Specific to where "clone" phenomenon is seen with gays; straight people idealize the couple to validate the self; gays idealize the individual *as* themselves.
Straights however can do this also, as
>>39735847 notes. It tends to express in less noticeable, more variant ways, like style, scene, class and so on.
To dig further, you have to explore how "love" or attraction work psychologically. That high is sort of a feedback loop, where reality seems to be harmonized with ideals. Its not just people; people fall "in love" with things also, for similar reasons.
Its why teen love hits so hard in the first relationships, but becomes more guarded later. Break ups tend to occur as one or both individuals stop seeing the ideals they imagined and assigned or assumed about the other, and adjust their conclusions about the person they have had time to observe in reality.
If the conclusions are beyond tolerance, they split. If the ideals are unrealistic or rigid and complex, it is more likely.
This foreshadows some of the issues young marriage- a contract of commitment- is meant to resolve for stable family building while optimized for success.
