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4[[quoteright:350:[[Theatre/{{Anastasia}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anastasia_broadway_4.png]]]]
5
6->''Uptown girl\
7She's been living in her uptown world\
8I bet she's never had a backstreet guy\
9I bet her momma never told her why\
10I'm gonna try for an uptown girl\
11She's been living in her white bread world\
12As long as anyone with hot blood can\
13And now she's looking for a downtown man\
14That's what I am''
15-->-- '''Music/BillyJoel''', "[[TropeNamers Uptown Girl]]"
16
17You know the story. It's a love story.
18
19Our lovers are from different worlds -- one wealthy, one not. The poor girl has fallen in love with the GentlemanSnarker, or the stable boy secretly courts the princess. And she loves him too. Maybe it was LoveAtFirstSight. Maybe she has a habit of slipping out to the seedier side of town for a night of fun. Maybe they've been [[PuppyLove friends their whole lives]] and the difference in status never really mattered. Will their love be enough to let them be happy together?
20
21In any case, this is usually played out in one of three ways:
22* The poor guy and rich girl mutually fall in love, and neither one cares about their differences in wealth. People around them, however, do and conspire to interfere with True Love.
23* The poor guy falls for the rich girl, even though he knows that she's out of his league. Undaunted, our hero engages in some ZanyScheme to get her to notice him or be impressed by him. This usually ends with the girl revealing that she doesn't care if he's rich or poor and that she loves him for who he is.
24* The poor guy and the rich girl fall for one another, but he doesn't know she's rich at first. When he finds out, he's either intimidated by her wealth once he finds out, or else doesn't think he's good enough for her. As before, she doesn't care about such things and has to convince him that he's the one she wants.
25
26When the rich girl wants nothing to do with the poor guy, but slowly warms up to him, it's a [[DefrostingIceQueen different trope entirely]].
27
28Note that the roles [[GenderInvertedTrope aren't locked by gender]]. Every other {{Telenovela}} in existence is about some dirt-poor NaiveEverygirl falling in love with a wealthy stud, often indirectly invoking the CinderellaPlot along the way. But since men are already stereotypically expected to be the provider in a relationship, "poor girl/rich guy" stories don't carry quite the same dramatic weight. Same-gender examples also exist; bonus points if the "Uptown" partner is closeted and coming out would threaten their status, while "Downtown" lives openly because they have nothing to lose.
29
30When this happens with royalty, these arrangements are commonly called "morganatic" marriages.
31
32A relationship variant of the OddCouple and quite often overlaps with NobodyThinksItWillWork. Also often leads to cases of ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe, either with a severe case of insecurity (like the third type above), or simply the poor guy being constantly feeling lucky and appreciative that someone so rich could fall for him. If it's not just the fact that she comes from money, but that he feels like she's above him, she's a PeerlessLoveInterest. Compare with AllGirlsWantBadBoys, which often follows the same socioeconomic groups (or the inverse, if the girl is TheIngenue and the boy is a GentlemanSnarker or SpoiledBrat). Can overlap with SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan as it is the guy's personality that wins her heart (as is the case mentioned above). Might also overlap with StarCrossedLovers if the pair ''doesn't'' end up together for whatever reason.
33
34Not to be confused with the Creator/BrittanyMurphy film ''Film/UptownGirls'', which doesn't use this trope. Not to be confused with CityMouse either.
35
36This is transitioning into DeadHorseTrope territory since interclass marriage is no longer shocking, and the expectation that men should be the breadwinner in the family is much weaker today than it used to be. On the other hand, it may become an UndeadHorseTrope with the emergence of [[CulturePolice culture wars]] and new waves of [[SlobsVersusSnobs social stratification]].
37
38For the non-romantic variant, see InterclassFriendship. When the love in such a relationship is faked, see GoldDigger. For the version endemic to India, see TypeCaste, although that trope is not restricted solely to marriage and relationships. Compare with GirlNextDoorTurnedSuperstar.
39----
40!!Examples
41
42[[foldercontrol]]
43
44[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
45* ''Manga/BlackClover'':
46** Asta, from the poor village of Hage in the Forsaken Region and is a peasant with no magic before getting his Grimoire, is who Noelle Silva, being royalty, in love with but is a {{Tsundere}} toward him for being ObliviousToLove. Her kinder and polite cousin, Mimosa Vermillion who is also royalty, is also smitten with Asta.
47** Charlotte Roselei, noblewoman of the House Roselei who becomes Captain of the Blue Rose squad, had fallen for Yami Sukehiro, a foreigner from another nation who went on to become Captain of Black Bulls, who saved her from her curse by a witch that required her to fall in love to break it much to her dismay.
48** PlayedWith between Finral Roulacase and Finesse Calmreich. Finral was to be heir to the noble house of Vaude and to be engaged with Finesse who is the Clover King's grandniece until his younger brother Langris replaced him by his parents for having stronger magic. Finesse, however, likes Finral better for being kinder regardless if he doesn't become next head of his family.
49* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
50** Byakuya Kuchiki and Hisana. Hisana was a commoner from one of the worst Rukongai districts while Byakuya was a noble from one of the four most powerful and highly ranked noble houses in Soul Society. The social inequality between them didn't bother Byakuya and Hisana, but the Kuchiki clan was appalled. Byakuya eventually won the fight to have Hisana as his wife, but she fell sick and died five years after they were married.
51** Ryuuken Ishida and Kanae Katagiri. As an Echt, Ryuuken was a Quincy BlueBlood from one of the most powerful families alive and expected to marry another Echt. As a Gemischt, Kanae was Ryuuken's servant and bodyguard. Only when the ArrangedMarriage plan falls through are Ryuuken's relatives willing to let him and Kanae MarryForLove. [[spoiler:Kanae [[PlotTriggeringDeath dies]] six years before the main story begins, targeted for her commoner status.]]
52* ''Manga/BoysOverFlowers'' (although it's a bit more complicated than that, obviously).
53** To elaborate: Tsukasa Domiyouji is a rich bully who [[LoveAtFirstPunch falls in love]] with the poor-as-dirt Tsukushi Makino. Depending on where you are in the series, she either loves his rich friend Rui Hanazawa, and [[CloudCuckoolander it's difficult to tell what goes on in his head.]] [[CharacterDevelopment Later in]] [[UnresolvedSexualTension the series]] it revolves around the problems associated with [[OfficialCouple Tsukasa and Tsukushi]] being together since he's the heir to a super-rich corporation and she's just a Japanese commoner.
54** The BetaCouple of Soujiro and Yuuki also counts, still with the guy as the UptownGirl and the girl as the pauper.
55* ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'':
56** [[TeacherStudentRomance Nadeshiko Amamiya and Fujitaka Kinomoto]], a relationship which results in Nadeshiko being disowned by her wealthy family; she doesn't mind that much as Fujitaka was no GoldDigger, and she works as a model while he continues teaching and they live in a tiny but cozy apartment with their children.
57** Also, arguably, Sakura herself. Though Fujikata's finances seemed to have improved somewhat given that he and his family live in a large, spacious house, Sakura's potential love interests are both very much wealthier than her. Syaoran's family is OldMoney, from one of China's most prestigious magical families. And Tomoyo (if your [[YuriFan shipping preferences run that way]]) is Sakura's second cousin on her mother's side and lives in a ''seriously'' BigFancyHouse and her mother Sonomi's company is implied to be just one branch of very large family fortune.
58* ''Manga/{{Claudine}}'': A gender-inverted variant between Claude and Maura: Claude is the youngest son of the rich de Montesse family, while Maura is a poor maid who enters the de Montesse home in order to earn money for her sick father. Maura becomes Claude's first love and they wind up sharing a kiss.
59%%* Creator/CoolKyouShinsha's works have had several.
60* ''Anime/DigimonDataSquad'': Tohma's father, Franz was an uptown guy, being a wealthy, Austrian aristocrat while Touma's mother was an ordinary Japanese exchange student when they met. Tohma's snobby grandmother was less than thrilled about the relationship, both because of the class difference and the fact that they never married and made it very clear she considered Tohma to be only partially a Norstein.
61* ''Anime/ADogOfFlanders1975'': Alois Cogez is the daughter of the richest man in their small town in Belgium, but she loves Nello Daas and considers him her best friend. Alois' father Baas believes she is staining their name and tries everything he can to stop Alois from seeing him (even sending her to a boarding school in England), but no matter what, they always find a way past it.
62* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
63** Goku and Chichi could count as an example because Goku was a practitioner of martial arts who lived in the mountains and he made the [[ChildhoodMarriagePromise promise to marry]] Chichi, the daughter of the Ox-King, who had a castle full of treasures. However, the difference in social status was not an impediment because Chichi's father and Goku's grandfather were friends before, and Goku had saved the earth several times.
64** Vegeta and Bulma play with this trope after they got together in ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. While Vegeta is the prince of Saiyans, his home planet was destroyed, and he had spent the majority of his life working under Frieza. Bulma, on the other hand, is the heiress to Capsule Corporation, one of the biggest companies on Earth, and has never been stripped of her wealth like Vegeta was.
65** Videl, Gohan's girlfriend is the daughter of the "savior of the world" [[FakeUltimateHero Mr. Satan/Hercule]] who is a celebrity, millionaire, and even had a whole village named in his honor, while Gohan's family is running out of money, so the marriage between Gohan with Videl was something beneficial for his family.
66** Likewise, Valese (Goten's girlfriend) from ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' is implied by the latter to be quite wealthy herself. That being said, she doesn't appear to really mind Goten's low-class status, with her genuinely enjoying the time she spends with him.
67* ''Manga/DrSlump'': Subverted at the beginning. Obotchaman lives as a common villager, works by handing out milk, and is in love with Arale, but she at first was not a high-class girl until almost the end of the anime and manga where she happened to become the mayor of the Penguin Village, so meets this trope.
68* ''Manga/EmmaAVictorianRomance'' is an example where the gender is switched. Emma, an orphan maid, is pursued by and falls in mutual love with William Jones, a wealthy member of the upper-class gentry. In this case, it's a matter of the third version of this trope, with Emma thinking that her lack of refinement and rank will only hurt William's station and cause trouble for him if they were to marry. The ParentalMarriageVeto doesn't help matters. [[spoiler: They get married anyway.]] It's played straight with William and Eleanor, the daughter of a [[ImpoverishedPatrician broke viscount]] who wants her to marry into the NouveauRiche Joneses to restore their fortune. William's father wants him to marry Eleanor to improve their social status.
69* Subverted in ''Flaming Ieraishan'' by Shinano Oumi, where a reporter falls in love with the heir to a viscount, who ends up running away and becoming a prostitute when his family is ruined. It then turns out the viscount was impotent and Saki's actually the son of a prostitute who he sheltered in order to appear to have an heir.
70* In ''Manga/TheGentlemensAlliance'', Haine is poor and Shizumasa is rich. Slightly inverted in that Haine is not poor in any real sense; she's just significantly less wealthy than Shizumasa. Still, it plays just as the trope is described.
71* ''Manga/GoodbyeMyRoseGarden'' is the story of Alice, a British noblewoman, and Hanako, a working class woman she hires to be her maid. Over the course of the manga their relationship evolves from an InterclassFriendship to [[YuriGenre something more.]]
72* In ''Manga/HanakageNoKioku'', Laurent is a butler who has been with Arthur's family since childhood and initially rejects Arthur because of his status. Arthur's friend from school also tries to romance Laurent.
73* Subverted in ''Hana Wa Junai Ni Junjiru'', where Tsubaki (presumably lower class himself) is being trained to be a high-class prostitute serving only the nobility and Daniel is a gardener at the manor. Daniel works to be knighted just so he can be with Tsubaki, but his fixation on class causes even more tension because Tsubaki doesn't want to be associated with the nobility's prostitute system and would rather Daniel had run away with him when they were kids.
74* ''Literature/HarukaNogizakasSecret'' centers around this. The titular Nogizaka Haruka is the daughter of a ludicrously wealthy and powerful family, and the lower-middle-class Ayase Yuuto initially winds up as her confidant when he accidentally discovers her deep, dark secret... that she's an anime & manga otaku! As they spend time together, however, a relationship blooms - initially a type-1, but as Yuuto realizes [[{{Fiction500}} just HOW wealthy]] her family is, and what kind of powerful people she usually rubs elbows with (not to mention what kind of men are actively pursuing marriage with her), he slips into a type-3 as he starts to feel 'unworthy' of her. [[KnightTemplarParent Her father]] agrees, but who knows? Maybe there's a way for him to gain their respect...
75* ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'': A little one-sided, at least at the start, as Nagi (the rich girl) has become infatuated with the extremely-poor Hayate after he saves her from kidnappers. She saves him from his (parents') debt, and he ends up serving her as a BattleButler to pay her back. For her, it seems to be mostly just an excuse to keep him around.
76* Lina from ''Manga/{{Heroman}}'' comes from a rich-looking family while Joey looks really poor, although this fact isn't brought up at all, although it was hinted at by Lina's dad.
77* ''Anime/HowlsMovingCastle'': Sophie (middle-class) and Howl (famous wizard).
78* ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'':
79** Kaguya was born into one of the richest families in Japan while Shirogane is working class (both he and his little sister have to work part-time jobs due to their father being unemployed). [[spoiler:It's because of this class difference that they choose to have a SecretRelationship when they start dating since they don't want Kaguya's family to find out. It's also played with a bit in that Shirogane's family was a lot wealthier when he was younger... until his father's company was stolen by Kaguya's older brother.]]
80** [[spoiler:Kaguya's parents were also this, having been an EliteManCourtesanRomance. That said, it's never made clear if Nayotake actually loved Gan'an or if she was just using him for his wealth (complicated by the fact that [[MamasBabyPapasMaybe Gan'an never took a DNA test to see if she was lying about Kaguya being his child]]).]]
81** To a lesser extent, there's Erika (whose parents run the country's largest miso producer) and Kazamatsuri (a ScholarshipStudent like Shirogane whose financial situation is never specified). Due to her being absolutely hopeless in recognizing anything related to love, she has no idea that he has a crush on her, [[spoiler:though Chapter 192 of the SpinOff implies that [[MaybeEverAfter she eventually figures it out and marries him at some point in the future]].]]
82* Akiko Hashou from ''Manga/KaseiYakyoku'' is very attracted to Taka, a young man affiliated to the {{Yakuza}}, and thus she's the uptown girl to him.
83* Zigzagged in ''Manga/MaidenRose''. Taki is second-in-line to the throne in his own country. When Taki and Klaus first meet Klaus is of the nobility. Eventually, Klaus' family loses that status because the monarchy is dissolved when the country falls to the Western Alliance, placing him in the wealthy middle class. Later, when Klaus becomes Taki's knight, he has to renounce his country, name, and status, and becomes the lowest of the low in Taki's country. Their romance has been developing through all of this, but really comes into force after Klaus has lost his upper-class status.
84* ''Manga/MaidSama'': Misaki (poor girl working at a maid cafe) and Usui (rich boy attending the same school she does). Previously, Usui's parents.
85* Creator/MakotoShinkai:
86** ''Anime/YourName'' has Taki Tachibana, a city boy, falling for Mitsuha Miyamizu, the daughter of a politician.
87** In ''Anime/WeatheringWithYou'', Hodaka Morishima is, as far as the novelization is concerned, a middle class boy, while Hina is a poor weather girl who lives alone with her brother.
88* ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid'':
89** Discussed when [[NoNameGiven The bandit]] mentioned to Tohru that part of her dream of becoming a maid involved falling in love with her master. Whether or not she actually did is never specified.
90** This is implied to be the case regarding Tohru's one-sided crush on Kobayashi. It's suggested that Tohru might be a princess since her father is called the Emperor of Demise, but the series never goes deep enough into the minutiae of dragon politics to make it clear.
91* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' has Saji Crossroad, a poor UnluckyEverydude, fall for Louise Halevy, a SpoiledSweet {{tsundere}}, whose family is implied to be extremely wealthy and influential. The series seems to subvert the expectation that Louise's family would be hostile to Saji, as Louise's mother quickly takes to him, especially after hearing that he's an orphan, and basically treats him like a second child (which actually makes Louise jealous, a reaction played for comedy). Unfortunately, the series has a large dose of BreakTheCutie for both of them. [[spoiler:Starting with the massacre of Louise's entire family, at which point this trope becomes the least of their problems.]]
92* ''La vie raffinée de Mr Kayashima'' by Ellie Mamahara features an emotionally stunted UpperClassTwit whose only real interest in life is his relationship with his gardener.
93* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
94** PlayedWith for Hinata and [[spoiler:Naruto]]. She's an heiress of the illustrious and powerful Hyuga clan and the closest Konoha has to a princess after Tsunade left, while he starts off as the village pariah. However, by the time they become an OfficialCouple during the {{canon}} movie ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'', he had already become the hometown hero who had saved the world, along with being revealed as [[spoiler:the son of the Fourth Hokage]]. It's ultimately {{Zig Zagged}} because, despite [[spoiler:Naruto's]] credentials and achievements, Hinata is still a member of the Hyuga clan's main family and she becomes the ''Byakugan Princess'' in ''The Last'', so she's still considered royalty by the time they get together. Of course with all that in mind, she fell in love with him when he was still the village pariah [[WartsAndAll because of who he was and continued to be]].
95** Also PlayedWith for Sasuke and [[spoiler:Sakura]]. He's the heir to the famous and powerful Uchiha clan, while she comes from a well-off but non-clan, [[CanonForeigner non-canon]] family. However, by the time they become an OfficialCouple in the penultimate chapter, the situation is reversed--Sasuke is a rogue ninja with almost everyone hating him, while [[spoiler:Sakura]] is the Fifth Hokage's apprentice and becomes the best medical ninja in Konoha after Tsunade retires.
96* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', [[{{Ojou}} Konoka]] and her {{bodyguard|Crush}} Setsuna. An obstacle in their relationship is that Setsuna feels unworthy of Konoka because she is a commoner while Konoka is a blue-blood.
97* ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'': This was played with Hazuki and Masaru. Hazuki is the only daughter of a very wealthy family and her childhood friend Masaru is apparently a middle-class boy.
98* ''Manga/{{Ojojojo}}'':
99** Haru is the heiress to the Jigokumeguri zaibatsu. Tsurezure is middle class. People comment on how weird it is, but nobody seems to have a problem with it (Haru's father is even a ShipperOnDeck).
100** GenderInverted with Akane (same social status as Tsurezure) and Chris (British noble).
101* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'':
102** Tamaki (rich boy attending a private school) and Haruhi (a commoner ScholarshipStudent).
103** Also Tamaki's parents with his father Yuzuru as the rich one, and his mother Anne-Sophie being poor due to her family's business failure and debt.
104** Arguably Haruhi's parents, as her mom Kotoko was a lawyer and her dad Ryouji/Ranka was a bartender/host.
105* In ''Anime/PorphyNoNagaiTabi'', Porphy and Mina's mother Anek was from a high-class family, while their father Christophore was of humble origins.
106* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'' has male lead Futaro Uesugi, whose family is deep in debt, take a job as a tutor to the Nakano quintuplets, who are the stepdaughters of a wealthy doctor. Each of the quintuplets ends up falling in love with Futaro, and one of them ultimately becomes his bride.
107* ''Manga/{{Rabuta}}'' has Kurume (who is noted in another series by the same author to come from a rather prominent family) fall in love with and eventually marry Harundo (the son of a butcher).
108* ''Manga/TheSecretAgreement'' contains examples of both wealth and class differences, with Iori being the only male heir to an [[ImpoverishedPatrician increasingly poor]] but noble family and [[NobilityMarriesMoney set to marry into a wealthier but less respectable family for their mutual benefit]]. Meanwhile, his actual [[ChildhoodFriendRomance lover]] is a former StreetUrchin and fears if Iori marries he'll never see Iori again because the family won't need him to quietly sell off their possessions anymore (the only reason their friendship was tolerated in the first place).
109* The heroine of ''Manga/SnowWhiteWithTheRedHair'' is a pharmacist commoner whose rare hair color and beauty make one prince try to force her to become his concubine, and she later falls in love with and starts dating the prince who rescued her from the first.
110* ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'': Sakura (princess) and Syaoran (middle class).
111* In ''Manga/{{Tsukigasa}}'', Azuma's family is loaded, whereas Kuroe is of a slightly more modest background.
112* ''Manga/WhisperedWords'': Tomoe's wealthy family objects not only to the fact she's dating a servant's child but also to the fact Tomoe and her loved one are both ''girls''. However, they cannot do anything about it because of the reward Tomoe's grandfather gave as thanks for saving the family's finances.
113* Due to their supernatural connection, after Mikhail forces Kiri to become his servant, they begin a physical relationship which eventually evolves into a romantic one in ''Manga/WildRose''.
114* Frequent in Creator/YokoHanabusa's works.
115** ''Manga/{{Lady}}'': George Russell, an English noble, falls in love with an ordinary Japanese woman who works as his interpreter. They have a daughter, Lynn, but when she's five her mother dies and Lynn is forced to live in England, being an outsider to a country she's never known.
116** ''Engage Kiss'' centers around a wealthy son who falls for his family chauffeur's daughter.
117** ''Time Princess'': Mirai travels back in time to many pre-modern time periods and falls in love with a Heiian Japanese Emperor. Unfortunately, this doesn't last as she eventually has to return to her old timeline.
118* In ''Manga/YoureUnderArrest'', two girls in the cast get marriage proposals from uptown guys: [[spoiler: Yoriko gets one from RebelPrince Saki Abdusha)]] and [[spoiler: Aoi is given another by IdolSinger Gorou]]. In a subversion, [[spoiler: each girl rejects her beau's affections -- Yoriko, because Saki is a foreign prince who might die since his {{Qurac}}-like nation is torn by civil war; Aoi, because she simply isn't interested in Gorou beyond friendship.]]
119[[/folder]]
120
121[[folder:Comic Books]]
122* The ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' and ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}'' romance in the ComicBook/PostCrisis era. He's Gotham's richest man, she's a poor orphan street kid turned criminal. In the original comics, Catwoman and Selina Kyle were ClassyCatBurglar who stole for the thrill and Selina in civilian life had the identity of a prominent socialite. In modern comics, she was made poor to give her a JustLikeRobinHood motivation, to add spice in her dynamic with Bats. She's the only major LoveInterest for Bruce who comes from a poor background (most of his GirlOfTheWeek being rich heiresses, models, and so on, while Talia Al Ghul is basically a Princess) and their dynamic often invites Batman realizing how privileged he really is from his more street-smart and grounded girlfriend. In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', the class differences become part of their SlapSlapKiss dynamic while in the ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'', Selina often expresses angst that Batman and Bruce are out of her league (and not just because he's a hero and she's a thief).
123* Archie and Veronica from ''ComicBook/ArchieComics''. (But not Archie and Betty, because Betty is a GirlNextDoor).
124* ''Comicbook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'': Tinya Wazzo (Phantom Girl) is the daughter of a rich, high-society family. Jo Nah (Ultra Boy) is a former gang member who lived on the streets.
125* In ''ComicBook/{{Maus}}'', Vladek Speigleman was working class, albeit very resourceful. He ended up marrying Anya, the daughter of a millionaire.
126* ''ComicBook/NikolaiDante'': Inverted. Galya is a poor peasant girl, while Viktor is a member of the aristocratic Romanov family. Dmitri doesn't take it well.
127* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
128** Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy. He's a poor kid from Queens trying to help his Aunt May pay the bills and make rent. She's a well-to-do high society girl whose father, a retired NYPD captain, hangs around media tycoon J. Jonah Jameson and industrialist Norman Osborn. This is always forgotten with everyone remembering Gwen as the GirlNextDoor, simple straight Betty as opposed to Mary-Jane Watson, an upwardly mobile working-class girl from the same neighborhood as Peter. Even after years of continuity, Gwen Stacy still stands out as the only girl from a higher social background that Peter dated.
129** The class aspects of the Peter/Gwen/MJ LoveTriangle finally come to the surface in ''ComicBook/MarvelFairyTales'' series, in ''Spider-Man Fairy Tales'' #4 which makes it into a kind of Cinderella-esque ChivalricRomance [[spoiler:where Peter is an ImpoverishedPatrician, MJ is a peasant serving girl and Gwen is a princess. Peter and MJ are friends when he is in rags, and MJ openly loves him but because of the class background, they can't be together. As a knight, Peter fails to save Gwen, and he doesn't get together with MJ either albeit Peter ends up restoring his fortune and MJ stays a servant pining for her knight]].
130* This also comes up in ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' and ''ComicBook/WonderWoman's'' relationship in the now-defunct New 52 era. Clark Kent was raised on the farm and despite being a PhysicalGod still sees himself as one of the commons, while Diana of Themyscira is the Princess and heir of her island, and is aristocratic in bearing and culture. As with Spider-Man, Diana is the shining example of Clark dating someone from outside his background, since his main romantic love interest, Lois Lane is middle-class (albeit a MilitaryBrat in modern versions).
131* ''ComicBook/{{Robin|1993}}'': Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown. Her father is a criminal in prison and when they first meet her mother addicted to prescription drugs. His parents are the jet-setting owners of Drake Industries an international company. The difference is downplayed in that they start dating in costume, not in their civilian lives. There's even more of a gap after he's adopted by Bruce Wayne, one of the richest men in the world.
132* ComicBook/{{X 23}}, of all people: She's a HumanWeapon born in a lab, and who was (in)famously introduced in the comics as a homeless and penniless {{Streetwalker}} under the control of a brutal and sadistic pimp. Her two main love interests are [[ComicBook/NewXMenAcademyX Hellion]] and the [[ComicBook/AllNewXMen time-displaced teenaged Angel]], both of whom are from privileged and wealthy upbringings (although they didn't meet until after her days as a hooker were over).
133* Implied in Archie Sonic with the pairing of Antoine and Bunnie and made more explicit following the reboot. He has an ancestral castle and nobility for parents (though they passed away while he was young). Bunnie was an orphan looked after by Rosie and Uncle Chuck. He fell for her because of her bravery as she learned to walk again following a serious accident. She admires his kindness and desire to become braver. They grow up together and by the time the rebooted series starts, they're married. (They were also married in the old continuity but it took awhile to get there.)
134[[/folder]]
135
136[[folder:Comic Strips]]
137* ''ComicStrip/Blondie1930'': The original strip was about the well-to-do Dagwood marrying the distinctly lower-class Blondie against his parent's wishes. He was cut off and had to get a real job, and the strip gradually morphed into the Dom Com it has been for most of its run.
138* ''ComicStrip/TerryAndThePirates'': Normandie Drake is an heiress and Pat's true love. They grew close when he worked for her father. Her high society aunt refused to see her marry a "commoner" and forced her into an ArrangedMarriage to the weak-willed Tony Sandhurst.
139[[/folder]]
140
141[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
142* "Literature/{{Cinderella}}" and all its clones. In the Brothers Grimms' tale, Cinderella is a girl from a respectable family but reduced to a position of servant. Prince falls in love with her and they get their happily ever after.
143* "Literature/TheValiantLittleTailor", once he gets the StandardHeroReward.
144* "Literature/{{Aladdin}}": Aladdin goes to enormous lengths to get the rich princess.
145* In Creator/TheBrothersGrimm, "[[https://web.archive.org/web/20200128065738/http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/94peasantcleverdaughter.html The Peasant's Wise Daughter]]", the titular character gets married to a king.
146* Creator/AndrewLang's "Literature/TheElfMaiden": After claiming the poor fisherman as her husband, the titular maiden reveals her family is very rich.
147* "Literature/MaidMaleen": The prince gets married to Maleen, a fallen princess who was working as a scullery maid after her kingdom was destroyed.
148* Subverted in Creator/FranzXaverVonSchonwerth's "Literature/KingGoldenlocks". The princess chooses to get married to a nice and kind-hearted gardener, unaware that he is a runaway prince.
149* "Literature/TheDevilWithTheThreeGoldenHairs": Despite her father's disapproval, the princess is rather fond of her husband and does not mind being married to a miller's son.
150* "Literature/NineBagsOfGold": One of the workers of Hans's mill is fancied by Hans' daughter Marie, who is certainly more affluent that her lover.
151* "Literature/FollowMeJodel": After being transformed back to normal, the rich maiden gets married to the kind farmer who broke her curse.
152[[/folder]]
153
154[[folder:Fan Works]]
155* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/6449999/AaronCottrell97 AaronCottrell97's]] fanfics involving [[WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends Luke and Millie]] technically qualify, as Millie is a privately owned engine belonging to the Earl of Sodor while Luke is a quarry worker engine.
156* ''Fanfic/AlwaysVisible'': This is the main reason why Jerome does not reciprocate Delia's feelings. The broker's son believes that the pharmaceutist's daughter does not deserve anything other than hypocritical treatment.
157* In ''Fanfic/AllMyKittens'', pampered pet cat Duchess became pregnant from a fling with a stray named Bob. He wanted her to [[APetIntoTheWild run away with him]], but Duchess loved her owner too much to leave her.
158* In ''Fanfic/CodexEquus'', this is how Midnight Bell was born - her mother, Diamond Bell who came from a rich unicorn family, fell in love with a "common" stallion (who keeps his name private to maintain his privacy) and eloped with him against her family's wishes. Because most of her family are [[FantasticRacism pro-unicorn tribalists]], Diamond Bell [[MamaBear secretly transferred her young daughter to the Grittish Isles and into the care of great-aunt Scarlet Bell to protect her]]. As it turns out, [[SmallRoleBigImpact Diamond Bell's decisions would have a profound effect, as Midnight Bell would play a role in exposing two criminals masquerading as teachers, and the Ascension of a young unicorn colt]].
159* ''Fanfic/ExtremelyNaughty'' is about Agreste heir Adrien Agreste falling in love with middle-class Marinette.
160* In ''Fanfic/TheGrimbornSister'', Fishlegs feels that Hiccup has fallen victim to this as he mentions that Astrid was introduced to him as a lady, but Hiccup argues that it technically doesn’t apply due to his own status as heir of Berk making him the equivalent of a 'prince', even if he doesn’t usually place that much emphasis on his title.
161* In ''Fanfic/IncarnationOfLegends'', Haruhime is this for Bell, a beautiful girl his age of noble status who falls in love with him after he rescues her from a grim fate as a slave to be sold to the highest bidder. In fact, her desire to one day stand by his side is so great that she renounces her noble title and gets disowned so she can become an adventurer.
162* At one point in ''Fanfic/{{Infinity}}'', a princess named Amnestra was mentioned who was in love with a guard. She herself has very little to do with the plot (and had been dead for tens of thousands of years) but [[spoiler: Nanoha brought her up as a method of psychological warfare while fighting Tsukuyomi (and proof that Amaterasu hadn't been captured but rather willingly come to her for help).]]
163* ''Fanfic/TheJudgementOfTheWorld5Ds'': It's noted by many that Aki is the daughter of a wealthy senator while Yusei, despite becoming the Turbo Duel King, is a marked criminal and former gang member who grew up in the Satellite. Yusei himself insists that it would never work between him and Aki due to this, though it's heavily implied that he's at least partly using this as an excuse to try to get Martha to stop being a ShipperOnDeck for the two of them. This was apparently [[HisStoryRepeatsItself also the case in their]] [[ReincarnationRomance past lives]], with Aki being a high priestess who grew up being showered with praise and given anything she wanted without question due to her connection to the gods and Yusei a warrior from a rival tribe who was considered unworthy of her (though it's implied that this was at least partially because Aki's tribe wasn't aware of all of Yusei's accomplishments).
164* In the ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' fanfic ''Fanfic/LillyEpilogueFamilyMatters'', [[JerkAss Mr. Satou]] disapproves of Hisao for, among other factors ([[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain his disability being most prominent]]), being a "middle-class bumpkin." FridgeLogic ensues when you realize that he married a journalist, [[spoiler:but he later admits that he ''wanted to believe'' that Hisao was unworthy of Lilly and that she would be better off in Scotland, so it's possible he was looking for reasons that might reflect badly on Hisao.]]
165* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/27466393 Ma belle Cher de mon coeur]]'' is an OriginalCharacter-focused ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' fic where one of the {{Original Character}}s, a mechservant, is deeply in love with his mistress, a wealthy femme and the other OriginalCharacter. It turns out that she returns his feelings.
166* ''Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton'': In "Danny and Starfire," Starfire being an alien princess is one of the reasons Danny is briefly afraid things won't work between them.
167* This trope is a common element for ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fics speculating on the early romance of Adrien Agreste's parents Gabriel and Emilie. Usually, Emilie comes from OldMoney, and Gabriel is a StarvingStudent of either a middle-class or poor background, to act as a {{foil}} for Marinette and Adrien.
168* "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7244482/1/The-Morning-After The Morning After]]"- a crossover between ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/TheWestWing''- has a non-royalty version of this, as Xander Harris (from the public's perspective, a construction worker from a small town that's only distinctive because it was destroyed the day before) and Zoey Bartlett (the youngest daughter of the current President of the United States) get married in Las Vegas the day after the destruction of Sunnydale.
169* Ryuko and Mako in ''Fanfic/NaturalSelection'' are a same-sex example. Ryuko is scion to the wealthiest, most powerful family in the world, while Mako (prior to becoming a Three-Star) lived her life in the slums.
170* [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1162566/Crazyeight CrazyEight's]] fanfics involving [[Anime/DigimonTamers Rika and Takato]] usually has this as a background worry of Takato's parents towards the former's relationship with Rika being the daughter of a famous model living in a traditional manor while Takato is the son of middle-class bakers. The Nonaka family for the most part has no problems.
171* ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' has it between Jeanette Fisher, who is the heiress of the most important clan in Crimson City, and A.J, who comes from a middle-class family. Jeanette's parents Kaoruko and Kazuto also had this, although they had to overcome a ParentalMarriageVeto from Kaoruko's father, who didn't approve of Kazuto because he came from [[WrongSideOfTheTracks Gringy City]] until he exposed the true nature of the criminal who was about to marry Kaoruko.
172* In ''Fanfic/RoadsideAssistance'', Weiss is the multi-billionaire head of her family's dust company. She falls for Yang, who runs an auto-shop with her sister.
173* ''Fanfic/SonOfTheSannin'':
174** Downplayed with Shizune and Shisui. She's the surrogate eldest daughter of the Fifth Hokage and he [[spoiler:is one of the few remaning members of a clan that launched a failed coup, leaving him and the other two suriviors as pariahs in the village]]. Very little attention is drawn to this difference in social status while they're dating or after they get married.
175** Matsuri feels that Gaara is out of her league and at one point asks Hinata how to approach the son of a Kage after learning that she's dating Naruto.
176* ''Fanfic/AStarstruckPhantasmicRomance'': In "Bound Together," Danny tries to make Starfire stop loving him by pointing out she's a Princess and he's basically a peasant with no money to his name other than what he carries in his pockets but she doesn't care about titles, is allowed to marry whomever she wishes regardless of status, and also lacks Earth money and lives off Robin's charity.
177* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' fics featuring the Megatron[=/=]Starscream slash pairing usually portray Starscream as the high-ranking Prince of Vos to Megatron's humble miner[=/=]gladiator.
178* In ''Fanfic/WedLocked'', [[WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug Marinette's]] mother Sabine turns out to be a runaway princess married to humble baker Tom.
179* Gender-inverted in ''Fanfic/ADivineRomanticComedy''. [[WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse Camila Noceda]] isn't poor by any means, being a suburban mom with a decently paying job, but [[WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel Lucifer]] is the king of another dimension and the wealthiest being there, so much so that he can casually pull gold bars out of nowhere. Naturally, as the premise of the story is their romance, this ensues.
180[[/folder]]
181
182[[folder:Film - Animation]]
183* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'': Dmitri (a kitchen boy-turned conman) and Anastasia (Grand Duchess and daughter of the Tzar). Played with as for most of the film and when they fall in love, they're both penniless orphans and she's unaware of her identity. Then they find out the truth and Dmitri goes into HeroicBSOD knowing his feelings are no longer acceptable and he's not good enough for her.
184* Franchise/{{Barbie}} [[WesternAnimation/{{Barbie}} movies]]:
185** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsThePrincessAndThePauper'': Anneliese is a princess. Julian comes from a family so poor they could only pay the rent for one room. Erika is an indentured servant. Dominick is a king, and so wealthy that the queen decides Anneliese should marry him just for his money. Serafina is a pampered cat who lives in a palace. Wolfie is a street-smart cat...dog...sort of guy.
186** ''WesternAnimation/BarbieInTheTwelveDancingPrincesses'': Royal Cobbler Derek loves Princess Genevieve, but doesn't believe he has any chances with her. "She's a princess."
187* ''[[Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon Disney]]'':
188** ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'' (a servant girl-turned princess) and Prince Charming (guess).
189** ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'': She's the pedigreed pet of a well-to-do family, he's a streetwise stray mutt.
190** ''WesternAnimation/TheAristocats'' has pampered pet cat Duchess and laid-back alley cat Thomas O'Malley.
191** ''WesternAnimation/RobinHood1973'': "An outlaw for an in-law!"
192** ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'' has Miss Bianca, a lady of high social standing, and Bernard, a janitor.
193** ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' (a "street rat") and Princess Jasmine (the daughter of the local Sultan).
194** In Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}}'', Jane is a London girl. Tarzan literally lives with gorillas. She ends up loving life in the jungle far more than life in the city.
195** ''WesternAnimation/TheEmperorsNewSchool'' has Kuzco, a cocky young South American emperor, and Malina, a beautiful peasant girl.
196** ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': Tiana's a relatively poor woman who dreams of carrying on her father's dreams and owning her own restaurant, whilst Naveen is the rich prince of a made-up country with a league of fangirls and media attention. Something of an inversion, as it's the upper-class Naveen who has to "win" the lower-class Tiana, and he's been cut off from the family fortune in any case.
197** ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'' has Rapunzel, the lost princess, and Flynn Rider a.k.a. Eugene Fitzherbert, an orphan turned thief. Neither of them knows she's the princess for quite some time, though.[[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in TangledTheSeries where Flynn realize that his [[LongLostRelative long lost father]] was a king, [[ReallyRoyaltyReveal making him a prince as well]].]]
198** ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'' has Princess Anna of Arendelle and Kristoff, a simple ice harvester.
199* ''[[Creator/DreamWorksAnimation Dreamworks]]'':
200** ''WesternAnimation/{{Antz}}'' has a lowly worker ant pretending to be a soldier to impress a princess. It's also inverted with a female worker ant who forms a relationship with a member of the soldier caste.
201** ''WesternAnimation/Shrek1'' and Fiona. He's an ogre, she's a princess. [[spoiler: At the end of the film, Fiona too becomes an ogre so that she can remain with Shrek forever.]]
202* ''Creator/{{Pixar}}'':
203** In ''WesternAnimation/ABugsLife'', Flik the unconventional worker ant and Princess Atta, daughter of the Queen
204** ''WesternAnimation/Elemental2023'': Ember comes from a middle class family who runs a convenience store, while Wade's family is upper class, lives in a fancy penthouse, and is well-off enough to prioritize hobbies over jobs.
205* Prince Chen from ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfSuLing'' is a male variety. Su-Ling had no idea that he's the son of the infamous emperor [[spoiler:until she's almost forced to marry him.]]
206* Elly and Tom from ''WesternAnimation/TheWaterBabies1978''. She's the niece of a lord and he's a street urchin so they couldn't be further apart socially.
207[[/folder]]
208
209[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
210* In ''Film/{{ATL}}'', poor aspiring artist Rashad meets mysterious girl New-New at a skating rink. He doesn't know much about her background but eventually finds out that New-New is filthy rich and her real name is Erin.
211* ''Film/BodiesBodiesBodies'': Sophie, a rich girl, is dating working-class Bee. Unusually, Sophie is black and Bee white. Although they stay together and Sophie confesses her love for Bee at the very beginning, the relationship has difficulties. Bee finds it hard to fit in with Sophie's rich friends (some treat her very badly).
212* Claire and Bender from ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'' play it straight.
213* In ''Film/BriefMoment'', working-girl Abby meets Rod, a millionaire with no day job. And it doesn’t work out well for them.
214* ''Film/BrahmastraPartOneShiva'': Shiva is a poor orphan; his love interest Isha is a rich Londoner.
215* ''Film/{{Carol}}'': Carol is a wealthy housewife and Therese is a department store employee living in a dingy apartment. They fall in love.
216* In ''Film/CityHeat'', PrivateDetective Mike Murphy has a new romantic interest, a rich socialite named Caroline Howley, but finds himself unable to commit.
217* In ''Film/ComingToAmerica'', Akeem (who is not only extremely wealthy but is also royalty) travels to America disguised as an ordinary student in order to meet an educated woman with a mind of her own who would love him for who he is, not for his wealth or titles. The woman that he does end up with isn't poor, however; in fact, she comes from a quite successful upper-middle-class background.
218* Two couples in ''Film/CrazyRichAsians'':
219** The main plot focuses Rachel Chu, a New York State University economics professor, meeting her boyfriend Nick's family, the Youngs. They also happen to run a real estate empire worth billions in Singapore.
220** The BetaCouple focuses on the relationship tension between the equally rich Astrid and her husband Michael, who is from a much humber background and is uncomfortable with the flaunting of wealth.
221* Gender-reversed in ''Film/DragMeToHell''. Christine is clearly from humbler roots than wealthy Clay and the whole plot is caused in part because she wants a promotion to measure up to his family.
222* ''Film/TheElectricalLifeOfLouisWain'': That a respectable gentleman like Louis would marry his sister's governess is completely scandalous to society.
223* ''Film/{{Endless}}'': Riley is the child of wealthy lawyers. Chris comes from a humble background with a single mom. There's friction as she gets accepted into a top college, while he clearly isn't going anywhere. Aside from this however it isn't an issue, and Riley's determined for them to be together.
224* ''Film/EnolaHolmes2'': Enola theorizes that working-class factory girl Sarah Chapman was seeing an upperclass man, who was either responsible for her disappearance or her sweetheart. It turns out to be the latter; [[spoiler:she was seeing William Lyon, the son of the man who owned the factory.]]
225* In ''Film/EskimoDay'', Neil from a family of modest means meets Pippa from a wealthy family, when they have interviews at the university of Cambridge. This difference does not bother them, but it matters to their parents.
226* ''Film/FallingForChristmas'': The central romance is between hotel heiress Sierra and Jake, who runs a rustic BNB that is losing money.
227* ''Film/TheFlintstonesInVivaRockVegas'': Upon learning about Wilma's financial status, Fred felt the trope's weight and feared not to be good enough for her. That helped Chip on his plan to get rid of Fred.
228* In ''Film/ForHeavensSake'', Creator/HaroldLloyd plays an EccentricMillionaire who ends up with a woman from a more humble background. In the opening cast list, his character is actually called "The Uptown Boy" while his love interest is called "The Downtown Girl."
229* Allegra Cole from ''Film/{{Hitch}}'', which is part of the reason why Albert hires Hitch to help him break the ice with her. Exacerbated by the fact that he works for her as one of her many accountants.
230* ''Film/TheHowardsOfVirginia'' is an example from [[UsefulNotes/TheThirteenAmericanColonies colonial Virginia]], played straight.
231* ''Film/IndiaSweetsAndSpices'': Alia comes from a wealthy family, while Varun's own a grocery store (he works there with his sister and parents). Though she doesn't mind, everyone else in her circle is disparaging toward them. He wrongly thinks Alia is the same, and breaks up with her. [[spoiler:It's implied the pair may get back together though at the end.]]
232* ''Film/TheInvitation2022'': Emmaline Alexander, Evie's great-grandmother, ran off with the footman, which had scandalized her aristocratic family. Having a baby with him too, and the fact he was black, made this all the more a scandal.
233* In the ''Film/IronMan'' series, while Pepper Potts is not exactly poor, she is nowhere near the social circles her multi-billionaire playboy boss Tony Stark is in. By the end of the second movie, they're going steady.
234* ''Film/ItHappenedOn5thAvenue": The rich Trudy meets the poor, handsome veteran Bullock, who happens to be squatting in her father's mansion for the winter. Holiday romance ensues.
235* ''Film/{{It Takes Two|1995}}'': Diane believed rich guys like Roger would never marry people like her. They got together at the end.
236* In ''Film/JumpingTheBroom'', while Jason is not poor, he came from a poor background and made his money by himself. His fiance Sabrina comes from old money, however, and this is the basis of the plot.
237* The love subplot between Daniel and [[SpoiledSweet Ali]] in ''Film/TheKarateKid1984'' is this. Daniel's mom doesn't even have enough money to replace the AllegedCar they drive. Ali's parents are rich enough to attend a country club.
238* In ''Film/TheKingAndTheClown'', the King's fixation with a male street clown is a major point of contention in the court and used to help justify their coup. The King's HotConsort Nok-su is implied to also have caused friction for being lower class, but Nok-su is better at [[ManipulativeBitch court intrigue]] than Gong-gil is.
239* In ''Film/AKnightsTale'', William tries to get his {{Blue Blood}}ed love interest to face the realities of life with him, a destitute fugitive from the law.
240-->'''William:''' Where will we live? In my hovel, with the pigs inside during the winter so they won't freeze?\
241'''Jocelyn:''' ''[crying]'' Yes, William...with the pigs.
242* ''Film/TheLover'' (or ''L'Amant'') is a 1992 French film based on the novel of the same name by Marguerite Duras. Set in French Indo-China in 1929, it depicts the illicit affair between a fifteen-year-old French girl from an impoverished family and her wealthy Chinese lover -- as a result, the trope applies to both parties due to the racial/social divide.
243* ''Film/LoveStory'' is another gender-swapped example.
244* ''Film/MarryMe2022'': Being an internationally famous pop star, Kat is much wealthier than ordinary teacher Charlie, and her high-flying and heavily-curated lifestyle gives him pause at first.
245* The 1925 version of ''[[Film/TheMerryWidow1925 The Merry Widow]]'' features Prince Danilo getting engaged to showgirl Sally O'Hara, but being pressured by the King and Queen into giving up his romance.
246* ''Film/MrMalcolmsList'':
247** It doesn't really affect their romance, but Jeremy Malcolm as an independently wealthy second son of an earl is way above his intended bride Selina Dalton in station, as she's "merely" the daughter of a country clergyman. During their DanceOfRomance the gossipy ladies declare her a non-entity in the running to marry Mr Malcolm because of her low social class.
248** While Julia's exact social class isn't made clear, her deigning to dance with and eventually marry a military man draws chatter, implying she's also higher in station than Henry is.
249* ''Film/MySummerOfLove'': Mona, who's working class (living in a bar with her ex-con brother), gets involved with Tamsin, who's family is very rich (having a nice mansion).
250* In ''Film/NannyMcPheeAndTheBigBang'', we see that the mother was from a wealthy family and ended up being HappilyMarried to a farmer. When her brother describes her as having made an "unfortunate marriage", her son is ''not'' pleased.
251* A standard Creator/NicholasSparks trope
252** In ''Film/TheNotebook'' Allie's parents think that Noah isn't good enough for her because he works at the lumber mill.
253** In ''Film/TheChoice'', both are rich, but the boy fears (incorrectly) that the girl is rebuffing him because she comes from OldMoney whereas he [[NouveauRiche grew up poor]].
254* Vanilla from ''Film/NoKidding'' wants a common man, dreaming of them at night. Will is just what she's looking for and so she tries to seduce him:
255-->'''Vanilla''': For months, I've dreamed night after night... of a man. A peasant. ''Strong''. Sunburnt face. Rippling muscles. Curly, springy hair. He's you!\
256'''Will''': M-Me?
257* The first three ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' films have Elizabeth Swann (the Governor's daughter) and Will Turner (blacksmith's apprentice).
258* ''Film/PeachBlossomWeepsTearsOfBlood'' is a Chinese silent film about a tenant farmer's daughter falling in love with the son of the wealthy woman who owns the land the tenant farmer works. The wealthy mom categorically refuses to allow the match, and tragedy ensues.
259* ''Film/PrettyInPink'' is another gender-reversed example.
260* ''Film/PrettyWoman'' has a rich man and a sex worker fall in love.
261* ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'':
262** It is absolutely no secret that Joe, the head of security for the Genovian Royal Family, is in love with Clarisse Renaldi -- the Queen of Genovia herself, who returns his affections wholeheartedly. Admittedly, Clarisse is only royal by marriage, but this would still be the case regardless, as her marriage to the late King Rupert was an ArrangedMarriage, meaning that her family was already noble and/or well-off. Unusually for this trope, this is also a DecemberDecemberRomance, though it's implied that they've been in love with each other for years, long before Mia entered the picture.
263** Mia's primary love interest in the first film, Michael, Lilly's brother, is a keyboardist in a garage band. She's the princess of Genovia.
264* ''Film/SayAnything'': The image of Lloyd Dobbler standing across the street from Diane Court's house, holding a boom-box over his head has pretty much become a romantic icon.
265* In ''Film/SomeKindOfWonderful'', the poor guy pursues the rich girl, [[spoiler:but eventually ends up with his best friend]].
266* In ''Film/SorryWrongNumber'', Leona is obscenely wealthy and sets her eyes on working class Henry. Henry only married Leona for the financial escape she offered.
267* ''Film/SplendorInTheGrass'' is a gender-swapped example, where [[spoiler:true love eventually doesn't overcome the obstacles]].
268* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
269** You'd ''think'' a former street kid and smuggler would consider the Princess of Alderaan and high-ranking Rebel commander well out of his league. But Han can be very persuasive when he wants to be.
270** The prequel trilogy has Anakin Skywalker, a former slave turned Jedi Knight, falling in love and marrying Padme Amidala Naberrie, a former Queen and now Senator of Naboo. Their marriage is secret, and of course, it does not end well.
271* Nick and Nora Charles of ''Film/TheThinMan'' movies are a HappilyMarried example of this trope: Nick was a working-class detective when he married high-society heiress Nora. Their vastly different backgrounds occasionally impact the plots.
272* ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'': Rose [=DeWitt=] Bukater is, in Jack's words, a spoiled brat and an indoor girl, while he sleeps under bridges and goes where he pleases. That said, Rose is an ImpoverishedPatrician, so she is not as rich as she seems to be.
273* ''Film/TromeoAndJuliet'': Juliet is involved with the family servant Ness here.
274* ''Film/WildAtHeart'' has Lula Fortune, with her lover Sailor Ripley being from a much poorer background ''and'' recently released from jail as the film begins.
275[[/folder]]
276
277[[folder:Literature]]
278* ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'':
279** Given an interesting twist in ''1632''. On the surface, it's obvious which is which regarding "James Nichols, doctor from Chicago" and "Melissa Mailey, rural West Virginia schoolteacher" -- but the doctor from Chicago grew up on the streets in that city's roughest gang and only joined the Marines after being offered [[TradingBarsForStripes a choice between service and prison time]], and the West Virginia schoolteacher is actually a scion of the [[BlueBlood Boston Brahmins]]. This plays an important role in the plot.
280** Eddie Cantrell, high school kid turned navy lieutenant, with the [[InsistentTerminology king's daughter]] Anne Cathrine of Denmark in ''1634: The Baltic War''. Another one with an interesting twist: [[spoiler:the two's ShotgunWedding was actually engineered by her father -- aka the king of Denmark -- because he wanted a son-in-law with knowledge of uptime technology]].
281** Sarah Wendell [[spoiler:von Uptime]] from the ''Barbie Consortium'' and ''1635: The Viennese Waltz'' short story compilation and novel was engaged to Imperial Prince Karl von Liechtenstein, which had to be a morganatic marriage, even though she was extremely wealthy. Good thing loads of money can earn you favours from the emperor of a broke empire.
282* ''Literature/AdrianMole'': The working-class main character and his aristocratic first wife Jo Jo. Adrian's most consistent love interest, Pandora Braithwaite, also counts as this, as do his exes Daisy Flowers and Pamela Pigg. Adrian himself was once an Uptown Guy to Sharon Bott (described by him as "lower-working/underclass").
283* ''Literature/TheAfterward'': Olsa, a StreetUrchin and thief, became lovers with Kalanthe, a noblewoman who's an apprentice knight. They didn't work out in the past since Kalanthe had to marry someone rich so her debt for knighthood [[WorkOffTheDebt could be paid off]]. [[spoiler:By the end though they're back together for good.]]
284* Robbie Turner and Cecelia Tallis from ''Literature/{{Atonement}}'' definitely fall into the "friends their whole lives" category. He's the son of a servant and she's the daughter of the wealthy family.
285* The Kit series in ''Literature/AmericanGirl'' has this as the backstory for her parents, Margaret and Jack Kittredge. Margaret came from some degree of money--her only remaining relative, Hendrick, is a wealthy miser in a large mansion and she has very upper class ways, while Jack was raised in the Kentucky Appalachians by friends of the family after his own parents died and comes from country stock. They've been married for years by the start of the series and have a sixteen year old and a ten year old, but Uncle Hendrick still talks poorly of Jack including in front of his daughter Kit, and laments that if Margaret's mother--and his sister--could see how low she's fallen socially, it would break her heart. Margaret also feels shame when they start growing vegetables and raising chickens in the backyard, worrying it makes them appear lower class and "country."
286* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': In the first book, Lagdalen and Captain Hollein Kesepton fall in love, though she's from a noble family while he is a commoner (although his grandfather is a high-ranking general). Hollein's a bit intimidated given this, but they marry nonetheless.
287* Creator/AlfredLordTennyson's ''The Beggar Maid'': "Cophetua sware a royal oath: 'This beggar maid shall be my queen'" (This was itself based on an old ballad, The King and the Beggar-maiden.)
288%%** The same author's ''The Lord of Burleigh.''
289* In the ''Literature/BekaCooper'' books of the ''Literature/TortallUniverse'', Guardsman Mattes Tunstall gets together with Lady Sabine of Macayhill She's much happier in the company of Dogs than her fellow nobles. [[spoiler:It eats at him enough that he turns traitor for the sake of a title in ''Mastiff''.]]
290* In ''Literature/TheBelgariad'', Polgara is an ageless sorceress who has shaped the course of world history for three thousand years, has lost track of all the noble titles she's been given and is the daughter of, for all intents and purposes, a demigod. Durnik is a simple blacksmith working on a remote country farm where Polgara has been hiding out with TheChosenOne for a couple of decades. He falls hopelessly in love with her, but can't ''believe'' he might ever have a chance with her. Then [[spoiler:Polgara's BelatedLoveEpiphany and memory of his love for her gives her the strength to hold fast against an ''evil God'' trying to take over her mind, and more or less saves the universe in the process...]] When all is said and done, [[spoiler:they get married and he's now ''also'' an ageless sorcerer. Still no noble titles, though.]]
291* ''Literature/{{Bravelands}}'':
292** Baboons have a system made up of four main ranks ranging from Deeproot to Highleaf. Inter-class romance is strictly forbidden. This is due to Sunrise Crownleaf (TheLeader of the troop) and Moonlight Deeproot (a member of the lowest rank that is subservient to the others) falling in love. Their romance led to a war in the troop. Sunrise was killed by the council while her mate Moonlight died of a broken heart. Since then, inter-rank matings have been forbidden.
293** Thorn and Berry have this issue. Thorn starts out as a Deeproot while Berry inherited her father's Highleaf status. Even after Thorn goes through the Feats, he gives up his only chance at being a Highleaf in order to let his best friend become a Lowleaf. As a result, Thorn is stuck a Middleleaf and his relationship with Berry must remain a secret. The only way they can become mates is if the Crownleaf decided to allow inter-rank couples.
294* ''Literature/TheBurningKingdoms'':
295** Priya is the maidservant of Princess Malini starting out, and they slowly fall in love.
296** Bhumika, daughter of Ahiranyi nobles and wife of the governor, and [[spoiler:Jeevan]], a commoner.
297* ''Literature/TheCampHalfBloodSeries'':
298** Percy Jackson was raised by a StrugglingSingleMother in a modest New York condo, while his girlfriend Annabeth Chase is the daughter of a wealthy military professor.
299** Jason Grace and Piper [=McLean=]. Jason is an orphan raised in Camp Jupiter, whose mother was formerly rich but fell on hard times after her acting career ended. Piper is the daughter of a still-famous Hollywood actor and lives in a huge mansion in Beverly Hills.
300** Frank Zhang formerly lived with his extremely wealthy grandmother in a mansion, while his girlfriend Hazel Levesque is the daughter of a poor voodoo practitioner.
301* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfDorsa'': Tasia, princess and heir to the Empire (later reigning Empress) becomes involved with her bodyguard Joslyn, a working class soldier who's from a tribe of desert nomads originally (she had also once been a slave).
302* Kevin Kwan's ''Literature/CrazyRichAsians'':
303** Astrid Leong, a rich, fashionable, and beautiful heiress coming from ''two'' extremely wealthy and powerful Singaporean OldMoney families and her husband Michael Teo, a middle class who owns a start-up. Subverted in the sequel, ''China Rich Girlfriend'', when his start-up becomes so successful, (after unknowingly bought by Astrid's ex, a tech billionaire, in order to make her and Michael equal after they almost split up due to their contrasting social status) he ends up being a billionaire.
304** Astrid's cousin Nick is a male version. He's second in line (after his father) to their family's fortune while his girlfriend [[spoiler:(and later wife)]] Rachel is a middle-class Asian American whose mother is from mainland China, which doesn't endear her to Nick's family.
305* ''Literature/DaughterOfTheSun'': Orsina is a commoner, and had been in a romance with Perlita, the baron's daughter in her home city. She reflects that their very different classes made it impossible for them to marry, as Perlita's family would want her making a match with a noble. Orsina's service as a paladin took them apart, with their relationship dissipating early in the book.
306* Captain Sam Vimes and Lady Sybil Ramkin (subsequently Sir Samuel and Lady Sybil Vimes) in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'', although older than the usual examples of the trope. The resultant class dynamics lead to Vimes being seen as "a jumped-up copper to the nobs, and a nob to the rest".
307* Jessica Day George's ''Literature/DragonskinSlippers'' has a dressmaker fall for the second-born Prince of her kingdom. [[spoiler:After they save the kingdom, the King offers to marry her to his son. His OLDER son. Creel rejects the offer]].
308* ''Literature/EarthsChildren'': Fralie is considered this to Frebec in her society. She's from a higher-ranking family and brought children from a previous relationship into the marriage (which is considered prestigious in Mamutoi society), greatly raising her status and bride price. Fralie's mother [[ObnoxiousInLaws frequently reminds Frebec of this fact]], which inflames Frebec's [[InsecureLoveInterest insecurities]]. Fralie for her part chose to mate Frebec out of genuine affection.
309* This is a subplot in the Creator/RobertWestall book ''Fathom Five''.
310* Creator/PhilipRoth's ''Literature/GoodbyeColumbus'' chronicles the ill-fated romance between working-class librarian Neil Klugman and upper-middle-class JewishAmericanPrincess Brenda Patimkin.
311* In ''Literature/DaddyLongLegs'', the orphan Jerusha "Judy" Abbott falls in love with Jervis Pendleton, a relative of her rich snobby college roommate. One of the obstacles to their relationship is that she's self-conscious about her lower social status, which (she thinks) he's not aware of the full extent of.
312* The old Spanish poem "Literature/RomanceDeGerineldo" ("Gerineldo's Romance") is about the titular Gerineldo, the favorite butler of the King of Spain, who's desired by the ''Infanta'' aka the Spanish Princess. They're both aware of the taboo of their potential relationship, but the ''Infanta'' refuses to let it deter her. [[spoiler: They finally sleep together, and her dad catches them: he's torn between his duty to punish the guy for taking his daughter's virginity and how he [[LikeASonToMe Gerineldo is like a son to him]], so rather than waking them up he places his sword between them without raising them from their sleep. How things end depend on each version: the major part feature {{surprisingly happy ending}}s of the "the King forgives Gerineldo since he refuses to throw the ''Infanta'' under the bus" or "the ''Infanta'' confesses what happened [[PleaseSpareHimMyLiege and gets her dad]] to let her marry Gerineldo aka her first and only lover".]]
313* ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'': Gatsby and Daisy, which is why Gatsby was so determined to become rich, so he would be more worthy of her. Unfortunately, even after he's a wealthy guy he's a ''[[NouveauRiche new money]]'' wealthy guy so the field still isn't even.
314* In ''Literature/TheGrimnoirChronicles'', we have Faye, a poorer-than-dirt Okie girl falling for Francis, who is heir to one of the wealthiest companies in the world, and he with her. [[ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe Neither is exactly sure what the other sees in them.]]
315* ''Literature/TheHanSoloTrilogy'': Han learns Bria is from a very wealthy family when they go visit them, to his annoyance (she didn't tell him from unease around her past). Almost at once her mother and brother make their disapproval of him very clear, due to being working class. His criminal past makes this even worse (her father is more understanding, as a SelfMadeMan who worked his way up and had a checkered life himself for a while). They run away together after the police get on his tail, but she leaves him due to still struggling over an addiction. When the pair get together again years later, Bria's in the Rebellion, having given up her rich existence, but things still don't work out as she double-crosses Han over money for her cause.
316* In ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
317** Harry isn't obscenely upper class, but he's very well-off and, by [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince his sixth year]], is pretty popular. He ultimately marries Ginny Weasley, who is from a poor "blood traitor" family.
318** Hermione Granger, whom WordOfGod says is from a well-to-do Oxford family, and her marriage to Ginny's brother Ron. To the haughty purebloods like the Malfoys, Blacks, and Yaxley it would be the other way around. While Ron might be from a dirt poor and ridiculed family he is still a pureblood and Hermione is a muggleborn, the lowest of the low to them, except for muggles.
319** In the case of the LoveTriangle of Snape, Lily and James Potter. Snape is a poor half-blood but a pureblood supremacist, Lily Evans is a Muggleborn from a humble middle-class family, while James Potter is the spoiled rich kid pureblood who's also a blood traitor.
320** Albus Dumbledore was raised by a poor single mother for most his childhood but his ex Gellert Grindelwald is wealthy enough to own a freaking castle and not have a day job.
321* In the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' series, the monarch of Manticore is required by law to marry a commoner.
322* ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' plays with this. At first, Shasta is essentially an orphan slave boy and Aravis is a very high-level noblewoman. It's reversed when [[spoiler: Shasta is revealed to be Prince Cor of Archenland]] and Aravis finds herself essentially a refugee. [[spoiler: It ends evened out when she's invited to become a LadyInWaiting in the Archenland court, their relationship goes into BelligerentSexualTension with time, and they married years later]].
323* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', Katniss' mother was part of the merchant class while her father was part of the lower class people living in the Seam. She left her more financially secure home in the merchant district to live poorly in the Seam with him. Eventually [[spoiler:her daughter would do the opposite. Katniss, born and raised in the Seam, marries Peeta, a member of the merchant class.]]
324* ''Literature/JaneEyre'': Jane Eyre, a penniless governess with no friends and family, falls in love with Edward Rochester, a rich gentleman and landowner. However, Jane comes from a respectable family (she's a daughter of a rich woman who married a clergyman). She also becomes rich through UnexpectedInheritance and finds her long-lost family of best cousins ever. At the end of the book, they're truly equal in everything.
325* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'':
326** Annala's family is pretty high status in Dnnac Ledo (her mom is an R&D company CEO, her dad's an ambassador, and her aunt is the police chief) while Eric is a BlueCollarWarlock whose only family is his guild. Little attention is brought to this fact because [[InterspeciesRomance it's overshadowed by]] [[MayflyDecemberRomance other factors]]. Her family encourages it because of his devotion to her; the only one to object is her twin, [[MySisterIsOffLimits who wouldn't accept anyone on principle.]]
327** Nolien and Tiza; he's the heir to one of Ataidar's Four Pillars and she is an "alley cat" orphan. Any objections to their [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend not-quite-there-yet relationship]] were cancelled when Tiza demonstrated that she was only one with enough PowerOfLove to [[spoiler: restore Nolien's sanity after he mana mutated.]]
328* ''Literature/KindlingAshes'': Corran is the son of a noble and Tilda is the daughter of a tutor. He has to disguise himself as a merchant's son just to meet her.
329* This is the major source of dramatic conflict in ''Literature/LadyChatterleysLover'', where the well-bred lady of the gentry takes up with the gardener. Played with and doubled in that she was a RagsToRiches story herself, having been working-class before marrying her rich husband Lord Chatterley.
330* The tragic quandary of "Literature/TheLadyOrTheTiger" arises when the princess falls for a handsome young man in her father's court. (The narrative tells us this was pretty much the UrExample, at least in that kingdom, so everyone is shocked when the affair comes to light). He is sent to the king's arena, where the princess must decide which of the titular fates he should meet -- death by tiger or marriage to a lady the princess despises.
331* In Creator/ScottWesterfeld's ''Literature/{{Leviathan}}'' series, Alek is rich and Deryn is poor but it's a lot more complicated than that. Alek is the son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (see his entry in RealLife below) via his morganatic marriage and a potential heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, though he is not currently in the line of succession. Deryn the [[PluckyMiddie plucky English middie]] is a SweetPollyOliver, "as common as [[UnusualEuphemism barking]] ''dirt''", and technically his enemy since they're in the middle of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. Unfortunately, he told Deryn before TheReveal of her true gender and unaware [[TearJerker she's in love with him]]) that if he ever loved a commoner, he'd immediately put as much distance between them as possible because he refuses to put his own children through the virtual, if not actual, BastardAngst he did. It takes them a while to get past that misunderstanding, though by the end of the third book he wouldn't trade Deryn for any throne
332* ''Literature/LittleWomen'': One of the March sisters is expected to marry their rich neighbor Laurie by the locals since the four girls are good friends to him. (In fact, they openly wonder if Marmee is training Meg and Jo to be {{gold digger}}s, which disgusts them greatly since they like Laurie as a person). In the sequel, Laurie marries the youngest of the sisters, Amy. (Who had already refused to marry another rich guy.)
333** Discussed by the end of the first book, too. When [[RichBitch Aunt March]] finds out that Meg's being courted by Laurie's tutor John Brooke, she thinks he's a GoldDigger who wants to marry Meg solely because she's got rich relatives and attempts a marriage veto. [[ForbiddenFruit This causes]] Meg's LoveEpiphany, and she refuses the Aunt's words.
334* The [[StarCrossedLovers star-crossed]] OfficialCouple of ''Literature/TheMarkOfTheLion'' trilogy: Marcus is a wealthy BlueBlood and Hadassah is his sister's slave. A shorter-lived, less cute example is Marcus’ [[SpiritedYoungLady sister]] Julia and Atretes, a slave (albeit something of a celebrity because of his successful gladiator status).
335* In ''Literature/{{Maurice}}'', after a failed platonic romance with [[UpperClassTwit Clive]], Maurice has sex with the under-gamekeeper at Clive's estate. Their class difference even more than their homosexuality is what nearly stops them from pursuing a real relationship.
336* In ''Literature/TheMister'', Maxim is a gender-flipped example to Alessia; he's an immensely wealthy earl while Alessia is his housemaid (and an undocumented immigrant). She's actually briefly scared off when she learns about his title, thinking they could never be together.
337** Similarly, in ''Literature/ARoomWithAView'', Lucy has a choice between Cecil, who is of her own class, and George Emerson, who is of a lower class (and particularly prone to behaviour inappropriate for Lucy's class).
338* ''Literature/MrWarrensProfession'' is a [[QueerRomance gay romance novel]] about a baronet who falls in love with a clerk in [[VictorianLondon Victorian England]].
339* The ''Literature/NoughtsAndCrosses'' series is based on this, though the books have their own class system where [[PersecutionFlip the dark-skinned Crosses dominate the fair-skinned Noughts.]]
340* ''Literature/OfFireAndStars'':
341** Mare (a princess) was formerly involved with Nils, a commoner, before they turned into best friends.
342** Ellaeni, who's a noblewoman, was seeing the chief cook on the ship which took her to Lyrra.
343* ''Literature/OneDay'' reverses the genders with wealthy upper-class Dexter and the more modestly brought-up Emma in a WillTheyOrWontThey situation.
344* ''Literature/PartnersInCrime'': The first client at Blunt's Brilliant Detectives is an UpperClassTwit called Lawrence St Vincent, who is in love with a girl who works in a hat shop and wants them to investigate her mysterious disappearance. [[spoiler: It turns out to all be a ZanyScheme to get him to notice her, hatched by Tuppence without Tommy's knowledge. Later stories establish that they got married.]]
345* Simone Elkeles' ''Perfect Chemistry'' is this, with [[StepfordSmiler Brittany Ellis]] (rich, privileged white girl) and Alejandro "[[DoNotCallMePaul Alex]]" [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Fuentes]] (poverty-class, Latino, in a gang). The town they live in ''heavily'' segregates between the north side (upper class) and the south side (lower class).
346* Creator/PGWodehouse liked to parody this trope. The [[ShowWithinAShow in-universe romance novels]] by "Rosie M. Banks" were entirely centered around romances of this kind and brimming with StylisticSuck.
347* Although most adaptations gloss over or ignore the fact, the aristocratic Raoul pursuing marriage with opera singer Christine in ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' is rather unorthodox and a source of major contention between Raoul and his older brother Philippe. The public, unaware that there's a criminally insane StalkerWithACrush in the mix, assume the mystery surrounding the young couple's fate has something to do with the brothers' falling out.
348* In ''The Premature Burial'' by Creator/EdgarAllanPoe, there is a [[StoryWithinAStory story]] about a young French woman named Victorine who came from a wealthy family and had a relationship with a poor journalist named Julienne. [[spoiler: They had to break it off because her BlueBlood family was pressuring her to marry a rich banker...which she did. The banker in question abused her, and she (apparently) died. Julienne stopped by her grave to get a lock of her hair as a memento and found that she was still alive. He nursed her back to health, and they eloped to America together. Upon returning to France some 20 years later, a court ruled that she was now legally married to Julienne and not the banker guy, because of the unusual circumstances.]]
349* ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice''. Lady Catherine throws a hissy fit over someone as (relatively) low-class and poor as Elizabeth marrying Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth wins this by exposing Lady Catherine not as a snob, but an idiot: "He is a gentleman. I am a gentleman's daughter. So far, we are equal." Which is absolutely true. Mr. Bennett is a landowner, an esquire, just like Darcy (he just owns less, or less profitable land); they are of exactly the same social class. That some modern readers fail to understand that 'class' in the 1790s was defined by where your money came from, not how much you made, is understandable, but for Lady Catherine to forget it (or at least expect Elizabeth not to realize it) makes her a complete ass as well as a bully. Lady Catherine's other objections are Elizabeth's middle-class relatives (merchants and country lawyers) and the fact that she wants him to marry her daughter (they would be a super-noble, super-wealthy power-couple of kissing cousins).
350* In ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'', Buttercup gets made princess of a tiny area so that Prince Humperdinck can marry her. This also puts her socially above Westley who used to work as her farmhand before becoming a pirate captain.
351* Jessica Day George's ''Princess of the Midnight Ball'' has a romance between soldier-turned-gardener named Galen and the crown princess, Rose. He undertakes the quest to discover what's going on with the princess's shoes, but curiously offers to go without the Standard Reward of a princess's hand in marriage, not wanting to force Rose to marry him.
352* Salli and Alinadar from ''Literature/TheRedVixenAdventures'', the former being a noblevixen and the latter a female Commoner with a bad case of BodyguardCrush
353* ''Literature/RedWhiteAndRoyalBlue'':
354** Henry's parents, Arthur Fox and Catherine Mountchristen-Windsor. The late Arthur was an extremely famous and wealthy stage and film actor, best known for his role as Franchise/JamesBond in the 80s. He'd be a perfectly acceptable to outright spectacular suitor to just about anyone -- anyone but Catherine, who is ''the Crown Princess of the United Kingdom''. As a result, Catherine's mother Queen Mary [[ParentalMarriageVeto tried to forbid their marriage]], but the two were too in love to relent and got married anyway.
355** Zigzagged with Alex and Henry's relationship. Alex, as a biracial American from a working class family, is technically way beneath Henry in status. However, as the child of an American President and an American Senator, he could still be considered a perfectly respectable partner for a prince. What ''actually'' disqualifies him from being a potential suitor, at least in Mary's eyes, is that [[GetBackInTheCloset he's a man]].
356* In ''Literature/TheRiseOfKyoshi'' and [[Literature/TheShadowOfKyoshi its sequel]] we see that Rangi is a member of a not-particularly-exalted Fire Nation noble clan[[note]](although her mother having been the incumbent Firelord's instructor makes for disproportionally impressive contacts)[[/note]], whereas her lover is the orphaned child of Earth Kingdom bandits that spent her childhood as a StreetUrchin before lucking onto a servant's job... [[ZigZaggedTrope who just happens to be]] ''the Avatar''.
357* In ''Literature/RuslanAndLudmila'', the warrior prince Khan Ratmir ultimately falls in love with a shepherdess.
358* Stephanie Grace Whitson's ''Sarah's Patchwork'': Sarah Biddle, the orphaned housekeeper and David Braddock, the wealthy Philadelphia businessman, during the late 1800s.
359* Creator/ShannonHale:
360** In ''Literature/TheBooksOfBayern'', Crown Prince Geric falls in love with a goose girl, Isi. She is actually the princess he is betrothed to, but at the time, neither of them knows that.
361** In ''Literature/BookOfAThousandDays'', a commoner/"Mucker" named Dashti falls in love with her mistress's betrothed, Kahn Tegus, while he thinks she is her mistress, the Lady Saren. Lady Saren never loved him, and he never loved her, so Saren exacts her right to the betrothal for her "sister" Dashti.
362** In ''Literature/PrincessAcademy'' series, this is enforced, as the Prince must marry a girl from the poor mountain village where Miri grew up, according to a vision from the seers. All the girls train to be proper ladies, and Miri spends some time hoping to be the princess. In the end, the Prince chooses another girl, Britta, who turns out to have been his childhood best friend sent by her lesser-noble parents to the village. In the second book, Miri is elevated to a noblewoman, and becomes engaged to her childhood friend who remains a commoner. Britta, after her parent's treason is discovered, is stripped of her title and so marries the Prince as a commoner.
363* ''Literature/ShatterTheSky'': Maren, a commoner, becomes attracted to Sev, who it turns out is a prince. It's mutual, and they later become lovers.
364* ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'':
365** ''A Scandal in Bohemia'' has the "rich guy, common girl" romance with the Prince of Bohemia and Miss Irene Adler. Used to show how superior the resourceful and clever Miss Adler is to her 'superior':
366--->'''Holmes:''' ''[coldly]'' From what I have seen of the lady, she seems, indeed, to be on a very different level to Your Majesty.
367** Then there's Watson and Mary Morstan in ''The Sign of Four''. He thinks she's too far above him because they think she has a huge inheritance coming. After they find out she doesn't, he feels free to court and marry her.
368* ''Literature/ShipBreaker'' seems to be setting this up between light crew ship breaker, Nailer, and Nita, whose father is one of the richest men in the world. Nothing's happened yet, but there's been lots of ShipTease and one kiss so we'll see...
369* Zigzagged in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'':
370** Ser Jorah Mormont may be the son and heir-apparent of a lord, but his father's the lord of a remote, barren island in the GrimUpNorth. Nonetheless, he sets his sights on the daughter of a wealthy house from the cosmopolitan south. He catches her eye after winning a major tournament and successfully negotiates the StandardHeroReward from her father, and she happily marries this dashing young knight. A fairy tale ending, right? Not quite. Used to the culture of one of the oldest and largest cities in the world, she quickly finds herself bored out of her skull in his remote castle. He bankrupts himself on lavish entertainments to try to keep her happy and winds up on the wrong side of the law. They flee across the sea and he becomes a sellsword and is now even poorer, and she ultimately leaves him and becomes a high-priced prostitute. Things go FromBadToWorse for poor Jorah when he sets his sights even higher: on Daenerys "Stormborn" Targaryen, the Unburnt, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, [[TheMagnificent many other titles to follow]].
371** Then there's [[EvilChancellor Petyr]] "[[MagnificentBastard Little]][[TheChessmaster finger]]" [[LoveMakesYouEvil Baelish]]. Even poorer than Mormont, a lordling only by courtesy, heir to a rundown keep, a flock of sheep, a couple dozen peasants and some rocks, he's sent as a boy to be fostered by Hoster Tully, Lord Paramount of the Riverlands and becomes [[UnluckyChildhoodFriend childhood friends]], and eventually falls in love, with his eldest daughter. Unfortunately, she's slated for an ArrangedMarriage to a JerkJock from one of the Great Houses. Petyr, head full of stories of plucky young heroes winning the hearts of fair maidens against all odds, challenges him to a duel. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome He barely makes it out with his life,]] and the girl he feels [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled to]] winds up in a PerfectlyArrangedMarriage with another man. He ''does'' later marry her equally Uptown Girl sister, but [[spoiler: it's a loveless charade and he ends up pushing her out a window]].
372** A PuppyLove variety with little Arya Stark, the [[{{RebelliousPrincess}} Princess of the North]] and [[{{HeroicBastard}} Gendry]], a bastard child from the underbelly of Kings Landing, who [[{{TrueCompanions}} befriend each other]] and grow [[{{ShipTease}} very close]] during their experiences across wartorn Westeros. Played with, in that they became friends when Arya was on the run disguised as a [[{{KingIncognito}} commoner]], Gendry had no idea who she was initially, and even after she trusted him with her identity, still treated her the same as nobody else could know. It's implied several times that he's uncomfortable with her true status and worried about what will happen between them once she returns to her proper position. [[spoiler: They later get separated for different reasons, so time will tell if they end any better than the other examples.]]
373** In the past, there was the controversial marriage between Aegon V Targaryen's heir, Prince Duncan, and Jenny of Oldstones, a commoner from the Riverlands, which inspired a popular Westerosi folk song. Duncan loved her so much that he chose to relinquish his right as heir so he could be with her. Unfortunately, he was already betrothed to a Baratheon lady, and her father, pissed off, started a brief rebellion against the Iron Throne.
374* In the ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' quartet, this technically happens with Alanna (a knight who's from one of the oldest noble families in Tortall) and George (a commoner who became the King of Thieves), though by the time they get married, George has been given the title of baron and an estate for his services to the Crown (and to make things easier when he has to function as the Crown Spymaster).
375* Yukio Mishima's ''The Sound of Waves'' has a poor boy falling in love with a rich girl, and her father doesn't approve and there's Malicious Gossip and all that. The boy eventually gains the father's approval by going out on one of his fishing boats and saving it from being wrecked in a storm.
376* In ''Literature/SpyHigh'', wealthy Ben is initially drawn to the equally privileged Lori; but his true love turns out to be wrong-side-of-the-tracks Cally.
377* In ''Literature/{{Starburst}}'', on paper, this appears to apply to Angelique and Jamie, considering that Angelique is a world-famous celebrity violinist from France while Jamie’s parents are Lothian farmers. However, Angelique’s father and brothers were all factory workers in France, and Angelique’s mother was a cleaner; Angelique’s rise to fame began with a lucky break when she accompanied her mother to work and her mother’s employer realised Angelique’s natural potential for the violin.
378* ''Literature/SweetValleyHigh'' had a few examples, such as one book where a visiting European prince falls for blue-collar Dana. There's also the spin-off ''Elizabeth'' series where Elizabeth goes to London and falls in love with an aristocrat while working as a servant at his manor house.
379* ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium'':
380** ''Literature/BerenAndLuthien'': Lúthien, the only daughter of the oldest and most powerful Elven king of Beleriand, falls in love with Beren, a homeless Human warrior with no direct family left who has led a lonely outlaw life for seven years.
381** ''Literature/TheFallOfGondolin'': Idril, Princess of Gondolin and daughter of the High King of the Noldor Elves, falls in love with Tuor, a warrior human who has led a live of lonely wandering outlaw during years.
382* ''Literature/{{Toradora}}'': Male lead Ryuuji lives in a tiny, run-down apartment with his mother, while his frenemy and eventual love interest Taiga has an appartment that takes up an entire floor of an upscale appartment building.
383* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'': Bella's working or middle class. The Cullens are wealthy (it's easy to make money if you're immortal and a smart investor).
384* ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'': There's a few, but the first one that appears is Vox, a girl from a working-class family, and Phase, a boy from one of the richest families in America.
385* ''Franchise/TheWitcher'': Geralt of Rivia, renowned but ostracized and short of money witcher with the sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (sorceresses are a group known for its political influence, wealth and status in society). Outside of that long and romantic relationship, Geralt has multiple affairs with other sorceresses, most notably Lytta Neyd or Cora who keeps him in her villa as a lover for a time. Geralt's best friend, Dandelion, being a bard with Anna Henrietta, the ruling duchess of Toussaint.
386** Ciri also: The sole princess of Cintra with the mystic Elder Blood of the elves having multiple suitors of various social classes, although she is a runaway most of the time. Being only reciprocated with the thief, but she also of noble class, Mistle. Being a rare example of Uptown Girl and Poor Girl.
387* ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'': Boq has a crush on his classmate Galinda. Galinda doesn't like him back. When turning him down, she also cites their different cultural and social backgrounds. An upper-class Gillikinese woman can't just marry a Munchkinlander farmer. It doesn't help that Boq is too short for Galinda.
388[[/folder]]
389
390[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
391* This trope has been (and still is) so extremely common in TurkishDrama since 70s, that it is already considered either [[OmnipresentTrope the most essential element of the whole genre]] or [[UndeadHorseTrope an overused cliché that refuses to die]] in Turkey, depending on how you look at it. The Turkish name for this trope is "Rich Girl, Broke Boy" (''zengin kız, fakir oğlan''), for the curious.
392* ''Series/TwoBrokeGirls'': In season 2, Andy, the owner of a candy store across Max and Caroline's cupcake shop, falls for Caroline, until he learns about Caroline's last name and feels intimidated by her ''former'' life as a wealthy socialite, even though Caroline is now actually penniless due to her father's Ponzi Scheme scandal.
393* ''Series/{{Acapulco}}'': Julia (working-class receptionist) is dating Chad (the rich resort's owner's son). Diane isn't above exploiting her son's relationship with a member of the staff to rich patrons and investors as proof of how they've "embraced the Latin American community".
394* ''Series/AllMyChildren'':
395** Supercouple Angie and Jesse are constantly kept apart by the former's disapproving father who felt that street kid Jesse was going to ruin his daughter's life.
396** Beta couple Greg and Jenny are frequently tripped up by his snobby mother.
397* The princess ''Series/{{Arabela}}'' is the beautiful young daughter of King Hyacint, ruler of the Fairy Tale Kingdom. Her suitor Petr is a normal human student.
398* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
399** Laurel Lance came from a middle-class family (she works in a legal office, her father is a detective, and her mother is a professor). She has dated Oliver Queen and Tommy Merlyn, both of whom are sons of billionaires.
400** Ollie's sister Thea falls in love with Roy Harper, a street kid who lives alone in the Glades, the poorest neighborhood of Starling City.
401** Oliver's relationship with Felicity Smoak is this, as she started out being employed at Queen Consolidated as an IT specialist.
402* Episode 2 of the third season of ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' has rich girl [[FishOutOfTemporalWater Alex]] and downtown boy [[CowboyCop Gene]] replace Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz8ppujjTXw in the music video for "Uptown Girl" itself]] (with Ray, Chris, and Background Cop #3 filling in as backup singers). Despite Alex and Gene's obvious BelligerentSexualTension, things never got past a kiss.
403* ''Series/TheBarrier'' had several couples dating across class lines:
404** Iván, a minister's son and Manuela, one of his family's maids, are established to be in a relationship as early as the first episode.
405** One of the single-episode plotlines happens because a deceased resident of Sector 1 (the enclave for elites) had a mistress in Sector 2 (the rest of the city, basically).
406** [[spoiler:Daniela (Iván's sister) and Álex (from the Sector 2 protagonist family)]] are together by the end of the series, and the epilogue implies this is going to last. Approval seems to be the baseline response to the relationship.
407* ''Series/{{Belgravia}}'':
408** Young up-and-coming businessman Charles Pope falls for Maria Grey, daughter of the late Earl of Templemore; however, Maria is engaged to Charles's first cousin once removed John Bellasis, and her mother dislikes Charles for his status as a businessman and presumably illegitimate birth.
409-->'''Lady Templemore''': Mr. Pope, there ''is'' no "Lady Maria and I." It is an absurd concept. My daughter is a jewel, as far above you as the stars. For your sake, as much as for hers, forget her. If you have a ''shred'' of honor in you.
410** Charles' mother Sophia Trenchard had a secret marriage with Viscount Edmund Bellasis, the son and heir of the Earl of Brockenhurst. However, the parson who married them was also a soldier and Edmund was unable to rectify his status as both soldier and minister with Sophia before being killed in the Battle of Waterloo.
411** Charles' aunt by marriage Susan Trenchard has an affair with John Bellasis, looking to gain a position as his mistress and looking for a way out of her miserable marriage to her husband Oliver. That one [[spoiler:goes down the tubes when John rejects Susan's offer of marriage when he learns she's pregnant and that Charles is legitimate; Susan takes revenge by stealing everything he has on Charles and giving it to her in-laws to ruin John.]]
412* From the ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'' episode "Amy and Amiability":
413-->H: Can it be possibly true? Surely love has never crossed such boundaries of class? (clutches Amy's hand)\
414A: But what about you and Mum?\
415H: Well, yes I grant thee when I first met her I was the farmer's son and she was just the lass who ate the dung, but that was an exception.\
416A: And Aunty Dot and Uncle Ted.\
417H: Yes, yes alright, he was a pig poker and she was the Duchess of Argyle, but-\
418A: And Aunty Ruth and Uncle Isaiah, she was a milkmaid and he was-\
419H: The Pope! Yes, yes, all right.
420* ''Series/{{Bridgerton}}'': In the first season, Anthony Bridgerton (the eldest son of a reputable high society family) is in a relationship with Siena Rosso (a working-class opera singer). It's especially painful on her part because it means they can never be seen together in public. However, Siena eventually gets fed up with being treated like a dirty secret, thus she breaks up with Anthony. On the second season, Anthony meets and falls in love with Kate Sharma, who is later revealed to be ''not'' [[BlueBlood a noble born]]. However, she is proven to be [[BirdsOfAFeather a perfect match]] for him in every ways that matters, thus he is adamant to marry her.
421** In the second season, Eloise Bridgerton meets working class printer's apprentice Theo Sharpe. A secret budding relationship and drama ensues, with the ultimate outcome TBD.
422* In ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', this happened between LovableAlphaBitch Cordelia and working-class nerd Xander. Downplayed in that money wasn't so much of an issue as high school popularity and clique insularity. After their relationship ended, Cordelia's father got busted for cheating on his taxes, and by graduation she has nothing.
423* There's a gender-reversed element of this in the developing relationship between millionaire playboy mystery writer Richard ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'' and working-stiff police officer Kate Beckett.
424** Interestingly, they both were on equal footing during their childhoods. Castle went to boarding school, and his family was only moderately wealthy; Beckett attended a prestigious high school and probably would have had even more opportunities had her lawyer mother not been murdered.
425* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'':
426** The relationship between Woody the bartender and the millionaire's daughter Kelly Gaines.
427** Sam and Diane were the series's first example, despite the fact that Diane only ''acts'' like an uptown girl. Rebecca, both as the corporate IronLady, and then later as the simpering Yuppie ButtMonkey, managed to subvert this trope.
428* ''Series/TheConfessionsOfFrannieLangton'': Frannie, a poor black Jamaican servant who was {{born into slavery}}, became lovers with her aristocratic white mistress Marguerite.
429* ''Series/DharmaAndGreg'' has a lot of similarity to the poor-guy rich-girl story type, but is actually an [[AvertedTrope aversion]] in that, though Dharma's parents live the hippy lifestyle, they aren't doing that badly for themselves financially.
430* Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert in ''Series/ADifferentWorld'' definitely fits here, Dwayne being the college nerd Everyman from a working class family and Whitley the upper crust snobby Southern Belle. Dwayne didn't start pursuing her until Season 3, and from there it was pretty much your average sitcom relationship, starting with Type 2 and progressing to Type 1 and eventually marriage through a course of break-ups and 'desperately in love with you' revelations.
431* There's [[SubvertedTrope Double Secret Subversion]] in ''Series/DirtySexyMoney''. Ultra-rich Jeremey Darling meets a beautiful woman named Sofia while temporarily working as a valet in one of his family's business. He falls in love with her, then pretends to be a starving artist to prove to himself he can win her over without disclosing his real identity as (essentially) an UpperClassTwit. The story doubles up on this trope because Jeremy was the poor boy going after the rich girl when it was the girl who was the poor (well, okay, ''comparatively poorer'') one all along.
432* ''Series/DowntonAbbey'':
433** Lady Sybil, the earl's youngest daughter, falls in love with Tom Branson, the family's Irish republican socialist chauffeur. They get married after much struggling. After WWI, they move to Ireland, where Sybil starts working as a nurse.
434** After they marry and Sybil [[DeathByChildbirth dies in childbirth]], now wealthy and well-connected Branson becomes an Uptown Guy for a local teacher, Miss Sarah Bunting.
435** Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley. Although he's a third cousin of the earl and is the family's only remaining heir, he has lived his life as a middle-class lawyer and son of a middle-class doctor. It's a source of friction in the first series.
436** When Matthew briefly becomes engaged to Lavinia Swire, Mary has a courtship with the self-made newspaperman Sir Richard Carlisle who, although considered a gentleman and is even richer than the Crawley family, he is distinctly not of her class, and everybody is sure to show it to him.
437** Lady Edith has a relationship with a newspaper editor Michael Gregson. It is not a major issue for Edith, who is frequently snubbed in her own family. What's surprising is that her family in turn welcomes Michael as they are happy anybody at all is courting [[OldMaid Edith]] (or at least anybody who has full use of his limbs and is only about 15 years older than her rather than 25). He further earns their gratitude by disposing of a dirty gambler at a house party.
438** Rosamund Painswick's late husband was a very wealthy banker but had no title and was the grandson of a merchant. The Dowager Countess comments that, although not quite a "rough diamond," he was "cut and polished comparatively recently."
439** In series four, Lady Rose [=MacClare=] becomes engaged to Jack Ross, an African American jazz singer. Aside from the scandal surrounding such an interclass and interracial relationship, Mary points out that his being a jazz singer is almost equally as shocking to polite society.
440** Lady Rose marries Atticus Aldridge who, like Rosamund's husband, only recently attained "gentleman" status--after his father, a banker, was given a peerage (as Baron Sinderby). The difference in status is only heightened by the fact that Atticus is Jewish, while Lady Rose is Protestant.[[note]]It's never made 100% clear whether the [=MacClare=]s are Church of Scotland Presbyterians or Scottish Episcopalians, but either way they're Establishment Protestants, which is what matters.[[/note]]
441* One of the main themes of ''Series/{{Extracurricular}}'' is the difference in economic status between Ji-soo and Gyu-ri which repeatedly gets pointed out by Ji-soo. Gyu-ri comes from a wealthy family, wears fancy dresses, frequents fancy cafes where she pays with a credit card, and solves everything with money, whereas Ji-soo wears the same worn-out clothes, is totally unfamiliar with those fancy cafes (he pays with cash), and has to take up odd, illegal jobs to make money.
442-->'''Ji-soo:''' ''[after Gyu-ri offers money to him]'' It's so easy for you. You buy everything with money. [...] Do you find it fun? My life looks fucking fun to you, right?
443%% * Mallory and Nick from ''Series/FamilyTies''.
444* One of the most popular sketches of ''Series/TheFastShow'' was based around lord of the manor Ralph and his incredibly awkward affections for lower-class handyman Ted.
445* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Even if it stayed in the realm of UST, it was very obvious that rancher's-son-turned-enlisted soldier-turned-smuggler Mal Reynolds was very much smitten with Inara Serra, a ''very'' high-class courtesan that he probably wouldn't have been able to afford a night with if he hocked the ship. There is also an element of this with Simon and Kaylee in that he was a rich surgeon while she was a farm girl [[WrenchWench mechanical genius]]. However, in their case, he isn't rich at the time of the series as he gave up everything to save his sister, though his upper-class background is still an element of friction.
446* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'': Geoffrey fell in love with a woman who moved next to the Banks' mansion. Everything was right until he learned she's rich instead of a servant. What really troubled him wasn't her money but her social class.
447* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
448** Gendry, a bastard armorer's apprentice and [[PrincessInRags Arya Stark]]. In Season 3's "Kissed By Fire," Gendry decides to remain with the outlaw group The Brotherhood Without Banners, instead of continuing on to Riverrun where Arya's highborn family rule.
449--->'''Gendry:''' [[BandOfBrothers These men are brothers, they're family.]] I've never had a family.\
450'''Arya:''' ''I'' can be your family!\
451'''Gendry:''' You wouldn't be my family. You'd be m'lady.
452** Tyrion and Shae. Deconstructed when Shae points out the complications of a lord and a prostitute having a long-term relationship. When Tyrion is forced to marry a woman closer to his social status, Shae becomes increasingly jealous. After Tyrion finally decides to send her away, she betrays him at his trial.
453---> '''Shae:''' I'm your whore. And when you are tired of fucking me I will be nothing.
454** Oberyn and Ellaria are one of the happier couples on the show but can't get married because he's a prince and she's a bastard.
455** Queen Daenerys and slave-turned-mercenary Daario.
456** Samwell Tarly (coming from the noble Tarlys, despite being rejected by his father) and Gilly (a wildling).
457** Jon Snow (coming from the noble Starks, from his father's side, despite being a bastard) and Ygritte (a wildling).
458* ''Series/GilmoreGirls'':
459** Lorelai and Luke. Even though Lorelai has run away from her wealthy background, her parents are shown to be mistreating working-class people and don't consider them their equal. Blue-collar Luke is not enough for their daughter, and they even manage to break them up for a while. (And they had other problems, too.)
460** Dean struggles with Rory and her falling into the high society lifestyle. Rory comes from old money, goes to prep school, and heads to Harvard while Dean comes from a relatively poor-to-middle-class family. Rory's grandparents Richard and Emily highlight this, try to split them up, and succeed better than with their Luke/Lorelai attempt.
461** Class issues are one of the (many) obstacles Rory and Jess face, as she's headed for a bright Ivy League future, while he doesn't even graduate high school and basically becomes a bum in Seasons 4 and 5. Even when he comes back as a successful SelfMadeMan, she's completely entrenched in Logan's upper-class world of the IdleRich, much to his distaste.
462* ''Series/GinnyAndGeorgia'': Georgia and Zion. She came from a poor family, before [[TheRunaway running away]] and becoming homeless when they met. Zion comes from a well-off family. His mother was very unhappy that he impregnated a homeless girl. Unusually, he's black and she's white. Their relationship didn't last, but they did have Ginny.
463* The central couple of ''Series/GranHotel'' from Bambú Producciones are a classic example: Alicia is the upper-class daughter of the hotel owner and she's having a love affair with Julio, a poor waiter.
464* ''Series/TheHeirs'':
465** Cha Eun-sang is a working-class girl while her boyfriend Kim Tan is heir to the richest conglomerate in South Korea.
466** Eun-sang's relationship with Tan is revealed to be a repeat of what happened to Tan's older brother, Kim Won, who is in a relationship with the similarly working-class Jeon Hyun-joo.
467** Eun-sang's childhood friend, Yoon Chan-young, is not poor, but he is considered a "social care" student because he is not in the position to inherit something from his parents. He is dating Lee Bo-na, who is set to inherit an entertainment company.
468* Ana, a working-class seamstress, and Alberto, heir to a fashion empire, from ''Series/{{Velvet}}'' (another series from Bambú Producciones) had been in love since they were children, but their class differences kept them apart for years.
469** BetaCouple Clara and Mateo have elements of this--she's from a small rural village, and he's from the same class as Alberto.
470* Many of the main characters' boyfriends in ''Series/HotInCleveland'' are this trope. While the ladies aren't crazy rich they are used to the much more upscale lifestyle of Hollywood. In the pilot episode, Melanie can't stop gushing about how the first guy she hooked up with is a plumber and all of the women talk about how they always wanted to date guys who would "actually know how to fix stuff."
471* ''Series/JeevesAndWooster'' plays around with the trope. One of Bertie's friends wants to marry a waitress. To convince his uncle that it's a good idea, he makes him read romance novels where chambermaids end up marrying their masters.
472%%* Desmond and Penny, on ''Series/{{Lost}}''. Also Jin and Sun.
473* ''Series/{{Lucifer|2016}}'': The titular character's relationship with Chloe Decker. Chloe is an ordinary detective who raises her daughter in a modest apartment. Lucifer is, well, [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]], the FallenAngel ''par excellence'' and ([[ToHellWithThisInfernalJob ex]])-supreme ruler of Hell, who not only owns a luxurious high rise with a beautiful penthouse but has a seemingly limitless number of connections he accumulated throughout centuries of [[DealWithTheDevil making deals with humans]].
474* ''Series/MadamSecretary'''s lead couple Elizabeth and Henry [=McCord=]. She's strongly implied to come from money (among other things she went to boarding school with the Crown Prince of Bahrain), whereas he's the son of a steelworker who went to college on the US Marine Corps' dime.
475* Pete and Trudy Campbell on ''Series/{{Mad Men}}'' are an example of this trope. Trudy's parents are actually quite wealthy, but they are new money, in contrast to Pete's being a WASP. However, this is never shown as a conflict, and not even really explored.
476** There are a few other examples: a gender-swapped one with Pete and working-class [[PluckyOfficeGirl Peggy Olson]] in the 1st and 2nd seasons (though this is never pointed out), and Don and Betty were this trope during their marriage since Don was raised on a farm in contrast to Betty who was raised in Pennsylvania Main Line high society.
477* ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'': Hal comes from a very rich family that openly hate Lois.
478* ''Series/MissFishersMurderMysteries'': Phryne Fisher ''looks'' to be this to Jack Robinson, and indeed by the time the show starts she's a baron's daughter (and very wealthy) whereas he's a working-class (if respectable) detective inspector. But Phryne's family only inherited the barony after most of her relatives were killed in the Great War, and the two actually grew up a stone's throw away from each other in the poor Melbourne suburbs of Collingwood and Richmond, respectively. It's made fairly clear throughout the series that the reason Jack holds Phryne's [[WillTheyOrWontThey interest]] when no one else can is that he understands -- and loves -- the Collingwood girl she was as much as the glamorous aristocrat she's become.
479* In ''Series/MurdochMysteries'' (set in late Victorian/early Edwardian times in Canada), constable George Crabtree perceives Dr. Emily Grace like someone grand who wouldn't look twice at him as a romantic prospect, despite the fact that she is friends with him and absolutely not a classist. He starts courting her, and they're a couple for a while. Interestingly, it's revealed that her cad of an ex-fiancé and other RichBitch-y women in a prestigious social club consider Emily a lowly working-class girl ( even though she's a respected doctor working in the city morgue and must come from a rich, privileged and open-minded family).
480* ''Series/NancyDrew2019'': Ryan Hudson and Lucy Sable were this prior to the series. Unfortunately, his parents disapproved and had the influence to utterly ruin Lucy's life, driving her to the point of suicide.
481* ''Series/TheNanny'':
482** Rich Broadway producer Maxwell and working-class Fran (the titular nanny).
483** In the last season, RichBitch C.C. Babcock and Niles the butler get together romantically.
484* Gwen and Arthur in the BBC show ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}''. He is royalty and she is the blacksmith's daughter who works as a castle maid.
485* Ryan and Marissa. This is the primary storyline for the first half of ''Series/TheOC''.
486* Regina and Daniel in ''Series/OnceUponATime''. This is firmly in the "mutually fall in love, and people around them conspire to interfere with True Love," category. She's the daughter of a wealthy family and he's the stable boy.
487* ''Series/OneOfUsIsLying'': After they get together in Season 2, Nate worries that he and Bronwyn are too different because of their very different economic backgrounds. He is working class, while her family has lots of money. Addy assures Nate they can work out regardless. Unusually for this trope, he's white and she's a Latina.
488* Working-class Rodney and well-heeled Cassandra in ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses''. Before meeting Cassandra, Rodney also dated earl's daughter Lady Victoria.
489* Robin and Kate in season three of ''Series/RobinHood''.
490* In an episode of ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'', Maddie falls for a rich guy and attempts to look and act rich so he will like her.
491** London Tipton, the wealthy heiress to the Tipton Hotel, dated her hotel's lifeguard, and also once pretended to be poor to impress a guy who dislikes rich people.
492* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'':
493** Yukito and Emiri in ''Series/BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger''.
494** ''Series/EngineSentaiGoOnger'' hinted at a romance between impoverished Sousuke and wealthy DefrostingIceQueen Miu. Would also apply to the popular fan-pairing of Saki with Miu's brother Hiroto.
495** Hikaru and Urara in ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger'' would count, since Urara is a middle-class human girl whereas Hikaru is the future ruler of Magitopia.
496** Although not canon, a lot of ''Series/SamuraiSentaiShinkenger'' fans were rooting for the pairing of samurai princess Kaoru with poor sushi seller Genta.
497** Itinerant Daigo and multi-million-dollar heiress Amy in ''Series/ZyudenSentaiKyoryuger''.
498* Hyde and Jackie from ''Series/That70sShow'' (while they were a couple). Jackie is a rich girl and cheerleader while Hyde is a poor delinquent with a messed-up family who lives with Eric's family because he has nowhere else to go. Initially, Hyde stated their differences in social status as a reason they shouldn't go out since they had nothing in common.
499* ''Series/ThunderboltFantasy'': Lady Ling Mo Yan, a former princess of the Xi You imperial court, fell in love with a man far beneath her social standing. She wound up pregnant with their child and was even willing to elope with her lover so they could be together, [[spoiler: only for him to reveal himself as the demon lord Azibělpher in disguise, who mocks her for her foolishness before blinding her]]. [[spoiler:She's subsequently forced to flee the palace so that her half-demon child will not be killed and later gives birth to and raises him, Lang Wu Yao, in the mountains]].
500* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime2021'': Moiraine (born into a noble family) and Siuan (born to a fisherman) originally had this dynamic based on their backgrounds. Later however when Siuan became Amerlyn, head of the powerful [[MagicalSociety Aes Sedai]], Moiraine was then her inferior inside of the organization, and possibly outside it too. They remained lovers throughout this.
501* ''Series/{{Willow}}'':
502** Prince Airk is shown to be involved with Dove, a kitchen maid in the palace. {{Zigzagged}} however as it turns out she's TheChosenOne Elora Danan, and thus very important herself as the True Empress (though she doesn't yet have any official authority).
503** Princess Kit (Airk's sister) and Jade (a commoner) are in love as well.
504* ''Series/Zero2021'': Omar falls for Anna. She's a very rich girl, while he comes from a poor neighborhood named the Barrio in Milan.
505[[/folder]]
506
507[[folder:Music]]
508* The {{Trope Namer|s}} is Music/{{Billy Joel}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCuMWrfXG4E "Uptown Girl"]], about a low-class street kid who falls for, and pursues the affections of, a rich "uptown girl". Joel claimed that the song was originally written about his relationship with his then-girlfriend [[Creator/ElleMacPherson Elle [=MacPherson=]]], but it ended up also becoming about his soon-to-be wife Creator/ChristieBrinkley (who starred in the song's music video).
509* "A Mansion on the Hill" by Music/HankWilliams.
510-->''Tonight down here in the valley\
511I'm lonesome and o, how I feel\
512As I sit here alone in my cabin\
513I can see your mansion on the hill''
514* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDbyOLzEyfk "Uptight (Everything's Alright)"]] by Music/StevieWonder is about a romance between an uptown girl from the right side of the tracks and a poor man's son who can't afford new clothes to go steppin' out in. It all turns out all right: she sees that his "heart is true."
515* The song "We Both Go Down Together" by Music/TheDecemberists is about a wealthy young man who falls in love with a poor girl. It doesn't end well for either of them.
516* Music/PaulSimon's "Diamonds on the soles of her shoes" from ''Graceland'' is ''explicitly'' about this trope.
517* "Dawn (Go Away)" by Music/FrankieValliAndTheFourSeasons. The same group also did a gender-swapped version, "Rag Doll", in which the male singer is in love with a poor girl.
518* "West End Girls" by the Music/PetShopBoys, which discusses "East-End boys and West-End girls." The East End of London is known for its working-class cockney neighborhoods, while the West End is more affluent and posh.
519* "Only in America" by Jay and the Americans: "Only in America / Would a classy girl like you fall for a poor boy like me!"
520* "Down in the Boondocks" is about a poor boy in love with a rich girl. The song was first popularized in 1965 by pop singer (later turned country artist) Billy Joe Royal, and in 1969 became a big country hit for ex-Raiders guitarist Freddy Weller.
521* Spanish band Amaral made a cruel subversion of this trope in their latest album, where the girl gets into drugs and heavy drinking and essentially wastes her life intoxicated.
522* "Saginaw, Michigan," a No. 1 country hit (and minor crossover hit) for hardcore honky-tonk legend Lefty Frizzell, tells the tale of the poor farm kid who pursues -- and eventually wins -- the hand of the rich girl. Before the two are married, however, he shakes off his disapproving father (a hardcore asshole who was also very greedy and oppressively protective of her) by claiming that he found a large gold claim in Alaska.
523* "Wolverton Mountain" by Claude King, a No. 1 country smash and top 5 pop hit in 1962, was the tale of a poor farm boy pursing a highly desirable and presumably wealthy girl ("''Her tender lips are sweeter than honey/and Clifton Clowers protects her there''") on said mountain ... but he's got to get past her "protector" ... her father, the mean Clifton Clowers.
524* Music/{{Brentalfloss}}'s [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy Gusty Garden Galaxy]] with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOsLqsCkaeg Fan Lyrics]] has [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] ("just a blue-collar guy") questioning his worthiness of Princess Peach. He soon decides that his actions have certainly earned her affections.
525* Music/RicardoArjona
526** The song "Quién Diría", about an aspiring musician and a rich girl. The song is full of counter-comparisons.
527---> ''You eat caviar, I eat tortilla''
528** The narrator in "Historias de taxi" is a taxi driver who gets involved with a rich married woman after she tearfully confides in him that her husband is cheating on her. [[spoiler:The "other woman" turns out to be... the driver's own wife.]] The end of the song states that [[spoiler:both couples carried on their affairs, each one pretending the others doesn't know.]]
529* "Common People", by Music/{{Pulp}} (later covered by Creator/WilliamShatner), tells the tale of a young man who meets an Uptown Girl in a dive bar. She tells him that she wants to "be like [[TitleDrop common people]] [and] do whatever common people do," but after spending some time with her, he gets fed up with her slumming and tells her off.
530-->''Rent a flat above a shop, cut your hair and get a job\
531Smoke some fags and play some pool, pretend you never went to school\
532But still you'll never get it right, 'cause when you're laid in bed at night\
533Watching roaches climb the wall, if you called your dad, he could stop it all!''
534* In Johnny Rivers's "The Poor Side of Town," the singer is gloating that his love's attempt at social climbing didn't work:
535-->''That rich guy you've been seein'\
536Must have put you down\
537So welcome back baby\
538To the poor side of town''
539* Spanish singer Bertin Osborne's song ''Me enamoro de ella'' ("I fall in love with her") [[note]](originally written by Juan Luis Guerra)[[/note]] has a poor student/worker falling for an upper-class girl.
540* "Mama Can't Buy You Love" by Music/EltonJohn:
541-->''Baby, so they give you anything\
542Darling, all the joy money can bring\
543Baby, do they bring you happiness\
544Darling, you're no different from the rest\
545Can't you see that it's love you really need\
546Take my hand and I'll show what a love could be''
547* Music/BrianMcNeill wrote "Bring the Lassie Hame" about his mother and father, respectively an upper-class Austrian woman who worked as an interpreter for the Allies in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and a Scots baker's son from Falkirk serving in a British Army Highlander regiment. They met in Styria during the post-war occupation in a courtship that included the amusing image of him teaching her to drive in a three-ton army truck.
548* The video for "I'm on Fire" by Music/BruceSpringsteen shows this kind of love story, with ever-blue-collar Springsteen as the mechanic working on the luxury car of a rich married woman from "the hills". The lyrics of the song, however, don't really refer to this kind of relationship.
549* Music/{{NSYNC}} had their 1997 single "For the Girl Who Has Everything", detailing a lonely upper-class girl who has everything but love in her life:
550-->''But the only thing you dream of,\
551Money can't buy for you\
552And in my dreams,\
553I'll make your wish come true''
554* "High Above the Ground" by Music/{{Daughtry}} says, "I'm a small town kid and you're an uptown girl."
555* Randy Edelman's ''Uptown Uptempo Woman'':
556-->''You're an uptown uptempo woman\
557I'm a downtown downbeat guy''
558[[/folder]]
559
560[[folder:Radio]]
561* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "An American Tragedy", Miss Brooks relates that LoveInterest Mr. Boynton had been dating a society girl. On Miss Brooks giving him an ultimatum to choose the society girl or Miss Brooks, Mr. Boynton chooses Miss Brooks.
562[[/folder]]
563
564[[folder:Religion & Mythology]]
565* The Japanese folk tale ''[[https://justanimeforum.net/threads/japanese-culture-princess-hachikatsugi.5389/ Hachikatsugi-hime]]'' has the son of a noble family fall in love with one of the maids, a girl named Hachikatsugi whose face is always hidden by her huge wooden bowl that doubles as a hat. [[spoiler: Since "-hime" means "princess" in Japanese, it means that Hachikatsugi herself is a noblewoman; in her specific case, she's a FallenPrincess. The [[BagOfHolding Box of Holding]] that contains the proofs of her heritage is hidden under the hat, and soon Hachikatsugi and her beau are allowed to marry.]]
566* Subverted in ''Havelok the Dane''; The villainous King Alsi marries his niece, Princess Goldburow, off to a servant boy named Curan, as a way to deprive her of her rightful inheritance as his brother's heir. However, it turns out that Curan is really Havelok, the lost prince of Denmark who himself was deprived of his throne. Both of them eventually regain their thrones.
567* In African mythology, King Cophetua had no interest in anyone until the day he spotted a beautiful beggar maid passing by in the street, while the king was watching by the window. It was LoveAtFirstSight, and the king searched for the girl in town. He found her, she was named Pénélophon. She was surprised when the king asked for her hand but she accepted, and [[RagsToRoyalty became]] [[TheHighQueen a loved queen]].Creator/WilliamShakespeare referenced this story in some of his plays, while Creator/AgathaChristie name the gender inverted version of this trope "Cophetua's syndrome" in Literature/TheBodyInTheLibrary.
568[[/folder]]
569
570[[folder:Theater]]
571* The opera ''Arabella'' by Richard Strauss. Impoverished Patrician Arabella falls for landowner Mandryka, solving her family's money worries.
572* John Adams's opera ''A Flowering Tree'': an Indian prince falls for the poor village girl Kumudha. Complications ensue; the least of which is Kumudha's mother thinking that the girl has been prostituting herself.
573* ''Theatre/HMSPinafore'':
574** A double version; a middle-class woman loves a low-class man but at the same time, an upper-class man is in love with her.
575** The BetaCouple is a middle-class man who loves a poor woman but chooses not to pursue her for his family's sake.
576* The musical version of ''Theatre/LesMiserables'' has the revolutionary student Marius in love with Cosette (who, although technically an illegitimate child, is known only as the daughter of a rich philanthropist). Not an entirely straight example, though, since Marius comes from a rich background and returns to that wealth after the students' uprising fails. Meanwhile, in a gender-flipped example, Eponine is in love with Marius, but [[AllLoveIsUnrequited he never realizes it until the end]].
577* The {{musical}} ''Little Me'' has rich Noble Eggleston and poor Belle Schlumpfert, who even have a song about how they love each other "as much as they are able" considering their differing backgrounds. The two are kept apart by Noble's mother, sending Belle off to acquire "wealth, fame, and social position." She manages to do so, but by the time she does, Noble has lost all of his. They get together anyway.
578* ''Theatre/MissJulie'' has a relationship between servant Jean and the rich Julie, although it's more attraction and lust than love. After they sleep together one night, it does not end well. Some productions change things around and have Julie and Jean be different races in, say, the 1950s or in post-apartheid South Africa, as this trope is less relevant now.
579* ''Theatre/TheWintersTale'' features Prince Florizel falling in love with Perdita, a lowly sheperd girl, much to the disapproval of his father. This issue is conveniently sidestepped when they learn Perdita is secretly the [[ReallyRoyaltyReveal long-lost princess]] of another kingdom.
580* The main romance in ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'' is between the titular founding father and his wife Eliza Schuyler. It's brought up often in the first act how Hamilton is a penniless immigrant who has yet to make a name for himself, while Eliza is one of three daughters of a wealthy New York senator. Eliza constantly reassures Alexander that she doesn't care for his background and that she loves him for the man he is.
581** Played with in regards to Eliza's sister Angelica, who also falls for Hamilton; her insight also reveals some truths about Hamilton's interest in her sister that the much more naively optimistic Eliza may not have initially noticed. As detailed in Angelica's IWantSong "Satisfied", it was actually Angelica who Hamilton first approached, realising a woman with a wit and intellect that could match his. Angelica fell for him instantly, but quickly pawned him off to Elisa. The main reason is because she realised Eliza was also smitten and it would break her heart if Angelica didn't cede, but Angelica realised Hamilton was likely interested in her for her wealth and status, rather than just her intellect. Combined with the pressure to marry into a higher station as the eldest of the sisters, Angelica saw it as the right thing to do to in the moment, but as detailed in the song she still has feelings for him, and deeply regrets 'sizing him up so quickly.'
582[[/folder]]
583
584[[folder:Video Games]]
585* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'':
586** [[TheLostLenore Alt]] was a rich and talented corporate [[HollywoodHacking netrunner]] back when she was alive and was in a relationship with [[{{Deuteragonist}} Johnny]]. We don't know his exact wealth at the time, but it's implied multiple times that [[FakeBand Samurai]] didn't make much money, that the members often lived in squats and, after buying all the necessities like strings and guitars, they didn't have much money left.
587** UptownGuy variant: [[TheRockstar Kerry]] is much richer and more famous than [[PlayerCharacter V]], but that doesn't seem to be a problem for either of them. He's notably the only love interest in the game who's of such high status, with GadgeteerGenius Judy, ByTheBookCop River, and BadassBiker Panam being roughly on V's level. This gets mitigated somewhat in the "Path of Glory" ending, where V becomes about as wealthy as Kerry is.
588* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' loves this trope. In the third game, Almaz is an extremely UnluckyEveryDude ChewToy guardsman. Sapphire is an AxCrazy princess. There's also Rozalin (fake overlord's daughter), Adell (peasant hero). Laharl's dad (overlord) and his mom (unknown social status mage).
589* This becomes an issue for players whose female character romanced Alistair in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins''. He is a [[spoiler: royal bastard who can become King.]] If you are playing as a human noble, you may [[spoiler: marry him and become his Queen Consort, but if you are playing an elf (who are an underclass or nomadic wanderers), a dwarf (either poor or exiled royalty) or a mage (despite the human mage coming from a noble family, mages are forbidden from inheriting) then you may romance Alistair until he becomes King, at which point he either dumps you (if unhardened) or will agree to you being his mistress (if hardened)]]. On the other hand, you have the human noble or dwarf noble romancing Morrigan (apostate who lives in the wilds), Zevran (elven assassin slave), and Leliana (fugitive spy).
590** In [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII the sequel]], this is how the player character's parents met - Malcolm Hawke was an apostate mercenary with a mysterious past, Leandra Amell was a Kirkwall aristocrat with an arranged marriage on the horizon. [[LastNameBasis Hawke]] later regains their family's titles and becomes a wealthy noble, while the potential love interests include Fenris (an elven former slave), Isabela (a shipless pirate), Merrill (a nomadic elf mage) or Anders (an apostate operating out of the slums). At a push, you could reverse it for Sebastian (a prince), due to Hawke's original status as peasant when they first meet (which also happens to be when Hawke takes on work from Sebastian as she's trying to scrape together some money).
591* In ''VideoGame/FallenLondon'', [[spoiler:this turns out to be the driving plot-behind-the-plot of roughly the entire the game, as the Echo Bazaar itself is in love with the Sun, and as a Judgement, the Sun is very much above the Bazaar's station]]. The massive tax on exporting love stories, among other things, hints at this, as [[spoiler:the Bazaar collects the stories in the hope of proving to the other Judgements that this kind of romance can work out]]. [[ArcWords In matters of the Bazaar, look to love, always]].
592* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': The relationship between Zidane, a common thief, and Princess Garnet plays out like this.
593* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', Kokomo the daughter of a merchant so rich that he can afford to have Redolent Rose, the guildmaster of the Weavers' Guild and lead fashion designer for the famed Sunsilk Tapestries, personally design and sow dresses for her. Meanwhile, Wawarukka is a working-class miner with no sense of fashion and is constantly covered in dirt. He is head-over-heels for her and the feeling is mutual, but Wawarukka is afraid that she'd never notice a guy like him while Kokomo believes that her father would never accept Wawarukka.
594* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'', Dion Lesage is the crown prince of the Holy Empire of Sanbreque and has a secret relationship with his closest attendant, Terence, who both love each other dearly. However, their relationship is complicated by their difference in status, as an enormous scandal would break out if they were ever discovered embracing one another. Dion himself wishes that Terence were ''his'' master instead, while Terence insists that he will always be Dion's loyal servant.
595* Due to each game having tons of characters from a variety of different class backgrounds, this comes up frequently in ''Franchise/FireEmblem''.
596** The backstory behind ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light]]'' is built on this trope, which is also found in the posterior games. [[spoiler: Anri, the Hero who defeated Medeus and founder of the Kingdom of Altea, was a commoner. His love interest Artemis was the Princess of Archanea. [[StarCrossedLovers They couldn't get together]]. Artemis married Duke Cartas and went the DeathByChildbirth way, cursing the Fire Emblem itself as she perished. The heartbroken [[CelibateHero Anri]] [[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest never married]], and his bloodline (where Marth, Elice, Chrom and Lucina, and others come from) was continued by his brother Marcelus instead.]]
597** In regards to ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade The Binding Blade]]'':
598*** Eliwood's son Roy can marry either the travelling dancer Larum ([[spoiler:though her stepdad is an Etrurian general]]), the Ilian mercenary Shanna, the Arcadia villager Sophia ([[spoiler:who is actually a half-dragon girl so this goes into InterspeciesRomance as well]]) or the TomboyPrincess Sue who, like Lyn, is a plainswoman from Sacae ([[spoiler:and might be Lyn's daughter with Rath]]). Averted with BlackMagicianGirl Lilina, who is Hector's daughter, and BadassTeacher Cecilia, who hailed from a wealthy, aristocratic family before becoming the Mage General of Etruria.
599*** There's also Clarine, [[spoiler:the daughter of Pent and Louise,]] with either Lance (a knight under Pherae) or Rutger (a Sacaean myrmidon with ancestry to Bern).
600** This showed up in ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade The Blazing Blade]]'':
601*** If Eliwood marries Fiora, he will be questioned for it since she's a mercenary from Ilia; and if he marries Lyndis instead, her [[ButNotTooForeign half-Sacaean blood]] will be an issue, too (though she downplays this by virtue of her ''also'' being heir to Caelin before ceding it to Ostia after the events of the game). There is no comment on the reactions if he marries Ninian, but as she's only an ordinary dancer from Ilia [[spoiler:(or rather ''seemingly'' ordinary, as she's actually a half-Ice Dragon, thus crossing over into InterspeciesRomance as well)]], the trope still applies. Curiously, Hector can marry Lyn or either of Fiora's sisters, but no one will bat an eyelid... likely because Hector is already a RebelPrince to start.
602*** Also Priscilla and ''any'' of her prospect boyfriends: the travelling swordsman Guy, the mercenary Heath, the mage Erk (and for some, the cavalier Sain - they have no shared ending, but their supports are decidedly romantic). [[spoiler:Only Erk manages to bypass the trope's StarCrossedLovers aspect, since his teacher Pent is a ''very'' high-ranked nobleman... who once was an uptown boy since his [[BattleCouple wife and partner Louise]] was minor nobility.]]
603** In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones The Sacred Stones]]'':
604*** Three of Princess Eirika's four love interests (Prince Innes of Frelia is the exception) are men of lower class than her: Seth, a knight who doubles as her retainer in everything but name; Forde, another knight in Renais' employ; and Saleh, a hermit from the secluded Caer Pelyn. Seth even outright declares that she shouldn't get very close to him due to their different stations in their A-support, and [[LostInTranslation the Japanese version]] of their paired ending notes that while he does have feelings for her, he felt it out of his place to marry royalty; he does come to accept his feelings and marry her, however, with Ephraim's blessing and the approval of the other knights.
605*** A surprise gender inversion comes with [[spoiler:Joshua, who is revealed in Eirika's route to be the long missing Prince of Jehanna]], with Natasha, a common-born cleric who hailed from Grado.
606** In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'', most of the male Shepherds (barring [[ModestRoyalty Prince Chrom]], [[PrincelyYoungMan Virion]], and [[ImpoverishedPatrician Ricken]]) are at least implied to be middle to low class, while the female Shepherds (except Nowi) are said to have higher standings [[note]](Olivia is the adopted daughter of Khan Basilio, Sully comes from a long line of knights, Tharja's past isn't clear but she's implied to come from a long line of dark mages, etc.)[[/note]]. so this trope tends to come up ''many'' times:
607*** Donnel is a villager-turned-soldier in Chrom's army, while Lissa is a TomboyPrincess, and Maribelle is the daughter of a duke, and Donnel even shows interest in her before the S-rank.
608*** There's Laurent and [[spoiler: Lucina aka Chrom's daughter and Lissa's niece -- who can potentially be Maribelle's daughter]]. He actually [[AnguishedDeclarationOfLove refers to her heritage]] as one of the reasons why they shouldn't be together in the first place, [[spoiler: even when he can be fathered by either Virion or Ricken]].
609---->'''Laurent :''' You're [[spoiler: Chrom]]'s daughter, and in your veins runs the blood of [[spoiler: exalts and heroes]]... So how could a common man such as I ever be worthy of you? (...) I am in love with you, [[spoiler: Lucina]]. I can say it no plainer. I know I'm a fool to harbor a love far beyond my station, and yet...
610*** Not to mention, there's Vaike and either Lissa or Maribelle. As said above, they're both noblewomen and he's a former StreetUrchin.
611*** Kellam and either Lissa or Maribelle, too. In his and Maribelle's A support he specifically says he's a CountryMouse, and in the S one he mentions the "beneath one station" deal as he proposes to her.
612*** Gaius and either Lissa or Maribelle, since he is a LovableRogue and ex StreetUrchin. He also has similar dynamics with Sumia, a minor noble who is also a member of the Shepherds, and whom he sometimes calls "that crazy noblewoman".
613*** Lampshaded when a Male Avatar proposes to Sumia in their S support:
614---->"I'm a simple man with little in the way of wealth or land or social opportunity. And I certainly can't make you a princess like the heroines in your stories..."
615** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' features two different royal houses, so it has this trope up the wazoo as well:
616*** The PlayerCharacter is either a Prince or Princess. Almost everyone the Avatar can marry is of lower social standing than he or she is, and more than one of the prospect brides/grooms will mention the deal.
617*** The royal siblings of either Hoshido or Nohr also face this trope if they develop romantic ties with other characters. Beruka and Charlotte lampshade it if Xander shows a romantic interest in either of them since the first is is a former StreetUrchin now ProfessionalKiller, the latter is a slum-girl-turned-border guard... and he is the heir to the Nohrian throne, [[AmazonChaser who admires either girl because of her physical might rather than her origins]].
618*** The Avatar's best friend, Princess Azura, is both the stepdaughter of the Nohrian King Garon and the ward[[spoiler:/niece]] of the Hoshidan Queen Mikoto. [[spoiler: And later it turns out she's the daughter of the long-dead King of Valla]]. Naturally, if she marries a guy who isn't royalty, this trope will take place too.
619** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'':
620*** Dimitri (crown prince of Faerghus) can end up marrying Mercedes (a former member of House Bartels with no current noble status to her name) or Hapi (a commoner turned vagrant). In the former case, it does raise some eyebrows, until the people of Faerghus see how genuinely happy they are.
621*** Claude (a high-ranking noble of Leicester [[spoiler:and prince of Almyra]]) can end up marrying Leonie (a commoner mercenary). Their paired ending notes how shocked her fellow villagers were to see her in the garb of [[spoiler:a queen]].
622* ''VideoGame/Haven2020'': Yu is the daughter (or [[RuleSixtyThree son]]) of the president of [=ExaNova=], the Apiary's premier scientific corporation, and has spent most her life on the upper-class planet Top, while Kay grew up without parents on the commoner planet Truth. Class differences are the least of their worries, however, since the Apiary forbids relationships outside of the pairs decided by its [[BureaucraticallyArrangedMarriage Matchmaker system]].
623* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'':
624** This is the case for Alan, a commoner, and Bridget, a baron's daughter, two [=NPCs=] who are also ChildhoodFriends.
625** This trope gets deconstructed with Machias and serves as his FreudianExcuse for his hatred of the nobility. [[spoiler:His cousin, a commoner, fell in love with the heir to a count, but she ended up facing harassment from his family who wanted him to marry for political power, and it got to the point where she was DrivenToSuicide.]]
626* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
627** Link (an orphan of unspecified social standing) from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' ends getting a ChildhoodMarriagePromise from Princess Ruto.
628** Both [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Mipha]] and [[BodyguardCrush Zelda]] from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' are princesses who are confirmed to be in love with Link. Link himself -- while coming from a family of knights -- is specified to not be of noble birth, and at least one person (a [[HopelessSuitor rival suitor]] of Zelda) disapproved of his relationship with Zelda because of his commoner background.
629* In the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' games, this trope can apply depending on the chosen background of your Commander Shepard and your choice of romance options. If you're playing an Earth-born Shepard, and romance Liara, you've got the former-street-kid-done-good romancing the only daughter of one of Thessia's most influential families.
630** An aversion of sorts can happen in [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 the sequel]] for a male Shepard romancing Miranda. While Miranda is the [[DesignerBabies genetically enhanced daughter]] of the richest human in the galaxy, she is actually not that wealthy, having run away from her controlling “creator” years ago. That said, she does have the more refined tastes of a wealthy girl.
631* ''VideoGame/MuramasaTheDemonBlade'': Torahime (high family), Kisuke (common ninja).
632* In ''[[VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles Mystery Case Files: The Revenant's Hunt]]'', [[spoiler:the wealthy heiress Frances Boyle was in a relationship with Avondel's reject Alvin Croaker]]. Unfortunately, things ended very badly.
633* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
634** Mitsuru Kirijo, an heir to the Kirijo Group which is one of the largest corporations in Japan and ''the world'', is a potential love interest for the Male Protagonist in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. This does cause trouble as she is [[ArrangedMarriage betrothed to another]] in order to solidify the Kirijo Group. Though once the protagonist gets insulted by her unwanted fiance, she flat out dumps said fiance without any negative repercussions.
635** [[PlayerCharacter Yu Narukami]] (middle class) with Yukiko Amagi ({{Ojou}}), Rise Kujikawa (famous IdolSinger), or Ai Ebihara (NouveauRiche) are possible pairings in ''VideoGame/Persona4''.
636** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', [[PlayerCharacter Ren Amamiya]] (middle class) can romance [[{{Ojou}} Haru Okumura]], daughter of the president of a large food manufacturer. Like Mitsuru, she's also stuck with an ArrangedMarriage. Once she gets to talk to a ParentalSubstitute about her feelings on the matter, he helps her drop the betrothal, leaving the protagonist free to romance her.
637* This is the crux of the conflict between protagonist Arthur and his recently widowed OldFlame Mary in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2''. They definitely are both {{Hypocrite}}s about each other's families (his being the gang, hers being her dad and brother) but the true problem is that she comes from money and he doesn't. In a bit of DeliberateValuesDissonance, she married a more "suitable" man because rich women in the late 19th century didn't have the luxury of marrying for love. He even tells one of the girls in the gang that she gave him more time than she should have given the class circumstance.
638* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': Princess Peach is this to Mario. She's ''royalty'', and even if he does rescue her all the time, the players are led to believe he's little more than a plumber. This ''may'' be the case with Mario's younger brother Luigi and Princess Daisy too.
639* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'', Jade's sister Nephry and best friend, Peony, are in love with each other. The problem, of course, is that Peony is the Emperor's son (and, after his brothers are killed, becomes the heir and eventually Emperor himself), and Nephry is a commoner. Further complicating things, is that [[BecauseDestinySaysSo the Score says]] that she'll marry someone else. Regardless of Nephry's marriage, [[ChivalrousPervert Peony]] [[TheFirstCutisTheDeepest remains in love with her and refuses to marry anyone else.]]
640* Welkin and Alicia in ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles''. Welkin is the son of a general, grew up in a big house, went to university where he received officer training and is a lieutenant in the militia. Alicia grew up in an orphanage, was an apprentice baker before she was called up, and is a sergeant in the militia. They make it work.
641* In ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', Viego, king of a long-forgotten land, fell in love with a beautiful but lowly seamstress called Isolde. It was a fairy-tale romance, with the two of them being inseperable and Viego lavishing her with all of his attention and anything she could want. Unfortunately the story then becomes a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of this trope, as Viego (already a weak, lazy and apathetic ruler) [[LoveRuinsTheRealm neglected his kingly duties]] until both his disgruntled allies and his enemies plotted to assassinate him. An attempt with a poisoned dagger instead mortally wounded Isolde, driving Viego to maddened desperation. When she died, he sought the Water of Life kept at the Blessed Isles, having his army butcher everyone in their path until he reached it, and used it to revive her... [[CameBackWrong as a maddened wraith]], who stabbed him with his own magic sword, unleashing the devastating force of the Ruination which turned the Blessed Isles into the cursed Shadow Isles. Viego would eventually return as a mad ruler of the undead, unable to remember the circumstances of his death, unleashing the ghoulish forces of the Harrowing on Runeterra in a mindless attempt to get Isolde back at any cost. [[HowWeGotHere And that's why Viego's Champion title is "the Ruined King".]]
642* In ''Merge Mansion'' Ursula states that her husband Charlie was "a poor carpenter's son from the wrong side of town".
643[[/folder]]
644
645[[folder:Visual Novels]]
646* The trope is key to the premise of ''VisualNovel/BeMyPrincess'', a RomanceGame in which an ordinary young woman falls in love with any one of six princes and inevitably faces opposition from her love interest's royal family and others around them who don't approve of the relationship.
647* In ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'', the heroine is a [[ContemporaryCaveman hunter-gatherer barbarian who lives in a cave]] and dates pigeons. One of said pigeons is the snobby UpperClassTwit fantail Shirogane Le Bel Sakuya, and if she pursues him, they can end up a gender-inverted Type A version (Sakuya's family isn't too thrilled with his artistic aspirations, let alone his interest in a shabby human girl).
648* In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', Shizune Hakamichi is the deaf-mute StudentCouncilPresident as well as the eldest daughter of a very rich family from Saitama. If she's the chosen one, then middle-class protagonist Hisao not only will get quite the glimpse of her BigFancyHouse but will have to deal with her LargeHam JerkAss CEO of a father Jigoro.
649** To a milder degree, there's [[spoiler: Shizune's cousin]] Lilly Satou, who's also from a quite loaded family. You don't ''have'' to deal with her parents since they live in Inverness (Scotland) but with her CoolBigSis Akira who ''does'' take a liking to you. [[spoiler: And then the Satous decide that Lilly should go back to Scotland...]]
650* In ''VisualNovel/AKnightsDevotion'', the heroine is a princess, and all of her potential love interests are knights. Not all of them see her royal status as a reason not to pursue a relationship, but Lute in particular is very conscious of the differences in their status.
651* In ''VisualNovel/SeducedInTheSleeplessCity'', the heroine is a reporter and writer for a women's magazine who becomes involved with a group of A-list celebrities and falls for one of them. How much of an obstacle the difference in their social class is varies from route to route, but it usually at least complicates matters.
652* If [[{{Ojou}} Remi Himekawa]] is the chosen lover in ''VisualNovel/TrueLoveJunaiMonogatari'', the trope is also in play. Both her UnluckyChildhoodFriend [[spoiler: and her dad]] will '''not''' let the PlayerCharacter forget it. [[spoiler: Unless Remi's route is finished correctly, which involves [[RescueRomance saving Remi from a kidnapper]] among other things; Mr. Himekawa will be so impressed by the MC's courage that he'll lift the [[ParentalMarriageVeto Parental Dating Veto]] and give him and Remi their blessings.]]
653* From ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', George, a member of the obscenely wealthy Ushiromiya family, is in a secret relationship with Shannon, one of the servants at the main house. Similarly, Jessica Ushiromiya is in love with a male servant, Kanon. [[spoiler:Subverted since it turns out that Shannon and Kanon are actually the same person, Sayo Yasuda, who is an illegitimate child of Kinzo Ushiromiya ''and'' the true head of the family, having been granted the headship by Kinzo before he died.]]
654* In ''VisualNovel/LongLiveTheQueen'', Elodie is the crown princess of the kingdom of Nova, and one of her love interests is a common baker's son named Evrard. [[spoiler:If you want to actually go through with marrying him, you will need a very good relationship with the nobility.]]
655* Sonia Nevermind of ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair'' is the princess of a minor (and fictional) European nation. Her main love interest, Gundam Tanaka, was born out of wedlock and is not very well off. Sonia is also a "datable" (no official romance occurs with anyone) character in Island Mode, where the social difference between her and protagonist [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy Hajime Hinata]] is quickly highlighted.
656** Perhaps an even more obvious example, Kazuichi Soda is absolutely crazy for Sonia, and he's a ''mechanic'' whose family runs a ''bike shop.'' Unfortunately for him, Sonia isn't [[AbhorrentAdmirer interested at all.]]
657** On the other hand, if you take Gundham's self-ascribed epithet, "The Supreme Overlord of Ice," seriously, then he and Sonia may in fact [[SubvertedTrope be quite evenly matched.]]
658* ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker'':
659** In every game, the Daughter (who tends to be a HappilyAdopted orphan raised by a local, who sometimes qualifies as nobility and sometimes not) has at least one PrincelyYoungMan among her prospective suitors.
660** The ''Daughter'' can be the Uptown Girl too if her game allows her love interest to be her family's butler.
661[[/folder]]
662
663[[folder:Webcomics]]
664* Beatrice and Alan in ''Webcomic/TheDreamer''. Beatrice is a daughter of a wealthy Tory in Boston; Alan is a dirt poor apple farmer in Roxbury.
665* ''Webcomic/KaitenMutenmaru'': [[spoiler:Gender inverted. Sick was a young aristocratic boy in love with Anne, a kind-hearted commoner his age.]]
666* In ''Webcomic/KnightsOfBuenaVista'', Mary is stated to be from a wealthy family, and she is dating Bill, who is from a middle-class family.
667* The {{yaoi}} webcomic ''WebComic/{{Teahouse}}'' centres around a brothel commonly frequented by the upper class, with Rhys and Reed implied to be particularly important members of society. The brothel owner himself is also far higher in status than Linnaeus, who was given to Xanthe's father in lieu of payment for a gambling debt.
668* ''Webcomic/TilDebtDoUsPart'': Subin, who is from a working-class background, marries into the very wealthy Ji family as she is indebted to the eldest son, Yejun. The financial disparity between them stops becoming an issue as they develop true feelings for one another.
669[[/folder]]
670
671%%[[folder:Web Original]]
672%%[[/folder]]
673
674[[folder:Web Video]]
675* ''Webvideo/TheAutobiographyOfJaneEyre'': Rose Oliver comes from an extremely wealthy family and pampered background (she's the daughter of the chief of surgery at the hospital where Simon-James Rivers works). Simon reasons that he could not date a girl like this, being a young, penniless doctor. She has a crush on him, he's not so eager, and they don't end up together.
676* There's a one-sided version on ''Series/TheCryOfMann''. The wealthy corporation-founder Tank Mann fell in love with the lower-class and struggling Courtney for the ambition and spark she had in spite of her misfortune. Unfortunately, his kids didn't see it the same way and treated Courtney as an outsider, and for Courtney's part, it was more of a MarriageOfConvenience.
677* A deconstruction occurs in ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss''. Blitzo, a lowly imp, is in a homosexual relationship of sorts with Stolas, one of the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Princes]] of {{Hell}}. The [[UnequalPairing massive societal gap between them]] creates a divide in their relationship, as Blitzo's InferioritySuperiorityComplex causes him to avoid accepting genuine emotional attachment to him. In the Season 1 finale, [[spoiler: when they're being publicly humiliated by Asmodeus, Stolas has trouble making eye contact with him and Blitzo is heartbroken by this perceived rejection, as he wanted to believe Stolas thought of him as an equal but instead had all of his doubts validated.]]
678** Played straight with Beelzebub and Vortex, the former being one of the SevenDeadlySins and rulers of Hell with the latter being a lowly {{hellhound}} bodyguard.
679[[/folder]]
680
681[[folder:Western Animation]]
682* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'': [[FairCop Caitlyn]] is heir to the very wealthy and politically powerful House Kiramman which has a seat on the ruling Council. Her ImpliedLoveInterest [[WordOfGay Vi]] is from the [[WretchedHive Undercity]], and a penniless prisoner Caitlyn [[RecruitingTheCriminal recruited out of prison]] to help her investigation. Caitlyn's mother clearly does not approve.
683* [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderSokka Sokka's]] courtship of Princess Yue in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is played like this. When Sokka claims to technically be a prince of the Southern Water Tribe, his sister Katara laughs in his face, as the southern tribe doesn't have any kind of royalty whatsoever, with Sokka being merely the son of the chieftain. Furthermore, Sokka had been WanderingTheEarth for months with a RagtagBandOfMisfits and couldn't even compare to Yue's ErmineCapeEffect. Despite this however, Yue did reciprocate his feelings, although at the time she was slated for an ArrangedMarriage for political reasons, in line with this trope.
684* Dana's [[BoyfriendBlockingDad father]] is less than happy about her relationship with Terry in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'', although it has less to do with their socioeconomic differences than Terry's criminal record.
685* Deconstructed in ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'': [[Characters/BojackHorsemanBeatriceHorseman Beatrice Horseman]] is a wealthy debutante and the heir to Sugarman Sugar while Butterscotch is a poor StarvingArtist writer. The marriage falls apart however due to UnequalPairing. Beatrice is used to a very wealthy and privileged lifestyle and Butterscotch can't provide that making her bitterly miss her former life. Beatrice can't adapt to a lower-middle class lifestyle and is unused to the work she has to put in making her a poor mother and partner. It's implied that everyone would have been happier had Beatrice married her wealthy suitor Corbin Creamerman.
686* Danny and Sam (though it's less poor/rich than middle class/incredibly rich) in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', though Sam doesn't really care much about her family's comically vast fortune, rarely tells anyone about it, and the series itself only occasionally draws attention to it. Despite that, it's pretty clear that Sam's parents don't exactly like her friends, and the various [[SecretIdentity unexplainable]] ghost-related hijinks that happen over the course of the series don't help much.
687* Lois and [[Characters/FamilyGuyPeterGriffin Peter Griffin]] in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''; she comes from an old money family and he was a groundskeeper for their estate. In one of the show's most truly-touching flashbacks to their courtship, Lois leaves her parents' high-class ball to meet with Peter at the servants' much livelier party. She dances with him and realizes she loves him more than her family's money. Naturally, [[DatingWhatDaddyHates her father disapproves]], and Carter's hatred for his son-in-law is a running joke throughout the series.
688* ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'': When Fred and Barney first met Wilma and Betty, the four of them were holding summer jobs at a hotel but a series of misunderstandings caused Fred and Barney to think the girls were wealthy guests and the girls to think the boys were wealthy guests.
689* [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAsamiSato Asami Sato]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' is a SpoiledSweet version who is a fan of [[FictionalSport Pro-Bending]] StreetUrchin [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraMako Mako]] before she runs into him-quite literally, she hits him with her moped and invites him to dinner to make up for it. In a twist, her wealthy industrialist father takes a shine to Mako because he reminds him of his own RagsToRiches background and offers to sponsor their team in the Pro-Bending Championships. [[spoiler:Then it turns out Asami's dad outright hates Mako, calling him a "Fire-bending streetrat". It's probably the first part of that description Hiroshi really hates.]]
690** Mako's [[LoveTriangle other love interest]] [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraAvatarKorra Korra]] may qualify and isn't so different from Asami: though she's not personally wealthy, the [[HeroSecretService Order of the White Lotus]] has provided for her every need since she was a child and gave her a lovely GildedCage to live in, making her something of an {{Ojou}} with the attitude of a {{Tomboy}}.
691** [[Characters/TheLegendOfKorraBolin Bolin]] continues the trend with his relationship with Opal, daughter of the incredibly wealthy Suyin Bei Fong, matriarch of the famous utopian city Zaofu. One of their first conversations takes place over dinner in Opal's family's beautiful, sprawling estate, where she comments, "I don't think I've ever had a bad meal in my life," only to be heartbroken when Bolin relates the kind of meals he ate growing up on the streets. While no parents or anyone else object to their romance, Bolin is initially ''very'' nervous about pursuing his feelings for her, and it's not hard to see why.
692** Bolin's first love interest, Korra's cousin Eska, was another example since her father was the chieftain of the Northern Water Tribe. Unlike the other examples, their relationship was anything but healthy (Eska treated him like a slave and was [[ClingyJealousGirl incredibly possessive]]).
693* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Middle-class [[Characters/MiraculousLadybugMarinetteDupainCheng Marinette Dupain-Cheng]] has a crush on SpoiledSweet fashion model and heir [[Characters/MiraculousLadybugAdrienAgreste Adrien Agreste]]. Equally rich Chloe Bourgeois has the hots for Adrien too, but he is clearly not into her.
694* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda's]] single mother works as a veterinarian and she herself is apprenticed to public enemy #1. [[spoiler:Her eventual girlfriend [[Characters/TheOwlHouseAmityBlight Amity Blight]] is the daughter to two [[BlueBlood Blue-blooded]] arms dealers. Amity's mother vocally disapproves of the relationship due to [[HeroWithBadPublicity Luz being a wanted criminal]] by the time she finds out (though considering that she previously tried to have Luz killed, it's unlikely that a lack of a criminal status would have changed her mind much).]]
695* ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': Miranda (a shoemaker) and Roland the Second (a King).
696* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' reveals that [[Characters/StevenUniverseGarnet Ruby and Sapphire]] had this kind of relationship when they first met, with Ruby being a lowly soldier assigned to bodyguard the aristocratic Sapphire.
697%%* Eloise and Tag in ''WesternAnimation/StreetFootball''.
698* ''WesternAnimation/WheelSquad'': Bob and Emilie. Bob's Dad gives private music lessons for a living and Emilie's stepfather is a wealthy businessman.
699* Gender flipped in ''WesternAnimation/TitanicTheLegendGoesOn'': Angelica is the poor girl who ends up in a relationship with wealthy William.
700* ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'':
701** This trope is both played straight and gender-swapped when Bloom and Stella find out that their respective boyfriends, Brandon and Sky, actually swapped identities when they came to school, so wealthy Solarian princess Stella is really dating lowly squire Brandon, and Prince Sky of Eraklyon is dating Bloom, at a time when Bloom was just a girl from Earth who had to shop for a formal dress in the clearance section. While Brandon is somewhat intimidated by her status and at times worries he can't compete as a commoner, Stella soon doesn't care and doesn't face much opposition from others, while Sky's parents don't approve of Bloom not being a princess [[spoiler:although they still don't think much of her after she becomes one.]]
702[[/folder]]
703
704[[folder:Real Life ]]
705* Despite having been the inspiration for the TropeNamer, the relationship between singer Billy Joel and supermodel Christie Brinkley is an [[AvertedTrope aversion of this trope]], because despite his lower-class, "kid from the streets" origins, Billy Joel was ''loaded'' at the time he married her.
706* Similarly, Sean "Music/JayZ" Carter and Music/{{Beyonce}} Knowles. Beyoncé comes from an upper-middle-class family and grew up in a nice home in the Houston, TX suburbs. Both of her parents had very successful careers in their own rights before she was famous.[[note]] Her father who has a [=PHD=] in business worked at Xerox prior to quitting to be her manager where he stayed until 2012. Her mother owned a very successful hair salon.[[/note]] Jay-Z was raised by a poor single mother in the public-housing projects of Brooklyn and at one point sold crack cocaine to make ends meet. However, both of them were easily multimillionaires in their own rights when they met and are now worth somewhere around three billion dollars between the two of them. Most estimates clock his net worth at the $2.5 billion ballpark and hers in the mid $500 million range.
707* Japanese Emperor Emeritus [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihito Akihito]] was the first to break tradition by marrying a "commoner", [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Michiko_of_Japan Shōda Michiko]]. The daughter of a flour magnate ("commoner" here means "not of Imperial or noble blood"; her family was hardly poor), she was a doubly strange bride for an imperial heir because her family was [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseChristian Catholic]] (though Michiko herself [[ConvertingForLove converted to Shinto to marry Akihito]]). Her troubles didn't exactly stop with her and Akihito's wedding, however, as a good part of the Royal Family (and ''especially'' Akihito's mother, Princess Nagako/Dowager Empress Kojun) still didn't like her.
708* Music/IrvingBerlin's second wife Ellin Mackay was the daughter of Clarence Mackay, an extremely wealthy man (he was the head of a major telegraph company) who did ''not'' approve of his daughter's courtship with a "poor Jewish immigrant" (though at this point, Berlin was wealthy himself, the most popular songwriter of his time). Newspapers liked to play up the romance of an immigrant from the Lower East Side Manhattan and a young heiress.
709* Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Larry Fortensky in the early 1990s, only to be subverted in the subsequent divorce (then again, it was her ''seventh'' divorce).
710* UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfWindsor:
711** The marriage of Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother) was considered this since even though Elizabeth was an earl's daughter, at the time princes were only expected to marry princesses. She even refused his first two proposals because she didn't think she could handle royal life. The marriage was probably only allowed because Albert was [[SpareToTheThrone a second son]] who [[TemptingFate wasn't expected to become King]]. As a result of their union, Queen Elizabeth II was born much less inbred than other contemporary royals. Since Elizabeth II began to reign, no member of the British Royal Family has married a member of foreign royalty.
712** After less than a year on the throne, Edward VIII (elder brother to the above) provoked public scandal by proposing to Wallis Simpson, who was not only American but twice divorced, which was at the time forbidden by the Church of England. He ultimately chose to [[AbdicateTheThrone abdicate]] so he could marry her and they took the courtesy titles Duke and Duchess of Windsor, effectively living out the rest of their days in exile from the United Kingdom.
713** In 2005, his great-nephew Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, who was well-off but divorced and not noble. Notably, she had been his [[RemarriedToTheMistress mistress]] during his disasterous first marriage to the more respectable Lady Diana Spencer, who he later admitted he had married more out of obligation than affection.
714** Princess Margaret, daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and younger sister of Elizabeth II: has a romance with Peter Townsend, a RAF officer. Their relationship was very controversial in the 1940s-50s because he was a divorced man. Margaret abandoned her plans with Townsend and married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones, the son of a Welsh barrister and a socialite of German-Jewish ancestry (who proceeded to divorce the barrister and marry an Irish earl). Armstrong-Jones was created Earl of Snowdon to make him acceptable for marriage to a royal princess according to 1960 sensibilities.
715** The marriage of Prince William to middle-class Kate Middleton was of major significance to the media. While the Middletons are multimillionaires, they were not noble.
716** As was that of his brother Prince Harry to Creator/MeghanMarkle, although she herself was already fairly wealthy due to her acting work.
717* The Crown Prince of Nepal, Dipendra, who wanted to marry Devyani Rana, daughter of Pashupati SJB Rana, a member of the Rana clan, against whom the Shah dynasty have a historic animosity. Though the 'Prime Minister's family' doesn't seem like much of a step down from 'Royal Family' for most people, well...most people aren't royal families. As such on June 1, 2001, this lead to the Royal Family killing spree incident.
718* OlderThanPrint: [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire Prince Justinian I]] married Theodora, who was an [[TheWickedStage actress]]/[[HighClassCallGirl 'actress']], thereby combining this trope with a measure of RagsToRoyalty. He actually [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem abolished the laws prohibiting their marriage.]]
719** This example is slightly downplayed by the fact that Justinian's uncle and predecessor, Justin I, was also an example of RagsToRoyalty. A rich person marrying a poor person for love is less surprising when the latter is New Money (as therefore they're less likely to be judgmental towards lower classes).
720* The writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in his youth fell in love with the socialite Ginevra King. Her father told him that "poor boys had no business marrying rich girls." Mr. King then introduced his daughter to his business associates and encouraged her to choose among them. She complied and Fitzgerald later based Daisy Buchanan from Literature/TheGreatGatsby on her.
721* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria Franz Ferdinand]] was the Archduke of Austria-Hungary and heir to the Imperial throne. His wife [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophie,_Duchess_of_Hohenberg Sophie]] was old Bohemian noble stock[[note]]she originally was a Countess, then a Duchess[[/note]] but still lacked the requisite ancestry for equal marriage to a member of [[TheClan the Habsburg imperial family.]] As such, due to her "lower" status and despite how HappilyMarried the two were, she was not allowed to appear with her husband at social events. Then he took her a military review to Sarajevo since that was a non-official visit and she would be permitted to sit with him publically... and their [[TogetherInDeath assassination]] sparked UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
722* [[https://brightside.me/inspiration-relationships/an-untouchable-from-india-fell-in-love-with-an-aristocrat-and-proved-to-the-entire-world-that-love-has-no-boundaries-487110/ PK Mahanandia]], a man who belonged to a Dalit family, the lowest caste of untouchables in Indian society. "I was treated worse than stray dogs", "people threw stones at me". During his youth, Pradyumna drew portraits in the streets of Delhi, where he met a tourist named Charlotte Von Schedvin who came from the Swedish aristocracy. He remembered a prediction at once and began asking her questions while drawing her portrait, "It all fits," he said, "you are meant to be my wife.". The couple became involved romantically, and when she returned to Sweden, PK Mahanandia begin a journey by bicycle from New Delhi to Gothenburg, where they finally got together.
723[[/folder]]
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