14 Movie Love Triangles That Split Fans Down The Middle

The Hunger Games and its sequels, based on the books by Suzanne Collins, led the YA dystopian trend in the 2010s. The films brought the brutal story of rebellion to life, with a nice side dish of romance as Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) feels torn between her childhood friend Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) and her partner in the games, Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson).

Viewers don’t see Gale as much during the first movie, but we know that he's been Katniss's best friend for ages as they illegally hunt together. He affectionately calls her “Catnip,” and consistently looks out for her. He's headstrong just like she is, but he still listens and values her opinions. In the first movie, Gale even offered to run away with her at first, though things obviously change by the time of Catching Fire. 

From Redditor u/rileyhandley01: 

I think Gale was a very good person or tried to be at least. He helped Katniss's family when she was in the hunger games both times and didn’t have to especially since he had his own family to worry about. Gale helped many people get out when the capital raided district 12 and done his best to help everyone there. He put himself at risk to safe others and to try and do the right thing. He didn’t have to fight for district 13 but he did.

Peeta is meant to be the opposite of Gale, softer and more sensitive, and skilled in baking rather than hunting. At the start of the series, Katniss only knows Peeta from one incident where he gave her discarded bread that helped her survive. Their relationship escalates when they're both thrown into the Hunger Games and Peeta tells the audience about a fake crush he has on her to gain sponsors (which turns out to be not so fake after all). After going through two Games together in the first two films, Peeta understands Katniss in a way that no one else could do to their shared trauma.

From Redditor u/theHBIC:

But Peeta knows Katniss and loves her anyway. He helps her, he supports her, and he balances her. He sees the good in her while forgiving and loving her faults. He is flexible and kind and helps Katniss see the flaws in her impulsive behaviors. I think long-term, Peeta loves and supports her more.

Both boys had been in love with Katniss since before the events of The Hunger Games, but by the end of Mockingjay - Part 2, Peeta becomes the clear choice for Katniss. Although she chooses Peeta because he makes her feel safe, it makes perfect sense why some fans imagine Katniss having an equally great romance with Gale if things turned out slightly differently in their lives.

In the 1980s “Brat Pack” classic Pretty in Pink, social outcast Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) mainly spends time at work or with her best friend, Duckie (Jon Cryer) until rich kid Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy) asks her out.

Duckie's too nervous to make a move on Andie, assuming she only sees him as a friend. He's only able to talk to Andie's father and awkwardly lip-sync his feelings. He's the funny guy who's been there for Andie since the start, so many fans root for the classic best-friends-to-lovers trope. 

On the other hand, Blane has the rich guy-poor girl thing going for him. He's handsome and very high on the school social ladder. He's also more sensitive, which comes across as quiet and sometimes boring. Andie also makes Blane want to be a better person, which is something any girl would swoon over.

At the prom, Andie and Duckie reconcile after a fight. He even encourages her to choose Blane, which she was always going to do anyway. Andie and Blane share a passionate kiss in the parking lot.

This John Hughes classic also had an alternate ending with Duckie, though test audiences hated it, according to director Howard Deutch, which is why Andie chooses Blane in the final version. After rewatching, many viewers recognize that both Duckie and Blane have moments where they don't treat Andie with the respect she deserves, as well as sweet moments, leaving the audience truly split.

The Twilight Saga became a worldwide phenomenon for creating an infamously divisive - and supernatural - love triangle. Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) plays out a romantic fantasy as she's pursued by both vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). At the end of the first movie, Twilight, it seems that Edward is the only boy who could interest Bella, but the next two installments, New Moon and Eclipse, present a compelling case for Jacob.

Edward is clearly Bella's first love. Though they get off to a rocky start due to his secrecy and his need to control his vampiric hunger around her, once she guesses that he's a vampire, they quickly become close. He falls for her immediately and proves a great boyfriend, protecting her and composing piano pieces for her. He's willing to do anything for Bella - even if that means leaving her behind, as he does in New Moon. 

As Redditor u/queentitanium puts it:

I think I was more so attracted to Edward's view of Bella. He walked the earth for a hundred years and never once found someone he wanted to be with before her. I mean also let's be real he's invincible, has money and cars, and is super smart. He's a total catch.

Meanwhile, after Edward leaves, Bella becomes closer with Jacob, who makes no secret that he has a crush on her. Bella initially lets him down gently, but as Jacob comes into his own as a werewolf and also proves he can protect Bella, he seems like a much more viable love interest than Edward - especially because, unlike Edward, Jacob can age like a normal human. 

Redditor u/litchick20 explains:

I think I gravitate towards Jacob because he effortlessly understood Bella. I guess I always wanted someone to get me like that after a lifetime of being misunderstood. I also appreciated him supporting her while she put her pieces back together in New Moon. The depressed girl in me liked that he loved her even while she was broken.

In Eclipse, Bella finally agrees to marry Edward after he had proposed in New Moon. Breaking Dawn - Part 1 features their wedding, and Part 2 shows that Bella lives happily ever after as a vampire with Edward. Though this is an undeniably sweet ending for those who support Bella and Edward, there remain many fans who wish she would've ended up with Jacob instead.

This 2001 romantic comedy stars Renée Zellweger as the perpetually single Bridget Jones, who suddenly has two handsome men vying for her affection: former childhood acquaintance Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) and her boss Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant). After meeting Mark at a New Year's Eve party and receiving some harsh criticisms from him, Bridget vows to turn her life around and starts a diary to keep track of her progress.

Since Mark is initially out of the picture, Bridget and Daniel begin to flirt at work. They eventually start dating when Bridget learns Mark slept with Daniel's former fiancée (It’s later discovered that Daniel slept with Mark's wife, not the way he described it). He's very good-looking, makes her laugh, and is great in bed.

Despite their horrible first meeting, Bridget eventually finds herself falling for Mark after discovering Daniel is sleeping with someone else. Mark is awkwardly charming, especially as he apologizes for his rudeness at their first meeting. He later helps Bridget cook dinner and even helps her with a job interview. Unfortunately, he's with someone else, but that doesn't stop Bridget from half-confessing her feelings. He later reveals that he had a crush on Bridget the whole time.

In the end, Bridget chooses Mark, who leaves his girlfriend to be with her, even after reading her unflattering initial thoughts about him in her diary. This makes for a great happy ending, but it's still possible to see why some viewers feel strongly about her chemistry with Daniel. The movie still holds nostalgia for many, and it's hard to forget that iconic “It’s Raining Men” fight scene.

A remake of the classic 1954 film, Sabrina (1995) still features that Cinderella-esque love story of the chauffeur's daughter, Sabrina Fairchild (Julia Ormond), caught in a love triangle between the two wealthy Larrabee brothers, the younger David (Greg Kinnear) and older Linus (Harrison Ford). When she returns from Paris a new woman, she catches both their eyes.

Long before she went to Paris, Sabrina had feelings for David; she used to even spy on him in trees. Though he's engaged when she returns, Sabrina immediately catches his eye. David's the funny guy, but he can be serious when it’s important.

Linus and Sabrina have sizzling chemistry that viewers can see almost immediately. Linus is rough around the edges, and reluctant at first to admit his feelings for Sabrina, but as he attempts to charm Sabrina in order to prevent her from getting back with David and ruining his imminent wedding, Linus realizes that he has genuine feelings for her.

After Linus breaks her heart, Sabrina returns to Paris, but he chases after her and they reunite with a loving kiss. It's a happy ending for a compelling couple, but it's understandable why many viewers would feel that Sabrina should've ended up with her first love, David.

The film adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novels follows bass guitar player Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), who meets the beautiful Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) while dating Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). Scott pursues Ramona while dating Knives before he finally breaks up with her. In order to date Ramona officially, Scott must first defeat her seven evil ex-boyfriends.

Scott falls in love with Ramona at first sight, and they have great chemistry thanks to their shared interest in music. She's mature and mysterious, which is one of the reasons Scott is drawn to her. Although she's running from her past, she doesn't let her mistakes bring her down. 

From Redditor u/moal09: 

By meeting Ramona, Scott finally had someone who sometimes treated him the way he treated the other women in his life. Their similarities in that area also allowed them to sort of hold up a mirror to themselves and bring each other's faults to the forefront. That made them more self-aware about them and gave them the wisdom they needed to finally try to grow up a little. In many ways, Ramona was the female Scott just with the cool factor turned up and a little more self awareness.

On the other hand, Knives and Scott are together first, with some valid reasons why they were drawn together. Some fans find their relationship more grounded and realistic compared to the larger-than-life conflict of Scott defeating Ramona's exes. 

Redditor u/happyfeet19 says:

Yes, ending up with Knives would have made the whole epic ex battles and such all for nothing, but Ramona was always just a "mysterious, fantasy girl" to him. They never really showed them clicking as a couple very much, or at least not any more than him and Knives. Anyway, even though I was never a Knives fan, I thought her ending was sweet and just felt more natural, whereas the Ramona one felt more forced and awkward. Even in his goodbye conversation with Ramona (in the Knives ending), it just felt real and honest and made sense to me.

Indeed, the movie's original ending had Scott choosing Knives over Ramona, but it was changed before release. In the true movie's ending, Knives relents in her quest to win Scott back and tells him to go for Ramona.

Most importantly, Scott eventually recognizes his mistakes and apologizes to both Ramona and Knives for cheating on them - a key component of the story, since viewers also need to be happy for Ramona ending up with Scott.

In this 1994 romantic dramedy, aspiring videographer Lelaina Pierce (Winona Ryder) dances around her attraction to her roommate, guitarist Troy Dyer (Ethan Hawke), until she meets Michael Grates (Ben Stiller) after a minor car crash.

Lelaina causes the crash when she throws her cigarette out of the car, but Michael is understanding. Despite their not-so-meet-cute, they enter a relationship since Michael pursues her. Lelaina even gets a shot at her dreams because Michael is a TV executive, and he wants to air a documentary she made. Overall, he's a well-established adult who can communicate his emotions and is ready for a relationship. 

On the other side of the triangle, Lelaina and Troy had a previously awkward drunken encounter many years ago, which means the chemistry is still there. Though Troy is a bit of a bum, he's a good friend he becomes jealous of Lelaina's relationship with Michael. Troy's bad-boy act is what makes him irresistible to Lelaina. He's sarcastic, but starts to get his act together when he realizes he could lose her for good.

Though Troy still has some growing up to do, he returns from his father's funeral and enthusiastically chooses Lelaina, who has dumped Michael after he lets her documentary get poorly edited. It's easy to root for the roommates to finally get together, but Michael also presents a compelling alternative for viewers who are lukewarm on Troy's personality.

This dark period drama The Favourite isn't for the faint of heart. Based on a true story of the 18th century, two cousins, Abigail Masham (Emma Stone) and Sarah Churchill (Rachel Weisz), compete for the ear, lust, and love of an ailing Queen Anne (Olivia Colman). 

Throughout the film, Sarah is portrayed as more of the antagonist as viewers watch her sway Anne's opinions in politics to shift things to her view. She isn't one to coddle Anne or mince her words. Anne views her as her confidant, and the two share an intimate relationship.

Redditor u/sounds_badges_101 explains why Sarah is a compelling choice:

I honestly liked how Rachel/Sarah wasn’t shown trying to seek revenge from Emma/Abigail even tho she had all the reasons to do that… Unlike Abigail, Sarah was graceful, cared, and loved the queen fr.

Abigail, for her part, immediately treats Anne with kindness and empathy. She arrives in Great Britain looking for work, and Sarah reluctantly hires her as the Lady of the Bedchamber after Abigail helps soothe Anne's inflamed legs. Abigail is a survivor, and she does what she can to earn the Queen's trust. Eventually, Abigail and Anne also have sex.

Redditor u/AegisPlays314 explains:

Abigail provides a saccharine understanding, free of judgment or reproach, her sweet words telling the queen exactly what she wants to hear irrespective of what she needs to hear.

Both women do horrible things to each other to keep Anne's favor and protect themselves, but in the end, Abigail wins and gets Sarah exiled, though it's far from a happy romantic ending. Abigail grows overconfident and openly has other lovers, while an ailing Anne seizes rare opportunities to still exert her authority over Abigail. Though neither option is a particularly healthy or happy relationship in modern terms, both sides of this dark love triangle in The Favourite are equally engaging and complex. 

The 1933 romantic comedy Design For Living tells the story of two creative roommates, painter George Curtis (Gary Cooper) and playwright Thomas Chambers (Fredric March), who fall in love with their third roommate, Gilda Farrell (Miriam Hopkins). Eventually, Gilda has sex with both men before marrying her boss Max Plunkett (Edward Everett Horton) to put an end to their fight.

Gilda first turns to George when Tom briefly leaves Paris to produce a play. George is sexy and sarcastic, especially about his career prospects. Plus, he treats Gilda with great respect, since he doesn’t make the first move to take their relationship to the next level. It’s clear he's in love.

Tom is also very much in love with Gilda. He's distraught when he learns that George and Gilda have broken their agreement. He's also got his own brand of humor, sometimes poking light fun at George. When it’s George's turn to leave, Tom eagerly takes his chance with Gilda.   

Tom and George forget about their fight to rescue Gilda from her boring marriage. Since Gilda never slept with Max, she eagerly leaves him and returns to Paris to continue living with Tom and George. This film remains a rare example where the solution to a love triangle is for everyone to win. Considering this movie came out in the 1930s, Gilda has a lot of sexual and individual agency, which explains why it was banned a year after its release. It's still considered one of Ernst Lubitsch's most revolutionary films. 

In the 2015 period drama Brooklyn, Eilis Lacey (Saoirse Ronan) is a young Irish woman torn between two homes: her hometown of Enniscorthy, where she could be with Jim Farrell (Domhnall Gleeson), and Brooklyn, where she meets her husband, Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen). 

After traveling to New York, Eilis meets Tony, a hard-working Italian American plumber, at an Irish Dance. As they date, Eilis begins to feel more comfortable in America, especially as she gets to know his warm family. He also supports her studies and escorts her home from school. Though hesitant, Eilis marries Tony before she must return to Ireland due to the death of her older sister.

Redditor u/nerowasframed explains Tony's appeal:

Tony was different and welcoming when she was still scared and homesick… The scene where they first met (where she teased him about choosing to dance with her), the scene on the bus, and the scene where she tells Tony she loves him really showed me that they had better chemistry than she had with Jim… I'm a grown a** man, but I had butterflies in my stomach whenever she had scenes with Tony.

On the other hand, after her sister's funeral, Eilis remains in Enniscorthy to attend her friend's wedding. There, she meets Jim, a wealthy and kind bachelor. Jim makes her feel at home again, especially with some of the guilt she feels from moving to America and leaving her family. 

As Redditor u/styles__p describes:

As for Jim, in my opinion Eilis and Jim seemed much more comfortable with each other. I'm not talking about chemistry as she also had a lot of it with Tony as well, but it seemed like Jim's and Eilis's personalities meshed well. It felt like the kind of relationship that there could be silence and it wouldn't be awkward. Also, He seemed like a more confident and secure person.

After being confronted by a woman back in Enniscorthy about her husband, Eilis remembers that in Brooklyn with Tony, she can live her own life and not be stifled by her family and the small-town pressures. Though the movie ends with her returning to Tony, it's easy to see why some viewers wish she'd stayed in Ireland with Jim.

Author Jenny Han is well-known for many of her love triangles, but her To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before book trilogy was the first to be adapted into films. When Lara Jean Covey's (Lana Condor) old, private love letters accidentally get sent to their recipients, she starts fake-dating (and then really dating) former crush Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo). In the second film, another former crush, John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher), is there to shake up Lara Jean and Peter's relationship.

John Ambrose is Lara Jean's former middle school crush and when he returns, things seemed a bit easier with him since she doesn’t overthink as much. Plus, he’s kind, as evident when he volunteers at the nursing home and plans the Star Ball with Lara Jean. John even admits he wanted to take Lara Jean to the sixth-grade dance but chickened out. 

Redditor u/Stutsl makes the case for John Ambrose:

John Ambrose and Lara Jean have soo much in common, plus John Ambrose was so caring, and such a gentleman even after Lara Jean totally led him on and hid her relationship with Peter from him.

In the first movie, Peter is more like the stereotypical popular jock, but he becomes more vulnerable as the series goes on. He's adventurous and helps Lara Jean come out of her shell. Their movie nights and milkshake dates really show their chemistry. Plus, he drives to the Star Ball just to reconcile with her. 

From Redditor u/bigdfootball97: 

Lara Jean and Peter were perfect for each other because they fell in love with each other over the course of their fake relationship. It just seemed like it was meant to be. All the mistakes that either Peter made or Lara Jean made were because of Lara Jean’s inexperience with relationships.

By the end of the second movie, P.S. I Still Love You, Lara Jean and Peter have chosen each other. There are still some complications in the third movie, but no more love triangles - those who prefer John Ambrose have to get their fill by rewatching the second film.

In Boomerang, the extremely cocky Marcus Graham (Eddie Murphy) meets his match when his new boss Jacqueline Broyer (Robin Givens) treats him in the same poor way he treats others. As he gets romantically involved with Jacqueline, he also starts to develop feelings for new colleague Angela Lewis (Halle Berry).

Not so different from Marcus, Jacqueline is a successful businesswoman who knows what she wants and won't settle for anything (or anyone) less. She's not the best at communicating her feelings after she starts sleeping with Marcus, but that's exactly how he treated others in the past. She's a perfect foil for his shallow, womanizing ways.

Angela is seen as the “good girl,” who doesn’t get as much attention as other women. Angela even comforts Marcus after Jacqueline breaks up with him. Even when they're just watching TV together, viewers can tell there's something between them. As opposed to his relationship with Jacqueline, Angela appears to be a person that could fit well with Marcus. 

After flip flopping between Jacqueline and Angela several times, Marcus begs Angela for forgiveness. They end up together, though it's understandable for some people to prefer his more electric back-and-forth dynamic with Jacqueline.

In the 2022 teen rom-com Crush, Paige Evans (Rowan Blanchard) is forced to join her school’s track team in order to avoid suspension. The bright side is, Paige's longtime crush, Gabriela Campos (Isabella Ferreira) is the co-captain. While getting closer to Gabby, Paige also starts to fall for her sister, AJ (Auli'i Cravalho).

Gabby seems like the perfect catch: a pretty athlete, popular twin, and good student, but viewers eventually learn there's a lot more to Gabby as she gets close with Paige, and becomes her first kiss. 

Meanwhile, AJ, who is much gruffer on the surface, reluctantly agrees to help Paige train for the track team. While helping Paige with an art application and the hunt for a rogue graffiti artist to clear Paige's name, AJ and Paige get closer. It's an effortless relationship where AJ encourages Paige to be the best version of herself.

After a big misunderstanding involving a game of “seven minutes in heaven,” Gabby encourages AJ to be with Paige, who stages a big apology for AJ. The two end up together in this amazing, unapologetically queer film with complex characters and a fun story. Although it's a great ending where a couple gets to be happy, and the sisters reconcile, too, it's easy to imagine an alternate version where Paige and Gabby end up together.

In the 2020 Netflix coming-of-age film The Half of It, Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is hired by jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) to write love letters to Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire) on his behalf. It's a modern take on Cyrano de Bergerac, as Ellie's letters work to win Paul a date with Aster, but he's unable to charm her without Ellie's words. 

Meanwhile, Ellie develops feelings of her own for Aster, and the two spend time together. What seems poised as two new friends fighting over the same girl grows even more complicated when Paul suspects that Ellie has romantic feelings for him and attempts to kiss her. 

Despite both longing for Aster, Paul and Ellie end up often on the same side as they attempt to stop her from accepting her boyfriend Trig's proposal. However, Aster is upset when she finally learns that Paul used Ellie's letter to try to woo her; she slaps Paul, and accepts Ellie's later apology for the deception. Aster and Ellie kiss, although it's not exactly a happy-ever-after as Aster departs for college.

This love triangle is unique in multiple ways. Not only are there potential romantic connections between all three characters, there's also more focus on the friendships and personal growth of each character rather than one romantic resolution winning out. Overall, The Half of It isn't as much about who ends up with who; it’s about what it means to fall in love and discover who you are. It's a perfect coming-of-age story with a little romance and friendship - and still gives plenty of fuel for viewers who prefer one particular romantic pair to make their case.