Unrequited love

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Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep affection, or may consciously reject it knowing that the admirer admires them. Merriam-Webster defines unrequited as "not reciprocated or returned in kind".^[1]

Psychiatrist Eric Berne said in his book Sex in Human Loving that "Some say that one-sided love is better than none, but like half a loaf of bread, it is likely to grow hard and moldy sooner."^[2] Unrequited love stands in contrast to redamancy, the act of reciprocal love, which is the tendency for people to like others who express a liking for them.^[3]