Original Friendzone

A play on the Christian term Original Sin, this refers to the first friendzone. This was in 1540 when King Henry VIII was advised by Sir Thomas Cromwell to marry the Protestant Anne of Cleeves. Henry was displeased with Anne, and although the two married, the marriage was annulled in the same year. Following the annulment, Henry referred to Anne as "beloved sister of the King", which in the modern day roughly translates to "I love you, but more like a sister", a classic line in the world of friendzoning where one is unwilling to let the other down too harshly and thus says they do love them but more like a sibling rather than romantic partner. This term can be used by anyone, regardless of gender.

"I'm being friend zoned so hard. It's worse than the original friendzone."