Manila (CNN Philippines Life) — Most of us have grown up with preconceived notions of love triangles — a staple of telenovelas, the same way telenovelas had been staples of our daily post-school afternoons in the 90s. Beyond these melodramatic Tagalog-dubbed offerings, the love triangle has lived on in the Taiwanese and Korean shows that have replaced them, as well as in Western shows, films, and young-adult literature. The inclusion of the plot device almost guarantees a divided fellowship: Dao Ming Si or Hua Ze Lei? Brooke Davis or Peyton Sawyer? Peeta or Gale?

Here lies the trope’s inherent appeal: It keeps you guessing. When a character is torn between two sides, the viewers are likely to have a choice of their own, and that keeps them invested. It amounts to twice the chemistry between the parties involved, and the choice is usually between two equal but somehow radically different love interests.

Particularly in the Philippines, there came to be an abundance of them with the sudden onslaught of infidelity-themed media in recent years, but there has been a fair share of deviations, as well — brothers have fought over the same woman, and teenagers have a tendency to juggle crushes. However, some movies have pushed the envelope further by featuring the unlikeliest and most unexpected of pairings, to subpar, surprisingly logical, or often downright strange results.

Here are five love triangles that have kept us guessing in more ways than one.

Maricel Soriano, Diether Ocampo, and Claudine Barretto in “Soltera” (1999)

Maricel Soriano is Sandra, the title character, who falls in love with Diether Ocampo’s Eric, a young man 12 years her junior. Aside from the generational gaps between them, a conflict arises in her family’s disapproval of the relationship. It all comes crashing when Eric leaves Sandra, who turns out to be pregnant, for her assistant Lisa (Claudine Barretto). For all the teleserye-like intensity, unfortunately, the movie finishes on a note that’s slightly too idyllic for all involved.

Vice Ganda, Luis Manzano, and Toni Gonzaga in “This Guy’s In Love With U Mare!” (2012)

Vice Ganda plays Lester, a jilted man out for vengeance when his boyfriend Mike (Luis Manzano) leaves him to marry Gemma (Toni Gonzaga), with whom he’s been cheating for a year. Convinced that Mike will soon come crawling back if his relationship with Gemma is destroyed, Lester pretends to be straight and “saves” her from a staged mugging, after which he conspires to make her fall in love with him. Luckily, gay representation in local media has taken massive radical steps in the years since this came out. This is the fifth highest-grossing Filipino film of all time. Go figure.

John Lloyd Cruz, Bea Alonzo, and Ronaldo Valdez in “The Mistress” (2012)

Bea Alonzo plays Sari, a plucky, go-getting seamstress, and John Lloyd Cruz is JD, a hotshot architect determined to win her affections. Sounds like cookie-cutter fluff, right? There’s one hitch, though, and it’s a doozy: JD’s father, Rico (Ronaldo Valdez), from whom he constantly seeks approval, has been having an affair with Sari for years. The film marked Alonzo and Cruz’s reunion as one of the country’s most iconic pairs after a two-year hiatus, but it was received with reactions that were lukewarm at best.

Bea Alonzo, Dingdong Dantes, and Enrique Gil in “She’s the One” (2013)

Here is a quintessential story about a woman named Cat (Bea Alonzo), who is secretly in love with her childhood friend, Wacky (Dingdong Dantes). Thrown into the mix is David (Enrique Gil), a young man who takes a video of Cat, calls it “Girl in the Rain,” and turns her into an Internet sensation. Wacky convinces Cat to meet with David, conveniently leaving out the fact that he actually returns her feelings, which leads to more complications when the two begin dating. Then there’s the fact that David has a best friend of his own (Liza Soberano), who, of course, wants him for herself. For such a tangled web woven, it all anticlimactically leads to a predictable conclusion.

Piolo Pascual, Coleen Garcia, and Dawn Zulueta in “Love Me Tomorrow” (2016)

This Piolo Pascual vehicle, dubbed a “coming-of-different-ages” story and premiering this week, puts his immature thirty-something DJ character JC in the middle of Cristy (Dawn Zulueta), a fashion designer who’s been through it all, and Janine (Coleen Garcia), a spritely young socialite. With Janine, he forms a no-strings, no-labels, strictly physical relationship, much to her frustration. With Cristy, it’s a series of meet-cutes that leads to reluctance on her part and possibly a deep connection on his. Before the trailers, it would’ve been impossible to imagine such a trio, but from what’s shown — Zulueta’s indignant “He’s not my son!” after that first meet-cute is of note — the production just might be on to something.