History Main / FirstLove

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Creator/DanaTerrace [[WordOfGod confirmed in a Reddit AMA]] that the reason [[spoiler: [[Characters/TheOwlHouseAmityBlight Amity Blight]]]] acts so flustered around [[Characters/TheOwlHouseLuzNoceda Luz Noceda]] late in season one is because Luz was [[spoiler: Amity's]] first big crush.

* ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': Tamlin to Feyre. She had been with Isaac prior to meeting Tamlin, but their relationship was purely about sex rather than love and Tamlin is the first man she fell in love with. Unfortunately, it doesn't last.

* ''Literature/BridgeToTerabithia'': in this TearJerker of a novel, this trope is subtly implied with the friendship between Jess and his friend Leslie, a girl who introduces him to the titular Terabithia, and this variety of the "special, sweet, innocent" type of first love, on both Jess and Leslie's parts, as Jess realises it was not his teacher with whom he's really in love, but Leslie. [[spoiler: Thus her death hits him hard.]]
* In the ''Literature/CassonFamilySeries'', Rose Casson's First Love has always been American [[FirstGirlWins boy]] Tom Levin, and fans are waiting eagerly to see the long-anticipated [[RelationshipUpgrade resolution]] to their relationship.
* In Creator/CharlesDickens' novel ''Literature/DavidCopperfield'', this is an important element, used both ways, [[spoiler:since David marries his first love, Dora, only to realise that they are not well-suited. He loves her but she can't be a partner to him. Upon her death, he marries Agnes, who considered ''him'' to be her first love, and who had loved him the whole time. A rare case of both the unhappy First Love type and the triumphant First Love type, for Agnes, who ultimately ends up marrying David - in one story]].
* In ''[[Literature/FelseInvestigates Death and The Joyful Woman]]'' by Creator/EllisPeters, 14-year-old Dominic Felse falls hard for Kitty Norris; they don't end up together, but they part amicably having both gained from their interactions.
* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', Harry's First Love was Elaine Lillian Mallory, a fellow apprentice of a wizard he learned dark magic from. Given Harry's [[CartwrightCurse luck with women, or lack thereof]], it ended somewhat badly, and when she reappears in a later novel, Harry is feels pangs when he sees her again.

* An important element in the novels of Creator/JaneAusten, who uses the First Love trope often under the role of WrongGuyFirst, and her examples are as follows:
** In ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'', Lizzie is infatuated with Wickham before she eventually realising that he is not a decent person and that Darcy, a man she scorned, is a true gentleman. The concept of the first love is also humorously undermined when Mr. Collins rapidly transfers his affections from Jane to Lizzie to Charlotte Lucas.
** In ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'', Marianne has to move past Willoughby before appreciating the worth of Colonel Brandon. Prior to the story beginning, Edward Ferrars has imprudently gotten engaged to Lucy Steele, which prevents him from courting Elinor. As far as we know, however, Edward ''is'' Elinor's first love.
** These are all examples of First Loves going wrong, but Austen also has a few examples among her repertoire of First Love turning out right:
*** In ''Literature/{{Persuasion}}'', Anne's early romance with Captain Wentworth had been scuttled by her family, but she never forgot him. Their paths cross again years later and she has to watch him court others before eventually winning him back.
*** In ''{{Literature/Emma}}'', Emma thinks she's in love with Frank Churchill, but when she discovers her true feelings for another she realises she never really loved Frank. Meanwhile, she persuades Harriet that her first love wasn't good enough for her, so Harriet sets her sights on various unobtainable men before gratefully accepting her first love's proposal again.
*** In ''Literature/MansfieldPark'', Edmund has to be burned by Mary Crawford before he recognises Fanny's worth, and Fanny is almost tempted away from Edmund, her first love, by Mary's brother Henry.
* Creator/GeorgetteHeyer uses this trope several times in her novels. One notable example is ''Literature/BathTangle'' in which one main character has to recognise the shallowness of her attachment to her First Love before accepting a match with [[BelligerentSexualTension an antagonistic friend.]] The issue of First Love versus SecondLove is even more seriously in ''Literature/ACivilContract'', in which the main character is unable to marry his First Love, but ultimately develops a deeper (if less passionate) emotional bond with the wife he married for her fortune.
* Captain Paul Tankersley for Literature/HonorHarrington. He was the executive officer to her biggest enemy in the first book, ''On Basilisk Station''; they met again in ''The Short Victorious War'' when he oversaw repairs to her battlecruiser ''HMS Nike'', and became sparring partners and subsequently lovers. His [[spoiler:death and her grief in ''Field of Dishonor'']] drive her character arc for the next several books, and it takes her years to fall in love again. Though she ultimately ends up [[spoiler:HappilyMarried to her SecondLove Hamish Alexander, Earl White Haven (and [[{{Polyamory}} by extension his wife Emily as well]]), she keeps Paul's memory in her heart all her life]], naming her private yacht after him.
* ''Literature/IWantToEatYourPancreas'': In a segment only found in the novel, the protagonist relates to Sakura a story about his first love, a girl with a habit of referring to inanimate objects as [[UsefulNotes/JapaneseHonorifics "-san"]]. [[spoiler: The epilogue reveals Haruki made this story up and didn't have the heart to correct Sakura afterwards, with the phrasing he uses afterwards implying that Sakura was his real FirstLove.]]
* Early in ''Literature/TheMetamorphoses'' is the story of Apollo and his first love, Daphne.
* In ''Seeds'' by M. M. Kin Persephone is Hades' first and only love. He was FriendsWithBenefits with Leuce and Minthe before, but Persephone is the first woman he loves for real. Unfortunately this means he often acts like a lovesick teenager and do stupid thing in order to keep her by his side.
* ''Literature/SavingCharlie'' is about Hiro's time-traveling shenanigans in order to win and save Charlie, the first girl who has ever even so much as given him the time of day. They've both had crushes on other people, and Charlie has [[GreenEyedMonster a jealous ex]], but neither has felt anything quite like this relationship.
* Deuce and Penny in ''Literature/{{Edenborn}}''. Despite the fact that both of them are completely wrapped up in the experience of First Love, they're disastrously wrong for each other.

* ''Literature/LastNightAtTheTelegraphClub'': Kath is this for Lily who has never dated or felt this way for anyone before.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Creator/DanaTerrace [[WordOfGod confirmed in a Reddit AMA]] that the reason [[spoiler: Amity]] acts so flustered around Luz late in season one is because Luz was [[spoiler: Amity's]] first big crush.

* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' is a CelibateHero for the first four seasons. After helping Ashi reform, she became the first woman with whom he falls in love. [[spoiler:Their romance ends in tragedy, since she's Aku's daughter and destroying her father in the past means [[RetGone preventing her birth]]. The last scene in the series, where Jack finds a ladybug (due to the legend of ladybugs and love), suggests he might one day find love again]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons,'' Bart's is [[PrecociousCrush teenaged neighbor]] Laura Powers from the episode "New Kid on the Block," who he calls "the only girl I ever loved" in "Another Simpsons Clip Show," before we see him interact with other love interests.

* ''Series/FellowTravelers'': The late Kenneth Willard was Hawkins Fuller's 11th grade classmate and tennis partner, and he was the first person Hawk had developed romantic feelings for. Hawk keeps a TragicKeepsake of his beloved in the form of a paperweight that Kenny gave to him while they were on their senior trip. When Hawk stops by his family's home, he goes to his old bedroom to take out a tennis trophy that he and Kenny had won, and he reminisces about their time together.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* TheWalkerBrothers said it best: First Love Never Dies[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg6CgrY3VUs]]
* The Japanese version of the song "Time To Love" sung by K-Pop group T-Ara has a line in the chorus that specifically mentions this: “[...] Kienai, hatsukoi.” (“You won’t disappear, my first love”)

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{Rwby}}'': Yang is confirmed by WordOfGod to have never been in love before. So, the person she does fall for ends up being her first love. [[spoiler:This is confirmed by the writers after she and Blake get together in Volume 9; until she fell for Blake, she [[ClosetKey didn't even know]] she was attracted to women.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{Rwby}}'': Thanks to WordOfGod, we know that[[spoiler: Blake is the first person Yang fell in love with. She is also Yang's ClosetKey]]

* In the ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' fanfic ''Fanfic/WalkingInCircles'', before falling in love with Solas, Evelyn was involved with a young mage named Anselm. He was taken to the Kirkwall Circle when his mentor was revealed to be a blood mage. When Evelyn goes there with Monette, she discovers that Anselm had been made Tranquil for a few years and was killed during the Circle Annulment. [[TheLostLenore His fate]] is one of the first steps for Evelyn to grow her hatred for the Circles and Templars, which eventually pushes her [[spoiler: to side with her SecondLove Solas]] once she becomes the Inquisitor.

* Smurfette was Hero's first love in ''Fanfic/HeroTheGuardianSmurf''. Then his OppositeSexClone Wonder appears and she becomes Hero's SecondLove and the first of the two Smurfettes he marries in the series. Smurfette, seeing that there is nobody among her fellow male Smurfs that is appropriate for her besides Hero, waits until Wonder dies before she ties the knot with Hero.

* Music/JustinBieber's "Baby" is about heartbreak after a first love. {{Music/Ludacris}} [[AWildRapperAppears is featured]] and raps about his own first love at 13.

[[folder: Mythology and Religion]]

* Music/JustinBieber's "Baby" is about heartbreak after a first love. Music/Ludacris [[AWildRapperAppears is featured]] and raps about his own first love at 13.

* Music/JustinBieber: "My first love broke my heart for the first time, and I was like BABY BAY BAY OH"

* The Japanese version of the song “Time To Love” sung by K-Pop group T-Ara has a line in the chorus that specifically mentions this: “[...] Kienai, hatsukoi.” (“You won’t disappear, my first love”)

* ''Film/TheManInTheMoon'' is about Dani, a young tomboy who falls for her new neighbor Court in 1950s rural Louisiana. After becoming close, Court agrees to be Dani's first kiss. She later confesses she's in love with him, [[spoiler: though it's not requited]]. [[Spoiler:He then dies in a horrific tractor accident, rendering the romantic drama moot.]]

* ''Film/TheManInTheMoon'' is about Dani, a young tomboy who falls for her new neighbor Court in 1950s rural Louisiana. After becoming close, Court agrees to be Dani's first kiss. She later confesses she's in love with him, [[spoiler: though it's not requited]].

** While not explicitly stated, it's very likely that Louis de Pointe du Lac and Jonah Macon, ChildhoodFriends who developed a ChildhoodFriendRomance during their late adolescence, are each other's first love, especially when one factors in the racism and the homophobia of the late 19th century. Although their paths diverged for many years, their feelings for each other are still apparent when they meet again in 1917 when Louis is nearly middle-aged, which demonstrates how powerful their emotional attachment was during their youth because [[OldFlame they're both still carrying a torch]] at least two decades later.

* In ''Series/{{iCarly}}'', Freddie Benson's first crush and his first love will always be Carly Shay, and he is so sincere in this that he has told her that he will be her second husband if necessary, implying that he will always stay true to his First Love.

* ''Series/StrangerThings'': Between Mike and Eleven, who are around twelve and obviously experiencing attraction to each other for the first time. It's almost a foregone conclusion. Later, Lucas and Max in Season 2. Also Dustin's girlfriend in Season 3, Steve for Nancy in Season 1 (and it's implied that although Steve has had many girlfriends, his feelings for Nancy were much stronger, since he's still hung up on her in Season 3.).
* In ''Series/WildPalms'', Paige Katz is Harry's first love from college. His wife, Gracie, is of course suspicious when Paige and Harry become close again after years apart.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Buffy and Angel: Angel never really loved anyone before, being a drunken wastrel when he was alive and demon after his death. Buffy never loved anyone before, as she was sixteen when they met (and [[{{Squick}} fifteen]] when he first saw her).
* Lancelot was Guinevere's first love, and is explicitly identified as such on ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}''.

* Series/{{Arrowverse}}
** ''Series/{{Arrow}}'':
*** Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance. Even though they never really get back together, it's fairly obvious that they still love each other. [[spoiler:When Laurel died, it drove Oliver closer to a breakdown than ever before. His complicated feelings for Black Siren, Laurel's Earth-2 counterpart, specifically his desire to redeem her, is partially motivated out of the love he still has for his Laurel]].
*** Nyssa al Ghul's first love was Sara Lance, and her actress outright states that Sara was the love of her life. It gets deconstructed during Nyssa's first appearance: because Sara was the first person she ever loved in such a fashion, Nyssa was determined to make Sara come back to the League of Assassins by any means necessary, including poisoning Sara's sister Laurel and kidnapping and threatening to kill Sara's mother. It was only after Sara nearly committed suicide to ensure she'd never have to go back that Nyssa finally relented and released her from her vows.
** ''Series/TheFlash2014'': Barry Allen's is Iris West. He's loved her all his life, before he even knew what love was, and while he's tried to move on from her (with Linda Park, and later Patty Spivot), it always comes back to her in the end. With Iris, it's a little more complicated -- while she started a relationship with Eddie Thawne first, and did love him, it's confirmed in "Cause and Effect" that she loved Barry long before she had even met Eddie, and that she just hadn't realized it yet.
** ''Series/Supergirl2015'': While she did have a crush on James Olsen first, Kara Danvers/Zor-El's first true love was [[spoiler:Prince]] Mon-El of Daxam. It goes both ways -- [[LadykillerInLove before he met Kara]], Mon-El was TheCasanova. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, they're also StarCrossedLovers. After Queen Rhea refuses to stop the Daxamite Invasion of Earth even after being personally defeated in TrialByCombat by Supergirl, Kara has no choice but to infuse the Earth's atmosphere with lead, making it poisonous to Daxamites and forcing Mon-El off-planet]].
* ''Series/{{Lucifer 2016}}'':
** Eve, the First Woman, was Lucifer's first love. All the stuff in the Bible about the apple was a metaphor for him seducing her. [[spoiler:Except, not really. While Lucifer did feel something for Eve, his first love has always been Chloe Decker, which he admits in the Season Four finale]].
** One of the reasons Lucifer was able to seduce Eve was because she always felt inferior to Lilith, Adam's first love. He apparently spent much of his time extolling her virtues and telling stories about her incredible deeds.
--->'''Eve:''' ''[mockingly]'' "Oh, Lilith tamed the beasts of the night!" Stupid... perfect... Lilith.\\
'''Maze:''' [[AbusiveParents She wasn't perfect]].\\
'''Eve:''' I'm so sorry... I completely forgot that she was your mother.\\
'''Maze:''' Yep. ''[takes a drink]'' So did she.
* ''Series/ElCorazonNuncaSeEquivoca'': Ari and Temo are each other's first love and they're also the show's OfficialCouple.
* ''Series/{{Poldark}}'':
** As in the book series, Ross Poldark went off to war, leaving his First Love Elizabeth, and returned to find she was marrying his cousin Francis. His struggle to move on from her, and his inability to forget her completely and focus on his SecondLove, his wife Delmeza (whose own First Love is Ross) is one of the main conflicts of the show.
* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'':
** While not explicitly stated, it's very likely that Louis de Pointe du Lac and Jonah Macon, ChildhoodFriends who developed a ChildhoodFriendRomance during their late adolescence, are each other's first love, especially when one factors in the racism and the homophobia of the late 19th century. Although their paths diverged for many years, their feelings for each other are still apparent when they meet again in 1917 when Louis is nearly middle-aged, which demonstrates how powerful their emotional attachment was during their youth because [[OldFlame they're both still carrying a torch]] at least two decades later.
** Charlie is Claudia's first boyfriend and the first guy she has fallen in love with.
** Claudia refers to Nicki (a diminutive for Nicolas) as Lestat de Lioncourt's first love.

** Claudia refers to Nicki (a diminutive for Nicolas) as Lestat's first love.

* Shirogane and Kaguya from ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' are both stated to be each others' first loves.

Compare TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest, where the first love is hard to get over and SecondLove, where the lover who has been in mourning for his First Love finds love again with his SecondLove. Also compare WrongGuyFirst, where the First Love turns out to be wrong for the lover, and FirstGirlWins, where the girl the boy first meets in the story ends up becoming his first and forever love, although sometimes this is turned on its head and she is actually his SecondLove, since this trope is mainly about how a boy meets a girl (or vice versa) within their series, but meeting someone first doesn't necessarily determine true love.

** Claudia refers to Nicky (a diminutive for Nicolas) as Lestat's first love.