What are the different types of crushes people can have?
We’ve all experienced the rush of having a crush on someone. That butterfly feeling you get when you see or think about them is unmistakable. Crushes can happen in many different contexts and forms.
Here is an extensive list and guide to the various types of crushes people commonly develop and their meanings.
1. Celebrity Crush
One of the most universal crush experiences is harboring strong feelings for a celebrity or public figure. These crushes are based entirely on physical attraction and admiring their talent, persona, style, or body of work.
Since celebrities seem flawless when viewed through a publicity lens, the crush can take on an idealized perfection.
Fans cherish fantasies of dating the celebrity and living glamorously. Of course, parasocial crushes on celebrities almost never materialize into real relationships.
Movie stars, musicians, athletes, models, and influencers are frequent recipients of celebrity crushes thanks to their visibility. Teen heartthrobs and pin-ups fuel many young people’s first celebrity crushes.
2. Acquaintance Crush
This is when you catch feelings for someone in your broader social or professional circle whom you have some surface-level interaction with but don’t know closely.
Acquaintance crushes encompass classmates, coworkers, distant friends, neighbors, baristas at your local coffee shop, fellow commuters you see daily, and other loose connections.
Since the personal details about this person are limited initially, the crush idealizes them and fills in the gaps.
These crushes hold intrigue since you can imagine and fantasize about dating them. Yet it’s risky to ask them out since you don’t know if you’re compatible. Making a move could damage a friendly acquaintance dynamic.
3. Best Friend Crush
It’s very common to develop an intimate crush on someone in your close friend circle. Since you already have emotional intimacy platonically, catching romantic feelings can feel like a natural extension. Yet transitioning a friendship into romance carries risk.
If your best friend doesn’t share your attraction, confessing a crush could damage the friendship permanently. And even if they reciprocate initially, moving from friends to lovers fundamentally changes the dynamic.
If the romance goes south, the friendship can be lost too.
Despite the pitfalls, close friend crushes are supercharged thanks to already knowing so much about the person. You’ve connected emotionally as confidants and share in-jokes, memories, and lived experiences.
4. Stranger Crush
You lock eyes with an intriguing stranger in passing and feel instant chemistry. Though you’ve never met them, something about them seems magnetic. This phenomenon of developing an immediate crush on someone you’ve never met is more common than you may think.
Stranger crushes happen on the train, at the grocery store, walking by on the sidewalk, or anywhere in public. We’ve all had moments of strong infatuation upon encountering an unknown alluring person.
These crushes form based purely on physical and visual attraction along with projecting an idealized personality onto the stranger. Since you know nothing about them, fantasy fills in the gaps.
Stranger crushes usually cause a visceral rush but fizzle out fast. Any further flirtation depends on having opportunities to interact more. While stranger crushes are exciting, don’t let them distract you into poor judgment with risky strangers.
5. Fictional Crush
When a fictional character in a book, movie, TV show, or video game sparks feelings of real romantic attachment, this is called a fictional crush. The writer or actor makes the character so charismatic that fans become enamored, even though they aren’t real.
Fictional crushes allow you to project desired traits onto an idealized persona. Since they are a blank slate, you can fantasize freely. Their lives seem glamorous and their personalities magnetic, even if fabricated.
Love songs are written about fictional crushes, fan fiction stories portray imagined romance, and roleplayers act out crush dynamics online. Fictional crushes feel real in the moment.
Ultimately, they can only thrive in imagination. These crushes hold no possibility to materialize into real relationships. Use fictional crushes as escapism but don’t neglect actual social bonds over attachment to unreal beings.
6. Rebound Crush
Fresh out of a breakup or major relationship setback, rebound crushes provide an ego boost and distraction from heartbreak. Whether consciously or unconsciously, the vulnerable recently single person attaches to a new crush rapidly.
The excitement of flirtation with someone new reduces sadness over the ex. It proves you can still attract romantic interest, soothing the pain of rejection.
Yet in the rush to grab onto a rebound crush, judgment often gets clouded. You overlook red flags and compatibility flaws, hungry for affirmation and intimacy after loss.
Once the bandaid effect wears off, clarity sets in about whether this rebound crush has genuine relationship potential or fills an emotional void temporarily.
Don’t immediately jump into dating a rebound crush. Take it slowly to assess if you actually click once wounds heal. Rebound crushes can evolve into something deeper, but time and self-reflection are needed.
7. Childhood Friend Crush
Related to best friend crushes are ones that emerge between two people who have known each other since childhood. Maybe you were schoolmates, neighbors, or family friends growing up together.
Crushes brewing under the surface can finally activate during adolescence and young adulthood.
Since you have years or even decades of history together, these crushes feel predestined. You can vividly remember falling for them on the playground, at family gatherings, or during sleepovers.
Rekindling childhood crushes as adults allows you to pick up right where you left off thanks to nostalgia and lifelong bonding.
8. Neighbor Crush
Living in close proximity to your crush definitely amps up the fantasy. When your crush is a next-door neighbor, apartment neighbor, or someone you routinely see in your local environment, you get to admire them regularly.
You can look forward to and plan for chance encounters “bumping into” them taking out the trash, picking up mail, walking pets, etc. Just seeing your crush across the courtyard or down the street gives a little rush of excitement and anticipation.
Flirting opportunities also increase with a neighbor crush. Yet neighbor crushes come with some creepiness risks if you start obsessing and monitoring their comings and goings. Keep it respectful.
9. Co-worker Crush
Whether it’s a cubicle mate, a colleague in another department, or the cutie from the next floor up – many office crushes crop up between coworkers. You see these coworkers daily, get chances to chat at the water cooler or cafeteria, and share professional bonding.
Coworker crushes allow for flirty energy and in-jokes to develop naturally during the workday. Yet office romances are notoriously messy.
Confessing feelings could make things awkward if unrequited. If a relationship forms then sours, the professional environment turns toxic.
Proceed with caution if tempted to ask out a coworker crush. Make sure you’re reading signals correctly before making any overture.
10. Unrequited Crush
When you pine for someone who doesn’t return your romantic interest, despite your most valiant efforts – you have an unrequited crush.
One-sided with no relationship potential, these thwarted crushes only bring longing and heartache.
Unrequited crushes linger even when you know rationally that this person is unattainable. The fixation stems from over-idealizing their positive traits and ignoring red flags.
Work on self-care to get over the crush versus chasing unreciprocated feelings.
11. Long Distance Crush
When physical proximity isn’t possible, you can still develop strong feelings for someone through virtual communication, visits, and keeping the flame alive across distance.
Maybe you met on vacation or they moved away after an in-person bond formed. Or a long-distance crush can form purely online before ever meeting.
Not being able to see each other regularly requires extra effort like care packages, playlist exchanges, video chats, sexting, reminiscing about past visits, and making future reunion plans.
Long-distance crushes mean yearning and waiting between visits. But the excitement of reunions near the trip date is electrifying. And finally being together is blissful.
Just be sure both people are willing to nurture a high-maintenance long-distance crush until you’re finally in the same place. It requires patience and trust.
12. 5-Minute Crush
Sometimes a fleeting encounter leads to a split-second crush that burns hot and then fizzles out quickly. You make intense eye contact across the train platform, there’s a charged flirty exchange in line at the store, or you vibe with someone at the bar before never seeing them again.
5-minute crushes come and go in the blink of an eye, but leave their mark through giddy memories replaying the “what if” possibilities.
While these momentum crushes evoke romantic fantasies, they often project idealized personality traits onto a stranger based purely on physical attraction. You know nothing substantial about each other.
That said, 5-minute crushes can inspire you to be brave, strike up conversations, and pursue new connections when intrigued by someone.
Don’t let shyness hold you back from making a great first impression in those coincidental moments.
Just avoid impulsive moves or declarations with someone you just met minutes ago. Let the convo unfold organically without assuming a 5-minute crush indicates destiny rather than ephemeral infatuation.
13. On Again/Off Again Crush
Some crushes come in waves, alternating between intense passion and cool indifference. When you get hot and cold on someone, it creates drama and confusion.
On-again/off-again crushes signal emotional conflict about this person. Take time away from them to gain clarity. If you still only feel lukewarm during their “on” phases, it’s best to move on. Wait for a crush that makes your enthusiasm consistent.
14. Forbidden Crush
When social norms, ethical codes, or circumstances dictate that your crush must remain unrequited, this taboo infatuation becomes a forbidden crush.
Maybe you secretly pine for a friend’s partner, someone’s spouse, your boss, a professor, or a friend’s parent. These dynamics carry power imbalances or fidelity breaches.
The need for discretion and suppression fuels excitement around a forbidden crush. The knowledge that it cannot materialize into a relationship adds a dangerous allure.
But forbidden crushes often stem from escapism and idealizing the idea of someone rather than their real self. They represent dissatisfaction with your own status quo.
Rather than indulge in a forbidden crush through secrecy and longing, reassess your current committed relationships or living situation.
If something is lacking, address it constructively rather than through inappropriate external infatuation.
15. Past Crush
Letting go of past flames often proves difficult, especially with your first love. Even years later, old feelings can surprisingly resurface when you see this person again or reminisce about shared times.
Reconnecting with an old crush briefly rekindles the butterflies. But the distance of time and disconnected lives soon reasserts itself.
Be cautious about acting on feelings for a past crush without first reassessing compatibility.
16. The Bad Boy Crush
Why do dangerous rebels and arrogant jocks hold such allure for many smitten admirers? The “bad boy” crush is common, especially in youth.
Confident to the point of cocky, a little bit dangerous, and seemingly noncommittal – the bad boy represents an alluring challenge to win over. We know they’re trouble, but feel thrilled by the touch of danger.
The combination of bravado, risk, and aloofness is addicting to those harboring bad boy crushes. They fantasize about being “the one” to finally tame him and unlock his sensitive side.
In reality, bad boys rarely change their ways even for sincere feelings. Often heartbreak is part of the package.
Before getting drawn in too deep, analyze if your attraction stems from a genuine connection or chasing the thrill of a defiant wild side. Don’t let the chase drag you into an unhealthy relationship. Look for steadier companionship.
17. Authority Figure Crush
It’s common to develop ill-advised crushes on those in positions of authority like coaches, teachers, bosses, mentors, supervisors, or community leaders. Their confidence, success, and maturity can seem magnetically attractive.
However, authority figures have ingrained power dynamics with their subordinates or the people they oversee. This makes an authority figure crush risky and inappropriate if acted upon.
The foundations are just too imbalanced for true consent and ethical romantic connection. The authority figure would be violating their role by reciprocating advances.
To avoid potential scandals or enabling misconduct, view your authority figure crush from afar with admiration, not physical passion. Seek ethical and equal relationships with your true peers.
18. Secret Crush
Keeping a crush hidden from the outside world can be thrilling at first. But in the long run, secret crushes often lead to regret that you didn’t speak up.
Hidden due to shyness, social pressure, or circumstances, these stealth crushes hold back your romantic potential.
Secret crushes assume the object of your affection has no mutual interest without giving them a chance first. Sometimes you need to take a risk and subtly communicate your interest. You may find the feelings are returned if handled graciously.
19. Campus Crush
For college students and faculty, few environments are more ripe for catching feelings than academia. Studying together breeds mental intimacy. Dorms and campus clubs provide endless mingling opportunities. Youthful experimentation abounds.
Classmates who you gradually get closer to through study sessions, group projects, and club activities often become campus crushes.
Crushing on your hunky TA or idealistic professor is also common.
The campus itself – with sprawling quads, libraries, cafes, and pastoral scenery – sets a romantic mood. Passions get especially strong around homecoming and graduation.
Just be sure to balance your social life properly if pursuing a campus crush. Don’t skip too many classes or shirk responsibilities over a newfound infatuation. Passions may fade after graduation, but a degree lasts forever!
20. Student-Teacher Crush
This inappropriate crush dynamic happens more frequently than many realize. A student admires a teacher and develops an intense attachment. Or a teacher feels drawn to a particular charismatic student and favors them inappropriately.
The huge imbalance of power makes student-teacher crushes unethical. Acting on these feelings could cost the teacher their job and do emotional damage to the impressionable student.
Even when the student is above the age of consent, student-teacher relationships violate codes of conduct and should be avoided.
21. Customer Service Crush
Have you ever had great chemistry with the cute new barista at your regular coffee shop and looked forward to chatting with them daily? Or felt drawn to that handsome waiter who always pays you a little extra attention?
Customer service crushes are born through friendly transactions, chit-chat, and exchanges.
Since the barista, waiter, cashier, hostess, or service professional must be polite and engaging as part of their job, it can be tricky to discern if interest is genuine or just good customer service performance.
Tread carefully with customer service crushes to avoid making them uncomfortable at their workplace. But if signals seem clearly mutual after repeated interactions, asking them out after their shift could lead to a great date.
22. Convenient Crush
When proximity and circumstance thrust you together with someone regularly, a crush can emerge due to convenience rather than true compatibility.
Maybe you develop feelings for a coworker simply because you share an office and see them all day. Or you fall for a friend’s roommate because you end up at their place often.
Convenient crushes form because someone is familiar, straightforward to spend time with, and “there.” You bond over outer circumstances more than inner chemistry.
The danger is that once the situation changes and convenient access to your crush goes away, you’re left with little substance binding you together.
Before pursuing a convenient crush, analyze if you have long-term relationship foundations beyond the temporary situation linking you now. Don’t mistake a circumstantial infatuation for fate.
Build connections based on genuine shared values, attraction, and rapport that can thrive outside the initial convenient context.
23. The Hate Crush
At first glance, it seems oxymoronic, but sometimes crushes take the form of “hate crushes.” This is when you feel intensely aggravated by, competitive with, and preoccupied with someone in a way that masks an underlying attraction.
You despise their swagger, find their personality grating, and feel annoyed by their mannerisms. But secretly you’re a bit enthralled by them. Love and hate intermingle confusingly.
The problem is that the outward hate feelings often stem from being unable to process the vulnerable emotions of having a crush. There is discomfort and uncertainty around these messy feelings.
Displacement leads you to channel those feelings into friction. You pick fights, your crush says mean things to you and you foster negativity as a façade to cover up the scary crush brewing underneath.
Hate crushes must be unpacked slowly and safely before the walls come down. If the hostility recedes into care, a foundation for intimacy can form. But the contemptuous actions tend to push the crush away and sabotage potential closeness.
24. Winter Holiday Crush
The winter holidays have a knack for kindling crushes, often unexpectedly. Many office crushes erupt under the mistletoe at holiday work gatherings. Or you suddenly notice an alluring friend-of-a-friend at a New Year’s Eve party once cocktails lower inhibitions.
Walking alongside a cute stranger bundled up doing holiday shopping suddenly feels extra romantic. Or you see familiar faces in a new light while exchanging gifts, singing carols, and imbibing seasonal spirits. Holiday magic promotes crushes.
Just know holiday crushes can fade fast in the sober light of January. But they may hint at untapped attractions worth exploring once the tinsel comes down.
25. Vacation Fling Crush
Vacation travel brings out passion and lower inhibitions – fueling whirlwind travel flings. Whether it’s a fellow tourist you’re drawn to in a tropical paradise or a charming local showing you around, vacation crushes have built-in passion and excitement.
The romance and excitement of being immersed in a new destination make these crushes intoxicating.
Yet the fling usually only lasts for the duration of the vacation. Long-distance dating fizzles out when real life resumes. So savor vacation crushes while they last!
26. Summer Camp Crush
For youth and teens, few environments are more conducive to catching feelings than summer camp. Free from parents’ watchful eyes, teens forge intense bonds and puppy love crushes.
Having fun in an idyllic natural setting with fellow campers breeds intimacy quickly.
Camp crushes may culminate in summer love triangles and messy breakups back home. Or they can turn into lifelong relational bonds.
Either way, camp crushes are often powerful first loves full of innocence and nostalgia around fireside chats, shared adventures, and adolescent longings.
27. Cruise Ship Crush
Similar to vacation crushes, close proximity to fellow passengers and crew on a cruise ship makes shipboard romances flourish easily.
The excitement of tropical destinations and open ocean vistas, paired with lounge singers, live shows, black-tie dining, and dancing fuels shipboard passions.
Falling for a fellow passenger, cute crew member, or talented entertainer is the ultimate cruise ship fantasy. Just beware – cruise crushes usually set sail when you dock. Sustain contact after if you want romance to last beyond the bon voyage party.
28. Wedding Crush
Crushes seem to sprout at nearly every wedding. Something about being surrounded by floral arrangements, vows of eternal love, free-flowing champagne, and romantic music promotes infatuation – often ill-advised.
Inappropriate wedding crushes include falling for the bride/groom themselves, a relative of the betrothed, an ex in attendance, or perhaps your own plus one. These messy crushes should stay fantasies.
Healthier wedding crushes include guest strangers who you can later track down on social media. Just don’t do anything to detract from the marrying couple’s big day. Keep any wedding crush behavior classy.
29. Online Crush
In today’s digital age, catching feelings for someone you interact with solely online has become a common crush experience.
Maybe it’s a fellow gamer, someone in your social media feeds you message with, or a dating app match.
Without body language and vocal cues, online crushes play out mostly through projected fantasies and shared photos.
Before meeting IRL, the possibilities feel endless. But that persona may not match reality. Take time to get to know online crushes first.
30. Instagram Crush
It’s common to develop crushes on people you discover through social media instead of real life. Instagram in particular fuels this, given its focus on sharing photos and curated personas.
When you find someone’s Instagram feed captivating, you begin vicariously following their lifestyle through snippets and stories. An Instagram crush lets you admire their looks, style, friend group, travels, taste, and other intangible qualities.
Yet without actual interaction, an Instagram crush gives only a superficial window into who someone genuinely is. Fantasy fills the gaps.
Approach with caution if tempted to message an Instagram crush. Don’t come on too strong or make assumptions. Get to know them organically if you do make contact.
An Instagram crush merely signals visual and aesthetic appreciation at first, not necessarily true compatibility.
31. Facebook Crush
Facebook’s broad scope spanning status updates, photos, interests, groups, events, and more makes it a common breeding ground for social media crushes.
Maybe you and an acquaintance or distant friend start engaging more through comments, messenger chats, and reacting to each other’s posts. Or you meet someone through a Facebook group or at a Facebook-invited event that you vibe with.
The ability to slowly observe someone’s photos, life updates, sense of humor, events, and interests allows a layered sense of who they are. This can lay the groundwork for a crush if you seem compatible.
Just be wary of reading too much into the highly curated highlights people share on Facebook. Get to know a Facebook crush in person to determine if your vibe meshes beyond the social media facade.
Don’t cyber-stalk their profile excessively. Let an organic social media friendship gradually yield the comfort of asking them to hang out IRL.
32. TikTok Crush
As a platform dominated by teens and young adults, TikTok has great potential for sparking Gen Z crushes.
When a cute or charismatic TikToker captures your attention, you eagerly await their latest videos showing up in your feed.
Watching their content, laughing at their jokes, learning their dance moves, or admiring their talent fosters a one-sided bonding feeling. Dueting and commenting help move the crush beyond passive viewing into interaction.
A TikTok crush can make you feel giddy and provide entertainment. Just be cautious about mistaking funny videos for the whole person. Learn about the real human behind the account before declaring love for a TikTok persona.
Handle interactions graciously, not demanding more content or declaring obsession prematurely. Respect boundaries and privacy; don’t obsessively track their followers or likes. Let a TikTok crush inspire lighthearted fun, not unhealthy fixation.
33. X (Formerly Twitter) Crush
Unlike visually-driven apps like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, X (Formerly Twitter) is more centered around sharing thoughts, opinions, jokes, and commentary.
When someone’s Twitter feed clicks with your sense of humor and worldview, a social media crush can develop even without seeing photos.
Funny tweeters, insightful thinkers, those passionate about your favorite fandoms, and charming personalities draw you in. You retweet them, reply cleverly, and feel excited seeing their posts in your feed.
A Twitter crush allows you to slowly get a sense of someone’s voice, perspectives, and quick wit. This can lay the groundwork for real rapport if you interact playfully over time.
But don’t assume you’re soulmates just because you vibe online. Nurture the Twitter crush gently into real conversation before declaring an emotional connection. Great minds think alike but could still clash in person.
34. WhatsApp Crush
Messaging apps like WhatsApp allow easy communication with your contacts. When you start frequently chatting one-on-one with a friend or acquaintance, the dynamics can shift from platonic to crush-worthy.
Having long, flirty conversations through text and voice notes builds emotional intimacy. You get to know how their mind works through constant chatting about your days, thoughts, and lives.
A WhatsApp crush often starts harmlessly through memes and innocuous check-ins that gradually get more affectionate. You may stay up late into the night messaging once inhibitions lower.
To avoid misreading signals, establish in-person hangouts too so your bond isn’t dependent on technology. Don’t come on too strong over text before assessing real-life chemistry.
Not everyone’s WhatsApp persona matches reality.
35. Discord Crush
Discord servers built around shared interests like gaming, fandoms, or social groups often lead to forging friendships and catching feelings.
The anonymity combined with regular chatting breeds intimacy quickly.
You get to know someone’s sense of humor, passions, voice, and real-time reactions through Discord banter. A crush forms as you bond over your favorite hobby or late-night conversations.
Yet without seeing someone’s face or mannerisms, a Discord crush relies on imagination to fill the gaps. You have to be careful not to idealize the person behind the username.
Take time getting to know a Discord crush before confessing feelings. Gradually reveal more about your real selves without the pressure of infatuation. Make sure your connection transcends the server before taking it to DMs.
Final Thoughts
This covers the full gamut of crush types that people experience in various forms. From celebrity obsessions to secret pining, crushes reveal our romantic psyche.
Some lead to lasting relationships while others teach tough lessons about unrequited feelings. But all crushes provide insights into who and what attracts us.
Next time you notice the beginnings of a crush, refer back to this list to identify what type it is. Then you can pursue or manage the crush intentionally based on your growth goals and relationship readiness.
With self-awareness, crushes offer fun in the moment and paths to self-discovery.
