History Main / LovesMyAlterEgo

** [[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 Hawkmoth, the BiggerBad of the show, and as such unknowingly attempts to kill, mind-control, or otherwise defeat his son on an almost daily basis.]]

** 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]] [[JerkassFacade 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.

* ''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 [[Mamga/SailorMoon manga]] is even worse, because Usagi and Mamoru actually like each other there before learning each other's identities.

* Vicki Vale was Franchise/{{Batman}}'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/{{Batman}} the Tim Burton film]], she didn't properly turn up again until ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman versus {{Dracula}}'' (See RuleOfCool).

** Annie gets smitten with Abed whenever he's pretending to be [[Series/MadMen Don Draper]] / ComicBook/{{Batman}} / [[Film/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.

* Franchise/SpiderMan:
** This has occurred with Betty Brant and Gwen Stacey (who liked Peter but distrusted Spider-Man due to blaming him for the death of her father) and [[ComicBook/BlackCat Felicia Hardy]] (who loves Spider-Man but disliked his bland alter ego, to the point of begging him to put the mask back on when he revealed himself to her). It's more of a subversion with Mary Jane, though: in the 1960s, when she was generally only involved with Peter Parker, she once used an occasion when Spider-Man rescued her to flirt with him. So the double ID would never have been a romantic obstacle as it was with the others. In addition, a later {{Retcon}} has it that she always knew, but didn't say anything.
*** The AlternateContinuity title ''ComicBook/SpiderManLovesMaryJane'' explores this from Mary Jane's perspective.
*** A recent retcon implied that Gwen ended up learning Peter was Spider-Man a bit before he death. She did not take it well though she also realized why he did it.
** The Felicia Hardy case above is even worse in the [[Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan Ultimate]] version: she was so grossed out she ''vomited on him''. However, this is [[JustifiedTrope justifed by the fact]] that Felicia is an adult woman here while Peter is a ''teenager''. However, the Ultimate Black Cat was a complete [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of the standard one; she ''wanted'' to live a normal life with the man under the mask. It was just that she was alot older than him, so she understandably did not take it well when she learned who he was.
** Also, 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 while usually being a bully to Peter. 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)
** 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'' several 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, would be an [[DerailingLoveInterests understatement]].
** When [[NickSpencersSpiderMan 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.

* ''Disney/{{Frozen}}'' 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. [[{{Understatement}} 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]].

** 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, leading to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNMSZS5qqCw this]] CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

** In another animated take on it, ''[[WesternAnimation/SupermanDoomsday Superman: Doomsday]]'', Superman and Lois are actively dating and outright lovers, and he still hasn't revealed his secret identity to her. The normal trope is subverted in that she ''knows'' who he really is and makes it clear that she knows; she's just waiting for ''him'' to admit to it and stop the pointless denial "for her safety", seeing it as the last blockage of any real commitment between them. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming He finally does in the last scene]].

* An interesting case exists in ''Series/MrRobot'': [[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 Mr. Robot, not Elliot, but doesn't realize that the two aren't one and the same until the beginning of season 3.

* Happens to TheHulk, believe it or not. Betty prefered Bruce Banner, Jarella preferred Hulk and Caiera loves both.

* 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.

** This has occurred with Betty Brant and Gwen Stacey (who liked Peter but distrusted Spider-Man due to blaming him for the death of a relative) and [[ComicBook/BlackCat Felicia Hardy]] (who loves Spider-Man but disliked his bland alter ego, to the point of begging him to put the mask back on when he revealed himself to her). It's more of a subversion with Mary Jane, though: in the 1960s, when she was generally only involved with Peter Parker, she once used an occasion when Spider-Man rescued her to flirt with him. So the double ID would never have been a romantic obstacle as it was with the others. In addition, a later {{Retcon}} has it that she always knew, but didn't say anything.

** The Felicia Hardy case above is even worse in the [[Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan Ultimate]] version: she was so grossed out she ''vomited on him''. In her defense, the Ultimate Black Cat was a complete [[InvertedTrope inversion]] of the standard one; she ''wanted'' to live a normal life with the man under the mask. The problem being she's an adult (at least in her mid-20's) and he's a 15 year old kid. Definitely a justified {{squick}}.
** Also, 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 while usually doing whatever he can to make Peter Parker's life miserable. Generally, he grows out of it, though; Flash tends to mellow with age, and he and Peter end up getting along famously.

** [[DependingOnTheWriter Sometimes]] ComicBook/LexLuthor does the [[InvertedTrope inverse]], respecting Clark Kent a little more than Superman. In some stories they were even friends as kids. A particularly amusing example happened in ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'', where Luthor praised Clark Kent over Superman.

* 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 work, and she ultimately agrees to be "Madeleine" for him. It doesn't work out well for anyone involved.]]

** Leading to a [[FunnyMoments FunnyMoment]] when after Chase breaks up with Batman because she loves Bruce, Batman grins widely once he's out of her sight.

* In a non-fantasy vein, this is certainly true of "ordinary" people who idolize celebrities. The "real person" more often than not is [[UnderminedByReality nowhere near as glamorous once you get to meet them]].

* ''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, this trope is inverted when [[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.]]

* Inverted in ''Anime/MagicalProjectS'' where Hiroto has unrequited love for Misao, but hates Pixy Misa for being a victim of her troubles. Luckily, he gets to find out they're the same person.
** Played straight in one episode, where Konoha uses Sasami's baton. She puts Hiroto under a love spell, but he only falls for her transformed self, Funky Connie.

** Inverted in ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'' when Miyuki's brother, Daisuke, loves Love instead of her as Cure Peach. When he finds out that Love is Peach, being stupid to confess to her other her about his feelings for the real her, Daisuke tells Love that he will wait for her to tell her feelings to him. However, in the end, [[spoiler:she's not going to tell him]].
*** Before finding out she's a Pretty Cure, he's a male {{Tsundere}} to Love, but he's very polite and respectful to Cure Peach and he thinks Love [[{{Irony}} should be more like her]].

* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has Kuno hating Ranma, but loves his [[GenderBender female side]]. Inverse for his sister, Kodachi: loves Ranma, but hates his female side.
** Inverse variation to Shampoo and Ukyo. Of course, the two find out soon enough.
** Mikado loves female Ranma, but hates male Ranma.
** Picolet Chardin the 3rd loves female Ranma, but... demands that male Ranma pay his bill for the French food he (Ranma) ate.
** Sentaro, Densuke, and Yohyo all love female Ranma (see a trend?) but are rather nonplussed to discover the truth. Sentaro turns vindictive, Densuke tries ''real hard'' to forget, and Yohyo is completely flabbergasted and fails to react at all.

* ''WesternAnimation/StretchArmstrongAndTheFlexFighters'' inverts this for Stretch/Jake's crush, Riya, who finds Stretch overhyped, but likes Jake enough to accept his invitation to the school dance. [[spoiler:After the Flex Fighters learn that one of their enemies, Blindstrike, was Riya in disguise, it seems hard to blame her for hating Stretch, seeing how he kept getting in the way of her mission. (This reveal also turns Stretch's and Omni-Mass/Ricardo's feelings for Riya into another inversion.)]]