History Main / TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife

* A major reason why [[spoiler:Solas]] in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' breaks up with the Inquisitor following the conclusion of their romance arc is that [[spoiler:he is actually the Dread Wolf of the elven pantheon, TheTrickster god [[AmbiguouslyEvil supposedly]] responsible for the fall of the elven empire of Arlathan, and he refuses to get more serious under false pretenses. His plan to collapse the Veil and restore Arlathan [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans at the expense of modern Thedas and everyone in it]] tends to put a damper on things as well.]]
* In ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'' Yuuya is by far the flirtiest of the potential boyfriends, one of the friendliest and the one who shows the most interest in Hiyoko. He's also got a [[InformedAbility reputation]] as an "infamous studmuffin". EvenTheGuysWantHim! But it's quickly evident that he is TheTease - his reputation gives him a good excuse to be absent as much as he is. If pursued he fears for Hiyoko drawing the ire of his enemies and tries vaguely to dissuade her. If she insists and keeps insisting, he inducts her into the world of espionage.

** If this trope had an AnthropomorphicPersonification, Peter Parker would punch it so hard the blue [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair highlights]] would [[ComicBook/ScottPilgrim fly out of its hair]].

* In ''Webcomic/{{Spinnerette}}'', on top of the usual schedule priority issues, Heather has to wear a fat suit to hide her extra arms.

** Marinette Dupain-Cheng has an overwhelming and unrequited crush on classmate Adrien Agreste, while superhero Cat Noir is constantly flirting with, and being rebuffed by, his partner Ladybug. Adrien is actually Cat Noir, while Ladybug is actually Marinette, but neither party knows the other's true identity. [[spoiler: In "Cat Blanc" and "Oblivio", once the {{Masquerade}} is temporarily removed the two hook up almost instantly.]]

* More like the Masquerade Will Ruin Your Friendship, but the same general concept applies to Peter's and Harry's friendship in ''{{WesternAnimation/Ultimate Spider-Man}}.'' Peter's inability to tell Harry the truth along with the constant ditching puts a considerable strain on their friendship.

* In the ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' fanfic ''Fanfic/{{Dominoes}}'', Ran is a superheroine-in-training under the tutelage of her boyfriend Shinichi's superhero father. Except said boyfriend is deliberately kept ignorant of all of this, to the point where some pretty intense power abuse is used to keep him ignorant and obedient, up to and including Ran herself habitually becoming accustomed to shaming him when he steps out of the behavioral lines she and her team drew for him without honest engagement or consent. Though Ran is in denial of the fact, their relationship is already all but officially over when Shinichi inevitably finds out, and when he does, it isn't the actual secret that hurts Shinichi but what it confirms about how his father and girlfriend actually see him as a person: Ran was perfectly content in letting TheMasquerade isolate Shinichi from any genuine, trust-reciprocating friendships and in pressuring Shinichi to give up his dreams of investigating crime because it's "too dangerous" for him--all for the sake of "keeping him safe." Having any faith or trust in him as a person apparently was never seen as an option, even by those who claimed to love him the most. [[spoiler:Despite expressing deep love for Shinichi and a sincere desire to work through their relationship issues, Ran's accidental confirmation of her condescending view towards "protecting" her boyfriend while trying to explain why she hid all this is the final straw; [[LoveCannotOvercome Shinichi dumps her and feels "relief" after doing so.]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' episode "Grim in Love" gives us a type 2; Grim falls for and starts dating a goth woman named Malaria, but Mandy points out that she most likely will react badly once she finds out that Grim isn’t only not human, but the actual GrimReaper. Grim insists that Malaria will be fine with it, and will still love him. Mandy’s ultimately proven to be right at the end of the episode, as Malaria runs off screaming after Grim reveals the truth to her.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' episode "Grim in Love" gives us a type 2; Grim falls for and starts dating a goth woman named Malaria, but Mandy points out that she most likely will react badly once she finds out that Grim isn’t only not human, but the actual GrimReaper. Grim insists that Malaria will be fine with it, and will still love him. Mandy’s ultimately proven to be right at the end of the episode, as Malaria runs off screaming after Grim reveals the truth to her.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' is full of this for Oliver Queen at the end of season one. Although there's a healthy dose of guilt added to the mix.

** If this trope had an AnthropomorphicPersonification, Peter Parker would punch it so hard the [[BlueShift blue]] [[YouGottaHaveBlueHair highlights]] would [[ComicBook/ScottPilgrim fly out of its hair]].

** In the first two episodes of season 4, [[spoiler:Marinette calls things off with Luka when she realizes her duties make it impossible for her to be with him , and Kagami leaves Adrien when he's unable to be honest to her.]]
* Mark's first girlfriend [[TheScrappy Amber]] in ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' was a Type 1 as she figured out his identity early on but broke up with him because she was hurt that he wouldn't reveal it to her sooner [[AdaptationalJerkass even after she tried to pressure him into it by acting hurt]] by his need to ditch her during an attack and [[ItsAllAboutMe constantly holding his lateness against him even though she knew exactly why]]. [[spoiler: However, they get back together in the season finale when Amber takes pity on him after he gets his ass handed to him by his ArchnemesisDad on live television.]]

* Mark's first girlfriend Amber in ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' was a Type 1 as she figured out his identity early on but broke up with him because she was hurt that he wouldn't reveal it to her sooner even after she tried to pressure him into it by acting hurt by his need to ditch her during an attack and [[ItsAllAboutMe constantly holding his lateness against him even though she knew exactly why]]. [[spoiler: However, they get back together in the season finale when Amber takes pity on him after he gets his ass handed to him by his ArchnemesisDad on live television.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' has a type 3B. Marinette Dupain-Cheng has an overwhelming and unrequited crush on classmate Adrien Agreste, while superhero Cat Noir is constantly flirting with, and being rebuffed by, his partner Ladybug. Adrien is actually Cat Noir, while Ladybug is actually Marinette, but neither party knows the other's true identity. [[spoiler: In "Cat Blanc" and "Oblivio", once the {{Masquerade}} is temporarily removed the two hook up almost instantly.]]
** The first two episodes of season 4 hit them ''both'' with a type 1. [[spoiler:Marinette calls things off with Luka when she realizes her duties will lead to this trope (1B), and Kagami leaves Adrien when he's unable to be honest to her (1A).]]

** Karrin Murphy, a vanilla mortal, has deep feelings for Harry and he has them back, but as she knows he can live for centuries and she will only live for one at most, she and he never get together, not even casually because Harry wouldn't do things by halves. [[spoiler:As of ''Literature/SkinGame'' the two are making significant progress towards a relationship.]]

* Mark's first girlfriend Amber in ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' was a Type 1 as she figured out his identity early on but broke up with him because she was hurt that he wouldn't reveal it to her sooner even after she tried to pressure him into it by acting hurt by his need to ditch her during an attack and [[ItsAllAboutMe constantly holding his lateness against him even though she knew exactly why]].

* Mark's first girlfriend Amber in ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' was a Type 1 as she figured out his identity early on but broke up with him because she was hurt that he wouldn't reveal it to her sooner even after she tried to pressure him into it by acting hurt by his need to ditch her during an attack.

* This is what happened to Carlos Hathcock. Only in his case, he was already married when his wife found out that he was a Marine sniper, after which she freaked out and left him.

* Mark's first girlfriend Amber in ''WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' was a Type 1 as she figured out his identity early on but broke up with him because she was hurt that he wouldn't reveal it to her sooner even after she tried to pressure him into it by acting hurt when he had to ditch her during an attack.

-->-- '''Terry [=McGinnis=]''', on the opposite end of a beating, ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond''

** The first two episodes of season 4 hit them ''both'' with a type 1. [[spoiler:Marinette calls things off with Luka when she realizes her duties will lead to this trope (1B), and Kagami leaves Adrien when he's unable to be honest to her (1A).

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'' has a type 3B. Marinette Dupain-Cheng has an overwhelming and unrequited crush on classmate Adrien Agreste, while superhero Cat Noir is constantly flirting with, and being rebuffed by, his partner Ladybug. Adrien is actually Cat Noir, while Ladybug is actually Marinette, but neither party knows the other's true identity. [[spoiler: In ''Cat Blanc'' and ''Oblivio'', once the {{Masquerade}} is temporarily removed the two hook up almost instantly.]]

* Happens to Billy Batson as [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] in ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica. Turns out having the alter-ego of a 30-year-old man will destroy your chances with the 16-year-old.
** To clarify: Stargirl knew that Billy was 16, and that Billy was Captain Marvel, and that it was still Billy's basic personality when he was in Captain Marvel mode. But the rest of the Justice Society, mostly made up of elder statesmen of the superhero crowd, did not know about Captain Marvel's secret teenaged identity, which made the relationship look highly improper. Jay Garrick, the Flash, flatly told Captain Marvel to break it off, and he did so rather than reveal his identity to the older members of the team.

* Inverted in ''Fanfic/PrecociousCrush'', Mindy and Dave's secret life as heroes seems to be Mindy's only hope of attracting Dave's attention. Though, granted, this is exclusively because the only guy Mindy is interested in is Dave. Boys her own age are certainly interested though.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'': The Animated Series'' has a pre-[=MiB=] girlfriend run into J while he and K are on stakeout. After they kiss a bit, [[GenreSavvy K]] (who was distracted) neuralizes the girl and tells her to go home.

* In ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'', Sarah Jane gets a package containing an alien being while her boyfriend is visiting. Fortunately, Clyde and Rani are there to cover for her.