History Main / BreakupBonfire

--> As I walk around this house, I see the sofa we sat on... the bed we slept in... the table where we played games... (voice rises to angry crescendo) which is why I'm getting rid of it all, you cheating two-timing swine!!!

* In ''Manga/GTOTheEarlyYears'', Ryuji decides he needs to let go of the past, and burns [[spoiler:the pictures of him and Ayumi that she gave him]]. This is almost a year after they broke up, and he's been in a new relationship for months when she comes back to town and gives him the stuff. Neither of them bear the other any ill will, they just recognize that they don't belong together.

* In the ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10473209/1/Promised-to-Me Promised to Me,]]'' this happens ''twice'', on both parts of the HoYay relationship of Russia and America...which is probably PlayedForDrama / RuleOfDrama ... and Tear Jerker territory:

* ''Fanfic/AMothToAFlame'' features a friendship version of this, when [[spoiler: Anne deals with the trauma of [[FallenHero Marcy's betrayal]] by burning every gift she ever gave Anne]].

* In ''Film/FiftyFifty2011'', Adam finds out his girlfriend cheated on him. He and his best friend Kyle take her huge abstract painting out to the garden and start throwing eggs at it, then they throw a knife, then a hatchet and cut it with a big pair of garden shears. Finally they set it on fire, watch it burn... and then say they actually like it this way better and joke that they could hang it somewhere.
* In the French movie ''L'Appartment'', the male protagonist collects all the clothes of his lost love, puts them in the bathtub and sets them on fire while crying.

* In ''Film/WaitingToExhale'', Bernadine gets [[WomanScorned dumped by her husband for another woman]], despite the fact that she spent the last 11 years sacrificing her dreams of owning her own business to help him build his. Her reaction is to take his entire very expensive wardrobe, stuff it in his [[ThePreciousPreciousCar very expensive car]], and set the whole shebang on fire. What she couldn't get in the car, she sells at a garage sale, at a dollar per item.

* ''Literature/WildOrchid'': After Taylor's father Garth left, her mother Penny burned all their honeymoon photos on the concrete basement floor. Now the only thing left from their honeymoon is an audio recording of monkeys at the San Diego zoo.

* ''Series/{{Bridgerton}}'': In season 2 episode 1, upon receiving the program advertising his former mistress, Siena's, next performance, Anthony immediately burns it to the fireplace; indicating that he has moved on and ready for a fresh start.

** No actual fire was involved, but in the first episode Monica's GuyOfTheWeek admits that he broke his ex-wife's watch after they split up. When Monica learns that the guy lied about being [[TheLoinsSleepTonight impotent]] following the divorce to get her into bed she gets some revenge by stomping on the watch he left in her apartment.

** In Season 4, Rachel's crush, Joshua, has to buy a lot of new clothes as his ex-wife set all his old clothes on fire. Apparently, the only things he was able to save were the suit he was currently wearing and "what turned out to be a skirt". He later reveals he keeps on buying clothes since he likes Rachel.

* Rapper "Left Eye" from 90's girl group TLC did this ''twice'' during her on-and-off relationship with pro football player Andre Rison. First, she burned their collection of teddy bears in the bathtub after a fight. The marble tub was burned so badly it had to be replaced. Later, after a night of drinking she came home to find several pairs of women's shoes that weren't her size, so she burned ''them'' in the tub too...except the new tub was made of fiberglass which quickly melted and [[FromBadToWorse the fire spread faster than she could contain]]. She ran away unhurt but the mansion burned to the ground. The resulting scandal ("Left Eye burned down her boyfriend's house!") [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity greatly pushed]] sales of their 1995 album ''[=CrazySexyCool=]''

--> [[PunctuatedForEmphasis RIGHT NOW. SHE IS GOING. ON WITH. HER LIFE.]]

* A variation occurs in ''Theatre/BeMoreChill''. Jeremy and Michael are best friends (with some HoYay subtext), until Jeremy gets a supercomputer implanted in his brain to teach him how to be cool, which eventually leads to him calling Michael a loser, causing Michael to have an anxiety attack. The next time we see him, Michael is smoking marijuana and burning mementos of their friendship.

* In the first season finale of ''WebVideo/{{Idiotsitter}}'', "The Ex-Boyfriend", Billie has dinner with her ex, and Gene suggests using this trope-on his car. They come up with another plan, and when it falls flat-Gene sets fire to the guy's car anyway.

* A variation in ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', after Jimmy's ObliviousToLove nature leads him to dating a Heloise look-alike, Heloise angrily rips up her StalkerShrine of him and tosses the remains in a vat of acid.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode where Milhouse's parents get divorced, Luann carefully boxes up all of Kirk's possessions, tapes it, labels it and then sets the box on fire. While humming.

* After Lebron James left Cleveland for Miami, Cavaliers fans became disillusioned, and began to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWsjD-VSrmM burn his merchandise in public]].
* When Left Eye from ''Music/{{TLC}}'' was dating football player Andre Rison, she burned a teddy bear collection in the bathtub after a fight, which damaged the marble tub so badly it had to be replaced with one made of fiberglass. She later burned a pair of woman's sneakers that weren't her size, which melted the tub and ignited the wooden baseboards underneath, burning the house to the ground.

* ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'': Harley Quinn marks her breakup with the Joker by burning down the ACE Chemical plant where the two of them (on separate occasions) fell into vats of chemicals that gave them their bleached skin. This results in everyone who had a grudge against her but avoided doing anything about it because they were afraid of the Joker deciding it was time to declare open season on her.

* In ''Film/WaitingToExhale'', after getting dumped for another woman, Bernardette dumps all her man's belongings into his [[ThePreciousPreciousCar Precious Precious Car]] before [[WomanScorned setting it all on fire]].

* ''Film/BirdsOfPrey'': Harley Quinn marks her breakup with the Joker by burning down the ACE Chemical plant where the two of them (on separate occasions) fell into vats of chemicals that gave them their bleached skin. This results in everyone who had a grudge against her but avoided doing anything about it because they were afraid of the Joker deciding it was time to declare open season on her.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer:'':

* When Left Eye from ''Music/{{TLC}}'' was dating football player Andre Rison, she burned a teddy bear collection in after a fight, which damaged the marble tub so badly it had to be replaced with one made of fiberglass. She later burned a pair of woman's sneakers that weren't her size, which melted the tub and ignited the wooden baseboards underneath, burning the house to the ground.

. When Left Eye from ''Music/{{TLC}}'' was dating football player Andre Rison, she burned a teddy bear collection in after a fight, which damaged the marble tub so badly it had to be replaced with one made of fiberglass. She later burned a pair of woman's sneakers that weren't her size, which melted the tub and ignited the wooden baseboards underneath, burning the house to the ground.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer:'' in the season 4 episode "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E7TheInitiative}} The Initiative]]", Xander comes across Harmony as she's building a bonfire of Spike's stuff. Cordelia cuts up Xander's stuff and burns his picture in "[[{{Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E9TheWish}} The Wish]]".

* In ''Manga/GTOTheEarlyYears'', Ryuji decides he needs to let go of the past, and burns [[the pictures of him and Ayumi that she gave him]]. This is almost a year after they broke up, and he's been in a new relationship for months when she comes back to town and gives him the stuff. Neither of them bear the other any ill will, they just recognize that they don't belong together.