Editing Love triangle (section)

{{Short description|Romantic relationship involving three people}}
{{Distinguish|Triangular theory of love|Ménage à trois|Karpman drama triangle}}
{{Other uses|Love triangle (disambiguation)}}
{{Biblio|date=October 2023}}
[[Image:Gianciotto Discovers Paolo and Francesca Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.jpg|thumb|''[[Gianciotto Malatesta|Gianciotto]] Discovers [[Paolo Malatesta|Paolo]] and [[Francesca da Rimini|Francesca]]'' by [[Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres]]|alt=]]
{{Love sidebar|types}}
A '''love triangle'''<ref>Also called a '''romantic love triangle''' or a '''romance triangle'''.</ref> is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a [[rivalry]], in which two people are pursuing or involved in a [[intimate relationship|romantic relationship]] with one person,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=love triangle |encyclopedia=Cambridge Dictionary |year=2022 |last= |first= |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location= |id= |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/love-triangle |access-date= |quote=A situation in which two people both love a third person: }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=eternal triangle |encyclopedia=Dictionary of Americanisms, Briticisms, Canadianisms and Australianisms |year=2010 |last=Matyushenkov |first=V. S. |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |location= |isbn=9781450032469 |id= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=44zE4w083mEC |access-date= |quote=A situation when two persons both love a third person, usu. of opposite sex.}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=love triangle |encyclopedia=Oxford Dictionaries |date= |year= |last= |first= |publisher= |location= |id= |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/love_triangle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705191610/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/love_triangle |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 5, 2022 |access-date= |quote=A state of affairs in which one person is romantically or sexually involved with two others (one or both of whom may not be aware of or complicit in the situation).}}</ref> or in which one person in a romantic relationship with someone is simultaneously pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with someone else.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=love triangle |encyclopedia=Macmillan Dictionary |year=2009–2022 |last= |first= |publisher=Macmillan Education Limited |location= |id= |url=https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/love-triangle |access-date= |quote=A situation in which one of the partners in a romantic or sexual relationship also loves someone else. }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Boulevard Theatre |encyclopedia=Dictionary of the Theatre: Terms, Concepts, and Analysis |year=1998 |last=Pavis |first=Patrice |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location= |isbn=9780802081636 |id= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tIXwrduoDMoC |access-date= |quote=For the pleasure of the entire family, this domestic tragedy/comedy revolves around the eternal triangle: Madame, Monsieur and the lover (or mistress). One topographical peculiarity is the all too frequent discovery of Monsieur (or Madame's lover) in shorts in the depths of a closet. The triangle is often adapted to the tastes of the day (introducing elements such as homosexuality, the timid appearance of infantile or mentally deficient characters, the eternal generation gap between the affluent character and the hippie).}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=eternal triangle |encyclopedia=Lexico |year=2022 |last= |first= |publisher=Oxford University Press |location= |id= |url=https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/eternal_triangle |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410122810/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/eternal_triangle |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 10, 2021 |access-date= |quote=A relationship between three people, typically a couple and the lover of one of them, involving sexual rivalry.}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=love triangle |encyclopedia=Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English |date= |year= |last= |first= |publisher= |location= |id= |url=https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/love-triangle |access-date= |quote=A situation in which someone is having a sexual relationship with the partner of a close friend.}}</ref> A love triangle typically is not conceived of as a situation in which one person loves a second person, who loves a third person, who loves the first person, or variations thereof.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2012/10/love-triangle.html |title=Triangulating love |last1=O'Conner |first1=Patricia T. |last2=Kellerman |first2= Stewart |date=October 22, 2012 |website=Grammarphobia |publisher= |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>

Love triangles are a common [[list of narrative techniques|narrative device]] in theater, literature, and film. Statistics suggest that, in Western society, "Willingly or not, most adults have been involved in a love triangle."<ref name=pam1998>{{Cite book |last=Pam |first=Alvin |url=https://openlibrary.org/books/OL362453M/Splitting_up |title=Splitting up: enmeshment and estrangement in the process of divorce |date=1998 |publisher=Guilford Press |isbn=978-1-57230-367-6 |location=New York}}</ref>{{rp|149}}

The 1994 book ''Beliefs, Reasoning, and Decision Making'' states, "Although the romantic love triangle is formally identical to the friendship triad, as many have noted their actual implications are quite different&nbsp;... Romantic love is typically viewed as an exclusive relationship, whereas friendship is not."<ref>R. P. Abelson/R. C. Schank, ''Beliefs, Reasoning, and Decision-Making'' (1994), p. 223.</ref>