History Main / ItMeantSomethingToMe

* Pretty much a given in {{Shoujo}} romantic drama animes. Especially if there's a LoveTriangle or something to that effect.
* Occurs often in the manga/anime ''Manga/PeachGirl''.
* Flay and Kira in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed''. Kira did like her, but when their relationship started she was ''definitely'' in {{Yandere}} mode, so she failed to realize that she did love him until it was too late. By the time she gets her emotional issues sorted out in that department, [[spoiler:Kira isn't around and she gets taken prisoner]] and it [[UnwittingPawn just goes downhill from there for her]].
* ''Anime/YuGiOh'' has one of these, in an indirect and implicit way in episode 90, when Mai asks Jonouchi/Joey whether she was in the dream he had of all his friends after he's knocked out by a bolt of lightning caused by Odion [[spoiler:pretending to be Marik, summoning Ra by using a counterfeit card]] in episode 89, at which point Joey gets shy/flustered and lies to her.

* In ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Tomoe lost her fiance [[spoiler: at the hands of Kenshin]], and Kenshin and Tomoe pose as a married couple for a time, but then they ''actually'' fall in love, and Kenshin tells her that their marriage needn't only be for show.
* In an early episode of ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', Kyon gets Yuki a library card, since that's the only way to get her out of the library and to the meeting with Haruhi in a reasonable timeframe. Kyon thinks nothing of it but during ''The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya'', [[spoiler:when Yuki rewrites the world so that she's a normal human, she is careful to keep that memory]].

* The AMinorKidtroduction of ''Film/{{Black Widow|2021}}'' shows Natasha Romanoff as the older daughter of a seemingly "normal" family of four living in the suburbs of Ohio, before it's revealed that this isn't her biological family at all; her "parents", Alexei and Melina, were a pair of Russian agents assigned to steal information from HYDRA, while Natasha and her "younger sister" Yelena were just there to be part of the ruse, and after the three-year mission was complete, were given over to the Red Room to be trained as Black Widows. Nevertheless, Yelena thought of them as [[FamilyOfChoice a real family]] because this is the only childhood she had, and is hurt by the rest of them saying it was just a mission and nothing more. Nat reveals to her at the end of the movie that it ''was'' real for her, too, and it's made pretty clear that Melina and Alexei both feel the same way.

* [[http://xkcd.com/355/ This]] ''Webcomic/{{Xkcd}}''

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Strong Bad of ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' does this when he accidentally deletes an email of two lovely ladies.
[[/folder]]

* In ''Xmen Origins: Wolverine'', Wolverine furiously tells this to Silver Fox when she ashamedly reveals him that their relationship was all a lie, as she was actually an undercover agent for Stryker who was sent to secretly keep an eye on him after he quit Team X. Turns out she felt the same way, despite her denials to the contrary.

Alice may or may not have feelings for Bob, but even if she does she'll defiantly say that their time together [[ItDoesntMeanAnything "meant nothing to me"]], to which Bob will plead his love with "It meant something to me, dammit!" This might be substituted with "I felt something!" and "I felt nothing!" Of course, Bob will storm off heartbroken that the woman he loves has just shot him down like a World War One observation balloon.

Compare BecomingTheMask. May also be stated after asking the question, "WasItAllALie".

* On ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', when Joy was still married to Earl [[YourCheatingHeart (but having an affair with Darnell)]], a recurring problem in Joy and Darnell's illicit relationship is that it's all about sex. Joy is OK with that [[spoiler: (she actually did love Earl and wasn't ready to leave him at that point)]], but Darnell wants to actually go out on dates and be a real couple. Joy tells him that it's out of the question because she's already married, and the two proceed to argue. [[spoiler: She angrily dumps him for a while, but they eventually get back together… and a few years (and a ChocolateBaby) later she finally leaves Earl for Darnell.]]

Alice and Bob (though gender reversals are common here) have decided that they want to pretend to be a couple to [[OperationJealousy make their exes jealous]], or pretend they're HappilyMarried to make sure [[CitizenshipMarriage Bob isn't deported]], or decide that sex doesn't need to have an emotional attachment and become FriendsWithBenefits.

It all goes along swimmingly, until Bob starts feeling something for Alice. It can start by finding out she and he are very compatible, or as a jealous GreenEyedEpiphany when she goes off with a boyfriend or has sex with someone else. Eventually, their perfect arrangement starts to fall apart as the ground rules are broken, leading to a confrontation.

If Alice ''really'' doesn't have feelings for Bob, then it's heartbreak time (happily, Bob will likely come to realize he's been [[ObliviousToLove thoroughly neglecting]] Claire and [[CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds hook up with her]]). If her intentions were malicious, she's an IntentionalHeartbreaker. If she does, she's likely been denying her feelings, something another character will have to spell out to her very plainly before she realizes she loves Bob, and goes after him seeking forgiveness.

* In an early episode of ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'', Kyon gets Yuki a library card, since that's the only way to get her out of the library and to the meeting with Haruhi in a reasonable timeframe. Kyon thinks nothing of it, but during ''The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya'', [[spoiler:when Yuki rewrites the world so that she's a normal human, she is careful to keep that memory]].

* In ''Life as We Know It'', Holly and Messer are forced to live together like husband and wife and raise their goddaughter after her parents die. Of course, they hate each other, but grow to like each other. After it gets too serious, Messer leaves for a job in Phoenix. He comes back for Thanksgiving, after which Holly gets with [[RomanticFalseLead Sam]]. Messer admits that he actually loved Holly.

* This is various played straight, averted, and subverted in layers on ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' between the title character and his CIA handler Sarah, who pretends to be Chuck's girlfriend as a cover for most of the first two seasons. This trope contributes a central part of the drama of the show.
* Chase says this to Cameron in ''Series/{{House}}'' and she immediately breaks up their "friends with benefits" relationship, claiming that she warned him not to fall in love with her. She did explicitly warn him and she does end up marrying him, at least for at time before [[spoiler:she couldn't forgive him for killing a patient on purpose, even if the patient ''was'' a terrible dictator. Or rather, she could not come to terms with his having accepted what he did (ie, would NOT undo it given the chance).]]

* On ''Series/MadMen'' Don Draper had sex with Allison, his secretary, during one of his drunken binges and tries to pretend that it never happened. The woman seems to go along with it for a while and then snaps, throws stuff at him and quits.

* Played with in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent''. [[spoiler:Sven and Faye]] are halfway into SlapSlapKiss territory when they start up a friends with benefits setup until [[spoiler:Sven]] screws it up by sleeping with another girl. After it falls apart, they both realize that it meant something to them. [[spoiler:Faye eventually forgives Sven, but they don't continue their relationship]].

* A non-romantic version can be found in ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': [[spoiler: Ho]] asks Bam if he really thought that they were friends just because of a signature on a friendship list. He did.

* Given an interesting twist in ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations''. Obviously Phoenix meant nothing to Dahlia… [[spoiler: but all the emotion moments Phoenix had with Dahlia were really with her substituted twin sister Iris. And to Iris, Phoenix ''did'' mean something.]]

* A non-romantic version can be found in ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': [[spoiler: Ho]] asks Baam if he really thought that they were friends just because of a signature on a friendship list. He did.

If Alice ''really'' doesn't have feelings for Bob, then it's heartbreak time (happily, Bob will likely come to realize he's been [[ObliviousToLove thoroughly neglecting]] Claire and [[CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds hook up with her]]). If she does, she's likely been denying her feelings, something another character will have to spell out to her very plainly before she realizes she loves Bob, and goes after him seeking forgiveness.

Compare BecomingTheMask. May also be stated after asking the question, "WasItAllALie".

* Cordelia in ''Series/{{Angel}}'' has this reaction to her co-worker and potential love interest Doyles parting kiss.

* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeBeforeTheStorm'': Chloe mentions in her journal that she hooked up with Eliot before the start of the game, but "it didn't mean anything." It's implied she lost his virginity to him. They've drifted apart since, and Chloe spends the game pining after Rachel, but Eliot is struggling to rekindle what he thought they had. [[spoiler:It turns out he's been stalking Chloe, culminating in him cornering her and demanding she realize how terrible Rachel is. Chloe has to call the cops on him to escape]].

* In ''XmenOrigins:Wolverine'', Wolverine furiously tells this to Silver Fox when she ashamedly reveals him that their relationship was all a lie, as she was actually an undercover agent for Stryker who was sent to secretly keep an eye on him after he quit Team X. Turns out she felt the same way, despite her denials to the contrary.

* In ''XmenOrigins:Wolverine'', Wolverine asks this of Silver Fox when she tells him that their relationship was all a sham, as she was an undercover agent for Stryker who was sent to keep an eye on him after he quit Team X. Turns out she felt the same way, despite her denials to the contrary.

* Baby Doll from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' practically name-drops the trope when talking about how her former show (and thus sitcom family) was "real to me!" Naturally, this is a platonic version.

* Baby Doll from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' practically name-drops the trope when talking about how her former show (and thus sitcom family) was "real to me!"

* AvrilLavigne's "Losing Grip". It… sounds less clunky in context.

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In Creator/GeoffJohns' ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'' run, Hal Jordan asks [[FaceHeelTurn Sinestro]] if they were ever truly friends. Sinestro responds:
-->That's the tragedy of all this, Jordan. Hal. We'll always be friends.
[[/folder]]

* In ''[[TheSwordOfTruth Stone Of Tears]]'', after one of Richard's teachers (the one closest to him) is revealed as a villain (after trying to drain his gift and life out of him), Richard said that he thought she cared about him… and she answered that maybe she did, and that's why she tried to '''drain''' his gift instead of bleeding it out of him--which is normally accomplished by FlayingAlive the person in question.