As much as fiction loves its Love Tropes, some people are not so lucky (or they might be, depending on your point of view). This index collects all the tropes for characters who have never been in a relationship, have been in a recently ended one, try their best to avoid being in one, or just can't end up in one despite their best efforts, and the reasons thereof.
Prime targets for The Matchmaker and the Shipper on Deck — indeed, most of these people are also Love Interests. Compare Chaste Tropes, Love Tropes, Wedding and Engagement Tropes, Love Interests, The Ex Index.
People
- Abhorrent Admirer: They're single because their crush finds them disgusting.
- Allegedly Dateless: Despite having dated people in the past, this character is treated as though they can never have a relationship.
- Alone Among the Couples: The character is single while everyone else is in a relationship.
- Amicable Exes: Formerly in a relationship.
- Armored Closet Gay: They would be in a relationship if they weren't hiding their true sexuality.
- Black Widow: Enters into many relationships, but gets rid of them just as quickly.
- The Bluebeard: The Spear Counterpart to Black Widow.
- The Casanova: Strings along many love interests, but is not in a serious relationship with any of them.
- Casanova Wannabe: They try to be The Casanova, but they fail miserably.
- Celibate Eccentric Genius: A brilliant person who's more in love with their life's work than with the opposite sex.
- Celibate Hero: The hero chooses to be single.
- Chaste Hero: The hero is clueless about romance.
- College Widow: Her husband is dead, so she shags college-age men to fill in the void.
- Confirmed Bachelor: This person refuses to ever get married.
- Courtly Love: The state of being in love but not actually wanting or expecting to couple up with a Love Interest.
- Crusading Widow: Their spouse/lover was killed, and now they're on a quest to avenge them.
- Did Not Get the Girl: The hero doesn't end up with their Love Interest.
- Dogged Nice Guy: A character who hopelessly pines after someone who made it clear that they don't like them romantically.
- Everybody Is Single: Everybody in the story is single.
- Glamorous Single Mother: A woman who manages to take care of herself and her children really well despite being a single mother.
- Hopeless Suitor: This person has no chance of winning over their crush.
- The Ingenue: Usually starts out as this.
- Insecure Love Interest: A character who feels they have no chance of ever being good enough for love, so they don't bother trying to find a partner.
- Ladykiller in Love: The Casanova falls genuinely in love, but his previous womanizing ways are liable to scare away his potential love.
- Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: A character has had many failed relationships.
- Maiden Aunt: She never married or had kids of her own, so she dotes on her niece/nephew instead.
- Old Maid: An old woman who has never married.
- Prince Charming Wannabe: He arrogantly believes himself to be the perfect guy for a woman who can't stand him.
- Romantic Wingman: This person helps out their friend in their love life, though they may not be in a relationship themself.
- Runaway Bride: A bride to be who ditches her groom at the altar.
- Runaway Fiancé: They ran out on an Arranged Marriage.
- Serial Romeo: He believes every girl he meets to be his One True Love, but never ends up with any of them.
- Single Mom Stripper: A single mother who works in sex trade to provide for her children.
- Single Parents Are Undesirable: Single parents have difficulty dating.
- Struggling Single Mother: A single mother who struggles to make ends meet.
- Truly Single Parent: They had a child without the help of a mate, usually through magic or a labratory experiment.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: They don't get a Relationship Upgrade with their childhood friend.
- Unrequited Tragic Maiden: She can never have the man she's pining after, and suffers a sad fate for it.
- You Need to Get Laid: When a person's crankiness/obsessive behavior is suspected to be due to being single.
Possible reasons
- All Love Is Unrequited: Their crush doesn't return their feelings.
- Allergic to Love: Love literally makes them ill.
- Commitment Issues: They're afraid of settling down with a spouse.
- Does Not Like Men: She refuses to have anything to do with men.
- The First Cut Is the Deepest: They got their heart broken from a previous relationship.
- He-Man Woman Hater: He refuses to have anything to do with women.
- I Didn't Mean to Turn You On: They unintentionally arouse someone they weren't trying to arouse.
- I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: They refuse to get in a Childhood Friend Romance on the grounds that doing so will destroy their friendship.
- It's Not You, It's Me: They break off a relationship due to feeling unworthy of that person.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: They can't stay with their lover because doing so puts them in danger.
- Just Friends: The prospective couple only likes each other as friends.
- Like Brother and Sister: The prospective couple sees themselves more as siblings rather than lovers.
- Love Is a Weakness: Believes that love is nothing but a hindrance.
- Married to the Job: They're much too devoted to their career to find time to date.
- The Mourning After: The love of their life has died, so they're too grief-stricken to love again.
- Oblivious to Love: They're too clueless to notice that someone's in love with them.
- Paralyzing Fear of Sexuality: They want a relationship, but believe that Sex Is Evil.
- Silly Rabbit, Romance Is for Kids!: They've been soured on the idea of love.
- Sleeps with Everyone but You: They're the only one that even someone who Really Gets Around won't screw.
- Superheroes Stay Single: Superheroes are not allowed to have stable romantic relationships or get happily married.
- Terrible Pick-Up Lines: Cannot flirt without annoying/creeping out the other party.
- Virgin Power: They have powers that they'll lose if they engage in sex.
- Vow of Celibacy: They are required, often for religious reasons, to abstain from relationships.
- Widow Mistreatment: They are treated poorly because of the death of their spouse.
