History Main / RomanticFalseLead

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' gives us Jessie, an abused housewife that welcomes Rick to Alexandria by giving him a haircut in late season 5. Rick develops an infatuation with her while dealing with severe PTSD and plotting to take over the community, he gets into a fight with her abusive husband and later kills him in front of the entire town. Him and Jessie share a kiss in episode 5 of season 6, but she dies soon after in episode 9 along with her two children. After that we have a time skip and Rick gets together with Michonne, who he shares a deep bond with and has been having Main/ShipTease with since season 3, ''in the very next episode'', and they begin a serious and committed relationship.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** This gets subverted much later when [[spoiler: Elliot realizes he loves Sarah like a sister and decides to downgrade their relationship to close friends. Sarah is fine with it for her own unrelated reasons. However, this opens this trope back up, as longtime friend [[DefrostingIceQueen Susan]], newcomer Ashley, and wildcard [[LovableAlphaBitch Diane]] are all attracted to him. Ashley fits the trope best, as she swoops in and gets a date with Elliot within minutes of meeting him for the first time, while Susan is still busy trying to make sense of her feelings for him that have been developing over several months, but as the comic is still ongoing the question of who Elliot will end up with remains unresolved]].

** For example, Nanase is Elliot's girlfriend when Sarah admits her feelings for him. Elliot is conflicted, Nanase isn't. She acknowledges that she's been LovingAShadow and dumps him so he can pursue Sarah, [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy who genuinely loves him]]. Both traps are avoided... Nanase's a likable character, but Sarah is also likable and better suited to being Elliot's girlfriend. In a slight twist, Nanase stays friends with both of them, and this isn't the end of her role... [[spoiler:In fact, she later comes to terms with the realization that she's a lesbian, and she winds up in a relationship with Elliot's [[OppositeSexClone bisexual female duplicate]] [[CloningBlues (long story)]], Ellen...]]

** In ''VisualNovel/HotCourture'', Hazel Nguyen is initially set up as a love interest, but in the final chapter, she reveals that she doesn't want a committed relationship.

** In ''VisualNovel/ThePhantomAgent'', Rowan Salazar, the main character's previous partner and love interest, is gender customizable, and you can earn Charm points with them, but then they seemingly get killed off in the very first chapter. In Chapter 11, they reveal they faked their death and are now TheDragon, and just when they make a HeelFaceTurn, the BigBad shoots and kills them in the penultimate chapter.

** In ''VisualNovel/ThePhantomAgent'', Rowan Salazar is gender customizable, and you can earn Charm points with them, but then they seemingly get killed off in the very first chapter. In Chapter 11, they reveal they faked their death and are now TheDragon, and just when they make a HeelFaceTurn, the BigBad shoots and kills them in the penultimate chapter.

** In [[''VisualNovel/ItLives It Lives Beneath'']], you can get ''one'' romance point with Imogen's friend Kyle before he is killed off in the very first chapter.

** In [[''VisualNovel/BladesOfLightAndShadow Blades of Light & Shadow, Book 1'']], Prince Aerin is initially set up as a love interest, but then he is revealed to have been corrupted by the Shadow Court and is helping its ruler, the Dreadlord return.

** In [[VisualNovel/ItLives ''It Lives Beneath'']], you can get ''one'' romance point with Imogen's friend Kyle before he is killed off in the very first chapter.

** Ross' English girlfriend Emily at least seemed to be a generally likable false lead, and Rachel's last minute "I HAVE TO TELL HIM HOW I FEEL" seemed exceptionally selfish and petty (a passenger played by Hugh Laurie calls her out on it too). While she does indeed decide against telling Ross she still loves him and simply wishes him a happy marriage, Ross accidentally says ''her'' name when he's up on the altar, showing that he at least has some feelings for her. Later when Ross tries to reconcile with Emily, she too is turned into a selfish, petty shrew by forcing Ross to never see Rachel again and, when she can't have her way, turning her back on him.

* ''Literature/ACourtOfThornsAndRoses'': Another incredibly convincing one in [[spoiler:Tamlin. The ''entire'' first book in the trilogy does everything in its power to make Tamlin look like Feyre's unquestionable true love with the plot being a loose retelling of "Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast" that casts him as the feared but misunderstood Beast and Feyre as the Beauty who risks everything to save him and his people... but then the second and third books show him JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and his rival Rhysand, who initially seemed to be little more than a despicable villain, turns out to be a more suitable match for Feyre]].

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%% See the first post of the "IP policies" thread in the Image Pickin' forum for details.

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** There's also Rosaline who is an unseen character, Juliet's cousin who Romeo had a crush on at the start of the play and was who sneaking into the Capulet Ball where to actually try and see. However after he spots Juliet at that same ball he instant forgets about her cousin altogether.

** There's also Rosaline who is an unseen character, Juliet's cousin who Romeo had a crush on at the start of the play and sneaking into the ball where he first sees Juliet for the first time. However after he spots Juliet he instant forgets about her cousin altogether.

* Count Paris in ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet''; Juliet's mother asks her if she thinks she can learn to love him, and Juliet doesn't deny it, and what we see of him indicates that he would have made a most suitable husband for Juliet had she not been besotted with Romeo.

* Averted in ''Literature/ReZero'', where Rem from the very beginning is introduced as the first of Subaru's girls from his SupportingHarem. However, being an example of when a similar heroine is portrayed better than the main {{Love Interest|s}}, along with her popularity with fans, she quickly becomes the first RomanticRunnerUp, and then the second love interest in story, when Subaru realizes, that he equally loves her and Emilia to such an extent that he is ready to marry them both. At the same time, [[spoiler: her coma in the future]], makes the subversion to this trope still possible.
* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'', Rei/Sailor Mars is this for Mamoru in the first season of the anime, though they drift apart shortly before he learns about his past with Princess Serenity, a.k.a. Usagi/Sailor Moon. Though right around the time they ''do'' learn about this, he'd also developed a genuine attraction to Usagi.

* Averted in ''LightNovel/ReZero'', where Rem from the very beginning is introduced as the first of Subaru's girls from his SupportingHarem. However, being an example of when a similar heroine is portrayed better than the main {{Love Interest|s}}, along with her popularity with fans, she quickly becomes the first RomanticRunnerUp, and then the second love interest in story, when Subaru realizes, that he equally loves her and Emilia to such an extent that he is ready to marry them both. At the same time, [[spoiler: her coma in the future]], makes the subversion to this trope still possible.

* ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'': Jim is Kim's boyfriend at the start of the film. At first they seem to be an ideal match since he is a jock and she is a cheerleader. [[BitchInSheepsClothing But Jim harbors a dark side which manifests itself more and more through the film]] which evantually causes Kim to break up with him. Jim does not take this well, and confronts his rival, Edward. When Kim tries to stop Jim from hurting Edward he strikes back at her. This causes Edward to finally act: [[spoiler: he stabs Jim and throws [[DisneyVillainDeath him out a window to his demise]] in order to defend Kim.]]

* Izumi from ''Manga/{{Beck}}'' is introduced as Koyuki's childhood friend. He clearly has a crush on her and its implied she has feelings for him too, but Izumi isn't a major character and she even leaves the story for a while after the first few episodes. Koyuki ends up meeting Ryusuke's sister Maho at a concert and though the two don't get off to a good start, they meet again and form a bond with each other that develops [[LastGirlWins into a]] [[OfficialCouple romance]].

%% Staff request: Don't remove the EchoChamber videos from pages.
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* Rex Splode from ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' briefly dated the title hero's crush Atom Eve, sparking a long-standing rivalry between the two that has gotten very violent. Rex seemed like a complete JerkAss at first but turned out to be just a somewhat arrogant [[TheAce Ace]]. Eventually the two became somewhat reluctant friends. Mark and Eve ''did'' [[HeroesWantRedHeads get together]], but much later. [[spoiler:Then Rex dies rather tragically in a HeroicSacrifice to defeat a group of lesser villains that Mark could've handled easily...if he and Eve hadn't needed to leave the planet to fight a greater threat at the exact same moment.]]

** The reporter Norah Winters during the ComicBook/BrandNewDay. She was often flirtatious with Peter while they worked together, but later began dating Randy Robertson, son of Robbie Robertson, editor of the Daily Bugle.

* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': After the Third Impact, thinking Shinji could not protect her or would let her down ''again'', Asuka briefly dated Hans, a subordinate of a warlord named Winthrop. When his boss sent him away she "voluntarily" went to Winthrop for protection. She spent over a year as his toy before he tired of her and gave her to his chief of staff, Colonel Jinnai. She spent two years with him before meeting Shinji again. After many, ''many'' ordeals and shared pain she and Shinji started to reconcile and try to have a real relationship. Hilariously Jinnai got mad when he found out, claiming he had been dumped by a slut despite Asuka being nothing but her toy and her telling plainly she never liked him and she serviced him and his former commander because they would put a bullet in her head if she did not "behave".

* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': Asuka was unknowingly this to [[OriginalCharacter Mandy]]. Mandy's girlfriend Jessika fell in love with Asuka - something Asuka was completely unaware of - and when Mandi found out [[spoiler:after Jessika's death]] she was jealous, thinking wrongly Jessika had been unfaithful.
* ''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'': Kurumi. When Shinji was a high-school student she was after him. However it did not last long because Shinji could not forget Asuka.

%% * In ''Fanfic/XMenTheEarlyYears'', ComicBook/JeanGrey dates several guys throughout the story. Most of them are quickly scared away by Scott, Hank, and Warren.
* In ''Fanfic/LearningToBloom'', Weiss has a crush on Neptune and agrees to date him. She also has a crush on Pyrrha but doesn't realize it at first since they're both girls and Weiss had never given any thought to liking girls. Weiss quickly falls out of love with Neptune but continues to date him. Pyrrha herself is reluctantly in a relationship with Jaune, despite only liking him as a friend. In the end both Weiss and Pyrrha recognize they're just hurting themselves by faking being in love with their boyfriends. They give in to their mutual attraction, break up with their boyfriends (who aren't that upset because they always figured there was something going on between the two), and begin dating one another.

* Done in a [[PlayedForLaughs deliberately silly way]] with Batman in ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', where Wyldstyle already has a boyfriend, and he's Batman. Batman is portrayed as abrasive, pretentious, and egotistical, and Emmett can't stand him - but whenever [[DerailingLoveInterests he appears to go too far and treat Wyldstyle badly]], it's immediately {{subverted|Trope}}. Besides his eccentricities, Batman is very much a NiceGuy, and he and Wyldstyle eventually break up on good terms.
* ''WesternAnimation/BarbieAsTheIslandPrincess'' goes against the "tradition" of making the other girl with an interest on the male lead a JerkAss AlphaBitch. The arranged fiancée of the prince is a rather sweet girl who genuinely likes him, voluntarily steps aside when it's clear the prince and the Barbie princess would be much better and even helps take down her EvilMatriarch of a mother and the BigBad of the movie.

%% * ''Film/LiarLiar'': Audrey's current boyfriend Jerry is a nice, boring guy in contrast to the more charismatic but flaky Fletcher (Creator/JimCarrey). Happened again with the adaptation of ''Film/MrPoppersPenguins'', in a very similar manner in fact.
* Annie's fiancée in ''Film/SleeplessInSeattle'' is a decent guy, but, as she begins to obsess over a man she's never met, she realizes she's not actually in love with the man she's planning to marry. When she explains this to him, he replies that [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he didn't want to be the person that she settled for]],'' and they split up on good terms.
%% * Used in ''The Series/LizzieMcGuire Movie''. As it happened, the character's name was Paolo, the former name for this trope (though not the {{Trope Namer|s}}).
* Averted in ''Film/OutCold'', in which the protagonist's love interest is engaged to a nice guy in a wheelchair. In the end, [[spoiler: the protagonist urges her to go with her fiancé, and she does]].
%% * Ray in ''Film/HighFidelity'', who more or less exists to annoy Rob.

* The Creator/JuliaRoberts vehicle ''Film/MyBestFriendsWedding'' {{deconstruct|ion}}s this trope. Julianne believes that her best friend Michael's bride-to-be Kimmy is this, but realizes after her attempts at RelationshipSabotage blow up in her face and get everyone (rightly) pissed off at her that ''she'''s the true Romantic False Lead. [[spoiler:And her rival gets the guy in the end, not her.]]
%% * Played straight in ''Film/ThingsToDoInDenverWhenYoureDead''. The main character, Jimmy the Saint, continually refers to his love interest Daphne's boyfriend as "Chip", even when corrected on more than one occasion.

* ''Film/TheAwfulTruth'' has two examples: longtime married couple Jerry and Lucy hit the rocks in their relationship. He takes up with Barbara, and she attracts the interest of Dan, a wealthy oil baron. In the end, they patch up their marriage and call off their impending divorce.

* ''Film/ForgettingSarahMarshall'' features a particular well-rounded false lead in Aldous Snow, the rock star who stole the main character's girlfriend. While he's a somewhat obnoxiously hip, self-centered lothario, he's also quite charming, friendly, and has good taste. The main character admits that it's hard to hate him. Ultimately, [[spoiler:his relationship with Sarah Marshall dissolves due to both of their hang-ups]]. The guy even got [[Film/GetHimToTheGreek his own movie!]]
%% * Tad Hamilton in ''Film/WinADateWithTadHamilton'', for Kate Bosworth and Topher Grace.
* Gwen's fiancé Richard in ''Film/{{Ghost Town|2008}}'' is a handsome, wealthy philanthropist, and Dr. Pincus feels incredibly intimidated and guilty about competing for his girlfriend. However, Frank, the ghost of Gwen's deceased husband, points out that Richard doesn't make her laugh, and it turns out that she's just not in love with him.
* Jonathan, the false lead in ''The Movie Hero'' is of the boring, uptight variety. Since the movie's protagonist is a GenreSavvy FourthWallObserver, he refers to Jonathan as "The Doomed Fiance" and doesn't consider him a real threat.
%% * [[AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder Richard]] in ''Film/SupermanReturns.'' Made all the harder on everyone concerned by the fact that Richard is a genuinely good, nice guy. And pushing BadassNormal in a SUPERMAN movie. Who is more heroic when racing off to the rescue, the guy who can fly and lift continents, or the guy who has to get in a plane to go?

* In yet another comic book movie giving us a nice guy example, ''Film/{{The Incredible Hulk|2008}}'' has Leonard Samson. He's shown to be a very nice guy who even gives Bruce some psychotherapy in a few deleted scenes, and while there's no official breakup he seems to understand that Betty and Bruce are a real item and quietly stands aside. Of course, it helps that Samson is a character from the Hulk comics, being Bruce's therapist and another Gamma-powered superhero (though the latter part obviously wasn't in the movie).
%% * ''Film/LettersToJuliet'' has one false lead for each half of the couple.

* Adrian, Elise's former [[spoiler: and future]] fiance in ''Film/TheAdjustmentBureau''. From her own recollections and the very brief screen time he receives, he seems like a nice enough guy, but as far as the plot is concerned, he's just an obstacle for Creator/MattDamon to overcome.
* ''[[Film/TheManFromSnowyRiver Return to Snowy River]]'' introduces Alistair Patton, the son of a banker, as Jim Craig's competition for Jessica Harrison's love - although Jessica's feelings aren't left in question for very long once Jim is back on the scene, after which point Alistair starts [[KickTheDog kicking puppies]].
* Melanie in ''Film/{{Hereafter}}'' has all the hallmarks of the love interest who helps George to deal with his [[CursedWithAwesome abilities]]. Instead, she's an example of why he can't have a normal relationship. Then he ends up meeting a woman who just might be able to understand him...
* In the first scene of ''Film/DarbyOGillAndTheLittlePeople'', we see Sheelah Sugrue telling Katie what a good man her son Pony is, but Katie ends up with Michael instead.

%% * ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' has two. Edward for Giselle, and Nancy for Robert. But don't feel bad for Nancy and Edward, they [[spoiler: get an ''animated'' PairTheSpares marriage at the end.]]
* In ''Film/AcrossTheUniverse2007'' Molly is this, being Jude's girlfriend in England before he goes to the US to find his father and meets the heroine Lucy. Surprisingly, she's not [[DerailingLoveInterests vilified]] at all, and although Jude and Lucy's relationship is portrayed as a good thing, his cheating on Molly is not. In fact, ''Molly'' gets in the last word, ending up HappilyMarried with a kid on the way. She even gives Jude a short TheReasonYouSuckSpeech about how he thought he could have both women. In the end Jude and Lucy get their happy ending, and we can only assume Molly and new husband Phil do, too.
%% * Julia Seton in ''{{Film/Holiday}}'', although without her the main characters would never have met in the first place!
* In ''Film/SkyHigh2005'', [[spoiler: Gwen Grayson]] is Will's romantic false lead, and not only that, but [[spoiler: the main antagonist of the film]]. This is better-hidden than most, due both to Will's hookup with her [[WrongGuyFirst not coming after any breakup with his intended partner]] and the fact that to figure it out before TheReveal requires paying attention to a number of seemingly-minor things she does [[RewatchBonus that likely wouldn't be obvious on a first viewing]].
* In ''Film/{{Purgatory}}'', Dolly is set up as the romantic interest for Sonny, especially when she ends up in Refuge, but he ends up with Rose.

%% * Creator/OwenWilson plays an anonymous "Robin's Date" Main/JerkWithAHeartOfJerk role in ''Film/TheCableGuy'' as a foil to [[Creator/MatthewBroderick Matthew Broderick's]] Steven M. Kovacs Main/NiceGuy character.
* In ''Lucky 7'', the heroine bases her life choices on a plan her mother made for her before she died and one of the predictions her mother made was that she would marry her [[LuckySeven seventh]] boyfriend. When she meets a man she believes is The One after dating five other men, she tries to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this trope by picking a random man to be her sixth boyfriend so that the man she actually wants to marry can become the destined seventh boyfriend after she breaks up with her handpicked Romantic False Lead. However, she ends up genuinely falling for the man who was supposed to be just a temporary sixth boyfriend and the man she originally wanted to be her seventh boyfriend and true love turns out to be the Romantic False Lead instead.
* In ''Film/PlanB'', Laura is this to both Pablo and Bruno. At the start of the film, Pablo is dating her and Bruno is her ex-boyfriend who wants to sabotage their relationship to win her back but by the end of the film, [[spoiler:both of them [[PairTheSuitors end up with each other]] instead of her]].
* ''Film/Charly2002'': Mark Randolph is Charly Riley's longtime boyfriend and he is very keen on marrying her. They live together in Charly's New York City apartment and share the same goals and worldview. Things change when she goes to Utah for the summer. She re-evaluates her outlook on life, converts to Mormonism, and develops feelings for a local [[OneTrueLove man]]. Upon her return she tells Mark that she [[LeavingYouToFindMyself no longer feels the same way about him]]. She also [[ForcedFromTheirHome kicks him out of her apartment]] because it's not appropriate for her to live with [[AgainstMyReligion him anymore.]] Mark is confused but undeterred by this new development; he attempts to woo Charly back to him. But when he comes to understand that she truly has changed, [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy he wishes her the best, and they part ways on good terms.]]
* In ''Film/ThePhiladelphiaStory'', Tracy Lord has discarded her one-time fiancee [[AwesomeMcCoolName C.K. Dexter Haven]], and is days away from marrying George Kittridge, a salt-of-the-earth fellow made good. However, it comes out (with some help from Dexter) that Kittridge is really a SocialClimber who cares about appearances more than he does about Tracy. At the last minute, Dexter replaces George at the wedding.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheCurseOfTheWereRabbit: Victor Quartermaine is Lady "Totty" Tottington's suitor. At first it seems to be a case of OppositesAttract since he is an avid hunter while she is an animal lover, but it's later revealed that he's only [[GoldDigger interested in her wealth.]] Victor becomes jealous when Totty takes a liking to Wallace but when he learns that Wallace is the Were Rabbit he sees killing the beast as a way of both proving his prowess as a hunter and [[MurderTheHypotenuse eliminating his romantic rival.]]

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in ''Anime/PrincessTutu''. Rue is an IceQueen ClingyJealousGirl who takes advantage of Mytho's...[[EmotionlessBoy unfortunate]] [[ExtremeDoormat state]]. And then it turns out she was DaddysLittleVillain all along! Except [[spoiler: she really '''[[LoveMartyr does]]''' [[LoveMartyr love him]]. [[AntiVillain And suffers a lot]] [[DarkMagicalGirl because of her "role"]] [[UnrequitedTragicMaiden and her feelings.]] And they end up [[EarnYourHappyEnding Earning Their Happy Ending Together]]]]. [[FanDumb Some fans]] [[DieForOurShip don't pick up on the "subverted" thing]].

%% * Wendy, Stan's girlfriend in ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' has a couple of these. Gregory, from the Movie, for example.

** Star has her own with Tom Lucitor, her [[RelationshipRevolvingDoor on-and-off-again boyfriend]], until the two amicably break up for good in Season 4, partially because Tom knows Star's [[OneTrueLove true feelings]] for Marco. Unlike many examples, Tom and Marco are good friends themselves and both respect Star's choices.

** Being a story Ted Mosby is telling his kids about how he met his one true love, has plenty of these and every girl he meets is (however briefly) teased at potentially being the "mother." This was done as soon as the first episode, being about Ted falling HARD for a girl and the episode ends with the narrator saying "And that is how I met your Aunt Robin." Ted and Robin are {{Ship Tease}}d for most of the first season (including some false leads for each other like Derek with Robin and Victoria for Ted) and when they get together they really do love each other, but there are constant hints that they had some fundamental issues that will prevent them from staying together.

** In later seasons, Quinn. Unless the writers plan to crush the dreams of most of the fans, it's just not going to work out between her and Barney. The finale of season 7 revealed Barney's bride to be [[spoiler: Robin]]. As of season 8, Ted is now dating Victoria ''again'' after she and [[DisposableFiancee Klaus]] have broken up.