Mia Shields

In a girl’s life, she may find herself stuck between any group of two. Between a black or nude heel, between a gold or silver earring, or even sometimes, in a bit more of an extreme case, brother one or brother two. This inner conflict that some may face has now taken the world by storm, especially through social media, as books, movies and T.V. shows have plot lines centered around this scandalous trope.

This trope usually falls under the same messy love triangle, in which two brothers fall in love with the same girl, leaving her to make a difficult choice. In this case, one would believe she would just pick one and leave the drama and mess behind of having two, but where is the fun in that? In many popularized series and books, the girl ends up having both, one way or another.

The beloved series, “The Vampire Diaries” contains one of the most iconic brother love triangles, when a 17-year-old Elena Gilbert falls in love with the younger brother of two, Stefan Salvatore. Yet, in their epic love story that left fans believing they would never break up, she ends up later falling into an all-consuming love affair with the older, more brooding brother Damon Salvatore. The Salvatore brothers could not be more different, Stefan is more sensitive and a quintessential “jock,” while Damon is the mysterious and spontaneous brother. In this drama-filled love triangle, the two brothers fight over their love, yet they both have one end goal: save the girl.

With such a love triangle, one would wonder how someone could fall in love or develop feelings over two boys with such contrasting personalities and appearances. Yet, there is one hidden factor that ultimately plays a role in almost all of these love triangles: the boys are more similar than one thinks. Brothers, although very different in personality, can still have the same allure to a girl; similar to the trope of two best friends being in love with the same girl, like in the 2001 movie “Pearl Harbor” and even in the show “Outer Banks.” Nowadays, it may be more realistic for a girl to feel conflicted over a best friend duo than a brother duo, yet it has not ceased in the world of shows and books.

The book series turned T.V. show, “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” also stands as one of the most popularized and loved shows, where a girl named Belly Conklin, also around the age of 16-17, falls for two brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. There is a twist to this version of the trope, where Belly had an all-consuming crush on Conrad, the older brother, almost all her life. She ends up dating him, but in their teenage emotion-controlled life together, she ultimately ends up having been with both Fisher brothers.

Adding to the list of brother rivalries is one of the newest Netflix series, “My Life With the Walter Boys.” The show, set to be in a rural town on the outskirts of Colorado, revolves around the life of a city girl, Jackie Howard, whose parents and sister tragically passed away in an accident, forcing her to move in with her mom’s best friend; who is coincidentally is the mother of 10 children, nine boys, and one girl. In this large family, two brothers end up battling over Jackie, causing a rift in their already damaged brotherly bond. Similar to TVD, Jackie first falls in love with the sweeter more empathetic brother, Alex. However, she finds herself always thinking of Cole, the older, less responsible brother. The show came out with its first season on Netflix in early December of 2023, and many are anxiously waiting for the second season as the end of the first left many on their toes.

So the next time you are deciding between a pair of jeans, a nail polish color or even a brother, maybe take a look at the series listed above, and learn what to do and what not to do from these teenage girls also stuck between two.