Top 10 Iconic Movie Love Triangles

One of literature’s greatest love triangles translated well to the screen in Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 adaptation of “The Great Gatsby.” All of Jay Gatsby’s actions and lavish parties are an attempt to attract Daisy back to him, the girl he had been in love with before going off to war. But she’s married to the wealthy Tom Buchanan. Gatsby and Daisy start having an affair after reuniting, and she plans to leave her husband for him, but tragedy intervenes, preventing the two lovers from having their happily-ever-after.

Long before she became a popular trope in modern media, Scarlett O'Hara was something of an antihero in “Gone with the Wind,” the hugely popular film (based on the book of the same name). Throughout the story, she toys with the affections of two men: Ashley Wilkes and Rhett Butler. She has been in love with Ashley for ages, and Rhett is a newer figure in her life, but she seems incapable of figuring out which one is her actual true love. The ending of the movie is iconic, with Scarlett getting what many believe she deserved: ending up with neither of them.

We’re breaking the rules a bit on this one because the romance in “Legends of the Fall” isn’t so much a love triangle as a love square. Not only that, but it involves a woman and three brothers. Samuel brings home his fiancee Susannah to his family’s ranch, and over time she ends up becoming intertwined with the Ludlows throughout the drama of the war. Samuel’s brother, Alfred, ends up falling for her, but her heart ultimately belongs to his OTHER brother, Tristan. This is one messy story, but trust us, it’s not quite as scandalous as it sounds.

While in the first film in the franchise it seemed pretty obvious that Will and Elizabeth were totally together, things got a little more complicated in the sequels. Initially, Will just had to win Elizabeth over from her stuffy fiance, but by the second movie, he also had to compete for her affections with his old buddy Captain Jack Sparrow. Viewers knew that the two young love birds that we fell for in the original movie were probably meant to be, but it definitely added some drama to their courtship. And we were devastated by the ending of the third film, when everything we had expected was upended.

We couldn’t possibly have a modern list on love triangles and leave this one out. Love it or hate it, the “Twilight” franchise dominated pop culture for a number of years, with both the books and movies achieving striking popularity. And while Bella’s romance with the vampire Edward was the main focus of the story, her relationship with Jacob became increasingly complicated as the tale went on. This spawned #TeamEdward and #TeamJacob, although we think anyone on the latter team probably knew they were fighting a losing battle. The resolution to this triangle, though, was even more bizarre than anyone could have imagined.

“The Phantom Of The Opera” is one of the most beloved musicals of all time (and the longest-running show in Broadway history) and it features one of the stage’s most memorable love triangles. When the well known story was adapted into a film in 2004, the producers made clear attempts to make the story palatable for modern audiences, and put the tangle of romance into the spotlight. Christina is infatuated with the dark and mysterious Phantom, but Raoul is her childhood sweetheart, and the quintessential nice guy who is obviously the safe choice. But what girl wants that?

Perhaps the most well known movie scene in all of cinema history takes place near the end of “Casablanca”, but many know the iconic lines without actually understanding the context. Rick is pushing his former love Ilsa to leave him and stay with her husband, because he’s trying to do what’s best for her in an effort to keep her safe from the Nazis. She wants to stay with her former lover regardless . . . but they’ll always have Paris. More than a decade later, Bogey was at it again with another love triangle in “Sabrina”, where he co-starred with Audrey Hepburn.

In this 2001 rom-com, Bridget is a hapless singleton living in London who suddenly finds herself with two men in her life. There’s the dastardly Daniel Cleaver, who is her boss, as well as a total player. And there’s the adorable, if ever so slightly dorky Mark Darcy, who plays the role of nice guy. There’s an even bigger complication, which is that the two men used to be mates, but Bridget is unsure who to trust when it comes to the story of the dissolution of their friendship. Draaama! But funny!

“The Notebook” is obviously all about Noah and Allie’s timeless love story, but one of the ways in which it excels is by making the “other guy” a viable option, rather than a villainous figure. Lon is handsome, kind and romantic, and for all intents and purposes, a great match for Allie. But of course, some loves never die, and despite her great relationship with him, she’ll always have a flame burning for her adolescent love, Noah. Despite the fact that Lon is just a foil, he totally holds his own as a character in this film.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Katniss, Gale & Peeta
“The Hunger Games” franchise

María Elena, Juan Antonio, & Cristina
“Vicky Cristina Barcelona” (2008)
Michael, Julianne, & Kimberly
“My Best Friend's Wedding” (1997)

Benjamin, Mrs. Robinson & Elaine
“The Graduate” (1967)

Juliet, Mark & Peter
“Love Actually” (2003)

Most love triangles feature a woman having a difficult time choosing between two men (or vice versa), but hey, there’s really no competition in this love story. Rose is an upper-class woman on board the doomed Titanic with her fiance Cal, who at first appears to be nice enough, but is slowly revealed to be cruel, selfish and even violent. Once Rose meets and falls for the penniless Jack, Cal is willing to do anything in his power to keep Rose for himself. But despite the fact that they don’t certainly get a happy ending, Rose and Jack were clearly the true love story here, and Cal became the biggest villain that the movie had (aside from the iceberg, of course).