomu's first day anyways, Rino was a third year student). By the time of ''Manga/ICantUnderstandWhatMyHusbandIsSaying'' four years later, they're HappilyMarried.
37	* Akane and Kazuya in ''Anime/MyHime'' are paired up right from the get-go. [[spoiler:When he [[SacrificialLamb dies]], Akane's [[HeroicBSOD whole world collapses]]. When Kazuya's BackFromTheDead, [[HesBack Akane recovers]] and happily joins the last [=HiME=] battle, and they're last seen as borderline SickeninglySweethearts.]]
38	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': The titular character's parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki, met as classmates in the Ninja Academy, and became an OfficialCouple when they were no older than 14.
39	* Haru and Tsurezure from ''Manga/{{Ojojojo}}'' started dating when they were 17/16 and [[TheCameo a newspaper article]] in ''Manga/KomorisanCantDecline'' (set about 4 years later) clarifies that they just got married. The epilogue to their series even shows that they have a kid.
40	* In ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'', [[spoiler: Haruhi and Tamaki start dating at the end of their first/second year of high school and got married about two years later.]]
41	* ''Manga/{{Rabuta}}'' follows the [[OppositesAttract relationship]] of [[BookDumb Harundo]] [[{{Gonk}} Horiuchi]] and [[SchoolIdol Kurume]] [[{{Ojou}} Gotouchi]]. All of their cameos in later Creator/CoolKyouShinsha works depict them as a married couple.
42	* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', though they have a [[BelligerentSexualTension rough time getting there]], and never ''do'' quite make it, WordOfGod says they will eventually work it out.
43	* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'':
44	** The [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] perpetrated the BecauseDestinySaysSo version of the trope with Mamoru and Usagi, but mostly averted it otherwise. (Usagi is in middle school and Mamoru is finishing high school), but it's averted in the [[Anime/SailorMoon 90s anime]] where Mamoru is already in college. Then ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'' puts Mamoru back into high school.
45	** Haruka and Michiru are a straight [[YuriGenre (so to speak)]] example, though, as they met when they were both in high school.
46	%%* ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays''. [[DysfunctionJunction DON'T make us elaborate]].
47	* Takashi and Miho, Hana's parents, from ''Manga/SevenSeeds'' had a "students' marriage" when they were in college.
48	* ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'''s first [[AllThereInTheManual Drama CD]] implies that [[spoiler:Kotetsu Kaburagi married Tomoe Amamiya, a superhero fan from his high school class who helped him come up with his eventual superhero codename. (Not only that, but she was actually ''thrilled'' to learn that he wanted to be a superhero, since she had thought [[JapaneseDelinquents he was a delinquent]] up until then!) Sadly, poor Tomoe was also sick, and she passed away some years before the series started]].
49	* ''Manga/TokyoMewMew''. This even extended to Ichigo's parents, who themselves met in junior high.
50	* ''Manga/TonariNoKashiwagiSan'':
51	** Yuuto wants this sort of relationship with Kotone, to the point that he applied to the same university as her (which is actually far harder than the one he was initially planning on going to).
52	** [[HappilyMarried Kotori and Takuya's]] relationship is half this, half ChildhoodFriendRomance, since she was in 12th grade and he was in 6th when they started dating.
53	* The manga ''Manga/UltraManiac'' includes not one but ''three'' couples who pair up in junior high, and are still strongly together at the end of high school, suggesting a HappilyEverAfter for all of them.
54	* ''Manga/WolfGirlAndBlackPrince'': Erika Shinohara and Kyouya Sata start fake dating as high school students, only for it to [[BecomingTheMask turn into something real]]. [[spoiler:In the epilogue, they are shown married with a daughter, who was conceived out of wedlock.]]
55	* In ''Manga/WotakoiLoveIsHardForOtaku'', BetaCouple Kabakura and Koyanagi have been dating since high school. They're still together as working adults, albeit with a lot of bickering. [[spoiler:Kabakura finally proposes to Koyanagi in volume 7, and they later get married in volume 9.]]
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Comic Books]]
59	* ''ComicBook/TheAvengers:'' [[ComicBook/{{Hellcat}} Patsy Walker]] married her high school crush Buzz Baxter. Unfortunately for her, Buzz joined the military and went to Vietnam, and came back... [[ShellShockedVeteran changed]]. The marriage soon began to fall apart, even more so when Buzz got a job working for the Brand Corporation, who were having problems with Beast of X-Men fame.
60	* ComicBook/XMen:
61	** ComicBook/JeanGrey and ComicBook/{{Cyclops\|MarvelComics}}. Although the execution was a bit ... complicated.
62	** Also to some extent Angel and Candy Southern, although they lived together without marrying.
63	* Played with in ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan''. In #13, Peter tells his best friend Mary Jane his secret, but Mary's squeals of delight lead Aunt May to the wrong conclusion as to what is going on in Peter's room. She however reminds Peter that his parents met in high school. Much later on down the line, in the third annual, Peter tells MJ that when the time comes, he would totally marry her.
64	* ''ComicBook/{{Robin\|1993}}'': Zigg-zagged with Tim and Steph. They did not meet in high school, but eventually she transferred to his school, but they didn't have any classes together and he avoided her because Bruce hadn't allowed him to share his secret identity with his girlfriend, then ''he'' transferred but they started hanging out even at school even though they didn't attend the same one, then they broke up when she faked her death without telling him, but they eventually got their happily ever after as shown in the pages of ComicBook/{{Convergence}}.
65	* In the ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' story "That Was Then...", Bugleboy and Majorette are teenagers trying to decide what to do with their lives. Bugleboy wants to continue being a superhero, but Majorette wants to retire and go to law school; the two are unsure if their relationship can hold.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:FanWorks]]
69	* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': Shinji and Asuka met in middle school. The liked each other but due to their numerous traumas and the ongoing war they were unable to connect. After the war and the end of the world they were forcibly separated for three years. They met again but they were apparently too mind-broken to have a healthy relationship. Though they got help and after many talks, soul-searching and forgiveness they reconciled and got married.
70	* ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': After their FirstKiss Shinji and Asuka had a long, civil talk where they open up to each other and realized they were the same. They got together but they tried to keep their relationship secret out of fear to be separated. When an adult found out about their relationship and objected they firmly declared this was NOT a middle-school crush and they did not plan breaking up... ever.
71	* ''Best Days of Our Lives'' (a RealPersonFic on AFF) reinvents Music/KellyClarkson and Music/CarrieUnderwood as this, as they meet in high school and have a relationship for a while before the strain of trying to make it as a couple proves too much at the time. They reunite after Carrie wins her season of ''Series/AmericanIdol'', Carrie having tried out for the show just to try and attract Kelly's attention again as she couldn't find any other way to speak to her given Kelly's current fame.
72	* ''Fanfic/TheChildOfLove'': Shinji and Asuka were fourteen and went to the same school when they had an one-night stand and Asuka got pregnant. Asuka's pregnancy strained their complicated relationship but they fell in love despite everything and after a while got married.
73	* ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfAnElderGod'': Shinji, Asuka and Rei met when they were fourteen. Although Shinji also had feelings for Rei he fell in love with Asuka. At the end of the history [[spoiler:he and Asuka left human civilization together. It is implied that they will always be together, not matter what.]]
74	* ''Fanfic/DoingItRightThisTime'': Shinji, Rei and Asuka were fourteen when they met (the latter was thirteen to be precise). Shinji liked both girls and they liked him back, but due to their psychological issues they were unable to make a connection. After going through a war, the end of the world and returning to the past they do not want to repeat past mistakes and they are very sick of romantic angst, jealousy and woe so the three of them get together.
75	* ''Fanfic/GhostsOfEvangelion'': Shinji and Asuka met when they were fourteen and thirteen, respectively, and they remained together during their whole lives.
76	* ''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'':
77	** Shinji and Asuka cared for each other since they were thirteen, but due to their numerous trauma and neuroses they were unable to reach out each other until they were nineteen. For the time the story starts out they have been married for five years.
78	** Touji and Hikari are a straighter example, having met in middle school and being together (and engaged) after twelve years.
79	* ''Fanfic/HigherLearning'': Shinji and Asuka went to the same middle school and they liked each other but they could not connect due to their troubles and their different ways to deal with their psychological issues. However a new teacher encouraged them to look things from another perspective and they slowly grew closer and eventually became a couple.
80	* ''Fanfic/TheIkaris'': Shinji and Asuka liked each other but they were in denial and oblivious to each other's feelings. Then one night they got drunk and got married. To Asuka's distress and annoyance she found out the marriage was legal even if they were only fourteen.
81	* ''Fanfic/JoJoNewUniverse'': Jotaro and Fluttershy are already dating by the start of ''Stardust Crusaders'', and both Josuke and Pinkie Pie along with Koichi and Yukako would start dating during ''Diamond is Unbreakable''. All three couples are still HappilyMarried in later parts.
82	* ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'': Asuka started to go to Shinji's school when she moved to Misato's apartment. During the Angel War they grew closer and eventually fell in love and got married. At the last chapter of the redux [[spoiler:Asuka told him she got pregnant.]]
83	* ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': Shinji and Asuka were fourteen and thirteen respectively when they met. They liked each other but Shinji never saw it until it was too late. After returning to the past he is trying to make things right this time and hook up with the only girl he has ever loved.
84	* ''Fanfic/TheOneILoveIs'': Asuka and Rei competed over Shinji when they went to the same school until he [[spoiler:chose Asuka.]] In the epilogue they got married.
85	* ''Manga/ReTake'': Two-for-one in this story. After returning to the past [[spoiler:-or so he thought-]] Shinji starts to reach Asuka out. They fell in love and Asuka proposed to him despite of them being only fourteen. Later Shinji found out [[spoiler:that was not his past but an alternate dimension. He returned to his own time with his Asuka and they finally got together. Meanwhile their counterparts tried to solve their own issues. The series concludes when that timeline's Shinji travels Germany to find his Asuka and proposed to her. She says yes.]]
86	* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': Asuka and Shinji went to the same middle-school together. Shinji fell for Asuka because her passion and bravery and Asuka fell for Shinji for he was nice, caring and was always there for her. After a talk where Asuka told she needed someone she could rely upon and Shinji confessed, they got together.
87	* ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'': Due to the complexities inherent to time-travel Shinji and Asuka are middle-schoolers... and are married, although no one else knows. After the end of the world they worked together to survive, fallen in love and got married... and then they were sent back in time, waking up in their teenager bodies. Before the FinalBattle Shinji proposed to Asuka again (technically for first time) and she accepted. In the ''[[Webcomic/AkiChansLife sequel]]'' they were planning their wedding.
88	* Mary Anne's short in ''WebVideo/StoneybrookRevisitedABabySittersClubFanSeries'' revolves around her being engaged to her middle school sweetheart Logan.
89	* ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'': Shinji met Asuka when he was fourteen. Despite of being a trickster and a manipulative bastard he fell for her very, ''very hard''. She also fell in love with him, and for the end of the story they were married.
90	* In ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionGenocide'', Shinji and Asuka were teenagers when they met and fell in love. Although they love each other, they argued and fought a lot, and Shinji despaired of coming to understand Asuka. However, after the death of Kaworu they slowly learn to open up to each other, and Shinji swears that he'll never leave her, not matter what.
91	* In ''Fanfic/TilDeathDoUsPart'', it's mentioned that Professor Oak was this with his first wife Rose. They spent several decades together before she died of illness in her 50s.
92	* In the third chapter of ''Fanfic/XMen1970'', [[ComicBook/{{Cyclops}} Scott Summers]] and ComicBook/JeanGrey, who met and fell in love when they were sixteen, get married.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Film]]
96	* Main plot point of the movie ''Film/SeventeenAgain2009''. The spark dies out in the marriage of two HighSchoolSweethearts. In a freak aesop inducing incident he becomes seventeen again, in hopes of getting another chance at life. Guess what he learns and who he ends up with.
97	* Andy and Polly, two teens in EverytownAmerica in the Film/AndyHardy film series. No matter what momentary complications ensue, Andy and Polly are getting back together by the end--until series finale ''Andy Hardy Comes Home'', a revival produced 12 years after the main series ended. Actress Ann Rutherford, regarding the High School Sweethearts trope to be unrealistic, refused to return, so a new character was introduced as Andy's wife.
98	* The ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' trilogy:
99	** ''Film/BackToTheFuture1'': Lorraine states that she knew she would spend the rest of her life with George [=McFly=] after they kissed at the HighSchoolDance. Depending which timeline you're using, this is one week or less after she ''met'' him. There may be a slight subversion, though, as in the original timeline, the marriage was less than perfect.
100	** ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII'':
101	*** The main character, Marty, has this relationship with his girlfriend, Jennifer -- we see them married with two kids in the future. But in this first timeline, the marriage isn't very happy.
102	*** The bad timeline has a newsreel claiming Biff and Lorraine were this, when they were clearly anything but.
103	* ''Film/CelesteAndJesseForever'': Celeste and Jesse married each other fresh out of high school, which is one of the reasons why their break-up is so rocky.
104	* ''Film/TheConjuringUniverse'': Ed and Lorraine Warren met and fell in LoveAtFirstSight as teenagers and never looked back, being shown as [[HappilyMarried utterly devoted to each other]] even thirty years later.
105	-->'''Lorraine''': Did I ever tell you the story of how we met? ....We were seventeen. I went out with my girlfriends and he was an usher at the movie theater that we went to. Afterwards we went out for ice cream. He took me out to the park, but then it started to rain, and we stood under the gazebo until it stopped. That was thirty years ago. I could go back to the house, Father -- but my ''home'' is here, with him.
106	* The ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'' trilogy:
107	** Troy and Gabriella. In the final movie they end up going to colleges 32.7 miles away from each other, so they can stay together. [[note]]Though there are other justifications for their choices: Troy wants to escape from the pressure from East High and his family, and Gabriella goes to her dream school (Stanford) so they're not throwing their futures away. [[/note]].
108	** [[BetaCouple Chad and Taylor]] offer a more realistic example: They date for most of the trilogy but let things come to an end when they graduate, as Chad admits that you don't take the girl with you after high school. The other couples such as Ryan/Kelsi, Jason/Martha and Zeke/Sharpay are also shown to be more casual, and it's obvious Troy and Gabriella are the exception rather than the rule.[[note]]Note that both Ryan and Kelsi ''do'' get into Juilliard and may have stayed together, but there's no clarification either way, and neither of them chooses Juilliard ''because'' of the other.[[/note]]
109	* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': They don't actually attend high school but Katniss Everdeen and Peeta begin their romance at age sixteen.
110	* ''Film/TheKissingBooth3'':
111	** Played straight with [[spoiler:Lee and Rachel. They start dating in high school, break up right before college, but reconnect as adults. They are engaged to be married in the epilogue.]]
112	** Averted with [[spoiler:Elle and Noah. Like Lee and Rachel, they begin dating in high school, then break up before the former goes to college. However, despite remaining friendly, they are not shown together as adults.]]
113	* Brutally parodied by ''Film/NotAnotherTeenMovie''. Jake spends much of the film trying to get together with Janey. At the end, she debates whether she should go off to an art school in Paris. Jake starts to convince her not to go, then he realizes the problems with this trope:
114	--> '''Jake''': Maybe you should get on that plane to Paris. Cause if you stay, we really only have the summer, then I go to college and we'll talk on the phone and spend the occasional weekend together which is nice. But chances are one night I'm gonna get wrecked and have unprotected sex with some girl in my dorm. You'll find her thong and call me a slut... I'll call you a cock-tease and we'll break up. So when you really think about it, what's the point?
115	* In ''Film/{{Se7en}}'', Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow are a married couple who were high school sweethearts. Morgan Freeman [[LampshadeHanging comments]] on how rare that is. [[spoiler: It does NOT end well, sadly.]]
116	* The ultimate fate of [[spoiler: Jenna and Matt]] in ''Film/ThirteenGoingOnThirty''.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Literature]]
120	* Almost all the main couples in Creator/JodiPicoult's books. They may not still be together, but they did (or will) get married.
121	* Several from the Literature/HarryPotter books: [[spoiler:most notably Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny]], but also James/Lily and Arthur/Molly. [[spoiler:Neville/Hannah might be another example, but it's not clear whether they dated at Hogwarts or got together later]].
122	** Justified, given that Hogwarts is the only school for magic-users in the UK, and British magical society has rather strong HiddenElfVillage tendencies, it's kind of inevitable that this trope would be the norm.
123	** One aversion of this is [[spoiler: Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour]], as the latter went to Beauxbatons instead of Hogwarts, but that was because she was born and lived in France during her teenage years.
124	** Another aversion is Draco Malfoy, who doesn't end up with Pansy Parkinson, the closest girl to him in school, but the erstwhile new character Astoria Greengrass (younger sister of Daphne Greengrass, a Slytherin girl in Harry's year, who gets exactly ''one'' mention in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]''). WordOfGod is that Pansy was created to represent girls who bullied her in school, and she specifically didn't want Malfoy to end up with her, especially after his CharacterDevelopment.
125	* ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga'':
126	** Edward Cullen and Bella Swan got married a few weeks after they both graduated from High School and had their baby a month after it... and it ''[[ExpressDelivery wasn't]]'' out of wedlock... Yeah, ''Twilight'' is weird like that.
127	** Bella's parents, Charlie and Renée, met in high school, and married shortly after graduation. They divorced soon after, and Renée eventually married another man in her thirties.
128	* Averted in ''Literature/BetsyTacy''. Despite the large Crowd and multiple love affairs, very few characters end up marrying their high school sweetheart, and instead marry someone they met after graduation.
129	* A variation occurs in ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. Katniss and Peeta don't actually attend school after their games, but they become a couple at seventeen and spend the rest of their lives together.
130	%% * Zoey and Heath from ''Literature/TheHouseOfNight''.
131	* Yumi and Sachiko from ''Literature/MariaWatchesOverUs'' might qualify. In any case, Sachiko wants to attend Lilian University just to stay near Yumi.
132	[[/folder]]
133
134	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
135	* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Buffy's parents, Joyce and Hank, though they were actually college sweethearts. Joyce met Buffy's father at a school dance, while going stag.
136	* Pictured above: Zach and Kelly on ''Series/SavedByTheBell''; it even got lampshaded in [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saved_by_the_bell_zach_and_kelly_536.jpg one episode.]]
137	* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'', which started in ''Elementary'' School. Though to be fair, Cory considered Topanga a freak back then, and he didn't really like her until about Middle School.
138	** Later [[RetCon retconned]] into being "he always loved her, but Eric teased him so much he assumed a 'girls are icky' persona to fit in." How much this explanation works is open to debate.
139	* ''Series/DawsonsCreek'' ends with [[spoiler: Joey and Pacey]] together.
140	* Bob and Amy Duncan in the Creator/DisneyChannel original series ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie''. Bob played basketball; Amy was the mascot.
141	* Al and Peggy from ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' used to date in high school. However, their marriage is ''far'' from being happy. [[PlayedForLaughs And it's fucking hilarious]].
142	* Strongly implied to be the fate of Naomi and Emily in ''Series/{{Skins}}'' (and eventually confirmed by WordOfGod). Averted with the earlier Tony and Michelle though, who realise that they had great times together but now they're going to different universities.
143	* Jenna's parents on ''Series/{{Awkward}}'' who married at a young age following the TeenPregnancy that resulted in Jenna.
144	* Marshall and Lily on ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' ''barely'' escape this trope (they've been together since the first day of college). However, Lily's actual high school sweetheart, Scooter, is convinced he and Lily are this trope, and fifteen years later, he's ''still'' in love with her and chasing after her, trying to cajole her into leaving Marshall. One wonders why she hasn't slapped him with a restraining order yet...
145	* In the backstory of ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'' Matt and Elena seemed to be destined to become this but the deaths of her parents caused her to break off the relationship. Then the Salvatore brothers showed up and Matt realized that they would never get back together. Considering the high death toll in Mystic Falls, it is likely that few of the high school couples will even survive to have a graduation.
146	* This is lampshaded and deconstructed on ''Series/ShamelessUS''. Lip is extremely intelligent and has a great shot at a college scholarship if he can get over his BrilliantButLazy tendencies. His girlfriend Mandy knows that if he goes away to college, their relationship will not survive. However, she does not want to trap Lip in a life of poverty so she goes out of her way to motivate him to apply to colleges and even sends out applications without his knowledge.
147	* ''Series/GossipGirl'' has Chuck and Blair, and Dan and Serena.
148	* Subverted in the early seasons of ''Franchise/PowerRangers''. Tommy ends up marrying his SecondLove, Katherine with whom he did not start dating until just prior to graduation, and spent some time away from post-''[[Series/PowerRangersTurbo Turbo]]''.
149	* Summer and Seth of the ''Series/TheOC'' got married at the series finale.
150	* Donna and David from ''Series/BeverlyHills90210'' got married by the end of the series. This was eventually subverted in the spin-off, where we find out they have seperated.
151	* This did not work out well for Will Schuester in ''Series/{{Glee}}''. In fact, one might even call it a {{Deconstruction}}. Other than that, there are ''plenty'' of those to go around by series finale: [[spoiler: Santana and Britney, Kurt and Blaine, Rachel and Jesse all got married (the first two couples actually had a double wedding together). Artie and Tina and Quinn and Puck are hinted to possibly become cases of this as well.]]
152	* During most of the series, this seems to be the case of Kevin and Winnie in ''Series/TheWonderYears''... [[spoiler:only to be subverted in the GrandFinale.]]
153	* ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'': All the relationships of the main characters are this.
154	* ''Series/TheMentalist'': Or rather, middle-school sweethearts. In "Bloodsport" it's mentioned that Betriz and Manny have been dating since they were thirteen and married since they were seventeen.
155	* ''Series/RadioEnfer'': A FlashForward episode portrays Léo and Camille as this trope, even though later episodes (specifically the two-parter episode where Camille breaks up with Léo) indicate it will likely not happen.
156	[[/folder]]
157
158	[[folder:Music]]
159	* John Cougar Mellencamp's 1982 hit 'Jack and Diane' is ''all'' about this trope, and the aftermath when reality hits.
160	* A theme so common in youth-oriented music from the 1950s and early 1960s [[SillyLoveSongs it could almost be a trope in itself]].
161	* [[DeconstructedTrope Completely deconstructed]] and [[DiscussedTrope discussed]] in Music/SlickRick's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iZasCzxIX8 "Teenage Love"]] from ''Music/TheGreatAdventuresOfSlickRick''. It initially starts by playing the trope straight, but after enough time passes, the [[MarriedTooYoung relationship deteriorates badly]], with the implication of the relationship becoming very one-sided. Inevitably, the couple breaks up and Rick tells the listeners "If it's not true love, you shouldn't deal with it."
162	* Music/BillyJoel's "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" centers around two high school lovers named Brenda and Eddie, the "popular steadies and the king and the queen of the prom" who marry young but have to divorce due to monetary issues.
163	* Music/ChuckBerry's "You Never Can Tell" is about two high school sweethearts who manage to stay together through careful budgeting and partying (and a lot of love!). Basically, Music/BillyJoel's "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" is what happens when the careful budgeting isn't there, and can be considered an answer record to Music/ChuckBerry's track.
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
167	* ''ComicStrip/ForBetterOrForWorse'' had Elizabeth and [[CreatorsPet Anthony]], who dated for a time in high school, decided they were BetterAsFriends, then were eventually StrangledByTheRedString so that the strip could end with a wedding. Michael took this a few steps further with Deanna: she was his first crush back in elementary, moved away, then they were reunited after he witnessed her car accident.
168	** Averted with the youngest Patterson, April. The Strip of Destiny revealed she'd moved away and had hooked up with an unnamed "country boy". Prior to this, however, the strip had teased the idea of her ending up with her childhood friend Gerald.
169	[[/folder]]
170
171	[[folder:Video Games]]
172	* Aaron and Amy, two of the main characters from the DatingSim ''VideoGame/AlwaysRememberMe'', have been together for a few years, with Amy starting her first year of college. The townspeople even acknowledge them as an OfficialCouple.
173	* In ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'', [[spoiler:since the protagonist and Lauren get engaged in her epilogue, they are implied to become this in the future]].
174	* Enforced in ''VideoGame/GalGun'', where the actions of some clumsy cupids result in the protagonist being required to find his true love at the high school that very day, or else he will never have a relationship with anyone. {{Lampshaded}} in "Double Peace", where the (apprentice) cupid Ekoro claims that studies show most people meet their eventual spouse in high school, and the protagonist responds with "What, do angels read ''Cosmo'' as well?"
175	* In ''VideoGame/GrowingUp'', you can date your high school friend and marry them in the epilogue if your sexual orientation is compatible and you developed your relationship with them well enough.
176	* Kyo Kusanagi and Yuki from ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'': It's not mentioned ''when'' they exactly started dating, but Kyo started the story as a highschool student and Yuki was one of his classmates. And years after Kyo dropped out of highschool (ComicBookTime notwithstanding), ''XIII'' implies that they're still together, even if theirs is a LongDistanceRelationship due to obvious reasons.
177	** It's double invoked in the KOF: KYO canon: Kyo and Yuki hang out together in the school grounds, and in the game [[http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Yuki_Kushinada97/KyoYukiMai-Tea.png they often go]] [[http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Yuki_Kushinada97/YukiKyo.png into dates]] [[http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r270/Yuki_Kushinada97/KyoandYuki.png wearing their highschool uniforms.]]
178	* The ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'' series lives and breathes this trope, thanks to the Legend of the respective High Schools of each game, where it's said that a confession at a specific place of the school (a WorldTree in the first and fourth games, a Bell Tower in the second, a slope in the third, a church in the GenderFlip game) during Graduation Day will grant the young sweethearts eternal happiness in their couple. It's thus ''very'' SeriousBusiness for (most of) the characters in those games to find love during their 3 years of HighSchool and get this confession at the place of legend ; some of them even joined those specific schools for having the chance of being blessed by this legend, such as [[spoiler: Yuu Satsuki]] of ''Tokimeki Memorial'' ''[[spoiler: 4]]''. One of the girls from the first game, [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Yukari]] [[YamatoNadeshiko Koshiki]], is the fruit and living proof of the legend - her very HappilyMarried parents were Kirameki high students, and 20-something years ago they confessed their love under the tree.
179	* In ''VisualNovel/TrueLoveJunaiMonogatari'', the FeaturelessProtagonist's parents make him live on his own (though the flat is owned by the family) in hopes to have him get a girlfriend before he graduates from high school. Out of the eight prospect girlfriends, five (Remi, Mayumi, Mikae, Ryoko and Miyuki) attend his same school (and Mikae's case doubles as ChildhoodFriendRomance), and another (Katsuya's sister Arisa) goes to a local all-girls highschool, therefore they can fill in this trope if they're pursued.
180	[[/folder]]
181
182	[[folder: Webcomics]]
183	* ''Webcomic/{{Zoophobia}}'': Alanzo and Jackie were this, and are now HappilyMarried.
184	* ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'': Lindesfarne and Fenton met in high school, and are now HappilyMarried. They avoided the whole 'splitting up due to college' part by going to the same school. Then again, considering Lindesfarne still loved Fenton despite believing him ''dead'' for almost a year, it probably wouldn't have stopped them.
185	** By technicality Fiona and Rudy qualify as well. They knew each other as babies, but were apparently too young to remember it, and they fought all the time anyway according to their old daycare minder, so their meeting in high school they considered their 'first' meeting.
186	* ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'': The ClassReunion DistantFinale reveals that of all the teenage couples at Belleville High, [[spoiler:only Jack and Katy-Ann stayed together and got married.]] [[spoiler:Although the chapter reveals that the title couple had an OffscreenBreakup sometime during their senior year, now that six years have passed and they've both matured, they decide to give it another shot. They may end up as another example of this, but the strip [[MaybeEverAfter ends on that note.]]]]
187	[[/folder]]
188
189	[[folder:Web Original]]
190	* Janet Claymont and Chadd Crossen from V4 of ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest''. Turns out it was somewhat one sided though, as Chadd spent his dying moments forgiving Janet for cheating on him, whilst Janet spent hers regretting that she couldn't think of something more worthwhile than him.
191	[[/folder]]
192
193	[[folder:Western Animation]]
194	%%* Parodied extensively on ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh''.
195	* Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' ultimately become this--they've known each other since their first day of preschool (when they were around three or four) and become an OfficialCouple [[SeriesFauxnale the night of their high school prom during their junior year.]] The second SeriesFinale of the show tackled the "fall in love in high school, but what about college?"-issue: Ron (who applies to pretty much every single college he can find on the off chance of getting in ''somewhere'') stresses over the fact that it's unlikely he'll end up going to the same college as Kim (who, because of her extraordinary physical and academic abilities, could easily get into just about any place of higher education ''on the planet''). While viewers aren't shown what happens, WordOfGod confirms that Kim and Ron will be together forever.
196	** WordOfGod has also said that they had been planning on eventually making Kim and Ron a couple from the very beginning, instead of having them stay just friends for the entire franchise.
197	** Also, an alternative ending to the second series finale shows that Kim and Ron do end up going to the same college.
198	* On ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', Hank and Peggy, Bill and Lenore (before she crushed him in the divorce), and Dale and Nancy are this. And while Nancy does have an affair with John Redcorn for several years, its hard to understand how someone as odd as Dale got with her in the first place.
199	* Homer and Marge from ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.
200	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', [[OfficialCouple Terry and his long-time girlfriend, Dana]], become this in the [[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueUnlimited JLU]], fully absorbed finale episode, "Epilogue", when Terry decides he's going to propose to her at the end of the episode.
201	* Doughy Latchkey's parents on ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'' are this. They ''still'' look and act like they're in high school and have find that Doughy gets in the way of this.
202	* As with the comics, Cyclops and Jean Grey throughout the various X-Men cartoons, highlighted most obviously in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' and ''WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009''.
203	* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'':
204	** A flashback from the season 1 finale {{Implied\|Trope}} that [[UnholyMatrimony Alador and Odalia Blight]] were dating during their time at [[WizardingSchool Hexside]].
205	** Willow's fathers are also shown to have been on a Flying Derby team together during their teenage years via a newspaper clipping in "Any Sport in a Storm", though much like with Odalia and Alador it isn't stated if they were already together.
206	** Eda and Raine first met during an interscholastic event when they were around 14 and became fast friends, with Raine transfering to Hexside shortly afterwards so they could stay together. Sadly, they broke up at some point in their late teens/early twenties because Eda's secretiveness regarding her curse ended up pushing Raine away.
207	** Eda's flashback to her first meeting with Raine also shows two girls in the potions track who appear to be very close and are implied to be Boscha's mothers due to her resemblance to them.
208	** [[spoiler:Luz and Amity are well on their way to this by the time of the epilogue, having been together for several years and still going strong as Luz prepares to attend college in the Demon Realm.]]
209	[[/folder]]
210
211	[[folder:Real Life]]
212	* Actor Creator/JeffDaniels and his wife Kathleen Treado met in high school, in Chelsea, Michigan, and married in 1979.
213	* [[Music/{{U2}} Bono]] and Alison "Ali" Hewson (née Stewart) both met at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1973, in Clontarf, UsefulNotes/{{Dublin}}, UsefulNotes/{{Ireland}}. They got married in 1982.
214	* Music/SnoopDogg and his wife Shante both met in high school, in Chelsea, Michigan, and married in 1997. Snoop filed for divorce in 2004, but they reconciled their differences and stayed together.
215	* Creator/MarioLucero and [[Creator/IsabelLucero Isabel Lucero (née Ruiz)]] both met at Sandia View Academy, and stated dating in 2004, in [[UsefulNotes/{{Albuquerque}} Corrales]], UsefulNotes/NewMexico. They got married on their 10th anniversary in 2014.
216	* Marshall "Music/{{Eminem}}" Mathers has been twice married to Kimberly Scott, whom he met in high school. They've since separated and agreed to joint custody of their three children.[[note]]Hailie, born of Marshall and Kim; Alaina, one of their nieces through Kim's sister Dawn; and Whitney, Kim's daughter from another relationship.[[/note]]
217	* Wrestling/VinceMcMahon and his wife Linda met when they were 16 and 13 respectively, and Vince proposed to Linda as soon as she graduated high school. They've been together ever since, despite all the adulterous and abusive nonsense Vince gets up to [[{{Kayfabe}} as part of the show]].
218	* Music/JoyDivision frontman Ian Curtis and Deborah Woodruff married at 19, but sadly Curtis ended up [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] at 23 amid divorce proceedings.
219	* Jon Music/BonJovi married his high school sweetheart Dorothea Hurley in 1989. They're still married.
220	* Eurovision winner Music/{{Nicole}}, who won with "Ein Bisschen Frieden" in 1982, at the age of 17, two years later married her "Best friend I happened to fall in love with" Winfried Seibert, having known him since they were both 14. They're still together, to the point where it's a blessing given by grandparents in the Saarland, where Nicole is from, "May you have a marriage as happy and as long lasting as Nicole Seibert's"!
221	* Music/GeorgeStrait eloped with his high school sweetheart, Norma Voss, in 1971. Over fifty years later, they're still happily married.
222	* UsefulNotes/DickCheney married his high school sweetheart, Lynne Vincent, in 1964, when they were in their early twenties -- they had met at age 14.
223	[[/folder]]

Context Main / HighSchoolSweethearts