History Main / LovesMyAlterEgo

Compare HatesMySecretIdentity, for non-romantic cases of people reacting differently to the two identities. See also LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman, which is when a character has positive feelings to a person but negative ones to their alter ego / secret identity.

* In Creator/AndrewLang's "Literature/TheEnchantedSnake", [[https://web.archive.org/web/20200130021114/http://surlalunefairytales.com:80/eastsunwestmoon/stories/enchsnake.html link]], the king promises the heroine she [[EngagementChallenge can marry the prince if only she saves him]]. Recovered, the prince nevertheless refuses because he has promised himself elsewhere; the heroine, delighted, reveals that she is that woman.

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[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Lu of ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'' knows of Matsuri as her girl friend and Shirogane as a stray cat that hangs around school. In both a straight example and an inversion, she ends up falling in love with "Shiromatsu", who's actually Shirogane [[ShapeshiftingTrickster shapeshifted]] into [[GenderBender Matsuri original, male form]].
* In ''Anime/BattleSpiritsShonenToppaBashin'', both Striker and Bashin love [[IdolSinger My Sunshine]] but have no interest in her alter ego, Suiren. Despite indication that Suiren is interested in both of them.
* The manga / anime ''Manga/CatsEye'': The main characters are barmaids and part-time SpyCatsuit thieves. One of them has a boyfriend, who happens to be a police officer, and who cannot make up his mind if he likes his girlfriend or her SecretIdentity more. (This, obviously, is the cause of much frustration on the main character's part.)
* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'' almost all of Lelouch's love interests have this.
** ActionGirl Kallen has a BodyguardCrush on Lelouch's masked identity, [[DarkMessiah Zero]], but has a very low opinion of Lelouch, mostly because he cultivates a reputation for being an [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob apathetic jerk]]. When Kallen dramatically learns Zero's true identity, she gets a HeroicBSOD because she wonders [[WasItAllALie if the whole Black Knight rebellion was a big farce]]. In season 2, after still going through a "you're Lelouch when I hate you and Zero when I love you" kind of relationship for some time, she comes to love both of them.
** Shirley loves Lelouch Lamperouge but hates Zero [[spoiler:for killing her father]].
** C.C. loves Lelouch vi Britannia but frequently mocks Zero for being a fraud. The difference is that C.C knows they're the same person from the very start.
* ''Manga/CrossplayLoveOtakuXPunk'': ''Both'' main characters are {{Crossdresser}}s who are attracted to each other's fem alter egos, without knowing they're not actually a girl. In their normal lives, they don't like each other's male identities at all.
* ''Manga/DNAngel'' has a love triangle revolving around this trope. Daisuke has a crush on Risa, but she rejects him because she wants to date someone "cool". Enter [[PhantomThief Dark]]--who is actually Daisuke's alter-ego. Just to make things more complicated, Dark actually has a separate personality and is a big flirt to boot, so Daisuke and Dark sometimes end up in a fight over Risa. Later on in the manga, the situation [[LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman reverses]] as [[spoiler:Daisuke realizes that the one he ''really'' loves is actually Risa's twin sister, Riku. Riku cares for him in return, but in a twist, she ''hates'' Dark and thinks he's a pervert.]] This causes all sorts of complications, since Daisuke's [[CursedWithAwesome family curse]] won't leave him until he's completely loved for who he is--which includes the part of him that's like Dark. It's still complicated because [[spoiler:Dark is in love with Riku, who's in love with Daisuke. Eventually--in the manga--he begins to reciprocate ''Risa's'' feelings, although knowing that they could never be together because he'll disappear once Riku accepts that Dark is a part of Daisuke.]]
* In ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'', Ganta was unaware that [[spoiler: his beloved Shiro was the true identity of his arch-nemesis, The Red Man]]. When he finds out, it's not pretty.
* Kouta quotes this to Lucy about her and IdentityAmnesia personality, Nyu, in the end of ''Manga/ElfenLied''.
* A strange case in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', Luca appears to have started to fall for Hayate's alterego, but shows no signs of being a lesbian. She'll probably be relieved to find out that Hayate is actually a guy, though probably unhappy about having to deal with his UnwantedHarem.
* Umaru has this issue with her friends in ''Manga/HimoutoUmaruChan''. Umaru presents a persona of TheAce at school, but at home she is a LazyBum {{Otaku}}. Her best friend Ebina is friends with "Outside-Umaru", but has never seen "Inside-Umaru." Kirie has befriended both, wrongly believing that "Inside-Umaru" is actually Umaru's little sister Komaru. The straightest example is Sylphin, who met Umaru while the latter was in her "masked gamer" identity of U.M.R.; they become so close that Slyphin recruits her to help her in her FriendlyRivalry against Umaru.
* ''Toys/{{Jewelpet}}'':
** ''Anime/JewelpetHappiness'': Mouri has a crush on a punk girl who once entered the Rock Cafe. That girl was actually ProperLady Nene, who took on that disguise to analyse what made the Cafe so successful. Mouri eventually starts crushing on her too, but doesn't learn the truth until much later in the series.
** ''Anime/JewelpetKiraDeco'': Io has a crush on his teacher Coarumi, who is actually Coal in disguise and drag. Io hates Coal for taking up Opal's time.
** ''Anime/JewelpetMagicalChange'': A boy named Souya falls in love with Larimar in her human form. When Larimar turns back into a Jewelpet after having to use magic to save him, he thinks she has gone away and leaves in disappointment. He learns the truth in a later episode and is fine with it.
* ''Manga/KaitouSaintTail'' offers us a rather complicated example: [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Asuka Jr.]] is obsessed with Saint Tail, who has a thing for him both as Saint Tail and her SecretIdentity Meimi... Except that: [[SecretIdentityIdentity Meimi has a sharp personality change as Saint Tail]], and CannotSpitItOut in her civilian persona while Saint Tail couldn't be more obvious; [[ObliviousToLove Asuka Jr. is somehow unable to figure out his own romantic feelings, let alone those of Meimi-as-Meimi, Meimi-as-Saint Tail, the ones of an underclassgirl and those of the local]] ClingyJealousGirl; near the end of the series Asuka Jr. admits was obsessed with Saint Tail because ''she looked like the girl she liked'', said girl being ''Meimi''... And ''[[ObliviousToLove had not realized his feelings until after he thought for days about what he had blurted out]]''.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Kampfer}}'', Natsuru loves Kaede and Kaede loves Natsuru. The catch? Kaede loves [[SexShifter THE FEMALE NATSURU!]] To make things even more ridiculous, Kaede is under the impression that the male Natsuru is her love rival. [[spoiler:It turns out she knew it all along because she's the BigBad. And she really wants only the female Natsuru.]]
* ''Anime/MagicalProjectS'': In one episode, Konoha uses Sasami's baton. She puts Hiroto under a love spell, but he only falls for her transformed self, Funky Connie.
* Kaito in ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' is confused between Lucia and the pink mermaid.
* Noel in ''Manga/MintNaBokura'' [[DisguisedInDrag pretends to be a girl]] to attend the same boarding school as his sister. When he runs into his crush on a day he's not wearing a dress and wig, he tells her that he is "Noel's cousin Tohru". "Tohru" begins dating her. [[spoiler: She dumps him when the truth comes out.]]
* In the initial anime PV for ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'', we've got it twice over. GenkiGirl Marinette is in love with the brooding intellectual Felix, but he can't stand her. However, when he transforms into Black Cat, he's swooning over Ladybug, who snubs him. Ladybug, of course, is Marinette. (Compare in Western Animation below.)
* In ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'', many guys can't stand [[{{Jerkass}} Seo]], but are in love with 'Lorelei' from the music club... who is Seo, or at least her singing voice; the chief victim of this is Nozaki's junior Wakamatsu. In an inversion, Seo doesn't particularly seem to care either way, and if anything enjoys destroying people's fantasies by revealing who she is.
* Yuuki in ''Mugen Densetsu Takamagahara: Dream Saga'' is actually the ''main'' character, and all over both Takaomi and "that other guy named Takaomi with the same mark on his head but a totally different personality".
* Natsumi from ''Manga/{{Nicoichi}}'' initially fell for the [[WholesomeCrossdresser female persona]] of the protagonist Makoto, not knowing his true identity, which [[StupidSexyFlanders greatly confused her]]. To complicate matters, Natsumi actually disliked Makoto in his normal self, which created lots of problems for Makoto when he was trying to reciprocate the love.
* Ako Izumi from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' falls in love with Negi's aged up alter ego "Nagi".
* In ''Manga/{{Onidere}}'', the female protagonist uses an alter ego called Angie to get close to her boyfriend without ruining her reputation as the school's top delinquent and is afraid of losing him to her alter ego, unaware that he figured it out the moment he met her alternate persona. And then another boy named Souta develops a crush on Angie.
* In ''Manga/PhantomThiefPokemon7'', Nazuna is in love with Pokemon 7. She's not quite so fond of Hiori.
* In each of Creator/StudioPierrot's MagicalGirl series (''Anime/MagicalAngelCreamyMami'', ''Anime/MagicalStarMagicalEmi'', ''Anime/PersiaTheMagicFairy''), the heroine is in love with an older boy, who prefers her metamorphosed alter ego, leading the poor magical girls to be jealous of themselves.
* ''Anime/PrettyCure'':
** In one episode of ''Anime/FutariWaPrettyCure'', a boy asked Nagisa out, only to eventually dump her because he'd decided he preferred Cure Black. An unusual case in that Nagisa never actually liked him back, but the same idea.
** Daisuke from ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'' plays with this. He admires Cure Peach and thinks that Love should strive to be more like her, not knowing that they're one and the same. However, his admiration for Cure Peach is just that - admiration - and he instead has feelings for Love, whom he's a {{Tsundere}} for.
** In ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'', Tsubomi falls head over heels for a mysterious handsome young man who, later on, resembles her late grandfather when he was younger. Sadly, she's crushed when she comes to find out that he's [[spoiler:her grandmother's fairy partner, Coupe.]]
* In ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', Mytho is enamored with the eponymous MagicalGirl, but only considers Ahiru a good friend. (One that he can "tell everything to", but a friend nonetheless.)
* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' is something of a subversion of this trope. Tsukune falls in LoveAtFirstSight with [[NaiveEverygirl Outer Moka]], but he's at least quite fond of [[{{Tsundere}} Inner Moka]], and has recently said that "he'd like the two of them to become one". Take that as you will.
* ''Anime/SailorMoon''. In the first anime, Usagi[=/=]Sailor Moon loves Mamoru/Tuxedo Mask, while he has a mysterious need to protect Moon. Usagi can't stand Mamoru, who also seems to dislike "Odango Atama". At the same time, he's in love with the mysterious princess of his dreams [[spoiler:who is actually Usagi's past self.]] In the second season, there's also the Tsukikage no Knight, whom Usagi loves while she also loves Mamoru/Mask, though he turns out to be [[spoiler:the astral-projected manifestation of Mamoru's love for Usagi when his memories are sealed.]] The [[Manga/SailorMoon manga]] is even worse, because Usagi and Mamoru actually like each other there before learning each other's identities.
** And Usagi/Serena's little brother Shingo/Sammy idolizes Sailor Moon but can't stand his sister.
* Tadase in ''Manga/ShugoChara'' likes Amulet Heart, Amu's heroic form. His feelings toward the normal Amu are "just friends". This one is especially weird because he knows from the start that the two are the same person and even tells Amu herself about his confused feelings. [[spoiler: Later he confesses that he actually loves Amu for who she is, not her alter ego.]]
* ''Manga/StoryOfADumbPrefectAndHighSchoolGirlWithInappropriateSkirtLength'': Kogori sees StudentCouncilPresident [[MsFanservice Yamato]] as a childhood friend, but he's head over heels for her "[[GyaruGirl gal]] [[SheCleansUpNicely version]]" which he doesn't recognize as the same person. It's only an alter ego to him, though, as everyone else knows it's still her.
* A rather peculiar take on this appears in ''Manga/SuperPig''. The main character Karin has a crush on her Junior High School soccer captain Kouichi Mizuno. He is in love with her secret identity Buurin. [[InterspeciesRomance But she is a pig in that form]]! Add in the issue of Karin being stuck as Buurin if anyone finds out about her secret identity, then you have yourself a very peculiar conundrum. [[spoiler:When Kouichi, along with Karin's classmates, finds out that Karin is Buurin, he is upset by this revelation. After fighting his own DemonicPossession, he comes to love her again]].
* Suguha in ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' begins to fall in love with her brother Kazuto ([[KissingCousins who is actually her cousin]]) whom she knows is in love with another girl. In order to forget about those feelings for him, she tries to fall in love with an online person she met called Kirito. Kirito is Kazuto's online persona. When she figures this out, it breaks her heart since she's fallen in love with the same person twice [[FridgeLogic (which to be quite frank is rather shocking considering the fact that Kirito's avatar shares his face with only minor differences).]]
* Played for laughs in ''Manga/ToLoveRu'', when [[BromanticFoil Saruyama]] falls in love with "Riko" (Rito's [[GenderBender genderbent]] persona).
* ''Manga/TokyoMewMew'' complicates things. Ichigo loves Masaya, who loves Ichigo but also Mew Ichigo, and then in comes Ao no Kishi, and ''he'' loves Mew Ichigo, and she's stuck between not only this guy but also her UnwantedHarem. ''Then'' comes the traditional [[BrainwashedAndCrazy trial]] of every MagicalGirl's MysteriousProtector, and we know ''that'' can't be good.
* A couple cases of this in ''Anime/TomicaHyperRescueDriveHeadKidouKyuukyuuKeisatsu'':
** [[TheHero Gou]] is in love with his classmate, SchoolIdol Kasumi. She finds him to just be childish and annoying (at least at first), and instead loves the driver of Sonic/Cyclone Interceptor. Who is Gou, of course.
** Sala is in love with the driver of White Crystal Hope. White Crystal Hope is driven by the twins Jin and Mikoto, both of whom are implied to have crushes on her.
* For a few episodes of ''Manga/WeddingPeach'', [[spoiler: Yuri/Angel Lily is confused about her feelings for both Yanagiba and Limone.]] Guess what the next [[TheReveal reveal]] is.
* Subverted in ''Manga/WildRock''. Yuuen thinks he's doing a much better job at [[DisguisedInDrag being a woman]] than he actually is and assumes Emba's in love with that side of him. He's not.
* Anzu/Téa in the ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' [[Manga/YuGiOh manga]] and [[Anime/YuGiOh anime]] is frequently confused about whether she's in love with Yugi or "the other (Yami) Yugi."
** Zig-zagged - the fact that Yami is Yugi's alter-ego isn't a secret for that long, so she knows that they're the same person. However, initially both Anzu and the gang thought that the Other Yugi was just a split personality brought out by the Puzzle, and Anzu in particular thought that the 'true Yugi' was a mixture of both. After learning the Other Yugi is actually another person, she focuses her attentions on the Pharaoh until the end of the manga. The anime adds more ShipTease between Anzu and Yugi as well, but the situation is [[MaybeEverAfter resolved ambiguously in both versions]].
* ''Manga/YubisakiMilkTea'' first play it straight when Wataru fall in love with [[WholesomeCrossdresser Yuki]], the alter ego of his best friend Yoshinori, the main protagonist. Later an odd example comes to when Yoshinori realise that ''he'' is in love with his OWN alter ego. Both causes a few issues.
* Played with in the anime adaptation of ''Franchise/{{Zorro}}'': Lolita loves Zorro and barely tolerates the cowardly Diego, but it's implied she actually loves Diego and is infatuated with Zorro [[LovingAShadow because he's like Diego was before his voyage to Spain]].
* In ''Manga/SonicTheHedgehog'', Amy was the girlfriend of Nikki, but not of his superhero alter ego, Sonic the Hedgehog. Amy would eventually become part of the main franchise, along with another friend called Charmy.
* In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'', Professor Burnet is [[HappilyMarried certainly in love]] with Professor Kukui, but also has a serious celebrity crush on the Masked wrestler/trainer Royal Mask. She doesn't find out the truth until ''after'' they got married, but suddenly discovering she's ''married her crush'' completely blows her mind.
* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Due to a series of misunderstandings, Nino falls in LoveAtFirstSight with Fuutarou's "cousin" Kintarou (who was actually Fuutarou himself wearing a blonde wig). Given the fact that she took to hate Fuutarou from the beginning, she struggles to accept her feelings once she learns the truth.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** ComicBook/LoisLane in her earliest incarnations -- although she and Clark Kent became HappilyMarried in the mid-1990s and he revealed the truth to her once he was sure she loved Clark instead of Superman.
** Post-Crisis Lois was initially very skeptical of the Man Of Steel and far more interested in Clark since he was the only person able to routinely scoop her.
** Pre-Crisis ComicBook/LanaLang was usually smitten with ComicBook/{{Superboy}}, but only thought of Clark as a friend. This stretched into their adulthoods, though she eventually (during UsefulNotes/{{the Bronze Age|OfComicBooks}}) lost interest in Superman, and even started dating Clark by the late Bronze Age.
** Before Clark and Lois got married, there was also the character of Cat Grant, who was in love with Clark Kent and had no particularly personal feelings for Superman (whom she liked and admired in the way most Metropolitans like and admire him).
** In ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'', Lois never moved past this. To the point where she didn't even believe him when he changed into Superman right in front of her and repeatedly insisted that Clark and Superman were one and the same.
** The Clark-Lois-Superman love triangle was later brought back to continuity in ''ComicBook/SupermanSecretOrigin''.
** The ComicBook/New52 reboot gave Lois a new boyfriend for a while, until she (and the rest of the world) finds out Superman's secret in ''ComicBook/SupermanTruth''. Shortly afterwards, the situation reverted to Clark and Lois married in ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''.
** [[DependingOnTheWriter Sometimes]] ComicBook/LexLuthor does the [[InvertedTrope inverse]], respecting Clark Kent a fair bit more than Superman. In some stories they were even friends as kids.
** In ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'', Clark Kent was interviewing Lex Luthor in death row, and Luthor surprisingly took the time from badmouthing Superman to praise Clark, complimenting him on alot of his qualities and how Lois would choose him if it not were Superman. Heck, he even finds his clumsy awkwardness somewhat endearing, namely because it makes Clark so human compared to the alien Superman.
** During UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}}, a trio of ComicBook/JimmyOlsen stories (all written by Jerry Siegel) was published depicting Jimmy assuming the identity of "Magi the Magician" and courting a woman named "Sandra Rogers", who was actually his girlfriend Lucy Lane in disguise. While this trope is played straight with Sandra/Lucy, Magi/Jimmy (who was far more invested in his relationship with Lucy than Lucy herself) constantly felt guilt for romancing who he thinks is another woman. A more in-depth look at this can be found [[http://captaincomics.ning.com/profiles/blogs/from-the-archives-deck-log-entry-33-when-sandra-met-magi here]].
** In ''ComicBook/ActionComics #361'', a boy wanted to date Linda Danvers/Kara Zor-El because he suspected that she was ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}. When Linda/Kara managed to make him believe she was a normal, powerless girl, he stopped being interested.
** During her time working as a photographer in San Francisco, Linda Danvers had a crush on her boss Geoffrey "Geoff" Anderson. Geoff was not interested in Linda but he liked Supergirl. He even kissed her at the end of ''ComicBook/DemonSpawn''. However, Linda quit her job and moved away shortly after, and they never saw each other again.
** In imaginary story ''ComicBook/SupermansPalJimmyOlsen #57'' Linda and Jimmy marry. However Linda was exposed to Red Kryptonite shortly before the whirlwind romance. She is depowered when the wedding happens, and doesn't remember anything about her secret. When Linda regains her memories and her powers she decides she needs to tell Jimmy she is Supergirl but in a tactful way. Her "great" plan was revealing Supergirl's existence to him. Then, as Supergirl, she will make him fall in love with her. Then when he is in love with both Linda and Supergirl, she'll reveal she is one and the same. Surprisingly, her nutty idea worked.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' [[InvertedTrope inverts this]] dynamic owing to the fact that unlike Superman and Batman, both of whom are more charismatic figures than their civilian alter-egos (in the classical era certainly), Spider-Man is a HeroWithBadPublicity and weirdo, who is distrusted by the press. For most of Peter's run, a major hurdle for his girlfriends wasn't them liking Peter but if they were able to look past the general sentiment and public opinion against his alter ego and see him for the hero he was.
** Both Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy liked Peter but hated and distrusted Spider-Man, with the latter blaming him for the death of her father. ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson, Peter's long-term love interest was the first one to admit outright that Spider-Man was cool, and she would flirt with both Peter and Spider-Man during their early interactions. In addition, a later {{Revision}} has it that she always knew, but didn't say anything. In the original context, [[WhatYouAreInTheDark the fact that MJ liked Spider-Man at his most distrusted and went against public opinion and general sentiment to express that view]], meant that [[ZigZaggedTrope she actually did like]] the real Peter Parker, contrary to the general trope. In a more traditional version, such as the AlternateContinuity title ''ComicBook/SpiderManLovesMaryJane'' explores this from Mary Jane's perspective, albeit with the classical idea that Spider-Man is more charismatic and Peter isn't before she settles for "Plain 'ol Peter".
** ComicBook/BlackCat Felicia Hardy prefers Spider-Man over his bland alter-ego, knowing Peter's double life and still liking Spider-Man over "plain ol' Peter". Black Cat proves compatible as Spider-Man's sidekick and partner but not in his civilian life, which needless to say confuses Peter to no end.
** In ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' which redraws and realigns the characters, Felicia Hardy's attraction for Spider-Man over Peter makes a little more sense since Felicia is an adult woman here while Peter is a ''teenager''; she vomited when she learned the truth. The more traditional Black Cat dynamic is given to [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute Ultimate Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat]], who is also a superhero with powers who crushes on Spider-Man but doesn't fit well into his civilian identity. Mary Jane Watson is friends with Peter since childhood and crushed on Peter before and after he got bitten by a spider, and Peter reveals his identity to her early, making her his confidant and soulmate.
** In just about every continuity, JerkJock Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a huge fan of Spider-Man and thinks he's the coolest guy on the planet, albeit as Peter notes, not usually for the right reasons. However, he thinks that Peter Parker is a loser, and tends to mercilessly bully him. Generally, he grows out of it and he ends up friends with Peter in his older years (though whether he finds out Peter is Spider-Man tends to depend on the writer). In some continuities, Aunt May loves her nephew Peter dearly, but can't stand Spider-Man (reasons vary from her thinking he's a dangerous vigilante to her having arachnophobia).
** After the CosmicRetcon of ''ComicBook/OneMoreDay'' attempts were made to claim that ''Mary Jane Watson'', of all people, only ever loved Peter because [[SecretSecretKeeper she knew he was Spider-Man all along]]. To say that this would be [[OutOfCharacter contradictory]] to her previous characterisation or ignorant of the original context, would be an [[DerailingLoveInterests understatement]]. When [[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManNickSpencer Nick Spencer]] took over the franchise from Dan Slott, one of the first things he did was affirm that MJ always loved Peter Parker for who he is, recognizing that Peter and Spider-Man weren't separate individuals but essentially the same person, and that while his double life had driven her away in the past, the fact that Peter was at heart a hero is one of the things that kept her coming back to him.
* In ''ComicBook/TheSentry'', Robert Reynolds' wife Lindy Lee ([[ComicBook/SuperMan yes to what you're thinking]]) loves him as the Sentry but not as the mentally-ill milquetoast he is normally. She compares how she feels about Reynolds and the Sentry to how Bob feels about her normally and her in lingerie at one point. What a loving, supportive wife.
* In UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'', one of the obstacles to Hal Jordan's relationship to Carol Ferris was that she couldn't decide whether she was interested in him or in his alter ego. Eventually she found out that they were the same person, and they moved on to problems like ''her'' [[SuperpoweredEvilSide alter ego]]. One of the biggest obstacles was HER role as his boss in civilian life and her need to separate business from personal.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'''s ComicBook/SteveTrevor is a classic example; for decades he ignored bespectacled coworker [[ClarkKenting Diana Prince]] in favor of her Amazonian alter ego. He learned her identity on both Earth-Two and Earth-One before marrying her, and in the original Golden Age comics [[SecretSecretKeeper it's hinted he's playing dumb since he does things frequently that help her keep her Diana Prince ID secret]]. After the book's [[ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths Crisis]] [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 reboot]], this dynamic was disposed of; Diana no longer had a secret identity and her relationship with Steve was non-romantic.
** In [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Volume 1]] Helen Alexandros fell in love with Dr. Psycho's projection Captain Wonder, and Psycho fell in love with Helen's Silver Swan form. After her powers were removed, Helen searched for Captain Wonder but found Dr. Psycho instead who repulsed her, continuing her search despite the fact Captain Wonder did not exist. Psycho was likewise repulsed by Helen, and continued looking for Silver Swan, the one woman he did not despise due to her CharmPerson powers.
** In [[ComicBook/WonderWoman2006 Volume 3]], Wondy has her Diana Prince identity again, and Tom Tressler (the BadassNormal formerly known as Nemesis) is [[LovesMyAlterEgo in love with someone's alter ego]].
** ''ComicBook/TheLegendOfWonderWoman2016'': Steve loves Diana, and doesn't really think too much on Wonder Woman beyond being thankful for her aid and awed by her abilities. Learning the two are the same in the end only increases his awe of Diana.
* This is repeatedly inverted with the comic book character ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}. Almost all of his female love interests have been looking to date Matt Murdock, not his alter ego. This applies even when the interested party is also a superhero.
** Matt Murdock dated Mary Walker. The trouble was that while Mary is an innocent woman, she has two evil personalities, Typhoid Mary and Bloody Mary, who clashed with Daredevil frequently. Since Daredevil is blind and the three personalities have different speech patterns and biometrics, it took a while for him to figure out they were the same person.
* Parodied in Marvel's comedic superhero team ''GLA'', with the infamously short-lived Grasshopper, a superhero who wore a grasshopper-themed power armor, and was a member for about 6 seconds before he was accidentally killed by the assassin Zaran. ComicBook/SquirrelGirl presented his backstory in a prequel, showing that he was Roxxon security officer Doug Taggert who mooned after researcher Cindy Shelton, who only had eyes for Grasshopper.
* ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'':
** Vicki Vale was Bruce's Lois Lane (in fact she was a pretty blatant ripoff, being a nosy reporter with an alliterative name and all) throughout the '40s and '50s, but eventually the writers got tired of her and she quietly slipped away into comic-book limbo. She still turns up in Franchise/TheDCU from time to time as a TV reporter, but after [[Film/Batman1989 the Tim Burton film]], she didn't properly turn up again until ''WesternAnimation/TheBatmanVsDracula'' (See RuleOfCool). She's now back at the Gotham Gazette and [[spoiler: knows Batman's secret]]. This results in [[spoiler: Bruce recruiting her as an ally.]]
** Much like Flash Thompson and Spider-Man, Detective Crispus Allen is a platonic version of this, loathing Bruce Wayne and liking working with Batman.
* Italian ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'' stories involving the classic version of [[ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures Paperinik]] (Donald's superhero identity) love to play with this:
** The standard formula is of Daisy Duck holding her boyfriend Donald somewhat in contempt while admiring Paperinik, with one story going so far to have her temporarily ''dump Donald for Paperinik''.
*** Played tragically in one story where Daisy found out about his secret identity... And when Paperinik fed her an altered memory wiping candy to protect his secret identity she ''[[TearJerker forgot about Donald while believing she was Paperinik's girlfriend]]''.
** In other stories, mainly the darker ones close to the first Paperinik stories, Daisy ends up as a collateral to Paperinik's revenges and is either scared or pissed at him and admires Donald for being the only one who can not only stand up to him but even put him in his place.
** When the authors remember that Daisy has her own superhero alter ego Paperinika it's mutual and {{Inverted}}: Donald and Daisy love each other but can't stand each other's alter ego, and the alter egos despise each other.
*** In the miniseries ''Ultraheroes'', which basically is about the founding of a ''Justice League Disney Comics'', Paperinik and Paperinika actually starts to get along, and even falling for each other... Which causes them no small amount of angst, since they both already ''have'' a significant other - the other's secret identity. This also may pop up in 'normal' stories, as when they're forced to collaborate they find out they could actually get along very well, but between already having a significant other and past fights [[StatusQuoIsGod they end up back at square one]].
* In ''ComicBook/{{Flare}}'' backup series ''Sparkplug'', this situation is inverted; the superheroine Sparkplug is adored by a local male reporter in both her superhero identity and her civilian identity... because he can tell that they're the same person; he sees Olga ''and'' Sparkplug practically every day, [[ClarkKenting a wig isn't going to fool him]].
* Inverted in ''ComicBook/AlphaFlight''; Aurora is dating teammate Sasquatch, but her alter ego, Jeanne Marie, is horrified by the relationship. (She's a split personality, obviously.)
* Several variations of this occur with ''ComicBook/SheHulk'' - originally in ''Savage She-Hulk'', she was dating two guys... one as Jennifer Walters and one as She-Hulk, although that was mutual. Later the trope was inverted when she was married to John Jameson, who repeatedly expressed a dislike of Jennifer's powered She-Hulk form - much to her chagrin.
* Thundermind of Franchise/TheDCU's ComicBook/GreatTen has this in his secret identity (him being the only member of the team to really have one). In a shameless (and [[RuleOfFunny hilarious]]) riff on UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} Superman, Thundermind is also the nebbish, bespectacled schoolteacher Zou Kang. His affections for attractive coworker Ms. Wu are ignored because she only has eyes for Thundermind.
* Happens to [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk]], believe it or not. Betty preferred Bruce Banner, Jarella preferred Hulk and Caiera loves both.
** That Betty loved the integrated Hulk shows her consistency; she loved him for his mind rather than his body in all incarnations.
* ''ComicBook/{{Superlopez}}'': Inverted. Luisa Lanas loves Juan López but hates Superlópez with a passion.
* Adrian Chase, the Vigilante's, relationship with Marcia King; she wanted him to renounce the identity of the Vigilante.
* ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'':
** In Jeff Smith's ''Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil'', Helen Fidelity, a Lois Lane {{expy}}, flirts shamelessly with adult Captain Marvel, but finds the 10-year-old Billy Batson rather annoying. Billy has an obvious PrecociousCrush on her, but Marvel (who's a [[SuperpoweredAlterEgo separate personality]] in this version) seems entirely indifferent.
** The sequel series, ''ComicBook/BillyBatsonAndTheMagicOfShazam'' carries on this basic dynamic, but {{Ret Con}}s Billy and Captain Marvel into one personality, making it more of a TwoPersonLoveTriangle.
* In ''ComicBook/BigBangComics'', Superman CaptainErsatz Ultiman is really Chris Kelly, but this isn't a secret to his co-workers, because he works for the government in his capacity as Ultiman. However, he keeps another identity on the side: that of his own twin brother, Carl Kelly. "Carl" is a shiftless womanizer, despised by the Ultiman-crazed Lori Lake.
* Howard Chaykin's DC title ''Mighty Love'': policewoman Delaney Pope and public defender Lincoln Reinhardt can't stand each other. However they ''both'' have costumed alter egos and Skylark and Iron Angel have a mutual attraction, even if they don't know who's behind the other's mask.
* In Creator/LewisTrondheim and Fabrice Parme's ''ComicBook/{{Venezia}}'', the deuteragonists' civilian identities, an opera singer and a painter, can't stand each other; but their spy selves, the Black Scorpion and the Eagle, are quite friendly and exchange witty banter as they work for their respective countries against Venice.
* Inverted in ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW''. In sharp contrast to the cartoon, Rio loves Jerrica but thinks Jem is a bratty diva who shouldn't be in the band.
* In the early ''ComicBook/JourneyIntoMystery'' period of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] comics, when his similarities to Superman were most blatant, Dr. Donald Blake, Thor, and his nurse Jane Foster had this kind of relationship, with Don in love with Jane but believing that his disability would make it impossible for her to love him, and Jane in love with Don and wishing he would make a move while also lusting after Thor, and believing Don to be a coward because he kept running away from danger (to turn into Thor when nobody could see him).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In a large number of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fics involving Gohan and Videl, Videl almost inevitably falls for Gohan's identity as either The Gold Fighter or as Saiyaman before finding out that they're actually Gohan.
* Inverted in the ''Manga/LoveHina''[=/=]''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' crossover [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3570558/1 "Four Seasons,"]] with Keitaro asking the net idol Chiu for advice on dealing with his unrequited feelings for a girl...and when she "just out of curiosity" (since unbeknownst to him, they actually know each other) asks the girl's name, he reveals that it is Chisame, her true identity.
* In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8795118/1/The-Hollow-World The Hollow World]]'', [[Manga/SoulEater Death the Kid]] continually fights [[Anime/BlackRockShooter Dead Master]], unaware that she is the SuperpoweredEvilSide of his crush, Yomi Takanashi.
* Inverted in ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' SuperFic ''Fanfic/ImGivingYouANightCall'', despite their terrible break-up Roy is still head over heels over Edward but he can’t stand the vigilante Fullmetal. He is actually rather ashamed of his attraction to Fullmetal, considering he's trying to get Edward back.
* Played with in a number of ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' fics:
** Some start with the setup of the show (see under Western Animation below) but instead go in the direction of pairing up Marinette and Chat Noir for a slow-burn "friends to lovers" story, as each is the persona that the other likes, respects and cares about but doesn't (at least at first) romantically love to the point that they can only communicate through incoherent stammering or annoying flirting. ''[[Fanfic/{{Tendencies}} Obsession]]'' is a prime example, in which Chat Noir develops [[MyInstinctsAreShowing a cat-like addiction to petting]], and doesn't want to go to Ladybug for help, as he gets the sense that she'd do it out of duty without the affection he craves from her. As he puts it to Marinette, "My lady couldn't feed me macarons and chocolate milk. My lady wouldn't wait up in the rain to make sure I'm okay. My lady's smile doesn't light up her face when she sees me. Yours does. She can't give me what I need, Marinette. What I need, my Princess is you. And a princess is far brighter than a lady." He only finds out that they're the same girl later in the story, after she's found out his identity.
** Other stories that deal with Ladybug and Adrien's mutual attraction (Ladrien), the discovery of which can be handled in a number of ways. If Marinette finds out about Adrien's crush on Ladybug, it can sometimes push her to approach him as Ladybug, often by visiting him in his bedroom, or else lead her to feel even less secure about measuring up to herself (see ''[[http://www.archiveofourown.org/works/10210028/ The Parts of You]]'' for an example). Alternately, if Adrien finds out about Ladybug's crush on him, he may view it as an opportunity, or, as in ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/9511511 fresh eyes,]]'' come to believe that his Lady is a lot shallower than he believed, since "a boy she’s really only ever seen on billboards and screens has more effectively stolen her heart than her partner."
* ''Fanfic/SecondChances'': [[spoiler:L fears Light Yagami, as his defeat at Light's hands broke him -- he dearly wishes that Light will never enter the regular afterlife. At the same time, during the course of the fic he falls in love with his Shinigami, Rae. It's not until towards the end of the story that it is revealed that Rae is actually Light Yagami in hell, and even then L is still unaware to the truth]].
* ''Fanfic/ExtremelyNaughty'': [[WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug Marinette]] has a crush on an unsuspecting Adrien and ends up telling the flirtatious Chat Noir (completely unaware that he and Adrien are one in the same). She eventually ends up in a relationship with Chat Noir (even having sex a few times) before she puts two and two together and finds out his secret identity.
* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' Modern AU fan fiction ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12224763/1/Struggling-in-Arendelle-City Struggling in Arendelle City]]'' has Elsa masquerading as a superhero and lived a double life as both a sister and a Snow Queen and Anna is shown to fall in love with the masked woman, completely unaware of her true identity. She does not take it well when she realizes that both Elsa and Snow Queen turned out to be the same person and the person [[BrotherSisterIncest she fell in love all the time turned out to be her sister]].
* There are at least two cases of this in ''Fanfic/LifeOreDeath''. First is that Lois Lane ''still'' doesn't know Superman's secret identity, and thinks of Clark as just a co-worker and friend. Second, Beautia Sivana has strong feelings for Captain Marvel, but just thinks Billy Batson is a cute and brave little kid.
* In ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' fanfic ''Fanfic/ResurrectedMemories'': Paulina is head over heels for Danny and wants to date him but Danny refuses due to knowing that she is only interested in his ghost half and wants nothing to do with her now.
** [[spoiler: {{Inverted}} with Ember, she becomes heartbroken upon realizing that Danny (and by extension, their friends) only like Amberline Lain and still view Ember [=McLain=] as their enemy.]]
* In ''Fanfic/ProfessorArc'', Jaune remarks that every girl interested in him actually wants the confident badass Professor Arc, not the awkward and untrained Jaune Arc.
* ''[[Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton Danny and Kara]]'': Sam admires ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} as "a strong, female figure" in spite of "her brightly primary colors" but hates Kara.
* Leafa's interest in Kirito starts in Episode 13 of ''WebVideo/SwordArtOnlineAbridged'' and all but dies a squicktastic, incest-fraught death by the end of Episode 14. Not because Leafa's player Suguha goes through with it, but she instantly recognizes her relative Kazuto by his in-game name and unleashes scream after profanity storm after bloodcurdling scream as a direct result of her own revulsion.
-->'''Suguha:''' ''Son of a horse dick-fucking shit weasel-fucking bitch whore... ASS!! What is that FUCKING cock-sampler doing in MY game?!'' Oh Jesus fuck, I said my brother had a sweet patootie...! Aaaaaaaaaaah! ''[sobs into pillow]'' Noooooo!
* ''Webcomic/ScarletLady'': Adrien/Chat Noir has an unambiguous crush on Marinette, but [[spoiler:initially treats Marigold with cold professionalism because he's had to deal with [[TheLoad Scarlet Lady]] (and briefly, [[AttentionWhore Volpina]]) and is unused to a crimefighting partner who actually cares about his well-being]]. Marinette, meanwhile, has a crush on Chat Noir, and views Adrien simply as a good friend.
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/TheMask''. Tina falls in love with the Mask (while Stanley's wearing it), but eventually realizes she loves Stanley for himself.
* ''Film/{{Roxanne}}'', mirroring the Cyrano example below.

* Mary Jane loves Film/SpiderMan1, but eventually loves Peter Parker instead.

* A variation occurs in ''Film/ACinderellaStory'', where Austin falls for Sam whilst in her Cinderella disguise. When he finds out her true identity, he is less than enthusiastic about it. [[spoiler:Ultimately averted, as he comes to genuinely love Sam for who she really is.]]
* In ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'', [[spoiler:Judy loves Scottie but he's too hung up on Madeleine -- the dead woman she impersonated as part of Gavin's scheme -- for her attempts to make him love her true self to work, and she ultimately agrees to be "Madeleine" for him. It doesn't work out well for anyone involved.]]
* ''Film/Supergirl1984'': Ethan falls in love with Linda Lee and is merely grateful and respectful to ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} after being rescued by her. He eventually learns they are one and the same.
* Parodied in ''Film/SpiderPlantMan''. Jane-Mary is enamoured with Spider-Plant Man, but considers Peter Piper a total creep. Because she never changes her opinion, he decides to keep wearing the spandex even after they're married.
* ''Film/TheBatman2022'':
** Selina Kyle hasn't met Bruce Wayne, but she dismisses him as one of the "privileged white people" that let Gotham fall into ruin, and is clearly not very fond of him. However, she ends up falling in love with Batman as they work together.
** Edward Nashton hates Bruce Wayne [[TheResenter for growing up privileged while he was poor]]. However, he idolizes Batman and was inspired to take on his Ridder persona by him.

[[folder:Literature]]
* Even though she knows who he really is, ActionGirl/[[TheLancer Lancer]] Elli Quinn from Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' is deeply in love with her commander, Admiral Miles Naismith--but not so enamored of his real identity Lt. Miles Vorkosigan. ("I've heard you do his accent" is as close as she can come to acknowledging it.) Her refusal to come to terms with this exasperates Miles ("I don't do his accent; he does mine") and eventually scuttles the relationship.
* Subverted in ''Death Sentence'' (the sequel to ''Death Wish''), Paul Benjamin starts a relationship with a court employee named Irene Evans. Her comments about the vigilante (whom she does not know as just Benjamin's alter ego) do not seem to indicate she particularly supports the vigilante.
* Averted in ''The Spider''; Nita Van Sloan supported Richard Wentworth as himself and the Spider.
* ''Literature/TheScarletPimpernel'': Marguerite Blakeney is estranged from her ditzy fop of a husband Sir Percy and in love with the brave, selfless, mysterious vigilante the Scarlet Pimpernel. Talk about some things never change...
* This becomes a major problem for Gara Petothel in ''[[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing: Wraith Squadron]]'', who is an imperial secret agent who likes her covert identiy as an Alliance pilot so much, she would rather like to [[BecomingTheMask become the mask]]. Unfortunately the one pilot to show romantic interest her is the only survivor of an ambush she had set up months before. Not only did the death of all his friends traumatize him deeply, it's also his friendship to her that slowly helps him to recover. [[spoiler:In the end, she is forced to kill off the Gara Petothel identity, but is able to start a new life under another persona, and hooks up with Myn under the name of Kirney Slane.]]
* In the Bengali play ''Chitra'' by Rabindranath Tagore, Princess Chitra is a plain-faced {{Tomboy}} who prays to the gods that she be granted perfect beauty for one year, so as to seduce the warrior Arjuna. She gets her wish and romances him under a different name. As the year comes to an end, Arjuna hears of Princess Chitra's famous exploits and begins to fall in love with her. When he confesses this to Chitra, she reveals herself to him and they live HappilyEverAfter.
* In ''Crown Duel'' by Sherwood Smith Meliara begins corresponding with an unknown figure who helps her navigate court politics. It turns out this man is [[spoiler: Shevraeth, the future king, who she has had some Belligerent Sexual Tension with. She experiences some internal conflict when the mystery writer tells her Shevraeth plans on taking a queen in a desperate attempt to unite her feelings for the letter writer and for him]].
* Simon and Blue from ''Literature/SimonVsTheHomoSapiensAgenda'' fall for each other online, but don't know each other in person, and Simon is stressed that Blue would no longer like him when he finds out who he really is.
* In ''Literature/AnansiBoys'' Rosie is in love with Spider, who she thinks is her fiance Fat Charlie, but he's actually Charlie's alter ego...sort of.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Unlike all other adaptations, in ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', Lois might be a HeroWorshipper of The Blur (not yet "Superman"), but she is with Clark all the time.
* ''Series/HannahMontana'' has Oliver in love with Miley's alter ego, the rockstar Hannah Montana, but when he finds out the truth, he initially faints and subsequently gets over his crush as he genuinely doesn't see ''Miley'' that way. Later, Jake undergoes this, only this time, he didn't faint.
-->'''Jake''': "Jake Ryan doesn't faint, but [[SecretIdentity Leslie]], on the other hand, is a little woozy."/
** For the most part, Miley can mostly avoid this issue as Hannah and Miley don't run in the same social circles, but at least once she dated a boy who explicitly didn't like Hannah Montana's music. However, she was able to use this to her advantage in "My Best Friend's Boyfriend" after she learns that Lilly's boyfriend Lucas is cheating on her; she and Oliver set up a scenario where Lucas will be out for dinner at the same restaurant as Hannah and Lola (Lilly in disguise), allowing Miley to flirt with Lucas as Hannah (since he obviously wouldn't do anything with Lilly's best friend) so that he will admit his cheating in front of 'Lola'.
* In ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', Bulk and Skull have a deep respect and admiration for the Power Rangers, but have nothing but contempt for the Rangers' civilian identities. This gradually changed in later seasons.
* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' / ''Franchise/PowerRangers''
** Zonette in ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'' loves the hero Red Racer, but not his civilian identity Kyousuke. He loves her back, but wants to do so as himself, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNMSZS5qqCw leading to this.]]
** In ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger'', Kai's crush Yuka goes gaga over Magired, but [[spoiler:the trope is subverted when she figures out his identity during the movie that takes place halfway through the series]]. Notably, [[spoiler:[[SecretSecretKeeper she hints but never outright tells him that she's aware of his identity]].]]
** In ''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge'', Chase starts going out with a GirlOfTheWeek, only for her to break things off when she develops a crush on the Black Ranger, much to his frustration.
--> "I went behind my own back! I stole her right out from under my own nose!"
* A running theme in ''Series/LoisAndClark'' was Clark's frustration that Lois never noticed him but swooned over Superman. Much later (after Lois had known for a while and the two of them were married), there was an episode that played with this trope from a different angle: there's a scandal when a tabloid reporter catches Superman in bed with Clark Kent's wife.
** In a twist, the show departs from the comics by having Lois deduce Clark's identity before he can propose to her, leaving that uncertainty about what Lois loved about Clark. She does not reveal that she knows until he proposes. This was somewhat settled when he became normal and she got his superpowers for a little while. In the comics, Lois finally fell for Clark then found out about the secret after they were engaged.
** Furthermore throughout the first season and first half of the second (that is: before Lois and Clark start actually dating) Lois is depicted as being ''very'' attracted to Clark, [[HeIsNotMyBoyfriend but very deeply in denial.]]
** Mayson Drake comes at the issue from the opposite angle. She definitely has the hots for Clark Kent, but views Superman as dangerously close to being a vigilante.
* ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' has an odd variation that relates to TimeTravel rather than secret identities. [[{{Ojou}} Airi Nogami]] was engaged to [[BigBrotherMentor Yuuto Sakurai]] when he vanished, and interacts with a time-displaced teenage version of him without realizing who he is [[spoiler:except she ''does'' know, the ignorance is just a front]]. Airi and the younger Yuuto are never really treated as a potential romance until the end of the series, where the elder Sakurai vanishes into the timestream. The first film of the ''Chou Den-O Trilogy'' addresses this further: Yuuto's BattleButler Deneb ineptly tries to set them up together, before he (and Airi) realize that Yuuto and Sakurai are different people, but the roots of his kind-hearted future self are there and slowly developing, with the ending teasing at what might happen.
** In ''Series/KamenRiderFourze'', [[PerkyGoth Tomoko Nozama]] appears to have some sort of feelings for [[AloofAlly Kamen Rider Meteor]], while becoming closer to [[FalseFriend Ryusei Sakuta]] who, unknown to her, is Meteor. [[spoiler:They pretty much end up together after she finds out.]]
* On ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer,'' Angel is prone to going through a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor between himself and his evil, soulless identity, Angelus. Interestingly, Drusilla--who's not exactly sane--seems to blame Angel for Angelus' evil actions toward her (torturing him as she recounts them in one episode) even though she loves Angelus. (And of course, this trope also applies to Buffy and Darla, but they don't seem to make the same odd disconnect between the two halves that Drusilla does. Though Dru's crazy, so do with that as you will.)
* ''Series/{{Community}}'':
** Annie gets smitten with Abed whenever he's pretending to be [[Series/MadMen Don Draper]] / ComicBook/{{Batman}} / [[Franchise/StarWars Han Solo]] / etc. For bonus points, Abed lampshades that these roles match Jeff's archetype, who is Annie's actual love interest. Annie has a very clear type.
** In season 4, the Dean pretends to have [[FreakyFridayFlip switched bodies with Jeff]] (though Jeff refuses to acknowledge it) and does a spot-on impression of Jeff. Annie spends the entire episode getting hot and bothered around the Dean and having absolutely no idea why.
--->'''Shirley:''' What is happening with you?\\
'''Annie:''' ''I don't know''.
* In ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', Latka's girlfriend Simka returns to New York, but when he tries to declare his love for her, he suddenly turns into [[TheCasanova Vic Ferrari]].
* In ''Help! I'm A Teenage Outlaw''. Swiftnick the teenage highwayman's confederates include a girl called Deedee, who he sees as just a friend, if not a total pain who keeps undermining his authority. Meanwhile, he has a hopeless infatuation for RebelliousPrincess Lady Devereaux. He has never realised that Deedee is Lady Devereaux in a peasant smock.
* As shown in ''Series/HenryDanger''. Piper adores Kid Danger and even thinks he's hot, which of course completely contrasts her [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling usual behavior]] towards Henry. Charlotte [[LampshadeHanging immediately tells Piper]] that she ''[[{{Squick}} really]]'' [[BrotherSisterIncest shouldn't be saying that.]]
* Played with in ''Series/{{Misfits}}'', the gang is followed by a man in a mask (AKA Superhoodie) who turns out to be [[spoiler: a future version of Simon. Future!Simon and Alisha hook up and he tells her that they are together in the future.]] In the present, they enter into a relationship and he can't help be a little jealous of himself.
* The Mighty Carson Art Players lampshade the hell out of this in a ''Tonight Show'' skit that had Johnny as Clark Kent/Superman. Kent and Lois get married as, in their honeymoon suite, Lois wishes she had married Superman. Kent reveals he's Superman, much to Lois' joy. The lights go out when they're in bed, and their consummation lasts all but five seconds. The lights go on as they each light up a cigarette. Opines Lois: "They're right about you, Superman. You ''are'' faster than a speeding bullet!"
* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "[[Recap/DoctorWho2016CSTheReturnOfDoctorMysterio The Return of Doctor Mysterio]]". Grant is the mild-mannered nanny to Lucy, whom he's been pining over for 24 years. His alter-ego is a masked superhero called the Ghost. Naturally, when the Ghost saves her life, Lucy is interested in him, while largely ignoring Grant (who starts feeling jealous towards his other self). During her interview/date with the Ghost, the latter starts to make fun of her male nanny, causing Lucy to get defensive and have a LoveEpiphany about Grant. Everything gets resolved by the end, when Grant is forced to reveal his powers to her, although she says she prefers his superhero costume... before putting the glasses he dropped back on him (i.e. his supernanny costume).
* An interesting case exists in ''Series/MrRobot'': [[spoiler: [[TheHero Elliot]] and his [[JekyllAndHyde evil split personality]] Mr. Robot]] share a body but, due to their drastically different personalities and knowledge bases, can for all intents and purposes be considered two different people. [[VillainousCrush Tyrell]] is in love with [[spoiler: Mr. Robot, not Elliot]], but doesn't realize that the two aren't one and the same until the beginning of season 3.
* On ''Series/KnightSquad'', the Princess uses a magical ring to take on the persona of Ciara so she can train to become a knight. At first, only friend Arc knows the truth although teammate Prudence later finds out. In season 2, teammate Warwick surprises them by talking of how "the princess is so into me," having mistaken Ciara's words of encouragement as the Princess as professions of love. When he finds out they're the same person, Warwick is jarred as he feels nothing for Ciara yet still attracted to her when she turns into the Princess.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'' does this with Matt and Karen, with Matt actually smirking when Karen vouches for the Devil of Hell's Kitchen in his presence:
-->'''Karen Page:''' He didn't hurt Ben and he didn't hurt me. I'll take the Devil of Hell's Kitchen over Fisk any day. Plus, he kicks ass! ''[Matt smiles, Foggy scoffs]'' No, you should've seen the way that he was flipping around in the rain.
* A BreatherEpisode of ''Series/UltramanEighty'' had Takeshi Yamato (Ultraman 80's human form) being convinced to go on a date by his students, only for the date to be interrupted by a kaiju attack. After Takeshi transforms into Ultraman 80 and defeats the kaiju (without anyone noticing, as usual), though? Takeshi's date is no longer interested in him, because she now had a crush on ''Ultraman 80''!
* In ''Series/HelpImATeenageOutlaw'', Tom is in love with Lady Devereux, never realising that she is also the 'peasant' girl Deedee who is a member of his gang.
* ''Series/{{Moon Knight|2022}}'' gives an unorthodox example with Layla and Marc Spector, as they're already married and she's well aware of his superhero identity. But after he [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies leaves her to protect her]] ([[ActionGirl not that she needed it]]), he settles in London and takes the identity Steven Grant, which becomes a SplitPersonality for him. When Layla tracks down her estranged husband and meets Steven for the first time, she starts liking him for their shared interests, even as she comes to despise Marc for keeping secrets from her (such as having a mental illness).

[[folder:Podcasts]]
* In Rude Tales of Magic, Cordelia develops a crush on Blaine despite not having any interest in Ivan Gretsky. When the group is given the choice between sparing Ivan's life and receiving their payment, she even goes so far as to ask how often he's Blaine.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* OlderThanTelevision: in the play ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'', both WarriorPoet Cyrano and BookDumb but so very handsome Christian are in love with Roxanne. Since Cyrano thinks he doesn't stand a chance with her anyway because of that big nose issue, he uses his gift for poetry to [[PlayingCyrano help Christian woo her]] so at least he can know [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy they'll both be happy together]], which backfires because it tears them both up for years to know Roxanne's really in love with Cyrano but thinks she's in love with Christian. [[spoiler:There's also the fact that Christian is ''killed'' later and Cyrano ''still'' CannotSpitItOut to not break Roxanne's heart... and keeps denying that the letters are his until his death.]]
* [[TheIngenue Margot Bonvalet]] in the operetta ''Theatre/TheDesertSong''.
* Oscar Wilde's ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest'' has its own version of this, with Jack's ward Cecily falling in love with his alter ego and "Bunbury", Ernest. Not having met him, though, she doesn't know the first thing about him, making it possible for Jack's friend Algernon to pose as Ernest to woo her. Of course, the traditional Loves My Alter Ego is not quite there, but that is somewhat thanks to Algernon who takes on the role of Ernest. Meanwhile, Jack's -- who goes by the name Ernest in the city -- LoveInterest Gwendolyn is convinced that Jack is Ernest, eventually leading Cecily and Gwendolyn to briefly think they're in love with the same man, until it turns out that ''no one'' is Ernest.
* Polly falls in love with Bobby's "alter ego" in the play ''Theatre/CrazyForYou''.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'', Luna loves Geo's super hero form, Mega Man, but not Geo himself; after learning that they're the same person, she ''still'' claims she only likes Megaman and couldn't care less about Geo. However, she warms up to Geo over time. In the games, she's pretty clearly just messing with him, as she frequently calls Megaman, Geo and discusses his heroics while they're hanging out. In the anime though she seems almost delusional about pretending they're two different people even when he changes right in front of her.
* ''VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition'' has Emily falling for York [[spoiler:which is Zach's SplitPersonality, rather than Zack, the real person, himself]].
* ''The Strangers'' mod for ''VideoGame/FreedomForce'' has one of these. [[ScienceHero Ordinary doctor]] Biff Bateman is completely oblivious to the fact that his assistant, [[HotScientist Marla Manners]], is madly in love with him and tries to talk him into a date/bed constantly. In an attempt to get his attention, Marla takes some of Bateman's [[ShrinkRay shrinking technology]] along with a taser and a costume she made herself to become The Spider, the beautiful and mysterious crimefighter. Bateman, at about the same time, lets his fascination with other superheroes get the better of him and borrows some experimental military tech to make himself into The Fly, defender of justice. The Fly meets The Spider on the job, and it's love at first sight... for The Fly only, because of a [[AllMenArePerverts bad first impression]]. So The Fly dreams about the Spider, who hates his guts, and Marla dreams of Bateman, who doesn't pay attention. [[spoiler: Things don't get resolved until they finally learn each other's secret identities.]]
* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', Carth Onasi falls in love with [[spoiler:the protagonist (if female)]] and hates [[spoiler: [[BigBad Darth Revan]]]]. It is eventually revealed that they are the same person. An unusual example, in that the [[spoiler:the protagonist]] doesn't know that [[spoiler:she is Revan]], owing to [[spoiler:AmnesiacDissonance]].
* Whenever Tart asks Hamil about his meeting with "her big sister" Tanit in ''VideoGame/TearsToTiara2'', he voice his unending admiration. Leads to punches, blushes, and tears.
* ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': Kahlua/Tequila's personal routes in the second trilogy games revolve around this. The one in the second game is also one of the routes where new male character Roselle plays a major role.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* Micki in ''Smithson''. Despite her interest in Scooter, she's definitely intrigued by and possibly attracted to Chumucka Man, the SecretIdentity of Scooter's roommate, Chuck. [[ClarkKenting She still hasn't figured it out]], despite the [[StevenUlyssesPerhero similar name]] and seeing Chuck [[TheGlassesComeOff without his glasses]]. Since both Chuck and Micki are ComicBook fans, copious [[LampshadeHanging lampshades are hung]] on this.
* [[http://boymeetsboy.keenspot.com/d/20031124.html This strip]] in ''Webcomic/BoyMeetsBoy''.
* In ''Webcomic/DumbingOfAge,'' Danny explains that he can't date Amber, since he realizes that he was subconsciously attracted to her mainly because of her uncanny resemblance to his ex-girlfriend. Then he explains that he's set his sights on Amazi-Girl instead. (Shocking non-twist: [[spoiler:Amber is Amazi-Girl.]])
* Played to the point of parody in ''Webcomic/SidekickGirl'' where [[https://sidekickgirl.net/maelstrom-iii/ Mackenzie feels guilty for crushing on Maelstrom]] because of her boyfriend in her secret identity, Drake. Drake is Maelstrom. [[https://sidekickgirl.net/maelstrom-iv/ He feels similarly guilty about crushing on Illuminia, who is Mackenzie]]...
* In ''Webcomic/WitchesAmongHumans'', Luz has several secret keepers, but Amity is not one of them, with Luz's secret identity (or in this case, her real identity) coming close to being blown to her girlfriend more than once.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' has Chuckie creating a foreign alter ego named "Chongo" to impress a girl he likes. She's swept up by "Chongo", but is platonically nice to Chuckie when they finally talk to each other.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' short "Moon Over Minerva", Minerva Mink spurns the affections of the nerdy and unsophisticated Wilford Wolf, but goes crazy when the full moon turns him into a muscular, smooth-talking {{hunk}}. After finding out the truth from Wilford, she decides to stay with him because "some things are worth waiting for."
* Parodied in a special [[SuperDeformed chibi]] style short of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. [[OfficialCouple Aang]], [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys Jet]], [[ShipsThatPassInTheNight Haru]] and [[FanPreferredCouple Prince Zuko]] all battle it out for [[LauncherOfAThousandShips Katara's]] affection...only to find out she's already chosen [[CrackPairing the Blue Spirit]], who's Zuko's alter-ego on the regular show but inexplicably a separate person here. Zuko faints, saying "I did ''not'' see that one coming."
* On ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold,'' [[ComicBook/BlueBeetle Jaime]] spends one episode [[PrecociousCrush smitten]] with ComicBook/{{Huntress}}. The same episode has him escorted around Gotham University by [[HotTeacher Professor Bertinelli]], whom [[ClarkKenting he doesn't recognize]] and doesn't seem particularly attracted to. (Though perhaps that's because her Huntress outfit [[MaleGaze diverts attention from the face]]...)
* This has happened to Ben of ''Franchise/Ben10'' on occasion. In the [[WesternAnimation/Ben10 original series]], he meets the tetramand female Tiny while as Fourarms, and she immediately starts hitting on him. Luckily, the Omnitrix times out, turning him back to human. "Saved by the beep!" Later in the episode, Tiny asks if he'll go back to Fourarms, to which he replies, "Never!" There's also Kai, who [[YouSexyBeast crushed on him when he unlocked Blitzwolfer]] but lost interest in him when he turned back to normal (despite this, the two ended up StrangledByTheRedString in ''Omniverse'').
** In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'', Ben turns into an Incursean to infiltrate their fleet, attracting the eye of Princess Attea. Due to the influence of Incursean DNA, Bullfrag (Ben's Incursean form) actually starts flirting with her! When all is said and done, Attea offers Ben the choice to join the Incurseans...provided he does so as Bullfrag.
* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'': Karmi is in love with Hiro's alter ego, who she calls [[EmbarrassingNickname Captain Cutie]]. Meanwhile, Richardson Mole inverts this with Go Go, who he tries to woo and refers to her as "dream girl". The one time he talks to her while she's in costume, it's clear he couldn't be less interested.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cybersix}}'': Subverted, Cybersix's civilian alter ego is her [[SweetPollyOliver crossdressing]] as Lucas' best friend Adrian. Lucas is in love with Cybersix and vice versa... but then Lucas sees Cybersix go into Adrian's apartment [[MistakenForCheating and assumes they're lovers]].
** Don't forget Lori, a student at the high school who has a pretty open crush on "Adrian," but considers Cybersix to be a tramp (possibly not helped by the fact that she was the one who initially jumped to the "Cybersix/Adrian" conclusion because she tried to see Adrian in his own apartment). [[spoiler:And then all is resolved in the final episode, when Cybersix hands Lori "Adrian's" glasses...]]
** It's subtly hinted that Lucas [[spoiler: ''might'' be bisexual and is also attracted to Adrian, regularly taking "him" out for dinner and at one point even invites him to go see a romantic movie. He even drops everything when Adrian got injured by the monster that turns invisible, sent to hunt down Cybersix, so he can take him to the hospital; and tells him sternly to stop making a fuss when he refused to go to the hospital.]]
* Paulina on the comic book-esque ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom''
** An AlternateCharacterInterpretation goes that Sam is this as well, as an odd variant that also knows his secret identity.
** Inverted with [[HunterOfMonsters Valerie]], who likes Danny Fenton but hates Danny Phantom.
** And since he is an expy of Flash Thompson above, [[JerkJock Dash Baxter]] worships Danny Phantom while tormenting Danny Fenton.
* ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has a non-romantic example. Dexter experimented on a lab monkey, creatively named Monkey, in hopes of giving him superpowers only to get frustrated when all of it seemed to have no effect. In reality, the monkey gained a slew of [[SuperpowerLottery superpowers]] and fights to protect the Earth as a superhero under the codename Monkey. Dexter remains oblivious to all this but frequently shows admiration for the superhero.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' episode where Timmy is "the Masked Magician" may qualify for this--Trixie Tang, who (usually) detests him, finds his eponymous alter-ego to be "a ''cute'' superhero!"
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'', Dexter Douglas can't catch a break from the ladies, but they're all over Freakazoid. Freakazoid [[SplitPersonality has a mind separate from Dexter]], which occasionally caused him to actively mock Dexter for this. In the first episode, Dexter even turns into Freakazoid to make out with a girl who couldn't stand him--he even acknowledges how shallow it is, but he doesn't care. Freakazoid's girlfriend Steff won't even talk to Dex and when she found out the truth, she was at first incredulous, then thought it was funny more than anything else, and never brought it up thereafter.
* In ''WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'', Phil is constantly trying to seduce Birdgirl--despite it being horribly obvious to everyone else that Birdgirl is Judy, his ''[[{{Squick}} daughter]].''
* ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'': Teela has a crush on He-Man and dismisses Prince Adam as a lazy coward. Similarly, in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaPrincessOfPower'', Bow likes She-Ra and ignores Princess Adora. (To be fair, both Adam and Adora deliberately show less heroism in civilian guise).
** Inverted with Sea Hawk, who respects She-Ra but prefers Adora.
* On ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold,'' Arnold's attraction to Helga (disguised as Arnold's French pen pal Cecile) in the episode "Arnold's Valentine." Helga even soliloquizes about it:
-->'''Helga:''' He likes me. He really likes me! Ohh! (beat) Wait a minute - he doesn't like me, he likes Cecile. Well, not ''Cecile''-Cecile, ''me''-Cecile--so he ''does'' like me!. [[LampshadeHanging Oh, criminy, I'm a basket case]]!
* Similarly, Rosemary the police dispatcher is smitten with ''WesternAnimation/HongKongPhooey'', but couldn't care less about Penrod Pooch.
* Playfully inverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'': Clarabelle accepts a date from Goofy, but in his cluelessness, Goofy believes she turned him down. He later becomes Super Goof and does various heroic acts around the House of Mouse. After he saves Clarabelle from a meteor, he asks her out, but Clarabelle refuses -- because she has a date with Goofy.
* Rio from ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' is torn between Jerrica and her secret identity Jem--and he has a bad temper concerning those who deceive him. Inverted with Riot, who was introduced in the last season. He is head over heels for Jem but is vastly indifferent to Jerrica.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPandaLegendsOfAwesomeness'', Tigress falls in love with the Midnight Stranger who is actually Po in disguise. When Tigress finds out who he really is, she leaves to throw up.
* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'':
** This works both ways with the two main heroes: in their civilian forms, Marinette has a huge crush on Adrien, but becomes a flustered wreck whenever she tries to talk to him, leaving Adrien ObliviousToLove, though still friendly with her. However, when they meet in their superhero personae of Ladybug and Chat Noir, Adrien is the one flirting while Marinette is indifferent and underestimating ''his'' interest in her.
** Resident AlphaBitch Chloe is a variant with both main characters: she's been Adrien's friend for longer than anyone as well as his HopelessSuitor and is a serious Ladybug fan to the extent that she owns a replica costume of the superheroine and forces her BetaBitch to cosplay as Chat Noir, yet she hates Marinette enough to bully her for years before the start of the show and is largely indifferent to Chat Noir, a handsome, athletic teen in a tight leather-esque costume.
** [[spoiler:A further variant comes in the person of Gabriel Agreste, Adrien's father. While he is an absolutely atrocious father, he does seem to genuinely love his son. He is also the villain Hawk Moth, and as such unknowingly attempts to kill, mind-control, or otherwise defeat his son on an almost daily basis.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'', Jenny falls for the Silver Shell, a robot suit piloted by Sheldon, who has a crush on her. He originally designed it so that he could act like a jerk and dissuade her from liking robot boys, but instead decided to take advantage of the changing situation.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'': In "Otter Woman" Skipper falls for Arlene (Marlene in disguise due chlorine accident)
* A ''WesternAnimation/PepperAnn'' episode had Pepper Ann become the mascot of her school's field hockey team. While performing in her otter costume, she managed to win over upperclassman Craig Bean. Pepper Ann continued to meet Craig in guise of the otter, but eventually decided to reveal herself to him. Craig subsequently admitted that he knew all along that Pepper Ann was the otter, and also acknowledged how ridiculous it would feel if it turned out he ''did'' love Pepper Ann's mascot self more than her.
* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/Phantom2040'': police officer Sagan Cruz has {{UST}} with Kit Walker, but sees the Phantom as a glory-hogging jerk. Particularly when he used his "Good Mark" to ''deface a necklace Kit gave her''. (It struck him as appropriate since it ''already'' symbolised their friendship, but it hadn't occurred to him that it looked like the actions of two separate people.)
* ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' plays with this in one episode. Isabella gets annoyed that her usual crush, Phineas, keeps disappearing when she needs him. Meanwhile she swoons over the Beak, the new local superhero, whom she follows around ComicBook/LoisLane-style. Of course, the Beak is actually Phineas (and his brother, Ferb) in a robotic suit. GenreSavvy Candace calls out Isabella for her GenreBlindness when she eventually learns the truth:
--> '''Candace:''' Congratulations, you just earned your "''Uh, Durr''" Patch.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen almost]] had a platonic example--apparently, in the early seasons, Krusty the Clown was going to secretly be Homer, with Bart disrespecting Homer but worshiping Krusty. This was deemed too complicated and eventually scrapped, with Krusty becoming his own character.
* Platonic example on ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''--Shelly loves the singer {{Music/Lorde}}, unaware that "she" is actually her own father.
* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' Felicia was in love with Peter, but Black Cat was in love with Spidey. Eventually, Felicia decided not to pursue a relationship with Peter Parker so that her Black Cat persona would be free to be with Spider-Man. In the end, she left with a vampire, and Spidey went with Mary Jane anyway, but it was all very dramatic at the time.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': A very brief example. Star is clearly smitten with Marco in disguise during their dance, only to snap out of it when he surprises her by revealing himself.
* Daisy on ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock''; Static [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] this once.
* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' [[spoiler:Rose Quartz aka Pink Diamond]] got this on both ends. [[spoiler:The Crystal Gems loved Rose while they hated and feared Pink Diamond. The Gems of her court loved Pink Diamond while they hated and feared Rose Quartz for (supposedly) shattering her.]]
** Kevin insantly develops a crush when he first meets Steven and Connie's combined alter-ego Stevonnie, but immediately drops it upon finding out they're actually just the fused form of two children.
* Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse:
** This version of Lois Lane gets a twofer in the original "World's Finest" crossover between ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' and ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''.
--->'''Batman:''' It's ironic, you know. She likes Bruce Wayne, and she likes Superman; it's the other two guys she's not crazy about.\\
'''Superman:''' It's a pity we can't mix and match.
** Which is ridiculous because in ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' Lois ''is'' attracted to Clark; [[HeIsNotMyBoyfriend she's just in denial]].
** Similarly, Catwoman loves Batman, but only considers Bruce a friend. He knows both her identities and, according to the "perfect world" illusion created by the Mad Hatter, would marry her, if [[DatingCatwoman Batman and Catwoman]] were out of the equation.
** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'':
*** As a non-romantic version, Terry [=McGinnis=]'s younger brother Matt idolizes the new Batman as badass and the epitome of cool, but sees his own older brother as a boring workaholic who's never around.
*** Inverted with Terry's relationship with Melanie. Melanie loves Terry, but is lukewarm to antagonistic towards Batman.
* On ''[[WesternAnimation/TotalDrama Total Drama Revenge of the Island]],'' Mike's relationship with Zoey is continually impeded by his SplitPersonality, Vito, having make-out sessions with Anne Maria. Neither girl knows about Mike's condition at first and assumes that the personality they're into is the "true" one and the other is an act.
* DarkActionGirl Paige from ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'' ''hates'' "The Renegade", despite certain [[DatingCatwoman flirtatious remarks]] she makes during their confrontations. Yet she ends up developing an attraction to his civilian persona, Beck, upon getting to know him better.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'', Speedy falls for Porky's dance partner (Bugs duisguised as a woman). Once he reveals who "she" really is, Speedy says that he was only being polite, since he considered her to be really ugly (Bugs does make a really ugly woman). Until it's revealed that he had a shrine, AND EVEN AN ENGAGEMENT RING.
* Sweet Polly Purebred (practically a Lois Lane {{Expy}} anyway) from ''WesternAnimation/{{Underdog}}''.
* ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl'':
** TJ has a fanboyish obsession with Word Girl that seems to border on a PrecociousCrush...but Word Girl is actually his ([[NotBloodRelated adopted]]) older sister Becky. In an episode where her family discovers her identity, he is mortified and throws away his [=WordGirl=] merchandise, unable to handle that his hero is also his painfully "ordinary" sibling. He even refuses to help her when the entire family is captured by Dr. Two-Brains. In the end, the family's memories of Becky as [=WordGirl=] are erased, returning things to the status quo.
** Tobey has a VillainousCrush on Word Girl, but generally treats Becky either indifferently or as an annoying rival. Some episodes have him suspect that they are the same person, though by the end of them, events conspire to once again dissuade him of that theory.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* In a non-fantasy vein, this is certainly true of "ordinary" people who idolize celebrities. The "real person" more often than not is [[BrokenPedestal nowhere near as glamorous once you get to meet them]]. See LovingAShadow for more details.
** In particular, Creator/MarilynMonroe was able to go out in public and not be harassed due to some ClarkKenting, much to the shock of a reporter doing an interview with her. She demonstrated the difference by turning on her charm and fluffing her hair out a bit, causing everyone else to recognize her instantly.
* Music/MileyCyrus once stated in an interview that, while she and her little sister Noah didn't get along, Noah was a big fan of Miley's TV alter-ego Series/HannahMontana.
* This can happen with online dating, especially on web platforms that allow you to go by a pseudonym and not reveal personal information. There are many cases where the internet allows people to either only show the best parts of themselves or create a different personality entirely.
[[/folder]]

** Which is a bit hypocritical of her, since she later stated that she didn't like him when his Man-Wolf alter ego.
* Ironically averted in ''ComicStrip/ThePhantom'', one of the first masked crimefighters in comics. It's complicated, but the Phantom doesnt strictly ''have'' a secret identity, not in the traditional sense. He's the latest in a line of crimefighters dating back centuries who have all used the Phantom identity. His birth name is Christopher Walker, which is also what he uses when travelling incognito but in his private life he's still the Phantom, he even wears his costume at home with his wife and kids. He never made his second identity a secret to his wife, and it was eventually Retconned that they had met as children.

* Hilariously inverted in ''ComicBook/{{Superlopez}}'': Luisa Lanas (Lois Lane's {{Expy}}) loves Juan López but hates Superlópez with a passion.

* Creator/HarveyKurtzman's ''Superduperman!'', his ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' parody, deconstructs the entire trope and its sexist foundation. Lois Pain rejects Clark Bent after he reveals that he and Superduperman are the same person. This was a spoof of the sexist assumptions that girls should be seduced by charismatic personas but ultimately settle for the dull "real guy" who they ignore, which Kurtzman saw as deceptive and disrespectful:

* In [[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/enchsnake.html "The Enchanted Snake,"]] the king promises the heroine she [[EngagementChallenge can marry the prince if only she saves him]]. Recovered, the prince nevertheless refuses because he has promised himself elsewhere; the heroine, delighted, reveals that she is that woman.

* ''[[Fanfic/TheManyDatesOfDannyFenton Danny and Kara]]'': Sam admires Supergirl as "a strong, female figure" in spite of "her brightly primary colors" but hates Kara.

* In ''Film/{{Supergirl}}'', Ethan falls in love with Linda Lee and is merely grateful and respectful to Supergirl after being rescued by her. He eventually learns they are one and the same.

* ''[[Manga/CrossplayLoveOtakuXPunk Crossplay Love: Otaku x Punk]]'' takes this UpToEleven with ''both'' main characters being {{Crossdresser}}s who are attracted to each other's fem alter egos, without knowing they're not actually a girl. In their normal lives, they don't like each other's male identities at all.

* Howard Chaykin's DC title ''Mighty Love'' takes it UpToEleven: policewoman Delaney Pope and public defender Lincoln Reinhardt can't stand each other. However they ''both'' have costumed alter egos and Skylark and Iron Angel have a mutual attraction, even if they don't know who's behind the other's mask.

** TJ has a fanboyish obsession with Word Girl that seems to border on a PrecociousCrush...but Word Girl is actually his ([[NotBloodRelated adopted]]) older sister Becky. In an episode where her family discovers her identity, he is mortified and throws away his [=WordGirl=] merchandise, unable to handle that his hero is also his painfully "ordinary" sibling. He even refuses to help her when the entire family is captured by Dr. Two-Brains. In the end, the family's memories of Becky as [=WordGirl=] are erased, returning things to the StatusQuo.

* ''Series/MoonKnight'' gives an unorthodox example with Layla and Marc Spector, as they're already married and she's well aware of his superhero identity. But after he [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies leaves her to protect her]] ([[ActionGirl not that she needed it]]), he settles in London and takes the identity Steven Grant, which becomes a SplitPersonality for him. When Layla tracks down her estranged husband and meets Steven for the first time, she starts liking him for their shared interests, even as she comes to despise Marc for keeping secrets from her (such as having a mental illness).

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'' Felicia was in love with Peter, but Black Cat was in love with Spidey. Eventually, Felicia decided not to pursue a relationship with Peter Parker so that her Black Cat persona would be free to be with Spider-Man. In the end, she left with a vampire, and SPidey went with Mary Jane anyway, but it was all very dramatic at the time.