"She wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers."
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers."
One of the most common types of Love Triangle, named after characters from Archie Comics, wherein the main character ("Archie") is caught between two love interests with drastically different personalities. "Betty" is the sweet, reliable, everyday Girl Next Door type (which could mean "kind of dull"), while "Veronica" is alluring, exotic, or edgy but has more of a mischievous or icy personality (which could mean "kind of a bitch"). This translates to their physical appearance: Betty will be pretty but modest in dress, while Veronica will be Ms. Fanservice in all her glory. As a rule, they will have different hair colors per the Blonde, Brunette, Redhead trope.
This trope is almost endlessly flexible. In a commonly-seen version, Betty is Archie's loyal comrade and usually his best friend, secretly pining for him while he (unaware of her feelings) is attracted only to Veronica, the sultry Ms. Unattainable who barely notices him. Since Betty wants Archie to be happy, she may even assist him in his pursuit of Veronica, even though we all know how much she wants him for herself. (Less sympathetic Betties may act Entitled to Have You, whether she and Archie are officially together or not). Another version begins with Archie already in a relationship with one of the girls when he starts to see the potential in the other: Veronica's excitement or Betty's stability.
If Archie's parents are likely to make the decision for him, Betty is the girl they want and Veronica is the one they don't, especially if children are expected (because Betty is the more 'motherly' archetype). When Archie meets Betty and Veronica at the same time if they are sisters, for example he will fall in Love at First Sight with Veronica and only notice Betty after she has had time to grow on him (when, for instance, he keeps visiting their parents' house to woo Veronica).
"Archie," "Betty," and "Veronica" can be any gender or orientation, although The Gentleman or the Scoundrel is a possible Spear Counterpart specific to the situation of a female Archie and two male suitors. Another male variant is Rich Suitor, Poor Suitor, with a rich but douchey Veronica and a poor but kindhearted Betty, or a wealthy but boring Betty and a spirited blue-collar Veronica. Sorry fellas, you can either have money or the girl.
Whom the hero will end up with varies according to medium, story, and the values of the time period and culture where the story was made. In more conservative societies, Betty can stand a better chance, at least if the story had a Happy Ending, due to conforming to social standards and the idea that Like Goes with Like: choosing Veronica would only lead the poor sap into ruin. Usually, the hero would spend the story chasing Veronica only to realize that Betty was The One complete with a convenient "appreciate what you've got" or True Beauty Is on the Inside Aesop. (In extreme but fairly frequent cases, he would learn that Veronica was in fact his illegitimate half-sister.)
In most cases, the loser will have a happy ending too, if not with the main hero, then as part of a Beta Couple or Pair the Spares. Movies have traditionally favored Betty, but video games, comics, and TV shows (especially long runners) have played this trope for all its worth. For example, for much of Archie Comics history, Archie and Veronica have been the Official Couple, whilst Betty was a frequent holder of the Jerkass Ball in the early years of the comic.
When Archie is female, a more enticing and risky Veronica usually has the edge over a sweet and boring Betty, especially if the story is aimed at women, and if Veronica loses, you can bet the fanfic writers will race to fix that.
In case this wasn't complicated enough, sometimes a Third-Option Love Interest makes their presence known to shake things up even further.
Movies have lately come to a compromise with the Manic Pixie Dream Girl; cute and non-threatening, yet exciting and different. Video games with Multiple Endings get to Take a Third Option by letting the player choose who the hero ends up with. Comic book and TV show franchises tend to avoid definitive resolutions to prevent Continuity Lockout, so the question of whether Archie chooses Betty or Veronica will never get a definitive answer.
Compare the admirable one and sexy one of the Four-Girl Ensemble as well as the wife and seductress of The Three Faces of Eve. Also compare Light Feminine and Dark Feminine (Betty and Veronica, respectively) and the Madonna-Whore Complex (ditto). In a Four-Temperament Ensemble, Betty is most likely people-oriented/emotionally available (sanguine, or phlegmatic), while Veronica is task-oriented/emotionally unavailable (melancholic or choleric). In the case of a Bust-Contrast Duo, Betty usually laments her lack of standing in that department, while Veronica flaunts hers.
Do be aware that fans like to exaggerate potential relationships; Shipping would not exist without it. As a result, there are likely to be multiple instances of an Official Couple (vindicated by Word of God) that has some sort of Fanon-based "romantic rival" mirroring this trope. Even shows without such romantic entanglements in-universe can inspire Betty/Veronica debates amongst the Fandom; hence, Mary Ann/Ginger, Bailey/Jennifer, Janet/Chrissy, Velma/Daphne, etc.
In a very small number of these scenarios, particularly in more recent times or exotic settings, the hero might not have to choose, resolving the conflict with an One True Threesome or a Marry Them All ending. This is particularly prevalent in fan works.
See also Betty and Veronica Switch, where the presumed Betty and Veronica somehow switch roles.
Please avoid referring to characters as "the Betty" and "the Veronica" to someone else's "Archie" when referring to this trope, as it is not particularly helpful to those tropers who are not familiar enough with the characters in question to immediately extrapolate the implied relationships.
This trope is also not, a Love Triangle where one member of the triangle is an Obviously Evil Abhorrent Admirer, the protagonist has absolutely no interest in. Whilst a Veronica can be villainous (as can a Betty), there has to be real drama over whom the protagonist will choose.
Examples
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Audio Plays
- Choose Me: Mark or Doug has the characters Mark, the familiar childhood friend and coworker, as Betty and Doug, the suave bartender you just met, as Veronica to your Archie.
Comic Strips
- Flash Gordon does this several times: Flash must choose between Dale (the Betty) and Princess Aura (the Veronica); Princess Aura must choose between Flash (the Betty) and Prince Barin (the Veronica).
- The Golden Age MAD romance spoof "Flob Was a Slob!" had everyday American girl Ramona Snarfle choosing between her childhood friend, Sheldon Flob, who'd rather be chasing butterflies, and handsome, adventurous Rackstraw Him, who happens to also be a drug pusher and philanderer.
- InSecurity: Cloudcuckoolander Genki Girl Sedine sees herself as the Betty and ditzy Ellie as the Veronica towards Sedine's husband Sam's Archie.
- Luann:
- Dealt with frequently, with main character Luann (the reasonably nice Betty) competing with vain cheerleader Tiffany (Veronica) for Aaron Hill (Archie).
- Luann also had to choose between the nerdy Gunther (Betty) and the cooler Aaron (Veronica). At least until Aaron moved to Hawaii, making Gunther win by default.
- Another example had a competition between Luann's brother Brad (Betty) and Dirk (Veronica) for the affections of Toni. Brad won.
- For Better or for Worse:
- A rather infamous example is Elizabeth (Betty), Thèrése (Veronica) and Anthony (Archie). Anthony married the latter but harbored feelings for the former. Elizabeth won, but destroyed his marriage in the process. In contrast, there was also Anthony (Betty), Paul (Veronica), and Elizabeth (Archie).
- Michael was also in one as the Betty to Perrys Veronica while Deanna was Archie. Michael won.
Fairy Tales
- In "The Damsel With the Long Nose", in the beginning, the simpleton lad helps a miller's daughter, who gives him three things that turn out to be magic. (The narrator observes at the time that he should have stayed put with her.) A princess tricks him out of them, one by one, but is so beautiful and charming that he keeps trusting her again. Finally, he gives her a long nose, which makes her so ugly he falls out of love, and tricks the things back out of her — and then wishes himself back to the miller's daughter, since she was kind and simple.
- In "The Little Soldier
" (in Andrew Lang's The Green Fairy Book), the soldier rescues a princess, but is not awake when she comes to fetch him away, a condition she set up so she would not have to marry him. In his search, he's helped by a fisherwoman, and he finds the princess, whereupon she tries to rob and cheat him. He goes back to the fisherwoman and marries her.
- In The Brothers Grimm's "Odds and Ends," a diligent servant made herself a gown of the odds and ends of flax that the daughter of the house had thrown aside as too much trouble to spin. Then the daughter laughed about it to her bridegroom. Discovering that she was thriftless and the servant thrifty, he gave her up and married the servant instead.
- In "The Wooden-Clog Maker and the King's Daughter", the clog maker is in love with Guilemette, and both of them too poor to marry, when he receives a tree that has peaches in the middle of winter. He is diverted from her by learning the king will marry his daughter to whoever brings him peaches in mid-winter, and tries the Impossible Tasks the king sets, but in the end rejects the princess for Guilemette.
Fan Works
- Beyond Heroes: Of Sunshine and Red Lyrium has a subtle version of this with Inquisitor Bethany Hawke and Bianca Davri. The former is a sweet, gentle All-Loving Hero and devoted friend of Supporting Protagonist Varric, while the latter is Varric's longtime girlfriend, who has been married to someone else for several years but still has a claim on his affections. The two women immediately dislike each other when they meet, though for wildly different reasons. It's not a Love Triangle (at the time); rather, Varric is ultimately forced to decide which of the two is more deserving of his loyalty.
- Big Human on Campus: Moka is Betty to Kurumu's Veronica for Tsukune.
- Burning Black:
- Tootie is the Betty, Trixie Tang is the Veronica. Timmy is initially torn between the two of them and then learns Veronica Star is still after him. Timmy, Caleb, and Danny Phantom are not pleased with this.
- Danny refers to the trope as the 'Sam and Paulina' with Timmy playing the role of the 'Danny'. Later, when Timmy confides in him that Veronica has joined the Love Triangle, Danny grimaces and dubs her the 'Valerie', more likely to kill him than date him.
- Crossroads - Between a Mermaid and a Princess, features Ash Ketchum as the Archie. Misty is the Veronica, being tomboyish, bold, and quite willing to use her physical appeal to attract him. Serena is the Betty, sweeter and more feminine, and of course uses her cooking skills to her advantage. It's played with since both girls are friends and actively help each other to make up for their shortcomings.
- A Different Miraculous Set of Circumstances... (Miraculous Ladybug): There are two boys chasing after Marinette's heart. One is Luka, aka Parisian hero Viperion, a nice, down-to-earth musician with whom she has forged an easy friendship on both sides of the mask and respects. The other is Adrien, aka the akuma Chat Blanc, who is a troubled rich kid and acts as a Crazy Jealous Guy in regards to Marinette.
- In the Dragon Ball Z Fanfiction, The Erased Chronicles, Erasa is the sweet and caring Betty to Videl's tomboyish and hot-tempered Veronica. Unlike the canon, Erasa gets together with Gohan, and Videl still hates Gohan for the first parts of the story before softening up.
- Green Tea Rescue: Ochako Uraraka is the sweet, dependable Betty to Himiko Toga's eager, lustful Veronica centered around Izuku Midoriya as Archie. As the first chapter shows, Ochako won.
- Hellsister Trilogy has Supergirl caught between quiet, introverted, shy, kind-hearted, and moral Brainiac 5 and rude, boisterous, cocky and shady Dev-Em.
- Henri LeRoi, the titular Jerk in Sheep's Clothing is the Veronica to Marinette's Archie, as opposed to Adrien's sweeter, kinder Betty. However, Henri has twisted Marinette's mind to make her believe that the roles are switched, and that he is the good, loyal Betty and Adrien is the handsome but fickle Veronica.
- Kaguya-Sama: Love is War - Queen of Thieves has Miyuki Shirogane/Spider-Man finding himself having two love interests. Kaguya being his primary one but she and Miyuki are too prideful to admit their feelings for each other. Then there's the second love interest, Ava Ayala/White Tiger who is more open and forward about her feelings for him with a hint of wanting to start a relationship with him.
- Keep Your Hands Off My Mate initially sets up an Exaggerated version, with Alexa Woods being presented with a choice between living an ordinary human life with the sweet, artistic Brian, or leaving the planet with violent extraterrestrial Predator Scar. It becomes a Subverted Trope when Brian is revealed as a government agent; whilst he genuinely did fall In Love with the Mark, her feelings for him die a quick death, and his employer's actions leave her so disgusted with humanity that she gives up on her species altogether.
- In Le Papillon Rising, Marinette sees Adrien as "Betty" and Papillon as "Veronica"... Until Adrien starts stalking her and acting more and more deranged. Then the Betty/Veronica thing fades.
- In A Little Red and Blue, Steve Rogers is the Archie with Peggy Carter, his sort-of Girl Back Home, as the Betty and "Kate" (actually a time-displaced Sharon Carter), who is incredibly abrasive to him, mostly because in her time, he left her to stay with her aunt Peggy in the past although she is eventually able to move past that and forms a genuine bond with 1944 Steve, and due to the differences in their respective time periods, acts unlike any woman he's ever met, as the Veronica. When Sharon returns to the present she discovers that Steve didn't actually decide to stay in the past with Peggy and the two enter an official relationship.
- Metroid: Kamen Rider Generations: Samus initially became the Archie for Takatora (Betty) and Mitsuzane (Veronica). Veronica wins, more likely Takatora forfeited as a subversion.
- In The One I Love Is..., Shinji is Archie, Rei is Betty and Asuka is Veronica. Rei former is homely, quiet, and feminine whereas Asuka is bold, hot-tempered, and sultry. And both girls want the same boy.
- Reunited: Nora has a choice between her safe, gentle doctor Frances and her kind but criminal husband Victor. She ultimately chooses Victor.
- Someone to Watch Over Me has Marinette making plans to take on both roles, in and out of costume.
- From the fourth chapter onwards of The Story of Apollo, Daphne and Luca: An Italian Tragedy, Luca unintentionally becomes the Archie to his best friend Alberto's Betty (a laid-back Boy Next Door who constantly wears his heart on his sleeve) to Vincenzo's Veronica (an haughty and prideful Tsundere).
- In UNDERTOW, Rio is split between his safe and reliable high school sweetheart Jerrica and the alluring and flirty Minx. It ends with a Maybe Ever After with Minx.
- Gender-flipped in X-Men: The Early Years. Jean is the Archie for Warren (Betty) and Scott (Veronica), which is ironic given X-Men's fandom belief Scott is a boy scout. Warren is the polite, kind suave playboy and Scott is the ornery, snarky boy with a criminal record.
- to the last son: Elsa is engaged to the nice and scholarly, but somewhat dull, Lars Westergard (Betty), and ends up falling in love with his witty and adventurous younger brother, Hans (Veronica). While Hans do genuinely like her back, he refuses to betray his brother's feelings, as well as their royal duties to preserve the alliance between the two kingdoms, and tells Elsa to go through with her Arranged Marriage. She does.
Music
- Bob Dylan captured this dynamic perfectly with the line "your debutante just knows what you need, but I know what you want."
- In an odd contrast to this lyric, "Veronica" was actually a big-city debutante in her initial introduction in the 1940s, in order to contrast with small-town Betty.
- Dolly Parton's famous song "Jolene" paints the picture of this variety of love triangle. Jolene (with her "beauty beyond compare") is the Veronica, and the singer (who "cannot compete with you, Jolene") is the Betty. The song consists of "Betty" begging Jolene not to steal her man.
- Samantha Echo's "I Wanna Shake her Hand" is a Betty and Veronica song from Veronica's point of view, in which Veronica is sizing up Betty in a sarcastic, passive-aggressive manner. Betty is the wife of her married crush (Archie), who looks at her (Veronica) as if she is "a strange, forbidden door." The sexually frustrated narrator vacillates between feelings of jealousy and friendliness, which is particularly evocative of the trope namers, who were actually best friends when they weren't fighting over Archie.
- Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" features a love triangle between blonde Girl Next Door Taylor Swift and a dark-haired cheerleader rival... also played by Taylor Swift.
- In one of her lesser-known songs ("The Way I Loved You") Taylor Swift takes the role of Archie choosing between her current boyfriend (Betty) who she describes as "sensible" and who "calls exactly when he says he will," and her "wild and crazy" ex who is "just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated," who fills the role of Veronica. In the end, she chooses her ex.
- A Brazilian sertanejo song called "O Granfino e o Caipira" that tells the story of a rich city guy (the Veronica) and a hick (the Betty) fighting over a pretty girl. In the end, she gets tired of their fighting and goes for a cowboy
- "The Boy is Mine" by Brandy and Monica. While this isn't explicit in the song itself, if you look at the ladies' individual musical styles, Brandy is more a sweet girl-next-door while Monica has more of a street edge.
- The video clip of Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" depicts Avril (as the Veronica) convincing the Archie to leave his uptight Betty girlfriend (also played by Avril) for her more interesting, more bullying self. Veronica wins.
- Paul and Storm's "More Than Two" mentions the Trope Namers and Takes A Third Option
- Bryan Adams's "Run To You." The Archie sings about cheating on his Betty-esque girlfriend with his Veronica.
"She's got a heart of gold, she'd never let me down/ But you're the one who always turns me on, you keep me comin' 'round."
- The Statler Brothers' 1972 country hit "Do You Remember These" has a quick line, "Veronica and Betty" toward the end of songs, part of a longer list of 1950s nostalgia.
- Ving Jane's "Girl Next Door" brings up the singer as the Betty and her rival who is the Veronica.
- The 1962 Marty Robbins hit "Ruby Ann" tells the story from the point of view of the male Betty. He is a poor but honest, loving man. Ruby Ann is the female Archie who chooses him over the "big man" male Veronica. As the Betty gloats, "Big man, you got money in your hand, so what? You're at a table for two, but still there's only you, big shot... Ruby Ann took the hand of this poor, poor man, ain't true love a funny thing?"
- The Carl Smith classic, later covered by Mickey Gilley, "I Overlooked an Orchid (While Searching For a Rose)" tells of the singer's bitter disappointment after choosing the Veronica, whose exotic but superficial beauty didn't last. Betty (the orchid) had true beauty that has stayed the same through the years.
- "Bang Bang" by Jessie J and Ariana Grande involves a rivalry between the two — with Jessie's verse ending with "anybody could be bad to you,/You need a good girl to blow your mind" and Ariana's ending with "anybody could be good to you,/You need a bad girl to blow your mind". Which, as Todd in the Shadows pointed out, is kind of odd, given that these are much closer to the exact opposite of their usual personas. (The music video goes even further by inverting the usual differences in appearance: Ariana's hair has been bleached blonde and wears all white in her scene, while Jessie J is her usual black-haired self in an all-black outfit.)
- "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?" by The Lovin' Spoonful asks the question of whether the listener has ever experienced the type of problem where they are attracted to/dating two girls with different but equally attractive qualities and thus has difficulty deciding which one to choose.
Puppet Shows
- In The Muppets (2015), Kermit's new girlfriend Denise (cheerful, down-to-earth, somewhat adorkable pig whom Piggy sarcastically describes as "It's like you're dating my six-year-old niece!") is the Betty, and his ex Miss Piggy (same demanding, karate-chopping diva she's always been) is the Veronica.
Radio
- The 1940s-1950s The Adventures of Archie Andrews radio show has Veronica as Archie's rich southern girlfriend and Betty as Archie's Unlucky Childhood Friend who's in love with him.
- In the radio adaptation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll loves the proper Margaret while Hyde lusts for the earthy Hettie. It's even worse because he's the direct cause of Hettie being forced into poverty and prostitution.
Role Play
- In Hachimitsu No Kissu, Ran and Kaori are the Betty and Veronica, respectively, to Susumu's Archie, though they lack any personality stereotypes.
- Zigzagged in Kami&Rice - Sabina can be seen as the sweet and caring one, compared to the lustful and adulterous Ramona, but Alex considers Ramona to be quite shallow and a bit dull, while the idea of comforting the broken, innocent girl whose father died quite tragically is seen as being a better choice.
- In Rebuilding The World, Edwin is the Archie to Rippa's Veronica and Amaris's Betty. Once Amaris hooks up with Ian, Ariel takes over as the Betty.
Tabletop Games
- Card VI "The Lovers" of the Tarot has, in many versions, the imagery of an Archie who needs to choose between a Betty and a Veronica. It's meant to represent the choice between sense and sensibility, etc.
Theatre
- 13 has Brett in a Love Triangle with Kendra (Betty) and Lucy (Veronica). Meanwhile, there's a friendship version of the trope where Evan has to decide between being friends with Brett and the cool kids (Veronica) or with the losers Patrice and Archie (Betty). Then there's a subtle one of Kendra liking Brett (Veronica) while being oblivious to Archie (Betty).
- In The Abduction from the Seraglio there are Konstanze's suitors Tenor Boy Belmonte and passionate Pasha Selim. She ends up with Belmonte, but the level of her constancy depends on the production.
- The 1987 version of the musical Anything Goes has Hope Harcourt (Betty) and Reno Sweeney (Veronica) for Billy Crocker. Subverted in that Reno's interest in Billy is one-sided as he only has eyes for Hope. Reno eventually ends up hooking up with Hope's fiancee Evelyn Oakley, effectively Pairing the Spares. Note, however, that the 1962 version involves no sexual or romantic tension between Billy and Reno.
- In Attila, the sweet, loving, and slightly weak-willed Tenor Boy Foresto and the violent, passionate, Evil Sounds Deep enemy leader Attila for Odabella. Odabella loves Foresto, but some stagings imply that she isn't quite indifferent to Attila, either.
- The musical Avenue Q has Princeton (Archie) going out with Kate Monster (Betty) before leaving her for Lucy T. Slut (Veronica). Don't worry; in the end he goes back to Kate.
- In Georges Bizet's opera, Carmen, Don Jose has Micaela, his sweet friend from his hometown who relays messages back and forth between Don Jose and his mother, and the title character, who is a free-spirited, dangerous Hot Gypsy Woman.
- In The Fantasticks Luisa (Archie) is an Official Couple with the Boy Next Door Matt (Betty), but when they go on a break she has a brief dalliance with the suave, mysterious El Gallo (Veronica).
- A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder has the protagonist Monty (Archie) conflicted over his interest in Spoiled Sweet Phoebe (Betty), and the sexy, unattainable Sibella (Veronica). The show ends with an implied One True Threesome with all of them.
- The musical Girl Crazy (now best remembered for being Ethel Merman's stage debut as well as introducing the song "I Got Rhythm") centers around a Betty And Veronica: Danny is stuck between simple mail carrier Molly (Betty, played by Ginger Rogers) and the saloon owner's glamorous daughter Kate (Veronica, played by Merman).
- Happens in Hamilton with the Schuyler sisters: sweet, demure Eliza and vivacious, opinionated Angelica, who both fall in love with Alexander. Even though Angelica steps aside to let Eliza marry him, she and Alexander share a flirtatious friendship for years afterwards. His affair with Mariah Reynolds in the second act isn't really an example since he never loved her; their encounters were purely sexual.
- Depending on the production, a rare gender opposite variation occurs in Jesus Christ Superstar with Mary Magdalene (Betty) and Judas (Veronica). To the point where in the 2000 film version Judas catching Mary and Jesus in an intimate position is what drives him to betray Jesus to the authorities.
- Jekyll & Hyde has the wealthy aristocratic Emma Carew as the Betty and penniless prostitute Lucy as the Veronica. Several screen adaptations of the story have also used the trope, with Jekyll's fiancee (usually the daughter of Sir Danvers Carew) as the Betty and a prostitute/bar girl that Hyde picks up as the Veronica.
- In Noah Smith's stage version of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll is attracted to Enfield's fiancee, Helen, while Hyde takes interest in the brainy prostitute Cybel.
- In Lady in the Dark, Liza Elliott, editor of Allure magazine, is unable to make up her mind between Kendall Nesbitt, the publisher who started the magazine for her, and hunky Hollywood actor Randy Curtis. She finally decides to reject both and Take a Third Option.
- In Murder Ballad, Sarah's two love interests are the downtown, reckless Tom and the educated, reserved Michael Veronica and Betty, respectively.
- In Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Natasha (Archie) is engaged to be married to the safe choice, the wealthy, stable, but often absent Andrey (Betty). However, she can't seem to help her attraction to the rich, arrogant playboy Anatole (Veronica). She eventually chooses Anatole, but her angst over having to make that choice takes up a good chunk of the first act.
- In Pal Joey, nightclub performer Joey (Archie) finds himself in a love triangle between Linda English, a young woman who has recently moved to Chicago from a small town (the Betty), and Vera Simpson, an older, married lady who is prominent in Chicago society (the Veronica).
- The Phantom of the Opera has Christine choose between her childhood sweetheart and general Knight in Shining Armor Raoul (Betty) and the insane, brooding but more passionate Phantom. Subverted, as although Word of God says that Christine loves The Phantom the most, in the end she chooses the Safe Option, Raoul.
- In The Playboy of the Western World, Pegeen Mike is faced with a choice between Shawn Keogh, her dull hometown fiancé, and Christy Mahon, the exotic and possibly dangerous newcomer. In the end, she decides Christy is too dangerous and drives him away — and almost immediately regrets it.
- In The Queen of Spades by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, based on Alexander Pushkin's story of the same name, the many cases of Adaptational Angst Upgrade in the libretto include the added love triangle for Liza: her betrothed Prince Yeletsky, conventionally romantic, rich and handsome, vs. Herman, penniless, mentally unstable, with nothing to offer but his burning passion. Liza chooses Herman, but Surprisingly Realistic Outcome happens and their relationship, as well as their lives, ends in tragedy.
- The Rainmaker has File (a Betty-type) and Starbuck (a Veronica-type) as rival love interests for Lizzie (same goes for The Musical version 110 in the Shade).
- Romeo and Juliet: Juliet's decision between her two suitors. Paris courts her in the 'proper' way, by asking her father's permission. Romeo falls in love with her, marries her in secret, and kills a beloved family member.
- In The Shadow by Evgeny Schwartz (based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale of the same name), there are sweet, honest, and helpful Girl Next Door Annunciata and elusive, mysterious princess Luisa for Christian Theodore. He spends half of the play pining for Luisa but ultimately chooses Annunciata.
- The Archie in Six: The Musical, Henry VIII, never actually appears in the show. However, his having to choose between his older, devoutly Catholic first wife Catherine of Aragon (Betty) and the younger, ambitious, and coquettish lady-in-waiting Anne Boleyn (Veronica) is a huge plot point in the songs "No Way" and "Don't Lose Ur Head". Once Catherine is out of the picture, Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Jane Seymour becomes the Betty to Anne's Veronica.
- Wicked:
- Fiyero and Glinda initially bond over their self-absorption and love of living it large. They start going steady. Elphaba realises she loves Fiyero the day they rescue the lion cub, he starts to realise he has feelings for her... It sorts itself out for the best eventually. It's kind of hard to say which girl is the Betty and which is the Veronica, though. If we define the Betty as the humble, relatable one and the Veronica as the glamorous, enviable one, then Elphaba would be the Betty and Glinda the Veronica. But if we define this trope as "safe choice vs. edgy choice," then the adorable, popular Glinda would be the Betty and the fiery, freakish-looking outlaw Elphaba would be the Veronica. And then Elphaba and Glinda got Word of Gay'd. Yeah, it's complicated. It's usually safe to assume that Everyone Is Bi in a Gregory Maguire story unless explicitly stated otherwise.
- There's also a secondary triangle with Boq, Glinda, and Nessarose, which is similarly subverted. Boq is in love with Glinda (Veronica) who isn't interested and tries to pawn him off on Nessa (Betty). Nessa, however, turns into quite the Clingy Jealous Girl and morphs into the Veronica.
- Is quite common in romantic and classical ballet.
- Swan Lake has the fearful, modest Odette as the Betty while the flirtatious, seductive Odile is the Veronica to Siegfried's Archie
- La Sylphide (The Sylph) has James as the Archie to his dependent but sensitive fiancee Effie (Betty) and the free spirited Sylph who wants to spirit him away (Veronica). Similarly James is the adventurous, handsome Veronica to his best friend Gurn, the somewhat dull but dependable Betty with Effie as the Archie.
- La Bayadere (The Temple Dancer) has Solor as the Archie to Nikea, the titular temple dancer who makes him swear eternal fidelity to her over a sacred fire (Betty), and the spoiled, materialistic Princess Gamzatti (Veronica).
- Swanhilda from Coppélia is a little feistier than most Bettys but she remains loyal and devoted to Franz, even when his gaze has turned to the seemingly bookish but mysterious Coppelia. Coppelia's beauty makes her the Veronica as it is what lures Franz into Dr Coppelius's workshop.
- The titular character in Giselle is the Archie to her childhood friend Hilarion's Betty and mysterious stranger Albrecht's Veronica. Due to her being an ill girl and dying of heartbreak, neither ends up with her. Albrecht does get to say a final farewell though.
- Petrushka has the poor, titular puppet dressed in rags and raging against his master's cruel treatment (Betty) compete with the well-dressed but violent Moor (Veronica)for the Ballerina's affections. Their rivalry spirals out of control and results in a fight where the Moor kills Petrushka, much to the horror of the crowd.
Visual Novels
- Analogue: A Hate Story With *Hyun-ae and *Mute. Except that, well, "Betty" *Hyun-ae did slaughter the whole population of the Mugunghwa
- Don't Take It Personally, I Just Don't Like You has Rose, the rule-abiding, sweet student council member positioned as the Betty, and Maria, the Sir Swears-a-Lot anarchist punk, as the Veronica. Though one optional scene in the demo calls this into question, when Rose demonstrates some decidedly manipulative traits after an argument, while Maria appears much more sympathetic in a similar scene.
- Fate/stay night: The roles are fulfilled primarily by Saber and Rin, with Saber as Betty and Rin as Veronica. The visual novel presents many other heroines who fit into the roles as well. Other variants include Sakura/Rin and Sakura/Rider.
- In If My Heart Had Wings, the twins' route is split between upbeat, sweet, but clumsy and 'average' Asa and intelligent but cynical, aloof, and sharp-tongued Yoru.
- In Kissed by the Baddest Bidder, Eisuke's route has the protagonist torn between her kind, considerate supervisor Takahiro and, of course, Eisuke, the glamorous but very shady billionaire who considers her his property.
- Saya no Uta Is a very interesting deconstruction of this. There is kind, friendly Yoh as the Betty, and horrifying, alien Saya as the Veronica.
- School Days puts the player in the shoes of Makoto (Archie), who pines from afar for the Aloof Dark Haired Kotonoha (Veronica). His friend Sekai (Betty) initially tries to help set them up but is later revealed to have developed a Matchmaker Crush on Makoto. If you're not careful with your decisions, it'll all go downhill from there.
- Tsukihime: Within the whole series, this role is fulfilled primarily by Arcueid and Ciel. However, it's difficult to determine which is which, because they periodically switch roles.
- The series presents many other heroines who fit into this role as well. Other variants are Ciel/Akiha, Hisui/Kohaku, and others.
Web Original
- The Anon series has a LOT of these storylines. With Chelsea (Archie), Kyle (Betty), and Tucker (Veronica) in the earlier seasons, as well as Dani (Archie), Ian (Betty), and Hunter (Veronica). The later seasons also has Ryan (Archie), Candace (Betty), and Miranda (Veronica), and this is even later flipped where Ryan becomes the Betty to Candace's Archie, introducing Damian as the Veronica.
- Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse has the goodhearted, blonde Barbie and the scheming, brunette Raquelle vying for Ken's affections. Barbie always wins. A Gender Flipped variation also occurs, in which faithful Ken competes with Ryan, Raquelle's boastful brother, for Barbie's affections. Ken always wins.
- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog gives us the male version, with Dr. Horrible (Villain Protagonist) as the Betty and Captain Hammer (Hero Antagonist) as the Veronica.
- The Gungan Council has Anara (Jedi) and Kith (Sith) being the love interests for Tantor.
- The Nostalgia Chick is the Betty and Lupa is the (ambivalent) Veronica to Todd in the Shadows' Archie.
- Likewise, Todd is the Veronica and Critic is the Betty to Chick.
- The SuperMarioLogan series has the ditzy star-obsessed Princess Rosalina, who likes Mario for who he is and the things he does, and Princess Peach, who sees Mario as an ugly and annoying Stalker with a Crush. The episode "Mario's Valentine's Day Problem!" focuses on Mario having to choose between dating Rosalina or Peach when the latter wants to spend Valentine's Day with him. He ends up choosing Rosalina.
- Cream Heroes: A house with a mixture of male and female cats gets this a fair bit.
- Lulu is the Archie to the gentle Chuchu's Betty and the fierce Lala's Veronica.
- Both Lala and Nana are the Archie to the humble DD's Betty and the proud Momo's Veronica. Similarly Nana is the openly affectionate Betty to Lala's boisterous Veronica to both DD's and Momo's Archie.
