Female Leads Who Fall in Love More Than Once

This list contains dramas in which the female lead has more than one FULLY REALIZED romantic arc. I love it when stories allow a female lead to display attraction towards more than one man or fall in love outside of the end-game pairing. Instead of a simplistic love triangle, wherein the 2nd male lead is window dressing or his feelings are unilaterally rejected, these complex love triangles illustrate the different varieties of love (juvenile vs. mature, manipulative vs. upfront, idealized vs. grounded) and reinforce characterization, as we see the heroine's choice in partners reflect her choice in maturity, personal goals, or core moral values.

To fit on this list, the FL must be active and self-aware in TWO relationships, for example:

she has a first love or childhood sweetheart who is NOT the ML
she intends to marry a man who is NOT the ML
one ML offers her romantic fulfillment while the other ML offers her power/revenge/influence -- she ends up experiencing both (i.e., harem dramas)
circumstances pair her with one partner before she becomes independent and chooses another partner for herself (i.e., isekai / parallel or fictional world settings)
she is happily married, engaged, or committed to the 2nd ML, before falling in love with the ML
the ML is a roommate or friend while the FL enthusiastically dates others
the immortal FL falls in love more than once over the course of her lifetime
the FL falls in love with different incarnations of the same soul
the FL reincarnates and chooses a different partner than she did in the previous lifetime

To fit on this list, the female lead's relationship with the "other" character must be emotionally reciprocal. For instance, if the FL ogles the 2nd ML's body yet remains exclusively devoted to the 1st ML, it isn't enough.

Elsa Mae Mae Apr 16, 2022

50 Titles 1 Love

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1. Eternal Love

Chinese Drama - 2017, 58 episodes

10

the FL has a juvenile love affair before meeting the ML as an adult
2. Alchemy of Souls

Korean Drama - 2022, 20 episodes

9.5

the FL has a childhood sweetheart before meeting the ML as an adult
3. Start-Up

Korean Drama - 2020, 16 episodes

9.0

the FL has a childhood sweetheart before meeting the ML as an adult
4. Legend of Fu Yao

Chinese Drama - 2018, 66 episodes

the FL intends to marry her childhood sweetheart when she meets the ML
5. Goodbye My Princess: Director's Cut

Chinese Drama - 2019, 55 episodes

9.5

the FL is trying to elope with the man she loves when she meets the ML
6. The Flame's Daughter

Chinese Drama - 2018, 52 episodes

6.5

the FL is trying to win back the love of her fiancé/childhood sweetheart when she meets the ML
note: so much ableism!
7. Seal of Love

Chinese Drama - 2022, 24 episodes

9.0

the FL purposes marriage to someone else after meeting the ML (xianxia / reincarnation premise)
8. The King's Woman

Chinese Drama - 2017, 48 episodes

8.0

the FL is in a long-established relationship with the man she loves when the emperor ML interferes and insists she accompany him instead
9. Empress Ki

Korean Drama - 2013, 51 episodes

10

the FL is in a long-established relationship with the man she loves when the emperor ML interferes and insists she accompany him instead
10. Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan

Chinese Drama - 2012, 76 episodes

the concubine FL has a forbidden lover while navigating her feelings for her husband, the emperor
11. Story of Yanxi Palace

Chinese Drama - 2018, 70 episodes

the concubine FL has a forbidden lover before developing feelings for her husband, the emperor
12. Kimi wa Petto

Japanese Drama - 2017, 16 episodes

7.5

the FL dates someone else while living with the ML
13. My First First Love

Korean Drama - 2019, 8 episodes

9.0

the FL dates someone else while living with the ML
14. The Story of Ming Lan

Chinese Drama - 2018, 78 episodes

10

the FL is in love with someone else while the ML pursues her
15. Gone with the Rain

Chinese Drama - 2023, 37 episodes

7.0

the FL is in love with someone else while the ML pursues her
16. Love Better Than Immortality

Chinese Drama - 2019, 40 episodes

5.5

the FL pursues someone else while the ML pursues her
17. F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers

Thai Drama - 2021, 16 episodes

the FL has a crush on someone else while the ML pursues her
18. Meteor Garden

Chinese Drama - 2018, 50 episodes

the FL has a crush on someone else while the ML pursues her
19. Boys Over Flowers

Korean Drama - 2009, 25 episodes

6.0

the FL has a crush on someone else while the ML pursues her
20. Love Between Fairy and Devil

Chinese Drama - 2022, 36 episodes

the FL is infatuated with someone else while she meets & befriends the ML
21. Do You Like Brahms?

Korean Drama - 2020, 16 episodes

6.0

the FL is infatuated with someone else while she meets & befriends the ML
22. Yumi's Cells

Korean Drama - 2021, 14 episodes

8.5

the FL is paired with three different men: first she has a secret crush, then she enters a happy and committed relationship, and finally she's drawn into a complicated connection with a co-worker
23. Wulin Heroes

Chinese Drama - 2023, 22 episodes

7.5

the immortal FL becomes romantically entangled with four different men while the ML supports her from the sidelines (amnesia premise)
24. Hotel del Luna

Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes

the immortal FL falls in love with two different men over the course of her lifetime
25. Bite Sisters

Korean Drama - 2021, 10 episodes

the immortal FL falls in love with two different incarnations of the same mortal man
26. Extraordinary You

Korean Drama - 2019, 32 episodes

8.0

the FL is matched with a ML by the comic, then she falls in love with someone she consciously chooses
27. Princess Agents

Chinese Drama - 2017, 67 episodes

7.5

hmm, I felt the FL's feelings were slightly undefined or open-ended in this drama, but it seemed as if the slave FL falls in love with the master ML then chooses a different partner for herself once she's freed AND/OR she's in love with two men simultaneously during the second half of the show
28. Born Again

Korean Drama - 2020, 32 episodes

4.0

okay, so this is another drama in which the FL's feelings are frustrating and ambiguous, but I think it's safe to say that the FL is in love with one man during her lifetime in the 1980s, then reincarnates and falls in love with a second man during the contemporary timeline
29. Romanced

Korean Drama - 2021, 8 episodes

8.5

the FL is in a happy and committed relationship with her college boyfriend, realizes his duplicity and ill-treatment of her, and then falls in love with the ML
30. Shining for One Thing

Chinese Drama - 2022, 24 episodes

the FL is engaged to her high school boyfriend, realizes his duplicity and ill-treatment of her, and then falls in love with the ML (time travel premise)
31. A Dream of Splendor

Chinese Drama - 2022, 40 episodes

the FL is in a happy and committed relationship with her longtime lover, realizes his duplicity and ill-treatment of her, and then falls in love with the ML
32. My Love Eun Dong

Korean Drama - 2015, 16 episodes

7.0

the FL is in a happy and committed relationship with her husband, realizes his duplicity and ill-treatment of her, and then falls in love with her childhood sweetheart (amnesia premise)
33. Renascence

Chinese Drama - 2020, 36 episodes

the FL is in a happy and committed relationship with her husband, realizes his duplicity and ill-treatment of her, and then falls in love with the ML (transmigration premise)
34. Lost Track of Time

Chinese Drama - 2022, 30 episodes

the FL is in a happy and committed relationship with her husband, realizes his duplicity and ill-treatment of her, and then falls in love with the ML (time travel / rebirth premise)
35. Story of Kunning Palace

Chinese Drama - 2023, 38 episodes

~ upcoming ~
this drama is postponed indefinitely, but the trailers suggest that the FL will experience love with more than one of the MLs (time travel / rebirth premise)
36. Scarlet Heart

Chinese Drama - 2011, 35 episodes

10

this drama excels in its depiction of one woman navigating different types of love - surrogate 'sibling' love, juvenile/first love, platonic devotion, and soulful passion - through her relationships with four princes
37. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo

Korean Drama - 2016, 20 episodes

9.5

the Korean adaptation of Scarlet Heart
38. Lost You Forever

Chinese Drama - 2023, 39 episodes

10

like Scarlet Heart, this drama excels in its depiction of one woman navigating different types of love with various lovers
unlike Scarlet Heart, the types of love represented are ambiguous and much more challenging to categorize, but the second half of this show hasn't aired so it might become clearer when the narrative concludes (or not! I'm fine with not!)
39. Queen Seon Deok

Korean Drama - 2009, 62 episodes
40. The Moon Brightens for You

Chinese Drama - 2020, 36 episodes

7.5

the FL experiences first love with one ML, then enters a more grounded, mature, and committed relationship with the other ML
41. The Autumn Ballad

Chinese Drama - 2022, 34 episodes
42. The Rebel Princess

Chinese Drama - 2021, 68 episodes
43. Nothing Gold Can Stay

Chinese Drama - 2017, 74 episodes
44. The Imperial Doctress

Chinese Drama - 2016, 50 episodes
45. Sound of the Desert

Chinese Drama - 2014, 35 episodes
46. A River Runs Through It

Chinese Drama - 2021, 36 episodes
47. Run for Young

Chinese Drama - 2020, 16 episodes
48. Put Your Head on My Shoulder

Chinese Drama - 2019, 24 episodes
49. Go Ahead

Chinese Drama - 2020, 46 episodes
50. Love at Night

Chinese Drama - 2021, 30 episodes