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19[[quoteright:350:[[Franchise/HarryPotter https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ron_hermione_false_lead.jpg]]]]
20[[caption-width-right:350:It took three years, but their romance finally pushed Victor and Padma completely out of the frame.\
21[-[[https://www.deviantart.com/captain-nana/art/Ron-and-Hermione-61639807 "Ron and Hermione" by captain-nana]]-].]]
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23%% Caption selected per Image Pickin' thread. Please don't change or remove without approval from here:
24%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900
25%%
26->''"Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie, this guy would be buried in the credits as something like 'Second Tall Man'."''
27-->-- [[https://www.everseradio.com/winners-of-the-washington-post-style-invitational-bad-simile-and-metaphor-contest/ Winners of the Washington Post Style Invitational Bad Simile and Metaphor Contest]]
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29This is the love interest's love interest; the person brought in, either for an episode or an arc, to date the one that the main character (or just a character) is in love with. The smitten character will be [[GreenEyedEpiphany jealous]], take an instant dislike to him (often being [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim blind to what attractions he does have]]), and do whatever they can to [[RelationshipSabotage sabotage the budding relationship]]. Usually, the character is either an alpha-dog {{Jerkass}} or a bland, boring milquetoast. They may also be the character's AlwaysSomeoneBetter or TheAce to really inspire the GreenEyedMonster to take hold.
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31This is a hard character to successfully pull off, probably because they usually start out more as a plot device than a character. In many cases, they exist solely to create [[CockFight tension and keep the lovers apart]], so there's a real risk that your Romantic False Lead, rather than proving a worthy rival to the main character's romantic interests, will simply end up being a rather flat, boring character who just seems to show up and occupy space between the two romantic leads. As a result, this can often risk the show falling into a RomanticPlotTumor. Furthermore, except in rare cases the False Lead is unlikely to generate the same loyalty or sympathy as the main character, meaning that your audience is liable to just spend the time the False Lead's around loudly wishing for him or her to just go away ([[DieForOurShip and possibly die]]) already so the two characters they're interested in seeing together can actually get together.
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33Characterisation can also be tricky. If the false lead is too likable, then the [[GreenEyedEpiphany jealous character]] will seem like a selfish jerk who cares more about winning their beloved for themselves than [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy seeing them happy]] -- or alternatively, since 'perfect' tends to equal 'uninteresting' in the minds of many when it comes to fictional characters, a ''too'' perfect and nice character will just lose the audience's interest in comparison to the more flawed and interesting main character. Many writers go for making this character a [[VillainyFreeVillain complete jerk of a partner]] instead, but on the other hand, if this character is too unlikable, we'll wonder what the love interest could [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim possibly see in them]] and lose respect for them. A third approach is to make them both, [[BitchInSheepsClothing outwardly nice and internally a jerk]], but this can be tricky to write. And in extremely rare occasions, the Romantic False Lead might be more interesting and likable than both main characters together, making the audience wonder why we're not getting a better story about ''[[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter this]]'' person instead.
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35When introduced for a short arc, often exists expressly for the purpose of contrasting their relationship with the OfficialCouple's, in order to [[EveryoneCanSeeIt show how perfect the "official couple" is for each other]].
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37Sometimes to up the angst, the writer will go so far as to marry the love interest to the false lead. If this happens, expect the OfficialCouple to have a tawdry affair.
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39Occasionally, the writers step in themselves to engage in CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds. This is usually another trap in and of itself, as it is difficult to do so and not seem cheap, as happens with DerailingLoveInterests.
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41It's not unheard of in RomanceNovel series for the romantic false lead to end up starring in their own book later. These characters are usually the more sympathetic type, though sometimes LoveRedeems for the jerkass ones as well.
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43Supertrope to DisposableFiance and WrongGuyFirst (in this case, the decoy is a nasty piece of work).
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45Compare HopelessSuitor, RomanticRunnerUp, NewOldFlame, and FalseSoulmate. Also compare TemporaryLoveInterest where the relationship is unsuccessful because there is no OfficialCouple and [[StatusQuoIsGod that won't change]]. Often the focus of DieForOurShip. See also PreviouslyOverlookedParamour, the LoveInterest to whom the Romantic False Lead often gives way eventually.
46----
47!!Examples:
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49[[foldercontrol]]
50
51[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
52* ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko}}'': Season 2 introduces Tadano, a donkey whom Retsuko meets in Driving School and starts a relationship. As it turns out, he's a rich tech mogul who adores Retsuko and is willing to give her whatever she wants to make her happy... [[spoiler: except marriage; by the end of the season, Retsuko realizes she wants to MarryForLove, but Tadano doesn't believe marriage and kids are worth the time and won't compromise with Retsuko on that front. The two end up breaking up, but it's shown they still care for one another and Tadano may be [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy secretly working in the background to get Retsuko her true happy end]]]].
53* ''Manga/CaseClosed'':
54** A good part of [[GentlemanDetective Inspector]] [[NonIdleRich Shiratori]]'s role in the story was simply to throw a wrench between the [[CannotSpitItOut sweet yet awkward]] relationship between [[ActionGirl Sato]] and [[ButtMonkey Takagi.]] [[spoiler: Not only [[OfficialCouple Sato and Takagi still get together]] but he's revealed to have [[LovingAShadow misguided yet sympathetic]] reasons to like Satou. And then [[BecauseDestinySaysSo said reasons ultimately guide him]] [[FirstGirlAfterAll to the girl he actually falls for]].]]
55** It looks like [[{{Ojou}} Momiji]] [[AwesomenessByAnalysis Oouka]] is definitely being set as one of these... for [[spoiler: ''[[TheIdiotFromOsaka Heiji]] [[HotBlooded Hattori]] and [[TsunDere Kazuha]] [[PatientChildhoodLoveInterest Touyama]]'']], of all people
56* In ''Manga/DreaminSun'', soon after moving in, Shimana discovers that Asahi already has a crush on someone else: her childhood friend Manami. She gives up on him and soon the series focuses on a love triangle between her, Zen, and Taiga.
57* One episode of ''Manga/InuYasha'' introduces Kuranosuke Takeda, a wealthy young nobleman who proposes marriage to [[LadyOfWar Sango]]. Atypically and in something of a subversion, Sango's canon love interest [[ChivalrousPervert Miroku]] refrains conspicuously from protesting or interfering, taking instead a firm IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy approach and leaving the decision entirely in Sango's hands, since Kuranosuke can potentially give her the peaceful life that she badly needs; [[ShipperOnDeck Kagome]] is the one that gets riled up.
58* In ''Manga/JunaiNoSeinen'', Ian comes to Japan hoping to get together again with his ex-[[FriendsWithBenefits sex friend]] Kaoru. Daigo, Kaoru's lover, thinks that Ian is the Romantic False Lead, as does Ian himself, but it turns out he's actually the HopelessSuitor and never stood a chance. Kaoru is just invoking the trope to make Daigo jealous for his own reassurance.
59* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'':
60** One hilarious running gag is that Kaguya thinks that Fujiwara is after Shirogane because the two are already pretty close at the start of the manga even though [[SingleTargetSexuality Shirogane only has his eyes on Kaguya.]] Surprisingly, it's ''Fujiwara'' who is most appalled of even remotely considering him a love interest since [[DisappointingOlderSibling his inability to do basically anything with out many hours of training]] has left her being unable to see him as anything more than a child she raised.
61** For [[{{Deuteragonist}} the secondary couple]], the romantic false lead would be [[spoiler: Tsubame. Ishigami starts developing a crush for Tsubame at the end of the Sports Festival and the question of [[WillTheyOrWontThey whether or not they'll get together lasts for quite a few chapters]], but when graduation comes, Tsubame turns Ishigami down because... well... [[NoSparks she doesn't like him the way he likes her.]] Meanwhile, Iino feels nothing but pain [[GreenEyedEpiphany every time she sees the two interacting,]] making her reevaluate what Ishigami means to her. While Tsubame ultimately turns down Ishigami, her role in his and Iino's story [[ChekhovsGunman was absolutely necessary]] for the both of them to develop as characters and for a relationship between Ishigami and Iino to be possible in the first place.]]
62* Kurumi of ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'' tries to win Kazehaya's affections, but her plan backfires because he simply doesn't like her. Her attempt does bring Sawako to confront her true feelings for Kazehaya, though. Ultimately, Kurumi fails to be a true false lead but achieves the same result.
63* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', WordOfGod revealed that [[spoiler: Sakura's [[LikeBrotherAndSister close friendship]] with Naruto, LikeParentLikeSpouse implications, and his one-sided crush on her were a deliberate RedHerring to keep the true romance between [[OfficialCouple Naruto and Hinata]], which had been planned since the early stages of the manga, as a surprise. In a later interview, he revealed that Sakura was ''never'' intended to be Naruto's main love interest, while Hinata ''always'' was, and that Naruto and Sakura were always going to be JustFriends and [[TrueCompanions teammates]], because he ''never'' thought about making them a couple]]. It entered a whole new level in ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'' where Sakura not only took a CoolBigSis role towards both [[TwiceShy Naruto and Hinata]] and was their ''biggest'' ShipperOnDeck (along with the rest of the Konoha 11), but she also helps Naruto realize that [[LovingAShadow he never genuinely loved her romantically, and his one-sided crush was out of the rivalry he had with Sasuke]]--which was implied back in Chapter 3.
64* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Anime/PrincessTutu''. Rue is an IceQueen ClingyJealousGirl who takes advantage of Mytho's...[[EmotionlessBoy unfortunate]] [[ExtremeDoormat state]]. And then it turns out she was DaddysLittleVillain all along! Except [[spoiler: she really '''[[LoveMartyr does]]''' [[LoveMartyr love him]]. [[AntiVillain And suffers a lot]] because of her "[[DarkMagicalGirl role]]" [[UnrequitedTragicMaiden and her feelings.]] And they end up [[EarnYourHappyEnding Earning Their Happy Ending Together]]]].
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66%% The Romeo X Juliet example below has been completely hidden because the examples don't explain anything about the role of the characters. Please rewrite them if they actually fit.
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68%% * ''Anime/RomeoXJuliet'':
69%% ** Hermione is a sweet and sheltered {{Ojou}} who is also the arranged fiancée of Romeo, the male lead. She ''truly'' does cares for Romeo, save for one episode that had her as a momentary {{Yandere}} after a mild BreakTheCutie process ''and'' some [[StepfordSmiler severe repression]]. She still gets better [[spoiler: and outlives both Romeo and Juliet in the end]].
70%% * [[TallDarkAndSnarky Tybalt]] is once hinted to be a sort-of false lead [[spoiler: despite being [[KissingCousins Juliet's cousin]] *and* [[LukeIAmYourFather Romeo's older half-brother]] in this particular AlternateUniverse]], when he hugs Juliet after she suffers a HeroicBSOD and Romeo sees them. Nothing comes out of it in the long run, though. [[spoiler: And he also outlives them, [[DefrostingIceQueen becoming a kinder person in the process]].]]
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74* In a bonus chapter of the manga of ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'', Moka goes out with another vampire for a while... [[spoiler:Turns out: 1) He blackmailed Moka into it by threatening to kill Tsukune, 2) he's not an actual vampire, but a monster who imitates other monsters.]]
75%%* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'', Rei/Sailor Mars is this for Mamoru in the first season of the anime, though they drift apart shortly before he learns about his past with Princess Serenity, a.k.a. Usagi/Sailor Moon. Though right around the time they ''do'' learn about this, he'd also developed a genuine attraction to Usagi.
76* In ''Anime/ShiningTearsXWind'', Kureha was built up to be Souma's love interest only to find out that she's in love with Kiriya. Souma at first couldn't take it until he gets humbled and then leaves Kureha to Kiriya. She then is DemotedToExtra in the anime because the anime focuses on Souma's viewpoint. If players however do have ''VideoGame/ShiningWind'', then she can be romanced ''to Kiriya'' as he's the protagonist of that game.
77* One of the ''Manga/SorcererHunters'' novels introduces artistic Enzeru Fish, who falls in love with Tira, who's not actually dating but in love with (and clearly [[StrangledByTheRedString destined for]]) Carrot. In a moment of weakness after a fight with Carrot, Tira appears tempted to return Enzeru's affections, but in the end she can't betray her feelings for Carrot.
78* Kozue Mukai from ''Manga/StrawberryOneHundredPercent'' that is introduced in the second half and last girl that falls in love with the main character, Junpei. Readers comment that she seems nearly a {{Filler}} character in the story.
79* The ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' manga had a paramour of Ryoko's show up, after being forgotten due to Kagato's messing with her mind. He also [[IdenticalStranger looks a]] ''[[IdenticalStranger lot]]'' [[IdenticalStranger like Tenchi]], except buffer.
80* Subverted in ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'', to the shock and dismay of the fandom. At the beginning of the manga, Ichigo has a crush on Aoyama Masaya, a kind and popular kendo player. They get along well enough, but then Ichigo is introduced to two other possible love interests - StalkerWithACrush AffablyEvil Quiche and {{Bishonen}} JerkWithAHeartOfGold Shirogane Ryou. And so Ichigo is {{Ship Tease}}d with both...but ultimately does stay together with Masaya in the end.
81* Leon is brought in for the second volume of ''Manga/TheWeathermanIsMyLover'' as a {{Love Interest|s}} for Amasawa. His RelationshipSabotage was doomed to fail from the start considering the manga is ''about'' the [[YaoiGenre romance]] between the OfficialCouple.
82[[/folder]]
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84[[folder:Comic Books]]
85* Rex Splode from ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' briefly dated the title hero's crush Atom Eve, sparking a long-standing rivalry between the two that has gotten very violent. Rex seemed like a complete JerkAss at first but turned out to be just a somewhat arrogant [[TheAce Ace]]. Eventually the two became somewhat reluctant friends. Mark and Eve ''did'' get together, but much later. [[spoiler:Then Rex dies rather tragically in a HeroicSacrifice to defeat a group of lesser villains that Mark could've handled easily...if he and Eve hadn't needed to leave the planet to fight a greater threat at the exact same moment.]]
86* In ''ComicStrip/LibertyMeadows'':
87** The ultimate story arc had female lead Brandy about to marry Roger (her fiancé for the second time), who is rich, handsome, and basically everything strip protagonist Frank (who, oh-so-coincidentally, [[SelfInsertFic sports the same first name as series creator]], Frank Cho) isn't. Despite having already told Frank he blew his chance with her due to his wishy-washiness, she leaves Roger at the altar for Frank, in the first issue of the post-strip comic book.
88** There's also Frank and Jen. It falls apart when it becomes apparent that Jen's just screwing with Frank (she makes out with guys she doesn't even know the names of in front of Frank), and it all finishes with a ''very'' {{Squick}}y DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale storyline.
89* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
90** Jill Stacy, Gwen Stacy's cousin. She was set up as a new love interest for Peter Parker after MJ's apparent death. When Mary Jane was found to be alive, Jill withdrew her advances toward Peter and her entire character is put aside.
91** Caryn Earle (Peters neighbor while he lived in New Jersey) briefly dated Peter until MJ return officially in his life. After, she disappears and is never mentioned.
92** The reporter Norah Winters during the ''ComicBook/BrandNewDay''. She was often flirtatious with Peter while they worked together, but later began dating Randy Robertson, son of Robbie Robertson, editor of the Daily Bugle.
93[[/folder]]
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95[[folder:Fan Works]]
96* ''Fanfic/AdviceAndTrust'': Subverted. When Kaji babysits Shinji and Asuka for several days, Shinji is jealous because his girlfriend's former crush will be taking care of them, but Asuka reassures him that even though she still finds Kaji yummy she has gotten over it.
97* In ''Fanfic/TheBoyBehindTheMask'', while at first pissed at Hiccup for defeating her, [[BestHerToBedHer Astrid then becomes incredibly spiteful towards Katla after finding out that Hiccup is already in a relationship with her, even going so far at to challenge her to a fight for the right to be with Hiccup]].
98* ''Fanfic/ACodetteWorldTour'': Alejandro and Gwen act as these to Bridgette and Cody respectively. As the eponymous couple become friends over the course of the story, they are both too busy pursuing their Romantic False Leads to notice their growing feelings for each other. But after Gwen hooks up with Duncan and brutally rejects Cody while Alejandro's evil true nature is revealed to Bridgette, the two start to fall for each other and ultimately become a thing.
99* ''Fanfic/CrimsonAndNoire'': Similiar to ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', both Kagami and Luka become this in regard Adrien and Marinette shipping mentioned in the tag. The difference is that Kagami is dating ''Marinette'' while Luka dates ''Adrien''.
100* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': After the Third Impact, thinking Shinji could not protect her or would let her down ''again'', Asuka briefly dated Hans, a subordinate of a warlord named Winthrop. When his boss sent him away she "voluntarily" went to Winthrop for protection. She spent over a year as his toy before he tired of her and gave her to his chief of staff, Colonel Jinnai. She spent two years with him before meeting Shinji again. After many, ''many'' ordeals and shared pain she and Shinji started to reconcile and try to have a real relationship. Hilariously Jinnai got mad when he found out, claiming he had been dumped by a slut despite Asuka being nothing but his toy and her telling him plainly she never liked him and she serviced him and his former commander because they would put a bullet in her head if she did not "behave".
101* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': Asuka was unknowingly this to [[OriginalCharacter Mandy]]. Mandy's girlfriend Jessika fell in love with Asuka - something Asuka was completely unaware of - and when Mandi found out [[spoiler:after Jessika's death]] she was jealous, wrongly assuming that Jessika had been unfaithful.
102* ''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'': Kurumi. When Shinji was a high-school student she was after him. However it did not last long because Shinji could not forget Asuka.
103* In ''Fanfic/LearningToBloom'', Weiss has a crush on Neptune and agrees to date him. She also has a crush on Pyrrha but doesn't realize it at first since they're both girls and Weiss had never given any thought to liking girls. Weiss quickly falls out of love with Neptune but continues to date him. Pyrrha herself is reluctantly in a relationship with Jaune, despite only liking him as a friend. In the end both Weiss and Pyrrha recognize they're just hurting themselves by faking being in love with their boyfriends. They give in to their mutual attraction, break up with their boyfriends (who aren't that upset because they always figured there was something going on between the two), and begin dating one another.
104* In ''Fanfic/MovingOnSherlockHolmes'', Mark's romantic feelings for Anne serve to heighten the tension between Anne and Holmes; in contrast to most examples of a romantic decoy, Mark is a kindhearted individual, and later saves Holmes and Anne from the Barnslake Killer.
105* PlayedWith in ''Fanfic/WhatGoesAroundComesAroundMiraculousLadybug'': Alya and Adrien both ''[[WrongAssumption assume]]'' that this is Luka's role, and that Marinette only "settled" for him since her crush was out of reach. After her SecretIdentity is exposed, Adrien's abruptly ''real keen'' to hook up with her, and Alya joins him in expecting Marinette to simply dump her boyfriend, much to her frustration.
106%%* In ''Fanfic/XMenTheEarlyYears'', ComicBook/JeanGrey dates several guys throughout the story. Most of them are quickly scared away by Scott, Hank, and Warren.
107[[/folder]]
108
109[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
110* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsTheIslandPrincess'' goes against the "tradition" of making the other girl with an interest on the male lead a JerkAss AlphaBitch. The arranged fiancée of the prince is a rather sweet girl who genuinely likes him, voluntarily steps aside when it's clear the prince and the Barbie princess would be much better and even helps take down her EvilMatriarch of a mother and the BigBad of the movie.
111* The two types of this character are present in ''WesternAnimation/CorpseBride''. The title character Emily is an extremely likable fiancée, but so is the protagonist's living fiancée, the sweet Victoria. Ultimately, the first makes an IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy decision. However, the film also has an evil aristocrat named Lord Barkis who is the rival for the affections of the living bride and the Corpse Bride's former fiancé, and he is the typical nasty form of the false lead.
112* ''WesternAnimation/TheCurseOfTheWereRabbit'': Victor Quartermaine is Lady "Totty" Tottington's suitor. At first it seems to be a case of OppositesAttract since he is an avid hunter while she is an animal lover, but it's later revealed that he's only [[GoldDigger interested in her wealth.]] Victor becomes jealous when Totty takes a liking to Wallace but when he learns that Wallace is the Were-Rabbit he sees killing the beast as a way of both proving his prowess as a hunter and [[MurderTheHypotenuse eliminating his romantic rival.]]
113* Done in a [[PlayedForLaughs deliberately silly way]] with Batman in ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', where Wyldstyle already has a boyfriend, and he's Batman. Batman is portrayed as abrasive, pretentious, and egotistical, and Emmett can't stand him - but whenever [[DerailingLoveInterests he appears to go too far and treat Wyldstyle badly]], it's immediately {{subverted|Trope}}. Besides his eccentricities, Batman is very much a NiceGuy, and he and Wyldstyle eventually break up on good terms.
114* In ''WesternAnimation/MadagascarEscape2Africa'', [[GullibleLemmings Melman the giraffe]] shouts an AnguishedDeclarationOfLove for Gloria the hippo as their plane is crashing. Unfortunately, she was asleep and missed it. However, once they reach the wildlife preserve, Gloria finds herself attracted to the watering hole's resident hottie, Moto Moto. As it turns out, he's only after her for [[ChubbyChaser her looks]], and when Gloria finds out how Melman really feels, she runs after him as he's about to [[ItMakesSenseInContext sacrifice himself to the volcano]].
115* ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'' has an example with Gregory, who befriends Wendy Testaburger with his activism and sensitivity, hinting at a relationship much to Stan's frustration. After the day is saved, Stan learns that Wendy never actually cared for him that way, to the point of her saying "Fuck Gregory, fuck him right in the ear!"
116[[/folder]]
117
118[[folder:Films -- Live Action]]
119%% * ''Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer'' is all about a pair of people who turn out to be romantic false leads for each other, and the process of them coming to that conclusion. It is almost from the perspective of the romantic false lead. If it were from Summer's perspective Tom would absolutely be this.
120* In ''Film/AcrossTheUniverse2007'' Molly is this, being Jude's girlfriend in England before he goes to the US to find his father and meets the heroine Lucy. Surprisingly, she's not [[DerailingLoveInterests vilified]] at all, and although Jude and Lucy's relationship is portrayed as a good thing, his cheating on Molly is not. In fact, ''Molly'' gets in the last word, ending up HappilyMarried with a kid on the way. She even gives Jude a short TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how he thought he could have both women. In the end Jude and Lucy get their happy ending, and we can only assume Molly and new husband Phil do, too.
121* Adrian, Elise's former [[spoiler:and future]] fiance in ''Film/TheAdjustmentBureau''. From her own recollections and the very brief screen time he receives, he seems like a nice enough guy, but as far as the plot is concerned, he's just an obstacle for Creator/MattDamon to overcome.
122* ''Film/TheAwfulTruth'' has two examples: longtime married couple Jerry and Lucy hit the rocks in their relationship. He takes up with Barbara, and she attracts the interest of Dan, a wealthy oil baron. In the end, they patch up their marriage and call off their impending divorce.
123* ''Film/TheBaxter'' is built around a subset of this trope, in which a straight-laced, stable, and slightly boring boyfriend is dumped for a more exciting and edgy suitor. The main character is a repeat offender who has been "the Baxter" in all of his previous relationships.
124%% * Creator/OwenWilson plays an anonymous "Robin's Date" Main/JerkWithAHeartOfJerk role in ''Film/TheCableGuy'' as a foil to [[Creator/MatthewBroderick Matthew Broderick's]] Steven M. Kovacs Main/NiceGuy character.
125%% * In ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'', the false lead, far from being negatively portrayed, is in fact a MessianicArchetype. [[ItWasHisSled We all know]] [[DidNotGetTheGirl how this one ends]].
126* ''Film/Charly2002'': Mark Randolph is Charly Riley's longtime boyfriend and he is very keen on marrying her. They live together in Charly's New York City apartment and share the same goals and worldview. Things change when she goes to Utah for the summer. She re-evaluates her outlook on life, converts to Mormonism, and develops feelings for a local [[OneTrueLove man]]. Upon her return she tells Mark that she [[LeavingYouToFindMyself no longer feels the same way about him]]. She also [[ForcedFromTheirHome kicks him out of her apartment]] because it's not appropriate for her to live with [[AgainstMyReligion him anymore.]] Mark is confused but undeterred by this new development; he attempts to woo Charly back to him. But when he comes to understand that she truly has changed, [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he wishes her the best, and they part ways on good terms.]]
127* In the first scene of ''Film/DarbyOGillAndTheLittlePeople'', we see Sheelah Sugrue telling Katie what a good man her son Pony is, but Katie ends up with Michael instead.
128* In ''Film/{{Daredreamer}}'', Winston is initially infatuated with Cindy, who couldn't care less about him, before striking up a genuine romance with Jennie.
129* ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'': Jim is Kim's boyfriend at the start of the film. At first they seem to be an ideal match since he is a jock and she is a cheerleader. [[BitchInSheepsClothing But Jim harbors a dark side which manifests itself more and more through the film]] which eventually causes Kim to break up with him. Jim does not take this well, and confronts his rival, Edward. When Kim tries to stop Jim from hurting Edward he strikes back at her. This causes Edward to finally act: [[spoiler: he stabs Jim and throws [[DisneyVillainDeath him out a window to his demise]] in order to defend Kim.]]
130%% * ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' has two. Edward for Giselle, and Nancy for Robert. But don't feel bad for Nancy and Edward, they [[spoiler:get an ''animated'' PairTheSpares marriage at the end]].
131* ''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall'' features a particular well-rounded false lead in Aldous Snow, the rock star who stole the main character's girlfriend. While he's a somewhat obnoxiously hip, self-centered lothario, he's also quite charming, friendly, and has good taste. The main character admits that it's hard to hate him. Ultimately, [[spoiler:his relationship with Sarah Marshall dissolves due to both of their hang-ups]]. The guy even got [[Film/GetHimToTheGreek his own movie!]]
132* Gwen's fiancé Richard in ''Film/{{Ghost Town|2008}}'' is a handsome, wealthy philanthropist, and Dr. Pincus feels incredibly intimidated and guilty about competing for his girlfriend. However, Frank, the ghost of Gwen's deceased husband, points out that Richard doesn't make her laugh, and it turns out that she's just not in love with him.
133* Melanie in ''Film/{{Hereafter}}'' has all the hallmarks of the love interest who helps George to deal with his [[CursedWithAwesome abilities]]. Instead, she's an example of why he can't have a normal relationship. Then he ends up meeting a woman who just might be able to understand him...
134%% * Ray in ''Film/HighFidelity'', who more or less exists to annoy Rob.
135* Bruce in ''Film/HisGirlFriday'' is this for reporter Hildy, as her shady ex Walter tries to sabotage their relationship and win him back.
136%% * Julia Seton in ''Film/{{Holiday}}'', although without her the main characters would never have met in the first place!
137* ''Film/{{The Incredible Hulk|2008}}'' has Leonard Samson. He's shown to be a very nice guy who even gives Bruce some psychotherapy in a few deleted scenes, and while there's no official breakup he seems to understand that Betty and Bruce are a real item and quietly stands aside. Of course, it helps that Samson is a character from the Hulk comics, being Bruce's therapist and another Gamma-powered superhero (though the latter part obviously wasn't in the movie).
138%% * ''Film/LettersToJuliet'' has one false lead for each half of the couple.
139%% * ''Film/LiarLiar'': Audrey's current boyfriend Jerry is a nice, boring guy in contrast to the more charismatic but flaky Fletcher (Creator/JimCarrey). Happened again with the adaptation of ''Film/MrPoppersPenguins'', in a very similar manner in fact.
140%% * Used in ''The Series/LizzieMcGuire Movie''. As it happened, the character's name was Paolo, the former name for this trope (though not the {{Trope Namer|s}}).
141* In ''Lucky 7'', the heroine bases her life choices on a plan her mother made for her before she died and one of the predictions her mother made was that she would marry her [[LuckySeven seventh]] boyfriend. When she meets a man she believes is The One after dating five other men, she tries to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope by picking a random man to be her sixth boyfriend so that the man she actually wants to marry can become the destined seventh boyfriend after she breaks up with her handpicked Romantic False Lead. However, she ends up genuinely falling for the man who was supposed to be just a temporary sixth boyfriend and the man she originally wanted to be her seventh boyfriend and true love turns out to be the Romantic False Lead instead.
142* Jonathan, the false lead in ''The Movie Hero'' is of the boring, uptight variety. Since the movie's protagonist is a GenreSavvy FourthWallObserver, he refers to Jonathan as "The Doomed Fiance" and doesn't consider him a real threat.
143* The Creator/JuliaRoberts vehicle ''Film/MyBestFriendsWedding'' {{deconstruct|ion}}s this trope. Julianne believes that her best friend Michael's bride-to-be Kimmy is this, but realizes after her attempts at RelationshipSabotage blow up in her face and get everyone (rightly) pissed off at her that ''she'''s the true Romantic False Lead. [[spoiler:And her rival gets the guy in the end, not her.]]
144* Another double example is found in ''Film/MyFavoriteWife'', as Ellen returns from being stranded at sea for several years along with handsome Stephen, to find out her husband Nick is marrying another woman named Bianca. After much shenanigans, Nick and Ellen discard their respective suitors and reunite.
145%% ** Unsurprisingly, happens to him in ''Film/HandsAcrossTheTable'' which was made before the aforementioned films.
146%% ** In ''Film/Sabrina1954'', he plays David, the MillionairePlayboy that the title character (Creator/AudreyHepburn) has a crush on, only for her to throw him over for his workaholic brother Linus (Creator/HumphreyBogart).
147%%
148%%
149%%
150* Averted in ''Film/OutCold'', in which the protagonist's love interest is engaged to a nice guy in a wheelchair. In the end, [[spoiler:the protagonist urges her to go with her fiancé, and she does]].
151* In ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'', Tracy Lord has discarded her one-time fiancee [[AwesomeMcCoolName C.K. Dexter Haven]], and is days away from marrying George Kittridge, a salt-of-the-earth fellow made good. However, it comes out (with some help from Dexter) that Kittridge is really a SocialClimber who cares about appearances more than he does about Tracy. At the last minute, Dexter replaces George at the wedding.
152* In ''Film/PlanB'', Laura is this to both Pablo and Bruno. At the start of the film, Pablo is dating her and Bruno is her ex-boyfriend who wants to sabotage their relationship to win her back but by the end of the film, [[spoiler:both of them [[PairTheSuitors end up with each other]] instead of her]].
153* In ''Film/{{Purgatory}}'', Dolly is set up as the romantic interest for Sonny, especially when she ends up in Refuge, but he ends up with Rose.
154* ''[[Film/TheManFromSnowyRiver Return to Snowy River]]'' introduces Alistair Patton, the son of a banker, as Jim Craig's competition for Jessica Harrison's love - although Jessica's feelings aren't left in question for very long once Jim is back on the scene, after which point Alistair starts [[KickTheDog kicking puppies]].
155* In ''Film/SkyHigh2005'', [[spoiler:Gwen Grayson]] is Will's romantic false lead, and not only that, but [[spoiler:the main antagonist of the film]]. This is better-hidden than most, due both to Will's hookup with her [[WrongGuyFirst not coming after any breakup with his intended partner]] and the fact that to figure it out before TheReveal requires paying attention to a number of seemingly-minor things she does [[RewatchBonus that likely wouldn't be obvious on a first viewing]].
156* Annie's fiancée in ''Film/SleeplessInSeattle'' is a decent guy, but, as she begins to obsess over a man she's never met, she realizes she's not actually in love with the man she's planning to marry. When she explains this to him, he replies that [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he didn't want to be the person that she settled for]],'' and they split up on good terms.
157* Mary Jane's astronaut fiancé in ''Film/SpiderMan2'' is a good example, similar to Richard in ''Superman Returns''. But despite the fact that he is a good guy (and a freakin' ''astronaut''!) he is just helping get in the way of Spider-Man's love web. Of course, in the COMICS, John Jameson actually has superpowers (which turn him into a wolf and make him go BERSERK) and Spider-Man has fought and subdued him several times. It's likely he was planned to be a villain in one of the future movies that will probably never be made now.
158* ''Franchise/StarWars'': Han Solo was this in the original plan for the original trilogy, with Luke and Leia as the endgame couple and the other Skywalker to be a completely different character. Due to Lucas's [[CreatorBreakdown burnout]] and lack of interest in continuing the series ([[Film/TheForceAwakens at the time]]) beyond ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', he simply made Leia be Luke's sister.
159%% * [[AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder Richard]] in ''Film/SupermanReturns.'' Made all the harder on everyone concerned by the fact that Richard is a genuinely good, nice guy. And pushing BadassNormal in a SUPERMAN movie. Who is more heroic when racing off to the rescue, the guy who can fly and lift continents, or the guy who has to get in a plane to go?
160%% * Played straight in ''Film/ThingsToDoInDenverWhenYoureDead''. The main character, Jimmy the Saint, continually refers to his love interest Daphne's boyfriend as "Chip", even when corrected on more than one occasion.
161%% * Glenn Guilia in ''Film/TheWeddingSinger'', who is perhaps more memorable than most in that, not only is he a complete prick, but he's also pretty much the worst aspects of 1980s yuppie culture congealed into one slimy character.
162%% * Tad Hamilton in ''Film/WinADateWithTadHamilton'', for Kate Bosworth and Topher Grace.
163%%
164%% The Bill Pullman example is too general and needs to be rewritten as multiple examples.
165%%
166%% * Bill Pullman was typecast in a number of such roles (''Film/SleeplessInSeattle'', ''Film/YouveGotMail''), before finally getting the girl in ''Film/WhileYouWereSleeping'' (where his character's brother was the RFL instead).
167%%
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170[[/folder]]
171
172[[folder:Literature]]
173* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
174** Ron and Hermione have this happen multiple times. In ''Goblet of Fire'', Viktor Krum asks Hermione to the Yule Ball, sparking Ron's jealousy. In ''Half-Blood Prince'', when Ron starts going out with Lavender Brown, Hermione [[OperationJealousy retaliates]] by asking Ron's Quidditch [[TheRival rival]] Cormac [=McLaggen=] on a date.
175** Harry also has this happen to him a lot. First Cedric Diggory asks Cho Chang to the Yule Ball before him; afterwards, [[spoiler:Cedric's death makes Harry's dates with Cho increasingly awkward]]. In later books, Harry becomes increasingly jealous of Ginny's boyfriends, specifically Dean Thomas. He also takes Parvati Patil to the Yule Ball and thinks that she "looks nice". It goes no further than that, but then again, he only asked her because he was so desperate for a date that he literally asked the first two cute girls (Ron needed a date too!) who were still available that he could find.
176* Lucy Dexter is one in the ''Literature/HIVESeries''. Being the only person in the series who can relate to Otto's troubles with [[spoiler:being a superhuman]], they confide in each other despite several previous books of {{U|nresolvedSexualTension}}ST between Otto and Laura. Their relationship doesn't last long, however, despite having no actual problems between the two, because [[spoiler:she is killed by Overlord two days after their first kiss]]. This only serves to screw up Otto and keep him away from romance for a while afterwards.
177%% * The Vicomte De Chagny in ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' considers Erik to be this in regards to Christine, at least at first. Ironically, many fans consider Raoul himself to be the false lead with regards to [[DracoInLeatherPants Christine and Erik]] - blandly handsome, nice, and ''completely useless'' (in the book version). And he has a ''great'' false lead-esque name to boot!
178* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
179** Ashfur serves the purpose of having a one-book romance with Squirrelflight, who [[spoiler:[[OfficialCouple dumps him for Brambleclaw]]]] in the next book.
180** Spottedleaf with Firestar in the Original Series. Firestar was hopelessly infatuated with her well after her death, only for his true love interest to be revealed as Sandstorm by Firestar's Quest.
181** Bumblestripe. Romance between him and Dovewing was teased in ''The Forgotten Warrior'' where Dovewing preferred him as a mate over Tigerheart, but then Dovewing rekindled her relationship with Tigerheart in the next book and even wanted to have kits with him. Of course, in that ''same'' book, Dovewing ends up choosing Bumblestripe at the very end and dumps Tigerheart ... you'd think that'd make him a romantic lead but ... [[spoiler: [[ItsNotYouItsMe Dovewing breaks up with him in Bramblestar's Storm because she still loves Tigerheart]]]].
182%% * Creator/JaneAusten's romantic social satires frequently include, in addition to [[TheCasanova Casanovas]] like [[Literature/SenseAndSensibility Willoughby]] and [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice Wickham]] who are obviously the {{wrong guy|First}}, an agreeable, friendly, otherwise perfectly acceptable prospective suitor for the heroine in addition to her destined official love interest:
183%%
184%% All of them need more context provided.
185%%
186%% ** Mr. Darcy's cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam for Elizabeth Bennett in ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice''.
187%% ** Henry Crawford of ''Literature/MansfieldPark'' is a perfect hybrid of TheCasanova and the false lead for Fanny Price.
188%% * John Thorpe for Catherine Morland in ''Literature/NorthangerAbbey''.
189%% ** Captain Benwick for Anne Elliot in ''Literature/{{Persuasion}}''. Her [[KissingCousins cousin]] Mr. Elliot also exists purely to make Captain Wentworth suffer.
190%% ** Colonel Brandon and Elinor Dashwood in ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'' are ''both'' the false lead as, despite interacting enough to make several other characters [[ShipperOnDeck ship them together]], they are both part of the two {{Official Couple}}s -- Elinor with Edward Ferrars and Brandon with Elinor's sister Marianne.
191* In Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs's ''[[Literature/JohnCarterOfMars Thuvia, Maid of Mars]]'', the story opens with the news that Carthoris's CannotSpitItOut has resulted in Thuvia's accepting the suit of Kulan Tith. Unusually, she then gets kidnapped, Cathoris goes to rescue her, and [[spoiler:Kulan Tith does not even feature until the very end when Carthoris gets her to his ship, where he can protect her and goes to leave, Thuvia begs him to stay though she knows she is dishonoring herself, and Kulan Tith steps aside]].
192* Only in the book of ''Literature/HowlsMovingCastle'', Miss Angorian was brought in for this purpose to make Sophie jealous and make her aware of her own feelings for Howl. [[spoiler:Of course, it helps that Miss Angorian is actually the Witch of the Waste's demon.]]
193* ''Literature/DaddyLongLegs'' has two possible love interests for Judy, Jervis Pendleton and Jimmie [=McBride=]. It's twisted interestingly that it isn't apparent for quite some time which one is actually the false lead -- a deliberate trick by the author, because [[spoiler:the eponymous Daddy, who receives the letters which make up the novel, is really Jervis, unbeknownst to Judy. The author left the letters vague on the point of which man Judy preferred until the end of the book so that the reader, once aware of Daddy's identity, would understand why he wasn't sure how she felt about him.]]
194* Dot and Ned in ''Literature/TrixieBelden and the Happy Valley Mystery''; Trixie begins flirting outrageously with the latter out of jealousy at how Jim is getting so cozy with the former.
195%% * Henry James loved this trope. ''The Bostonians'' is about it, ''Literature/DaisyMiller'' has several and in ''The Ambassadors'' you can go the first two-thirds of the book before realizing that [[spoiler:the main character is this]].
196%% * ''Literature/OneDay'' has several, prominently Sylvie and Ian.
197%% * Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil, in S.L. Viehl's ''Stardoc'' series, gets ''two'': first [[spoiler:[[DisposableFiance Kao]] [[DeathOfTheHypotenuse Torin]]]], then [[spoiler:[[{{Yandere}} his brother Xonea]]]] (although it was pretty clear from the outset that the latter wasn't going anywhere). It could also be argued that [[spoiler:Jarn]] was one for [[spoiler:Duncan]].
198* An unnamed Navajo girl in ''Literature/GivesLight'' serves as this for the two main characters. Both boys think the other is interested in her. Both boys get jealous because [[StraightGay they're actually interested in each other]].
199* It's nicely subverted in ''Literature/IShallWearMidnight'', when [[spoiler: Roland's fiancee Letitia appears to be this, except it turns out Letitia is very likable and Roland and Tiffany were actually false leads for each other]].
200* In ''Literature/{{Overenskommelser}}'' by ''Creator/SimonaAhrnstedt'', both of the story's protagonists have one. Beatrice has Alexandre St Cyr D'Aubigny, and Seth has Lily Tremaine. But in the end, [[spoiler: Alexandre and Lily hook up, leaving Beatrice and Seth free to finally get their happy ending]].
201* Peter Cronstedt in "De skandalösa". Magdalena even considers forgiving him, despite that he had betrayed her. [[spoiler: But he turns out to really be a jerk, and she eventually ends up with Gabriel (the male protagonist) instead.]]
202* Adrian from ''Literature/VampireAcademy'', was developed as a romantic lead almost as long as Dimitri was. Rose even convincingly seems like she’ll choose him [[spoiler: until Dimitri comes back to life again, where it's immediately obvious she prefers him over Adrian]].
203* ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': Another incredibly convincing one in [[spoiler:Tamlin. The ''entire'' first book in the trilogy does everything in its power to make Tamlin look like Feyre's unquestionable true love with the plot being a loose retelling of "Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast" that casts him as the feared but misunderstood Beast and Feyre as the Beauty who risks everything to save him and his people... but then the second and third books show him JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and his rival Rhysand, who initially seemed to be little more than a despicable villain, turns out to be a more suitable match for Feyre and they become the true OfficialCouple]].
204* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Gale is introduced as Katniss's good friend before Peeta enters the picture, but any notion that [[FirstGirlWins First Guy Wins]] may be at work here is sunk when it becomes clear in the second and third books that Katniss has fallen for Peeta and vice versa.
205* ''Literature/LookingForAlaska'': Jake, the title character's boyfriend when the story begins, ticks almost every imaginable box relevant to this archetype: in college, in a band, much more handsome and more popular that protagonist Miles but not nearly as smart, and generally a [[FlatCharacter rather two-dimensional, vacuous character]] (he doesn't even get a last name). Nevertheless neither Miles nor Alaska can think of a way to act on their feelings for each other without coming off as total assholes to him, so they're grudgingly content with letting the {{U|nresolvedSexualTension}}ST simmer for most of the story. And as if to ensure he's nobody's favorite character, the book's big WhamEpisode [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom ends up being indirectly caused by him]].
206* ''Literature/TheEmpiriumTrilogy'': Harkan is set up from the beginning as a close friend and lover to Eliana. Once Simon enters the picture though, it becomes clear through the various ship tease moments that Eliana will pair up with Simon at some point. Harkan seems to die, and though Eliana does mourn his death, she likes to spar verbally and physically with Simon as a means of distraction, letting the both of them become closer. When Harkan reappears, he abducts Eliana shortly thereafter in order to force her to travel with him to Astavar. This betrayal turns Eliana against Harkan almost completely, effectively ending their relationship. They remain civil to one another and Eliana still feels some residual love for him, but whatever romance they once shared becomes a thing of the past.
207%% * Simon from ''Literature/SimonVsTheHomoSapiensAgenda'' spends a good chunk of the book thinking stage manager Cal is Blue, but never makes a move because he isn't 100% sure and doesn't want to out himself. It turns out Blue isn't Cal, but [[spoiler:Bram, a minor character]].
208* ''Literature/JaineAustenMysteries'': Scott Willis, one of the detectives from ''Killing Cupid'', ends up asking out Jaine at the end of that book. Their relationship [[spoiler:doesn't make it out of the end of ''Death by Tiara''.]]
209[[/folder]]
210
211[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
212%% * The somewhat smug rich landowner Richard Edmundson from ''Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall''.
213%% * With ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Groo became one between Cordelia and Angel after he came to Earth. Later he realized, though, and left.
214%% * In ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'':
215%% ** Steve Holt becomes a false lead when Maeby becomes attracted to him, adding yet another obstacle between George Michael and his cousin. However, Steve Holt turns out to [[spoiler:also be Maeby's cousin (not by blood though, as later revealed)]].
216%% ** Ann Veal also served as a false lead separating George Michael and Maeby, with Maeby jealously calling her "Bland" and "No-Face."
217%% * Evan in ''Series/AshesToAshes2008''. He's a great guy though and played by Stephen Campbell Moore.
218* In ''Series/AustinAndAlly'' Kira acts as one by dating Austin, while both Austin and Ally were struggling with their feelings for one another.
219* The Helen/Nikki relationship in ''Series/BadGirls'' was beset by false leads. The first -- and arguably most irritating -- was Helen's fiancé Sean, a drippy landscape gardener with a screw loose. [[spoiler: When Helen ditches him, he shows up outside the prison and sets fire to his wedding suit.]] Nikki was briefly interested in a new inmate who [[spoiler: turned out to be a paedophile]]. Also Helen's baffling decision to date Thomas, the thoroughly dull prison doctor. When he pulled an IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy, there was general rejoicing. Even Nikki's ex turned up hoping for another go but was forced to do the same as Thomas!
220* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' has a subversion; Sam Anders was supposed to be this for the Kara/Lee paring but the actor was well-liked and kept getting brought back. He eventually married Kara, and they slightly more miraculously stayed that way through the end of the series. He even developed his own storylines and fanbase and was made a series regular for season 4.
221%% * Don in ''Series/BetterOffTed''.
222* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
223** Several obnoxious, dumb [[GirlOfTheWeek guys of the week]] were around for Penny before Leonard asked her out and she realized her feelings for him. Several of them were [[TheGhost entirely off screen]].
224** A nice little play on the trope came after they broke up. Penny started seeing Zack, a dense but friendly guy, but she quickly discovered she had a harm time dealing with his stupidity after dating Leonard. She later invited him to a New Years party only because her love life was tanking and was trying to find ''anyone'' to take her mind off Leonard. For his part Zack proved to be a nice, enthusiastic, even hilarious guy and long after he and Penny stopped dating he would show up as a RecurringCharacter on friendly terms with the cast.
225** On the Leonard side, he started dating Priya and it's well implied that he wouldn't have had the confidence to make that happen if Penny didn't make his self-esteem skyrocket, which certainly didn't help her situation that she can't date stupid guys anymore.
226** Leonard for his part also had Stephanie, an intelligent (if [[{{Yandere}} possessive]]) surgical resident whom he stole from Howard (not that Howard really had a chance). Despite the relationship going ''much'' better than expected for Leonard, Stephanie [[PutOnABus disappeared for no apparent reason]] from the show.
227* Played with in ''Series/TheBigLeap''. Linus the sound guy is set up as one for Julia, who starts dating him a few months after her husband Kevin leaves her. [[spoiler: She cuts him off when he passes off flowers from her family as a gift from him, then gets in a fight with Kevin backstage. However, she also gets a divorce from Kevin because even though he's stepping up to be a father it's too little too late, and they both know they can't make the marriage work.]]
228* The principal method of procrastination in ''Series/{{Bones}}'',:
229** Every romantic interest is portrayed as an interruption to the Booth/Brennan relationship. Brennan had Assistant Director Andrew Hacker, Jared Booth (referred to by Angela as 'Booth-lite'), the Botanist and the Deep-Sea Welder, and Tim "Sully" Sullivan. Booth had Tessa the lawyer, Cam,that Marine Biologist, and in season 6,Hannah Burley - who was met with a knowing scoff by both the viewers and every other character in the show. Booth and Brennan finally got together in the end of s6.
230** Angela and Hodgins had it as well. She broke up with Hodgins in season 4, then dated her college friend Roxie, then intern Wendell, then finally got back with and married Hodgins. He tried a Tindr-like app and had a few dates before reuniting with her.
231* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'' gives us Michael T. Farrell III, Laura's sleazy, estranged, billionaire American husband, who magically turns up in Whitbury just as sexual tension between Laura and Gordon Brittas begins to take hold. Gordon is understandably pissed off.
232* In ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'':
233** Det. Amy Santiago has Det. Teddy Wells while Det. Jake Peralta has defense attorney Sophia Perez. It's played with, however, in that neither relationship lasts that long and ends for reasons other than the {{U|nresolvedSexualTension}}ST between Jake and Amy (although Teddy bitterly claims that Amy's unresolved feelings for Jake may have played more than a part than she's letting on, and it's heavily implied he's not far from the truth there). Jake and Amy don't fall into a relationship immediately after, either, spending several episodes afterwards slightly awkwardly and unconvincingly insisting that they've now JustFriends who have moved on from their earlier feelings.
234** In later appearances, Teddy practically becomes a parody of the "boring milquetoast" version of the trope; whenever he shows up, it's made immediately clear that he still carries a torch for Amy, resents Jake bitterly and tries to get her back at every opportunity (to the point where, on one occasion, he proposes marriage to her ''in front of his new girlfriend''). It's ''also'' made clear that their last dating experience merely confirmed in Amy's mind how dreadfully, insufferably boring she finds him.
235* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
236** Angel immediately ends up in Cordelia's crosshairs. Luckily, Angel later confesses that he always found the noblewomen of his era (for whom Cordelia is the modern avatar) to be a horrific bore. Ironically enough, she became his actual {{Love Interest|s}} in [[Series/{{Angel}} Angel's own show]].
237** After breaking up with Angel, Buffy meets this nice, friendly guy named Parker. Or so he seems--in actuality he's a BitchInSheepsClothing who dumps her the night after they have sex, adding one more thing to her already huge pile of love and abandonment issues.
238** After Drusilla dumps him yet again, Spike returns to Sunnydale with newly-vampirized former AlphaBitch [[DumbBlonde Harmony]] on his arm as a new girlfriend. They... don't last.
239** In season 7, Buffy catches the attention of her new boss, Robin Wood, and they end up going on a date. By the end of the night, it's fairly clear to everyone involved that Buffy is still caught up in massive UST with Spike, in the wake of their former DestructiveRomance.
240* The path to Caroline and Richard getting together on ''Series/CarolineInTheCity'' was blocked by a steady stream of false leads. The false leads on Caroline's side (Del, Joe, Trevor, and Randy) were generally likable guys whose only real fault was that they didn't quite have the rapport with Caroline that Richard did. On the other hand, the big false lead on Richard's side, Julia (to whom he was actually married for a season), was bitchy and manipulative.
241* ''Series/Castle2009'':
242** FBI Agent Will Sorenson from Season 1 is this for Beckett for only two episodes—the two having briefly dated in the past—and then after that, he's never seen again.
243** Detective Tom Demming became this for Richard Castle in regards to their mutual interest in Detective Kate Beckett in the second season. Unlike a lot of false leads, however, Demming is a genuinely good guy who really does like Kate for exactly who she is. Castle and Beckett are the OfficialCouple, however, so it was pretty clear he wouldn't last too long...
244** Season 3 had Dr. Josh Davidson--who rides a motorcycle--become Beckett's new boyfriend and ''fans disliked him even more''. He was too perfect and too safe and there was instant annoyance at introducing someone that was so perfect for any woman who was not meant to stick around. His final episode in the Season 4 premiere when he gives Castle a WhatTheHellHero was the last straw for many and when Beckett finally ended things with him, they all hoped he'd never come back again (and with Caskett having their RelationshipUpgrade at the end of the season, he didn't).
245* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'':
246** Frasier Crane was originally intended as a simple false lead, being designed as an "anti-Sam" who was only meant to last a few episodes... but then the viewers found Creator/KelseyGrammer funny enough that the producers decided to keep him around for twenty more years.
247** Jane Eldridge, who Sam briefly dates at the end of series 4, much to Diane's extreme upset. She's largely kind and supportive toward Sam, unlike with Diane where a large part of the relationship is the often-toxic belligerence the two have. Then at the end of season 4 Sam asks Diane out again, and Jane disappears, never to be heard from again.
248%% * On the third season of ''Chef!'', Everton fell in love with new character Renee, who provided two false leads: Vincenzo the Italian waiter, and Rick, who had the added bonus of being TheGhost. Savannah, who had an unrequited crush on Gareth, INVENTED her own false lead in [[OperationJealousy an attempt to make Gareth jealous]].
249* Seasons 1-3 of ''{{Series/Chuck}}'' are filled with this. Sarah insists on staying professional with their relationship, despite the intense UnresolvedSexualTension between her and Chuck. As a result, Chuck goes searching for meaningful relationships. Lou the sandwich girl in Season 1, Jill in Season 2, and Hannah in Season 3. Sarah, meanwhile, shows interest in Bryce, Cole, and Shaw in Season 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Luckily, by the end of Season 3, Chuck and Sarah quit the pretense, and Season 4 keeps them together.
250%% * All of Lily's boyfriends on ''Series/ColdCase'' serve as this, but especially [[ShooOutTheNewGuy Joseph Shaw]] and [[JerkAss ADA Jason Kite]].
251%% * Kevin, for [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Adam and Toby]] on ''Series/DantesCove''. Furthermore, Ambrosius became the false lead for Kevin and Toby.
252* ''Series/Daredevil2015'':
253** Karen Page is Matt's official love interest. But although she has a crush on Matt from the start of the first season, she gets more screentime with Foggy, who is also very much attracted to her. Towards the end of the season, Foggy loses romantic interest in Karen and gets back together with his ex-girlfriend [[LovableAlphaBitch Marci Stahl]], allowing Karen's attraction to Matt to get more exploration in the early part of season 2 prior to Elektra's introduction.
254** Also during season 1, Matt briefly gets romantically involved with Claire Temple, but they mutually agree to end things prior to the end of the season. This is mostly so that Claire is freed to later hook up with Luke Cage in the first season of [[Series/LukeCage2016 his show]].
255%% * ''Series/DarkAngel'': Both of Logan's exes, though Max's instinctive dislike for the second one turns out to be totally justified.
256* Played with on ''Series/DeadLikeMe'': Daisy starts going out with a TV producer named Ray. Mason, while obviously jealous, tries to respect their relationship, at least until Ray is revealed to be an [[DomesticAbuse abusive jerk]]. However, when Mason tries to convince Daisy that the way Ray treats her is wrong, Daisy [[WrongGenreSavvy calls him out on this trope]], saying he is just jealous. [[spoiler: Ray is eventually killed off, but the show was cancelled before it was clear if Mason and Daisy would get together.]]
257* On ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration'':
258** Peter, the principal's sneaky, crude, spoiled brat of a jerk son was this to Emma. By season's end, however, she was back with Sean.
259** Season 6 gives us a variation with Mia, a teen mom who becomes JT's new love interest after his brutal breakup with Liberty. JT and Liberty still harbored feelings for each other and JT was all set to confess his feelings, when he was fatally stabbed. Mia eventually admitted that she knew all along that JT still loved Liberty.
260* The fourth series of ''Series/DocMartin'' introduces Edith Montgomery as Martin's NewOldFlame from med school. She's more accepting of Martin's [[NoSocialSkills distinctive personality]], a fellow doctor, and similarly unimpressed with most of humankind. However, despite being more personable on the outside, she has far less empathy and concern for her patients, so he leaves her.
261* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
262** In Series 2, Mickey Smith was reintroduced as an ongoing companion, seemingly putting the rapidly developing relationship between the Doctor and Rose into AnchoredShip territory (and indeed Mickey's first full episode as a companion, "The Girl in the Fireplace", placed the Doctor in a new, albeit temporary, romance). This ended up being a false lead as two episodes later, Mickey had left the TARDIS and the Doctor and Rose's relationship continued to deepen to the point where, at the end of the season, Rose became the first companion to zigzag around TheILoveYouStigma.
263** Averted in Series 5. After several episodes of teasing (and one attempted seduction of the Doctor) by Amy Pond, Rory Williams is properly introduced as Amy's fiancee, resulting in an assumed AnchoredShip with regards to the Doctor and Amy. When Rory [[spoiler: is erased from history]], he appears to fit the trope (even though the episodes that immediately follow contain no substantial ShipTease between the Doctor and Amy). Ultimately, however, [[spoiler: not only is Rory revived, he goes on to marry Amy ''and'' become the Doctor's father-in-law over time]], permanently averting the trope.
264* In ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', both Atherton Wing and Tracey Smith are featured in episodes purely to further romantic tension between Mal and Inara and Kaylee and Simon respectively. Both were found wanting. Another romantic false lead fell on the opposite spectrum of this trope and was written to seem more suitable than Inara for Mal [[spoiler: with [[ThePlotReaper predictable results]]]].
265* The first season of ''Series/TheFlash2014'' has Iris dating Eddie when Barry Allen was stuck in a coma. Although he quickly makes friends with Eddie after waking up, it becomes increasingly clear that he and Iris still have feelings for each other and that she may have never seen him as more than an acquaintance if they hadn't worked to take care of Barry. Eddie breaks up with her because of this, although he ultimately reconciles with her--[[YankTheDogsChain right before Barry tries to go back in time to save his mother, which would negate the timeline where Eddie and Iris met.]] And even when [[spoiler:Barry changes his mind and comes back, Eddie has to pull a HeroicSacrifice to save him from Eobard Thawne.]]
266* ''Series/{{Forever|2014}}'':
267** Isaac serves this role for Jo, giving her a fairly healthy rebound relationship once she's over Sean enough to try dating again. Unfortunately for him, his carefully planned, safe trip to Paris makes her realize [[TheGentlemanOrTheScoundrel she prefers Henry's more exciting approach]].
268** Molly Dawes could be seen as this, but she seems rather to signal that Henry isn't ready to let ''anyone'' in until he's come to terms with Nora's betrayal and losing Abigail.
269* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'':
270** Donny and Mel, along with several other less significant figures in the long course of this UnresolvedSexualTension storyline. These last two were fully fleshed-out characters (Niles even married Mel). Donny, however, had certain character traits that were very off-putting (and were exaggerated in his few later appearances after Niles and Daphne got together): being a stocky, swarthy, loud-mouthed Jewish lawyer obviously far too old for Daphne doesn't exactly help to build realism.
271** Niles was originally a HopelessSuitor for Daphne, as he was married, and she didn't consider him her type. The subplot became so popular that the writers began slowly nudging the characters toward a real relationship.
272* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
273** In season one, Rachel dated muscle-bound Italian Paolo (who was formerly the {{Trope Namer|s}} for this very page) while Ross looked on jealously. The writers {{lampshade|Hanging}}d Paolo's role by having Chandler's mother, a romance novelist, refer to Paolo as [[ThePlotReaper "a complication you eventually kill off."]] In the second season, Ross dated academic Julie while Rachel looked on jealously. Since Paolo was a slow-witted pig who could barely communicate with Rachel while Julie was a sweet and lovely person, the writers hit one trap then the other. According to the nature of the Ross-Rachel relationship, pretty much every person either one of them dated for more than an episode after that point had elements of the false lead.
274** Ross' English girlfriend Emily at least seemed to be a generally likable false lead, and Rachel's last minute "I HAVE TO TELL HIM HOW I FEEL" seemed exceptionally selfish and petty (a passenger played by Hugh Laurie calls her out on it too). While she does indeed decide against telling Ross she still loves him and simply wishes him a happy marriage, Ross accidentally says ''her'' name when he's up on the altar, showing that he at least has some feelings for her. Later when Ross tries to reconcile with Emily, she too is turned into a selfish, petty shrew by forcing Ross to never see Rachel again and, when she can't have her way, turning her back on him (though the record should show this was not the original intention, as Emily had to be hastily written out far faster than intended due to her actress getting pregnant and wanting to return to England.)
275%% ** Joey ''himself'' was a false lead on at least two occasions: first with Chandler and Kathy, then later with Ross and Charlie.
276** ''Ross'' turned out to be the false lead for Charlie and Greg Kinnear's character. The part where he confesses his love and Charlie runs off with him plays like the end of a romantic comedy - except we weren't following the couple's love story, we were following her love story with the ''other'' guy (Ross). It's actually pretty hilarious watching Ross' face when he realises he's the false lead and not TheHero.
277** In series 5, Rachel inadvertently creates one for Chandler and Monica. Their relationship is secret and they're just FriendsWithBenefits... until Rachel sets up Monica with a very handsome male nurse called Dan, devastating Chandler. Dan's out of the picture by the end of the episode, but his role was to make Chandler and Monica face the realisation that their "goofing around" has taken them well beyond the friendship stage.
278** Also [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Richard]] in the Season 6 finale when he and Chandler both propose to Monica. Although he had been a serious {{Love Interest|s}} in the past, by this stage Monica and Chandler were blissfully happy, clearly meant for each other and the ''last'' season finale had Monica promising [[InsecureLoveInterest Chandler]] he, and not Richard, was the love of her life and she loved him more than anyone else before. Richard's appearance was clearly a (well-written) ploy to create drama and miscommunication. In fact, Monica didn't just choose Chandler over Richard, but when his proposal plans were ruined, staged her own proposal and asked ''him'' to marry ''her''.
279* ''Series/GeneralAndI'': At the start of the series He Xia is in love with Bai Ping Ting and asks to marry her. It doesn't work out; they quickly become enemies and marry other people.
280%% * ''Series/GilmoreGirls'' has numerous ones for [[WillTheyOrWontThey Luke and Lorelai]]: Max, Rachel, Christopher, Nicole, Alex, Jason...
281* ''Series/{{Glee}}'':
282** The big one here in the Will/Emma romance, and that's Terri. Her only purpose on the show really was to keep Emma and Will apart. And it took almost all of the first season for Will to get rid of her, too.
283** Jesse plays with this, as it looked like he was around mainly to disrupt the Finn/Rachel pairing. [[spoiler: However, the untimely death of Finn's actor meant that he got the girl in the end.]]
284** Quinn was this for Finn and Rachel, and Finn and Sam were sort of this for Quinn and Puck. Artie was also this for Santana and Brittany.
285* ''Good Morning, Miami'' is what happens when a major character is this. Predictably enough with characters who get fleshed out and given a lot of screen time, the writers fell into the "too likable" trap. The main character came across as a girlfriend-stealing asshole and the love interest came off as a bitch who didn't appreciate what she already had.
286* The writers of ''Series/GossipGirl'' openly admitted that anyone Blair or Chuck dates other than each other is nothing but a Romantic False Lead. This includes a prince whom Blair actually marries as well as both Nate and Dan (the other two male leads).
287* ''The Guardian'' had a false lead in the form of Brian, Lulu's fiancé. Atypically for this trope, Nick had the chance to seriously undermine his rival (he knew about Brian's infidelity) but didn't take it. He did try to persuade Lulu to choose him over Brian, but she went through with the marriage... and inevitably realized it had been a mistake.
288* When Jack and Martha split up on ''Series/HomeAndAway'', Martha had four boyfriends, Jack had one girlfriend (later wife), and all were obvious false leads. Jack's wife was sympathetic until her jealousy of Martha and some derailment turned her into a homicidal maniac. Martha's first boyfriend after their separation was an old friend of Jack who kept from her that he was married with children and wasn't prepared to get divorced any time soon. Her second was a much older sleaze bag who recruited her as a pole dancer. The latter two were much more popular, and even some Jack and Martha shippers would have been happier to see them actually move on than draw out the "off-again" stage any longer.
289* Mark Warner in ''Series/{{House}}'', married to Stacy, House's ex. Follows the trope exactly, right up to the tawdry affair. It especially sucks for House because Mark develops paralysis of his legs and Stacy stays with her husband, where, five years ago, House lost the use of only one leg, and Stacy left him. And while Mark is, by all accounts, a decent, dedicated husband, and House is really, really ''not''.
290* Piper from ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'' was introduced into the show after Amber and Alfie had broken up. Alfie ended up developing feelings for her that she reciprocated, and their close friendship made Amber start to get jealous and realize just how much she cared for Alfie. Then, Piper decided to go back to her own academy, leaving Alfie without ever forming an actual relationship with him. Amber and Alfie would get back together at the end of the season. Piper was rather sweet to him and he loved her due to her kindness, making her an example of a genuinely nice false lead who just didn't get to stick around due to her personal character arc (and contracts, as she was just a guest, played by [[MakingUseOfTheTwin Jade Ramsey's twin, Nikita, as Patricia's twin]]).
291* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'':
292** Being a story Ted Mosby is telling his kids about how he met his one true love, has plenty of these and every girl he meets is (however briefly) teased at potentially being the "mother." This was done as soon as the first episode, being about Ted falling HARD for a girl and the episode ends with the narrator saying "And that is how I met your Aunt Robin." Ted and Robin are {{Ship Tease}}d for most of the first season (including some false leads for each other like Derek with Robin and Victoria for Ted) and when they get together they really do love each other, but there are constant hints that they had some fundamental issues that will prevent them from staying together. In the series finale, it's revealed that Ted's wife, Tracy, passed away six years before he told the story. The kids eventually figure out that their dad is actually telling them about how he fell in love with Robin.
293** Both main character Ted and Tony (who was described as a {{Jerkass}} until he came on-screen) fulfilled this trope with Stella. Ted is originally shown as the right guy for Stella, until the wedding day, when both her and Tony's true feelings are shown. Subverted not only in that Stella leaves Ted, but by WordOfGod that says she isn't the titular mother (who is the only woman Ted marries).
294** In later seasons, Quinn. Unless the writers plan to crush the dreams of most of the fans, it's just not going to work out between her and Barney. The finale of season 7 revealed Barney's bride to be [[spoiler: Robin]]. In season 8, Ted dated Victoria ''again'' after she and [[DisposableFiancee Klaus]] have broken up. But they broke up again because Victoria knows that Ted still has feeling for Robin.
295* ''Series/ICarly'':
296** Griffin as Carly's love interest in "iDate A Bad Boy". Freddie suffers some severe GreenEyedMonster and schadenfreude towards him, but doesn't sabotage their relationship beyond questioning Carly's choice to date him.
297** Brad doesn't even date Sam, but is basically a false romantic lead, because the entire plot of "iOMG" revolves around Carly and Freddie believing that Sam likes Brad.
298* Major Lilywhite in ''Series/IZombie'' initially ''appears'' to be the RomanticFalseLead -- he's introduced as Liv's blandly "perfect" fiance, who she dumps immediately after becoming a zombie. Except he then has his life collapse around him before [[TookALevelInBadass leveling up]], becoming a badass zombie-hunter, and getting back together with Liv after the ''actual'' false lead, the handsome zombie musician Lowell, dies.
299* ''Series/JonathanCreek'':
300** Jonathan's love interest Carla has actually ''married'' her false lead, a TV producer called Brendan, after Jonathan and Carla (who had previously been in a relationship) broke it off following a misunderstanding. However, whilst suffering through some definite {{U|nresolvedSexualTension}}ST with each other, Jonathan and Carla never actually fooled around with each other, and Brendan was characterized as being an essentially decent and likable man (if rather shallow and slightly foolish and oblivious) who seemed to genuinely care for Carla.
301** Hilariously subverted in one episode with a bloke who ''thinks'' he's this between Jonathan and Maddie, except Maddie was only using him to enact OperationJealousy. And what's more, thanks to the fact that the photo he provided the dating site was at least ten years out of date and he's got the personality of "the bastard son of Forrest Gump", it's a hilariously backfiring subversion for Maddie.
302* On ''Series/TheKingOfQueens'', this is [[ZigZaggingTrope zig-zagged]] somewhat. Spence's ex-girlfriend, who he still has feelings for, is getting married in Memphis. Doug, Spence and the gang drive to Memphis in order to stop the wedding. Just as Spence is about to interrupt the wedding, a completely different guy says he loves her and they start kissing and leave her fiance at the altar.
303%% * In the first two seasons (when the title couple hadn't yet admitted their mutual attraction), ''Series/LoisAndClark'' went through several false leads, tending to alternate between one for Clark and one for Lois.
304%% * The OfficialCouple of Arthur and Guinevere had plenty each on ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}''. Guinevere was romantically linked with [[JustFriends Merlin]] and [[FirstLove Lancelot]], whilst Arthur had [[BitchInSheepsClothing Sophia]], [[SpoiledBrat Vivian]], [[ArrangedMarriage Elena]] and Mithian - and even [[BrotherSisterIncest Morgana]], briefly.
305* ''Series/TheMiddle'':
306** Most notably, between Seasons 7 and 8, Axl started seeing a blonde airheaded girl named April and believes himself to be in love with her. Her lack of smarts and bad habits that branch from it drive the family crazy until Axl's mother Frankie finally confronts Axl about April being the utterly wrong choice and he refuses to accept it and shuts Frankie out of his life. He marries April in a desperate attempt to solidify the relationship and realizes how wrong the decision was. He continues to date her even after they get an annulment, but eventually realizes the fire has died out and that he has no choice but to end the relationship because he's not truly happy with her after all. It’s heavily suggested that Axl projected his feelings for his real love interest [[spoiler:Lexie]] onto April because he was afraid of being rejected by her (while he wasn't happy with what Frankie said, he didn't protest it because he knew she was right). Axl finds out that [[spoiler:Lexie]] actually ''does'' have feelings for him too though and they end up getting together not long after his breakup with April.
307** For Sue Heck specifically with her romantic arc with Sean Donahue, Aidan is introduced in Season 9 when he's delivering a sandwich to Lexie Brooks and Sue mistakes him for a "blind date" Sean was gonna set her up on--really it was gonna be himself—and while she discovers it wasn't supposed to be him, she and Aidan still get along too well. While Sue and Sean end up kissing around Christmas, Aidan [[MomentKiller wrecks it by showing up at New Year's and kissing Sue]] and because both he and Sue are so accident-prone, Sue while initially thinking they should break up begins to think he might actually be perfect for her. By Aidan's fourth appearance though—ten episodes after his first, Sue ends things with him and then severs ties for good.
308* ''Series/MrYoung'': Virtually every guy Echo was with or showed a romantic interest in was only there to be an obstacle for Adam and his feelings for her.
309%% * Virtually any boyfriend or girlfriend of the main cast on ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' -- except Gibbs' girlfriends. All are to illustrate that the man cast are too badass for anyone except another member of the main cast.
310* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'':
311** The one depicted most sympathetically is Tony's season-long girlfriend Jeanne Benoit...[[spoiler:until it was revealed that Tony was only dating her as part of a deep undercover operation to bring down her arms-dealer father, although it was implied Tony's feelings were genuine. Years later, she falsely accused Tony of murder to make herself feel better. Giving an innocent man a life sentence is apparently the ''best'' kind of therapy.]]
312** Abby's boyfriend [[MinorFlawMajorBreakup dumped her for being too tall]]. In fairness, he was a dwarf. [[Literature/TheLordoftheRings No, not that kind.]] Also a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot as the actor who played him died.
313** Ziva's boyfriend Michael [[spoiler:started [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking killing people and drinking too much]]]].
314** Ziva's other boyfriend Ray [[spoiler:killed an innocent woman when hunting a terrorist and was completely unrepentant about the matter]].
315* ''Series/NewGirl'': Reagen with Nick in season 6. Jess realizes she's still in love with Nick in season 5 and spends most of season 6 being heartbroken over Nick's relationship with Reagen. Instead of being outwardly vicious to Reagen, she begins a [[OddFriendship friendship with her, even texting often and sending memes to each other.]] Reagen is show to be TheAce but her relationship with Nick fails as they want different things and Nick is unknowingly wanting someone like Jess. Most of their relationship was through Jess's perspective with her [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy trying to help them work through their problems.]] Nick and Reagen's relationship solely existed to make Jess upset enough to leave the loft which leads to Nick and Jess's big reunion at the end of the season.
316** The show even acknowledges that Jess was the only reason they were still together.
317-->'''Jess''': Am I the only reason they're together?
318-->'''Schmidt/Cece''': Yeah.
319-->'''Jess''': Am I the architect of my own nightmare?
320* In ''Series/TheOfficeUK'', Dawn's fiancé Lee is mainly notable for his total lack of notable characteristics. He was more objectionable in the ChristmasEpisode than in the main series, leading her to ([[StarCrossedLovers finally!]]) hook up with Tim because she wants someone who appreciates her.
321* In ''Series/TheOfficeUS'':
322** Katy (a.k.a. The Purse Girl), who Jim dated from the end of Season 1 to the second episode of Season 2. Even if you didn't know that Jim and Pam were the OfficialCouple, you'd know Katy wasn't long for this world - she's played by Creator/AmyAdams.
323** Though he certainly fits the trope, Roy wasn't presented as a completely bad guy. He was always friendly, but insensitive. And even though Season 3 made sure to put the nail in the coffin on him and Pam, Roy got a bit of character development that season that made him very sympathetic, except when he lost his temper.
324** Parodied when Michael believes that Carol is standing in between him and Jan while there isn't actually any chance of them together anyway. Well, that gets subverted later....
325** Angela has two false leads. Andy is the first one, and the trope is played differently than usual, with Angela being portrayed as the wrong one, by continuing her affair with Dwight. In a later season, she marries and has a child with a [[spoiler: closeted gay]] congressman, and later it's revealed that [[spoiler: the child is actually Dwight's]]. In the series finale, she and Dwight get married.
326* Shauna Mulwae-Tweep in ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' repeatedly plays this role for several main male characters, where she gets friendly with the guy and makes his actual LoveInterest [[GreenEyedEpiphany realize her own feelings for him]] and she's promptly forgotten. She even lampshades it when she grumbles that she "can't even land the shoeshine boy" (Andy, who would later get together with April). It's deconstructed later on, as it's shown she's quite miserable as a result. [[ThrowTheDogABone She does eventually find happiness]] in the series' GrandFinale.
327* Done in an interesting way on ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'': Toby and Emily are both this for one another. They go to a dance together early in season one, and there does seem to be a little bit of genuine chemistry between them. Emily later comes out as a lesbian, however, and subsequently dates Maya and then gets involved with Paige in some way. Toby, meanwhile, gets involved with Spencer.
328* ''Series/{{Psych}}'':
329** Shawn's childhood sweetheart, Abigail Lytar, who rapidly became a classic false lead. Although she didn't wind up with Shawn, the writers did a good job of presenting Abigail as a likable, good person who actually went very well with her boyfriend. Eventually, though, they broke up on fairly friendly terms.
330** They also had one for Juliet, who was a fairly decent guy with lots of cash. He was pretty friendly with Shawn, which made Shawn all the more awkward about trying to get with Jules.
331* ''Series/{{Revenge}}'': By Season Three, it became clear that Daniel Grayson was this, either for Jack/Emily or Aiden/Emily. [[spoiler:After Aiden died, it was obvious that the endgame pairing was going to be the former, though the show did try to psych out the fans by introducing ''another'' false lead in Jack's police partner Ben Hunter and briefly teasing the return of Daniel/Emily, before killing off both Ben and Daniel, leaving the path clear for Jack.]]
332* ''Series/SavedByTheBell'': There were several for HighSchoolSweethearts Zack and Kelly. While Zack wasn't pleased with Kelly's relationship with Jeff, Kelly didn't seem to comment on [[ChickMagnet Zack's]] numerous love interests such as each GirlOfTheWeek and Stacey Carosi. The GirlOfTheWeek wouldn't appear in the next episode and Stacy had to leave at the end of summer. One episode even had a Romantic False Lead for Stacey when her old boyfriend showed up.
333%%''Series/{{Scrubs}}'':
334** Sean was a great guy and good for Elliot, making JD's jealousy put him in a bad light. Sean however picked up on JD's feelings and called him on it, resulting in JD (for a while, anyway) respecting the relationship, albeit not too happily.
335** Kim seemed to be one for JD at first, though she was PutOnABus. When TheBusCameBack she was revealed to have lied about something important and it ruined any chances of JD falling in love in love with her (not that he didn't try).
336%% ** Keith.
337* Mr. Big's second wife Natasha in ''Series/SexAndTheCity''. There followed a Tawdry Love affair, which ended badly for the wife - she caught Carrie in her apartment, and whilst chasing after her, ended up falling downstairs and breaking her teeth. One could also argue that Carrie's major boyfriends, Aiden and Aleksandr, whilst extremely fleshed out, were false leads for the [[OfficialCouple Big and Carrie relationship]].
338%% * If the {{Mythology Gag}}s that ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' is so fond of keep up, Sarah and Jeanette - John's [[GirlOfTheWeek girls of the episode]] in seasons 1 and 2, respectively - will both become this once Mary Morstan, John's Official Love Interest, shows up.
339* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' probably deserves to be the reigning champion of false leads, having used them both effectively and annoyingly. [[JerkJock Whitney Fordman]], Lana Lang's boyfriend in season 1, fits the false lead to a tee, and was both sent away and killed off; Adam Knight in season 3 and Jason Teague in season 4 are perfectly charming love interests (and played respectively by Ian Somerhalder and Creator/JensenAckles, [[EvenTheGuysWantHim easy on the eyes]]) right up until they conveniently (for Clark) [[WasItAllALie turn out to be baddies]]. [[FanPreferredCouple Chloe and Clark]] had a brief relationship near the end of season one before she inexplicably broke up with him. Then Lana actually marries Lex Luthor, who could easily be seen as a false lead for the OneTruePairing of Clark & Lana... while Lana herself and for a while, [[ComicBook/GreenArrow Oliver Queen]], could be seen as playing Paulos for, respectively, Clark and Lois Lane -- the show's inevitable OfficialCouple. Oh, and let's not forget the GirlOfTheWeek and the occasional, and less fortunate TemporaryLoveInterest...
340* The second season of ''Series/{{Spaced}}'' introduced Sophie as a love interest for Tim. Tim and Daisy's mutual attraction has always been understated and although we clearly see that Daisy is jealous, she does nothing to sabotage the relationship beyond some quiet muttering and veiled unfriendliness toward Sophie. Apparently the fanbase was torn about how to feel about the character; on the one hand they wanted to hate her for coming between Tim & Daisy, but on the other she was likable and cool... [[spoiler:just before the end of the series Sophie was PutOnABus and the series closed with some relatively - ''relatively'', mind you - blatant implications that Tim and Daisy were getting together at last.]]
341%% * Arthur for Mike/Nikki and Trevor for Mike/Caitlin in ''Series/SpinCity''.
342%% * ''Series/SportsNight'' had Jenny the porn star and Pixley. And Gordon. And Sally.
343* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' ended up doing this with Yeoman Janice Rand for Kirk, unintentionally. Rand was to be set up as part of the PowerTrio with Kirk and Spock, given her prominence in the credits, to create the traditional hero-love interest - best friend dynamic. The earlier episodes play it up, having Kirk hold her in a tense moment, and in The Naked Time he ends up raving about his attraction to her while under the influence of an inhibition-removing substance. There's the setup for a ForbiddenFruit romance due to the disparity between their ranks. Then the actress leaves the show, leading to the new and famous PowerTrio of [[FreudianTrio Kirk, Spock and Mc Coy.]] Given [[HoYay the popular fan perception]] of the Kirk Spock relationship...
344* On ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', despite being introduced -- in an episode named after him, no less -- as the former Resistance leader who goes on to become the Prime Minister of Bajor, the recurring character of Shakaar Edon turned into this trope in his very next episode, when he was paired up with Kira (eliciting Odo's secret jealousy, which the episode was all about). The fact that the relationship was unsurprising in the sense that the two characters had a lot in common and a history, combined with a lack of chemistry between the actors, helped to make him a typical false lead.
345* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' played this trope somewhat in reverse, spending the first two seasons in full ShipTease mode between Capt. Archer and Commander T'Pol, complete with occasional sexual innuendo (and an episode where T'Pol devotes her life in an alternate timeline to taking care of Archer), only to reveal that Archer was a romantic false lead and that the series instead intended to pair T'Pol with Trip Tucker, which played out during the final two seasons.
346* Saint from ''Series/SugarRush'' qualifies as the more sympathetic version of the false lead. Although Sugar insists she isn't interested in Kim, her instant dislike of Saint and near continuous efforts to sabotage the relationship -- one time she claims Saint came on to her, another she robs her shop -- suggest otherwise. If it had continued for another series these issues might have been resolved, but alas...
347* Early on in ''Series/UnbreakableKimmySchmidt'', Kimmy and Charles received a lot of ShipTease, to the point where they would eventually start a fling, but by the end of that episode, they break up, and Kimmy starts chasing after her real {{Love Interest|s}}, Dong.
348* ''Series/VeronicaMars'':
349** Leo in season 1, who was nice, well-liked by her father and a useful contact for Veronica... although it sure looked like she wasn't very invested in the relationship. Not to mention they hooked up just when her relationship with Logan heated up (after which she chose Logan over Leo without much hesitation).
350** Logan himself could be viewed as an example for Veronica/Duncan, which was clearly a destined pairing from the start of the show, and [[RealLifeWritesThePlot real life wound up writing the plot]] for Veronica/Duncan in so far as the chemistry between Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring was electric, the chemistry between her and Teddy Dunn was nonexistent [[spoiler: which would have been oddly apt if they'd turned out to be siblings after all]]. Factor in that Dohring is ten times the actor Dunn is, and that fans just weren't interested in their pairing (and indeed, [[spoiler: when season two got them together again, people were [[FlatWhat not happy]] that she wasn't with Logan anymore)]]. Hence, Dunn was written out, and Veronica/Logan was made the OfficialCouple.
351** Season 3 has [[SatelliteLoveInterest Piz]], who may have been intended to become this trope (again, a nice normal guy who treated her nicely, was liked by her dad, etc.), but ended the season dating her. In the movie, she ended up breaking up with him and dating Logan again, which carried on into the revival.
352* ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'' gives us Jessie, an abused housewife that welcomes Rick to Alexandria by giving him a haircut in late season 5. Rick develops an infatuation with her while dealing with severe PTSD and plotting to take over the community, he gets into a fight with her abusive husband and later kills him in front of the entire town. Him and Jessie share a kiss in episode 5 of season 6, but she dies soon after in episode 9 along with her two children. After that we have a time skip and Rick gets together with Michonne, who he shares a deep bond with and has been having Main/ShipTease with since season 3, ''in the very next episode'', and they begin a serious and committed relationship.
353* ''Series/TheWestWing'':
354** Jack Reese and Donna Moss. In season Four, Donna begins dating a military aide and guilts Josh into helping her get him. Josh is still in denial of his feelings for her but still undergoes an 'ew awkward' moment indicative of his deeper feelings for her. Regardless, Josh ultimately winds up alternating between sympathetic supporter and saboteur, depending on the situation. They break up when Jack is transferred and he uses Donna as cover to make spiteful comments about the White House.
355%% ** Cliff Caley is a false lead for Donna earlier, during the MS scandal, but in that case DatingCatwoman is in play (he's a Republican aide on the investigating committee). Caley remains a likable and honorable character.
356%% ** Amy Gardner serves as this, too, although she's actually Josh's main girlfriend during the show's run. Their different jobs and mutually abrasive personalities frequently put them at odds.
357** Zoe dumps Charlie in favor of a young SmugSnake who is a French count. Charlie is very upset about it, although he manages to remain likable and sympathetic. It ends when Jean-Paul tries spiking Zoe's drink with Ecstasy, which has been replaced with [=GHB=] by some terrorist kidnappers.
358%% * ''Series/YoungAndHungry'': Gabi has Cooper, while Josh has Caroline (and later, Jilly).
359[[/folder]]
360
361[[folder:Music]]
362* The singer in The Jets' "You Got It All" views her former lover as such compared to her new one.
363->''And you're all that he's not''
364->''Just look what I've got''
365->'''Cause you've got it all''
366->''Over him''
367%% * The popular, high-heeled, short-skirted "[[AllGuysWantCheerleaders cheer captain]]" in Music/TaylorSwift's "You Belong With Me" is a female version of the false lead.
368* {{Music/Marillion}} has a curious but heartbreaking variation on the trope in "Cinderella Search", where ''[[TomatoInTheMirror the narrator]]'' is revealed to be the false lead:
369--> Exposing bedside manners on a work extension
370--> Awaiting development with paranoid Polaroid eyes
371--> Oh-oh, oh-oh, Polaroid eyes...
372--> The footman memorised the number, but the prince still holds both the slippers,
373--> and would you leave a palace for a bedsit and Canterbury Tales?
374--> Canterbury Tales...
375--> Maybe it was infatuation or the thrill of the chase?
376--> Maybe you were always beyond my reach and my heart was playing safe?
377--> But was that love in your eye I saw or the reflection of mine?
378--> I'll never really know for sure, you never really gave me time!
379* The [=CHiCO=] with Music/{{Honeyworks}} song "Gimme Gimme Call" stars a girl who's JustFriends with two boys, realizes one or both of them may like her, and sets out working through which one turns out to be the false lead. [[spoiler: Turns out: 1) she really is just a good pal, and 2) ''she's'' the false lead, because 3) [[PairTheSuitors the boys were gunning for each other throughout the song and succeeded]].]]
380[[/folder]]
381
382[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
383* Wrestling/JimmyJacobs had been trying to court the self-proclaimed "First Lady Of Wrestling/{{R|ingOfHonor}}OH" "The Lovely" Lacey, for sometime, only for her to suddenly start courting Wrestling/ColtCabana, a JerkJock who was only interested in sex. Given this was ROH ''and'' Lacey was the object of his affection, crowd reaction quickly made Cabana into the baby {{face}} over the genuine love seeking Jacobs and angle's pivotal turn came with Colt dumping Lacey and telling Jimmy he would be better off without her as well. Against better judgment, Jacobs attacked Cabana and resumed his courtship of Lacey.[[/folder]]
384
385[[folder:Theatre]]
386* A near-{{Trope Namer|s}}, false lead Albiani in Verdi's ''Simon Boccanegra''. Not quite this trope. He is promised the hand of Amelia Grimaldi. But when she turns out to really be Maria Boccanegra, the daughter of the Doge, she is allowed to refuse him and ultimately marry her true love. The false lead doesn't go gracefully. He unsuccessfully tries to recruit an assassin and winds up poisoning Simon.
387* Creator/GilbertAndSullivan's ''Theatre/{{Ruddigore}}'': Rose chooses Richard when Robin makes an ([[DesignatedVillain enforced]]) FaceHeelTurn in the first act finale, and then goes back to Robin when he reasons his way out of having to be a Bad Baronet.
388* In ''Theatre/{{Iolanthe}}'', Phyllis casts off her fiancé, Strephon, when she catches him speaking to his mother (who being, unbeknownst to her, an unaging fairy, still looks like a young, attractive woman). She then agrees to become engaged to no less than ''two'' [[UpperClassTwit wealthy Peers]] ("one of you two, and I don't care which"), but goes back to Strephon when she finds out about his mother's fairyhood. The more general trope is used as well, though usually with either more subtlety (''Theatre/TheYeomenOfTheGuard'', where SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome occurs), or with it being PlayedForLaughs. In Gilbert's writing, where he doesn't feel the need to wrap things up so neatly, things can turn out very differently, though: For example, the story "An Elixir of Love" is basically ''The Sorcerer'', except without the love potion being reversed at the end, which is arguably far more interesting.
389* ''Theatre/TheDesertSong'' inverts the usual scenario: Margot is about to marry the false lead Paul at the beginning of the first act finale, but the Red Shadow arrives with the Riffs and captures her.
390* ''The New Moon'' plays this mostly straight; the first act ending with Robert in chains and Margot declaring her love for Captain Duval with a reprise of "One Kiss," though it's really a ploy to let her depart on the same boat as Robert. In an earlier scene, Duval tries to compose a love song for Marianne in an effort that Robert repeatedly sabotages.
391* In ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'':
392** Count Paris Juliet's mother asks her if she thinks she can learn to love him, and Juliet doesn't deny it, and what we see of him indicates that he would have made a most suitable husband for Juliet had she not been besotted with Romeo.
393** There's also Rosaline who is an unseen character, Juliet's cousin who Romeo had a crush on at the start of the play, and was why Romeo was sneaking into the Capulet Ball, as he was to actually trying to see Rosaline. However after he spots Juliet at that same ball he instant forgets about her cousin altogether.
394%% * [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Lucy the Slut]] acts like this for part of ''Theatre/AvenueQ''. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Christmas Eve in the song "The More You [[JapaneseRanguage Ruv]] Someone."
395* Stacee Jaxx in ''Theatre/RockOfAges'' shows up just in time to come between the male and female leads. [[spoiler: Having sex with him sends Sherry Christian into a downward spiral, leaving her lonely and working as a stripper. But it all works out in the end.]]
396* Gloria Rasputin in ''Theatre/ByeByeBirdie'', whose main purpose seems to be to raise Rose's jealousy to murderous levels. She's actually being ''paid'' to do this by Albert's mother, who wants Albert and Rose to be over.
397* In ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'', the Captain almost goes through with marrying Elsa Schraeder after Maria flees into TenMinuteRetirement expecting exactly that to happen, even though the children obviously would rather have Maria as their mother and, as Brigitta can tell, the Captain is fonder of her too.
398[[/folder]]
399
400[[folder:Video Games]]
401* In ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'', Penelope Mouse spends a good portion of the game crushing on Sly, before she settles with Bentley instead. [[spoiler:However, she then becomes this trope to Bentley in [[VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime the very next game]] when her FaceHeelTurn is exposed and they become fierce enemies.]]
402[[/folder]]
403
404[[folder:Visual Novels]]
405* ''VisualNovel/ChoicesStoriesYouPlay'':
406** In ''[[VisualNovel/TheFreshman The Junior]]'', Nathan Sterling is initially set up as a love interest, but then he is revealed to be the BigBad of the story, the president of a fraternity/prank club turned criminal organization.
407** In ''[[VisualNovel/ItLives It Lives Beneath]]'', you can get ''one'' romance point with Imogen's friend Kyle before he is killed off in the very first chapter.
408** In ''VisualNovel/AcrossTheVoid'', Prince Barlow is initially set up as a love interest, but then he is revealed to be part of the Void, a terrorist organization that wants to destroy the galaxy.
409** In ''VisualNovel/HotCouture'', Hazel Nguyen is initially set up as a love interest, but in the final chapter, she reveals that she doesn't want a committed relationship.
410** In ''[[VisualNovel/BladesOfLightAndShadow Blades of Light & Shadow, Book 1]]'', Prince Aerin is initially set up as a love interest, but then he is revealed to have been corrupted by the Shadow Court and is helping its ruler, the Dreadlord return.
411** In ''VisualNovel/ThePhantomAgent'', Rowan Salazar, the main character's previous partner and love interest, is gender customizable, and you can earn Charm points with them, but then they seemingly get killed off in the very first chapter. In Chapter 11, they reveal they faked their death and are now TheDragon, and just when they make a HeelFaceTurn, the BigBad shoots and kills them for real in the penultimate chapter.
412* Exploited by Tamara from ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' when she briefly dates Dennis. No matter how much she insists otherwise, the protagonist comes to realize that Tamara is only dating Dennis to make him jealous. And once he does, he crashes their date, claiming Tamara for himself.
413* In ''VisualNovel/TrueLoveJunaiMonogatari'', Toshio gets upgraded from TheCasanova to this if you choose [[spoiler: Mikae Morikawa]]'s path. [[spoiler: If the MC actually gets together with her, she'll explain that she was ''this'' close to give into Toshio's interest and go out with him - but only if the MC, the guy she actually loves, didn't love her back.]]
414%% * Yukitsuki is this in ''VisualNovel/FragmentsNote'', mainly thanks to her {{Yandere}} outbursts and Miu's intervention in the time stream. In the second game, Shizuku can become this to Yukitsuki in the latter's route.
415[[/folder]]
416
417[[folder:Web Animation]]
418* Parodied by ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' in a short where Marzipan goes on a date with The Cheat, and both Homestar and Strong Bad team up to ruin the date. Their attempts fail miserably, actually ''enhancing'' the date, but in the end Marzipan decides she doesn't care for The Cheat anyway.
419[[/folder]]
420
421[[folder:Webcomics]]
422%% * In Ellerton's ''Webcomic/ThePhoenixRequiem'':
423%% ** Teddy is this to Petria. She ends up with Robyn, but not in a particularly obvious kind of way.
424%% ** At the beginning, Robyn to Anya. When he realizes that she is just not interested though, he gives up quite easily.
425* The entire cast of ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'':
426** For example, Nanase is Elliot's girlfriend when Sarah admits her feelings for him. Elliot is conflicted, Nanase isn't. She acknowledges that she's been LovingAShadow and dumps him so he can pursue Sarah, [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy who genuinely loves him]]. Both traps are avoided... Nanase's a likable character, but Sarah is also likable and better suited to being Elliot's girlfriend. In a slight twist, Nanase stays friends with both of them, and this isn't the end of her role... [[spoiler:In fact, she later comes to terms with the realization that she's a lesbian, and she winds up in a relationship with Elliot's [[OppositeSexClone bisexual female duplicate]] (long story), Ellen...]]
427** This gets subverted much later when [[spoiler: Elliot realizes he loves Sarah like a sister and decides to downgrade their relationship to close friends. Sarah is fine with it for her own unrelated reasons. However, this opens this trope back up, as longtime friend [[DefrostingIceQueen Susan]], newcomer Ashley, and wildcard [[LovableAlphaBitch Diane]] are all attracted to him. Ashley fits the trope best, as she swoops in and gets a date with Elliot within minutes of meeting him for the first time, while Susan is still busy trying to make sense of her feelings for him that have been developing over several months, but as the comic is still ongoing the question of who Elliot will end up with remains unresolved]].
428%% ** Not to mention Justin's feelings toward Sarah, since he's in love with Elliot. Subverted, though: "How dare you be someone I can't hate..."
429* Missi from ''Webcomic/{{Misfile}}'' exists mainly as another obstacle to a potential romance between Ash and Emily. This is further complicated by the suggestion that she could have been Ash's love interest in her male life.
430* In ''Webcomic/LeastICouldDo'', a 2004 storyline featured Issa (the one woman Rayne can't bed but obviously wants to) dating Huck, who the others observe is [[LovingAShadow basically a nicer version of Rayne]] from the country. Although things didn't quite follow the stereotypical formula, there was friction between Rayne and Huck, and Huck has not reappeared since.
431* ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'' had Neilen Everstar, a former co-worker of Luna's, who comes off as nice and friendly to Luna, but eventually his plans to ruin Dominic and Luna's relationship [[{{Jerkass}} purely out of spite]] come out into the open.
432* In ''Webcomic/PunchAnPie,'' Angela sees Jack as a false lead when her bi girlfriend Heather starts hanging around with him a lot. Turns out that not only were they not even considering each other that way, ''[[ClingyJealousGirl she saw all of Heather's friends like this.]]''
433* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', with its epic WillTheyOrWontThey between Torg and Zoë:
434** Dex, Zoë's old crush, specifically at the point when he finally decided to start dating Zoë right after Torg realized his own feelings for her. Of course, this was set up right before the "KITTEN" slasher parody, so he wasn't a problem for the story for long. This did mean Zoë never got to realize what a jerk he really was, although she already [[WhatDoesSheSeeInHim should have done earlier]].
435** Leo, Zoë's relatively normal boyfriend later on. Also a bit of a jerk in the end, as he was all right with Zoë's crazy stories about what happened in her life only until it turned out they ''weren't'' lies.
436** Angela, who was Torg's girlfriend for a while when he'd given up on Zoë. She ended up leaving because of all the crazy stuff that happened around him -- or at least tried to, before ending up back in an institution when her cat traumas were triggered again. (She was in "KITTEN" as well, and in fact used to date Dex.)
437* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'':
438** Tarvek. He's a plausible enough rival to really put the wind up Gil, but the authors are [[WriterOnBoard pretty clear on which way the ship sails]]. The only way Agatha would end up with Tarvek would be if something irreparably split up Agatha and Gil. Also, as one character reminds Tarvek (as he's about to give up entirely and try to accept Gil as her OneTruePairing), marriage among the nobility of Europe/Europa is about far more than just romance and love, there are important political factors and alliances to consider which mean Agatha may not have the option to MarryForLove. These same factors might just make Tarvek, who she still likes and cares for, a far better choice for her to actually marry than Gil.
439** Lars is a more straight example. Out of all of Agatha's potential love interests, he is the only one who isn't royalty, isn't a Spark and is more than a bit of a coward, but despite these handicaps he is devoted to Agatha and does anything he can to help her. From a normal literary standpoint, Lars' underdog status probably made him the top candidate for Agatha's affections. He [[spoiler:dies less than halfway through the series]].
440* [[GirlOfTheWeek Sakura]] is this for Walter in ''Webcomic/DubiousCompany''. Surprisingly, she is neither a JerkAss nor a boring milquetoast, but a [[TheBeautifulElite pretty]] [[ThroughHisStomach sweet]] [[NiceGuy gal]]. It's Mary and Sue that act as the AlphaBitch and manipulate Walter's [[UnresolvedSexualTension best]] [[JustFriends friend]], Tiren, into a CatFight with Sakura. Which leads to [[spoiler: Walter realizing that something is [[IsItSomethingYouEat wrong with Tiren]] and tries to stop the fight. Shortly after, the cast blinks back to [[HubLevel Nowhere Island]]]] and get a strict lecture from [[TeamDad Izor]].
441%% * In ''Webcomic/BlueYonder'', Kevin thinks he's in a LoveTriangle, and that Jared is this. [[http://www.blueyondercomic.net/comics/1316065/blue-yonder-chapter-1-page-31/ Lena disabuses him of the notion.]]
442* In ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'', Zerdra Zenith is this for divorcee George Fennec. While serving as Hare Link's representative for a deal with Carrot Computers, and disguised as a rabbit, he meets Zerdra, a fellow fennec fox, and is in love with her at first sight, but learns that she [[BoomerangBigot hates other fennec foxes]] with the exception of Fiona. George then is forced to keep up the deception of him being a rabbit for as long as he dates Zerdra, even having Kevin's sister Danielle pose as George's daughter. This lasts until she finally breaks up with him due to having gotten over her hatred of her own kind. George impulsively decides to reveal himself as a rabbit, despite Danielle having warned him that this would kill any chance he had of getting back together with her. Zerdra punches George and sends him flying into the arms of Danielle, who becomes George's actual partner (or at least her counerpart from the human world does).
443* ''Webcomic/DreamingFreedom'': Jaehyeok is the first guy that is nice to Jeongmin, and is also one of her first friends. She quickly develops feelings for him, [[spoiler:but then Juhyeon finds out and wins him over. They start dating and he turns against Jeongmin.]]
444* ''Webcomic/ALittleHintOfBlue'': While Fled is by all accounts a good boyfriend to Skara, he has the misfortune of being in a story where the audience already knows before he even shows up that [[MarriedInTheFuture she'll eventually end up married to Viney instead]]. Fled is even perfectly aware that a long term relationship isn't in the cards for him, which plays a role in their eventual breakup.
445[[/folder]]
446
447[[folder:Web Original]]
448%% * In the Website/TVTropes original webseries ''WebVideo/EchoChamber'', [[BestKnownForTheFanservice Porn Girl]] becomes a GirlOfTheWeek version of this for Tom, but [[GenreSavvy Dana]] is unimpressed and knows it won't last.
449* ''Literature/EmilyHTheVikingPrincess'': In the later half of the story, Garth is seemingly built up as a romantic rival to Emily's boyfriend Samson, what with her also being attracted to him and describing him with as much attention to sexiness as she does Samson, but before the men can come into conflict, she and Samson marry, Garth is never mentioned again after that, and [[DeadFic the story is abandoned]].
450[[/folder]]
451
452[[folder:Western Animation]]
453* Katara has a crush on Jet in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', at least until she finds out his true colors. Even then, she was blushing every time the subject was brought up until his HeroicSacrifice closed that particular possibility off for good, and she ends the series getting together with Aang. Interestingly, Aang shows little to no signs of jealousy towards Jet. It was Sokka (Katara's brother) who disliked Jet because he felt OvershadowedByAwesome.
454%% * In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'', it's revealed that, thanks to fate, literally every girl Ben has expressed an interest in that wasn't [[FirstGirlWins Kai]] was this.
455* Although he wasn't introduced for this, Mayor Pothole [=McPucker=] of ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'' became this when he returned to the show to get engaged to Jane, the love of Lumpus' life. Pothole is a tool through which the writers let out all their gross-out humor, making Lumpus a decent guy in comparison. Finally he confesses his love for her, but due to the dress he's wearing (don't ask) is mistaken for a woman confessing her love for Pothole. HilarityEnsues.
456* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'''s William Dunbar has all the trappings of this trope. He is attractive without too many sympathetic traits, is definitely interested in Yumi, and excites her romantic interest for a time, but ends up more of a close friend in her view in the end. Ulrich definitely hates him from the beginning, however, and he is played as a rival for Yumi's affection (William even flat-out tells Ulrich that if he doesn't make a move on Yumi, he [William] ''will'').
457%% * On ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', Paulina is generally the latter style of false lead to Danny, and Gregor was the false lead for Sam for an episode. Danny also had Valerie.
458* The Disney version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'' had this in Guy Graham, a slightly older more narcissistic kid who had a crush on Patti Mayonnaise, much to Doug's chagrin.
459* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'':
460** Once again, when Leela dates a man who she believes is the same alien species as her. It turns out, though, that he's a shapeshifter and planned to marry ''four other girls'' on the same day!
461** Leela dates a wealthy and handsome man -- the Mayor's aide, Chaz. He seems charming and kind if a little overbearing, and Fry seethes with jealousy. However, Chaz's self-obsession begins to tire on Leela and reaches a peak when it turns out he has used his money and connections to buy the whole of the ice rink for their date, ruining the plans of a coachload of orphans from the same orphanage Leela grew up in. She asks him to let the orphans on. He refuses. She realizes what kind of man he is and leaves him.
462** "The Cyber House Rules" features Adlai Atkins, Leela's childhood crush and plastic surgeon. He aids Leela with her self-loathing by giving her a second false eye to appear more "normal," despite Fry repeatedly insisting Leela not go along with it (both because he loves her as a cyclops and because he's jealous). Despite Adlai being an IndubitablyUninterestingIndividual, Leela seems happy to be with a wealthy and charming man. She only realizes that Adlai isn't good for her when he refuses to adopt Sally, an orphan with a third ear, without giving her an operation to look "normal," which also leads to [[BeYourself Leela realizing she was fine as a cyclops]]. For what it's worth, she also calls out Fry for cheering when she dumps Adlai.
463** Lars, from ''Bender's Big Score'', actually does seem to get along quite well with Leela, much to Fry's chagrin. However, Lars does dump her at the altar for mysterious reasons, breaking her heart. The movie plays with the trope by having Fry [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy come to terms with the fact Leela can be happy without him]], but then [[spoiler:Lars dies and turns out to be a doomed time duplicate of Fry, meaning Fry technically ''was'' the love of her life.]]
464** Downplayed with Colleen, from ''The Beast With a Billion Backs'', is Fry's girlfriend and would be this for Leela, But she was only a little jealous of them.
465* In ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', practically every one of Arnold's love interests is one of these, as the show repeatedly implies that [[ObliviousToLove he and Helga belong together, despite what Arnold thinks]]. Most one-time crush characters, such as Summer from the episode "Summer Love," fall under this description, but two girls are particularly notable:
466** Ruth [=McDougal=], the girl Arnold is infatuated with for most of Season One, is the understandable object of Helga's jealousy for the early part of the show. Arnold's crush on Ruth ends during a Valentine's Day date when [[NoSparks he discovers her inability to carry on an intelligent conversation,]] while simultaneously having a wonderful time with a girl [[LovesMyAlterEgo who turns out to be Helga in disguise]].
467** Lila Sawyer, Arnold's longest crush. A sugary sweet country girl who Arnold develops feelings for, although she constantly reminds Arnold that she doesn't "like him-like him." Ironically, while Helga is jealous of Lila, her own actions are the only reason for Arnold and Lila ever even considering a relationship. Lila becomes aware of Helga's feelings for Arnold and coerces Helga into [[LoveConfessor coming clean to her about her love for him]]. Near the end of the series, Arnold finally gets the message and gives up on Lila.
468* Pulled off very nicely on ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' with Mari/Comicbook/{{Vixen}}, [[Franchise/GreenLantern John Stewart's]] rebound girlfriend after Shayera/Hawkgirl [[PutOnABus temporarily left for parts unknown.]] Vixen herself is a rather nice person and plucky ActionGirl who ends up ''befriending'' Shayera, even saving her life at some point, and Shayera doesn't make too much of a fuss at their relationship despite the unspoken, though sometimes blatantly hinted-at, tensions still existing (like when Shayera mentions that among her people, MurderTheHypotenuse would be the expected and accepted action on her part). [[spoiler:By the end of the show, John Stewart's relationship with Vixen is treated respectably enough that, even when Shayera learns of her and John's future offspring Warhawk, John still refuses to leave Vixen (who is actually ''injured'' at that time) instantly [[ScrewDestiny simply because destiny says otherwise.]] He will instead wait for everything to happen between the three of them organically (and presumably post-series finale, if the fact that Rex/Warhawk is Shayera and John's KidFromTheFuture says something). Shayera, though logically not happy, more or less accepts his decision, and instead of complaining she goes have a talk with Franchise/{{Batman}} ([[TellMeAboutMyFather so he can tell her about Warhawk]]).]] The fifth season introduces Carter/Hawkman as Shayera's false lead, making the love triangle into a love ''square''. This time, however, he's made into Shayera's StalkerWithACrush. [[spoiler: After the events of the episode "Ancient History" which revealed the truth between the past lives of him and Shayera, he gives up on her and essentially encourages her to be with John.]]
469* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Drakken at the top of his game ''weaponizes'' this trope in ''[[WesternAnimation/KimPossibleMovieSoTheDrama So The Drama]]'' with [[spoiler:"Eric" a.k.a. Synthodrone 901: a "made-to-order syntho-hottie"]]. He drives Ron crazy with jealousy, but in the end, [[spoiler:Ron and Kim get together]].
470* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'':
471** [[BadassNormal Asami]], [[TheHero Korra]], and [[TroubledButCute Mako]] play with this throughout the run of the series. Initially, it appears that Asami is this to Mako, who is supposed to end up with the heroine Korra. At the end of season 1, it appears settled with Mako ending up with Korra. As Mako is extremely bad at handling either relationship, [[TheDitherer being unable to commit]], Korra and Mako wind up broken up by the end of book 2, during which he also has another fling with Asami. While Mako remains [[BetterAsFriends a loyal ally]] to both Korra and Asami, in the end [[spoiler: the two girls wind up together.]]
472** Bolin is technically one for Korra as well, as he was interested in her from the very beginning and went on a date with her, but no one in or out of universe (except poor Bolin) ever expected that relationship to last.
473* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' introduced two of them in season 2, Luka and Kagami, respectively targeting main characters Marinette and Adrien, who are an AnchoredShip stuck into a TwoPersonLoveTriangle. They seems to have simultaneously won them in the two part finale of season 3 [[spoiler: but it does not last longer than the two part beginning of season 4 that follows. Realizing that TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife, Marinette and Adrien part ways with their respective false leads. Simultaneously again and over the course of the same day.]]
474* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'':
475** Marco had [[ChickMagnet too many to list.]] The most obvious was Jackie, whom he had a crush on since they were toddlers, whom he dates for awhile. He also became breakup buddies with Kelly. [[TheTease Janna and Hekapoo]] like flirting with him too. In the last couple of episodes, [[spoiler: he finally ends up with Star.]]
476** Star has her own with Tom Lucitor, her [[RelationshipRevolvingDoor on-and-off-again boyfriend]], until the two amicably break up for good in Season 4, partially because Tom knows Star's [[OneTrueLove true feelings]] for Marco. Unlike many examples, Tom and Marco are good friends themselves and both respect Star's choices. Before that, Star has a crush on Oskar Greason, but loses it by the end of the second season as she starts to see him not as a cool musician with "a record", but as the dopey weirdo everyone else sees him as.
477* ''WesternAnimation/KipoAndTheAgeOfWonderbeasts'': From Benson's introduction, there are little hints that he might be Kipo's love interest. This even gets to the point where she confesses to him, but he turns her down because he is gay.
478%% * In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', this was the initial role of Phantom Limb as he horned in on The Monarch's relation with Dr. Girlfriend, although he has since [[CharacterDevelopment evolved into his own character]] following that arc.
479* In ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'', Diaspro is this for Bloom/Sky. She is a princess betrothed to Sky from childhood, and despite Sky eventually falling in love with Bloom and breaking off their engagement, she continues to pursue him and is the cause of much of the drama between Bloom and Sky for the majority of the series' run.
480* Both Jean and Scott in ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' get their own false leads: Jean dates Duncan and Scott dates Jean's classmate Taryn, and then Taryn dumped Scott when mutants were revealed, not because she or he became a jerk, but for the same reason most of them lost their friends: He can, quite literally, blow up a building with his eyes. Duncan was an Alpha dog {{Jerkass}} type, who played the BitchInSheepsClothing trope (while he made it clear he was a jerk, he treated Jean ''far'' nicer then he treats anyone else), and when they break up, let's just say he takes his jerkery to a whole new level.
481[[/folder]]

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