History Main / FairWeatherEx

* ''Fanfic/MiraculousLadybugSaltShots'': PlayedWith in ''Masked Hearts''; despite dating Kagami for two years, Adrien remains convinced that he and Ladybug are "meant to be together". So much so that the moment Hawkmoth is defeated, he ''immediately'' detransforms and reveals his SecretIdentity as Chat Noir to her and a crowd full of witnesses. Including Kagami. And then asks Ladybug out again, ''in front of Kagami''. When both call him out on his utter lack of regard for his girlfriend, he hastily tries backtracking and claiming [[JustJokingJustification he was just joking]], but neither buys it for a second, and Kagami dumps him then and there.

* In ''Film/LegallyBlonde'', Warner Huntington III breaks up with Elle Woods, as he thinks she's not serious enough to make his career look good. In his words, "If I want to be elected Senator by the time I'm 30, I need to marry a [[UsefulNotes/JacquelineKennedy Jackie]], not a [[Creator/MarilynMonroe Marilyn]]." This incites Elle to apply to Harvard Law and become a successful lawyer herself to win back his affections. [[spoiler: When she successfully wins a famous case whilst still a student, Warner tries to get back with Elle, but by that point she's fallen in love with someone else and realises she doesn't love Warner anymore, telling him, "If I'm gonna be a partner in a law firm by the time I'm 30, I'm going to need a boyfriend who's not such a complete bonehead."]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Jasper's and Lapis's powerful but unstable [[FusionDance fusion]], Malachite, is [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a metaphor for a highly toxic relationship]]. In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E15AloneAtSea Alone at Sea]]", Jasper crashes onto Lapis's boat and begs Lapis to fuse with her again, knowing that their fusion was destructive, but craving the immense power they wielded when they combined. Jasper insists she's "changed", but when Lapis (who herself has a ton of shame for how she took her anger out on Jasper via Malachite) turns her down, Jasper lashes out, making it clear she only cares about her ''own'' power and not how being Malachite made ''Lapis'' feel.

* ''Fanfic/ForHisOwnSake'' opens with Keitaro [[GrewASpine standing up for himself]] and [[TakeThisJobAndShoveIt quitting his job]] at the Hinata Inn, along with breaking things off with Naru for how she constantly [[DomesticAbuse abused him]]. Naru only goes along with Mutsumi's efforts to [[UnwantedAssistance "help them get back together"]] because she hopes to have a shot at giving him another NoHoldsBarredBeatdown. In the final chapter, Naru tries to hook back up with him not because she's had any kind of change of heart, but because Granny Hina finally cut her off, and [[KarmicShunning her family cut her out of their lives]] after how she [[CrossingTheBurntBridge torched all of]] ''[[CrossingTheBurntBridge those]]'' [[CrossingTheBurntBridge bridges]] as well. Naturally, Keitaro rejects her, spurring the SpoiledBrat to throw one last fit about not getting her way.

If the other person manages to find a SecondLove, expect the Fair-Weather Ex to attempt a RelationshipSabotage. They might claim that the new partner only wants them for money, looks, status or some other superficial reason ([[{{Hypocrite}} often the]] [[PsychologicalProjection same reason the Fair-Weather Ex wants to get back together]]), claim that [[BetterPartnerAssertion the new lover is inferior]], or demand that the new lover and the ex's old partner break up. The more deranged exes might go so far as to try and {{blackmail}}, threaten, or even [[MurderTheHypotenuse kill]] the new partner.

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/ForHisOwnSake'': In the last chapter, Naru tries to get back together with Keitaro despite [[DomesticAbuse abusing him]] when they were together and trying to have him beaten after they broke up. Naru is doing it not because she feels bad for what she did or because she loves Keitaro, but because [[KarmicShunning her friends and family cut her out of their lives, and she has no one else to turn to]]. Since Keitaro GrewASpine, he refuses.

* ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'': Hephaestus and Aphrodite were married at Zeus's insistence, but neither wanted to be, and Aphrodite ran off to have a long-term affair with Ares (though technically they were still married). Then [[spoiler: Hephaestus consumes the nascent God of Technology, becoming powerful enough that he defeats Zeus and takes his throne]], and suddenly Aphrodite is rushing back to her ''dear'' husband with smiles and seductive posing.

[[folder: Films -- Animated]]

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Film/{{MouseHunt}}'': When Lars's wife April hears that Lars turned down a huge sum of money for the string factory that he and his brother Ernie recently inherited (because Lars promised his father he would never sell the factory), she kicks him out of the house. But when she hears Lars and Ernie also inherited a house that turned out to be of great value and is expected to make them both millionaires once sold, she immediately seduces Lars into taking her back again. And once the auction goes south and the house is destroyed, she promptly leaves him again.

[[folder: Jokes]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

* ''{{Series/Monk}}'': In "[[Recap/MonkS2E7MrMonkAndTheSleepingSuspect Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect]]", Sharona Fleming's ex-husband Trevor returns in order to get back with Sharona and their son Benjy. Turns out his only reason for doing this is that his uncle has removed him from his will because of his separation from Sharona; Trevor was hoping to be put back in the will if he reunited with her.

-->'''Jim Lahey:''' [[TheyJustDontGetIt Randy just doesn't understand]]. I mean, I love him dearly, but [[RevengeBeforeReason I hate Ricky more]]. I just don't wanna put up with that prick for the rest of my life. (...) If I get to be married to Barb, I'll [[IOwnThisTown have total control of Sunnyvale]], and then I can unleash a shit-nami tidal wave that'll engulf Ricky and extinguish his shit-flames forever. And with any luck, he'll drown in the undershit of that wave. ({{Beat}}) ''[[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Shit-waves]].''

[[folder: Music]]

-->''She was sure real quick to up and apologize''
-->''When she heard about my newfound luck''
-->''On that FM dial''

[[folder: Theatre]]

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

[[folder: Web Animation]]

[[folder: Webcomics]]

[[folder: Web Videos]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Jasper's and Lapis's powerful but unstable [[FusionDance fusion]], Malachite, is [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a metaphor for a highly toxic relationship]]. In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E15AloneAtSea Alone at Sea]]", Jasper crashes onto Lapis's boat and begs Lapis to fuse with her again, knowing that their fusion was destructive, but craving the immense power they wielded when they combined. Jasper insists she's "changed," but when Lapis (who herself has a ton of shame for how she took her anger out on Jasper via Malachite) turns her down, Jasper lashes out, making it clear she only cares about her ''own'' power and not how being Malachite made ''Lapis'' feel.

[[folder:Fan Works]]

* ''Fanfic/WithThisRing'': Hephaestus and Aphrodite were married at Zeus' insistence, but neither wanted to be, and Aphrodite ran off to have a long-term affair with Ares (though technically they were still married). Then [[spoiler:Hephaestus consumes the nascent God of Technology, becoming powerful enough that he defeats Zeus and takes his throne]], and suddenly Aphrodite is rushing back to her ''dear'' husband with smiles and seductive posing.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' begins with Susan Murphy being turned into a GiantWoman on her wedding day. When she reunites with her fiancé Derek, he selfishly dumps her out of concern for his own career, leaving Susan heartbroken. At the end of the film, after Susan helps the other monsters [[spoiler:defeat Gallaxhar and]] become heroes, Derek returns and offers to take her back, though it's clear he's only interested in her newfound fame. Susan sees through it and tells him to take a hike.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/LegallyBlonde'', Warner Huntington III breaks up with Elle Woods as he thinks she's not serious enough to make his career look good. In his words, "If I want to be elected Senator by the time I'm 30, I need to marry a [[UsefulNotes/JacquelineKennedy Jackie]], not a [[Creator/MarilynMonroe Marilyn]]." This incites Elle to apply to Harvard Law, and become a successful lawyer herself to win back his affections. [[spoiler:When she successfully wins a famous case whilst still a student, Warner tries to get back with Elle, but by that point she's fallen in love with someone else and realised she doesn't love Warner anymore, telling him, “If I'm gonna be a partner in a law firm by the time I'm 30, I'm going to need a boyfriend who's not such a complete bonehead.”]]

* ''Film/{{MouseHunt}}'': When Lars' wife April hears that Lars turned down a huge sum of money for the string factory that he and his brother Ernie recently inherited (because Lars promised his father he would never sell the factory), she kicks him out of the house. But when she hears Lars and Ernie also inherited a house that turned out to be of great value and is expected to make them both millionaires once sold, she immediately seduces Lars into taking her back again. And once the auction goes south and the house is destroyed, she promptly leaves him again.

[[folder:Jokes]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In the first book of ''Literature/TalesOfTheCity'', Mona finds out that her ex-girlfriend D'orothea has come into a fair bit of money as a model and decides to get back together with her so that she can move in with her and save money on rent. During the course of their relationship, she accidentally discovers that D'orothea, who has been working as a black model, is actually a white woman, and thus ruins her modelling career, whereupon Mona quickly dumps D'orothea and moves back to Barbary Lane.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': In "[[Recap/TheBigBangTheoryS3E23TheLunarExcitation The Lunar Excitation]]", Penny drunkenly asks her ex Leonard to have angry sex with her, since she feels he has "destroyed my ability to tolerate idiots". As a DoggedNiceGuy, he agrees. When she regrets it in the morning, he gets upset that she essentially used him for sex instead of genuinely wanting to get back together, so he tries to have meaningless sex with his ex, Leslie Winkle, and then again with Penny, to get over it. Both have the common sense to reject him.
* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': "[[Recap/TheBrittasEmpireS3E5SexLiesAndRedTape Sex, Lies and Red Tape]]" introduces Michael T. Farrell III, Laura's RichBastard husband, who has been separated from her for two and a half years after she caught him cheating on her. He reveals that he wants to get back together with her, his reasoning being that she needs to have a child as his father (who hasn't been told that they're separated) will wipe him out of the will if she doesn't do so. Laura, understandably, refuses. However, in "[[Recap/TheBrittasEmpireS4E6ShallWeDance Shall We Dance?]]", Michael returns now freshly broke and tries to get back together with Laura with the understanding that if he was going to survive broke, it would be with her. This time, he successfully woos Laura back and whilst his final appearance in "[[Recap/TheBrittasEmpireS5E4TheLiesHaveIt The Lies Have It]]" has him still wanting Laura to have a child to please his father, he seems to have developed more genuine romantic feelings for her.

[[folder:Music]]
* Music/CherLloyd: In "Want U Back," part of the reason why the protagonist wants her ex-boyfriend back is that she expected him to be desperate to get her back, and felt insulted that he moved on with another girl.

* Music/LukeCombs' song "When It Rains It Pours" recounts a string of good luck that starts with the singer winning $100 from a scratch-off lottery ticket at a gas station right after his girlfriend leaves him. After he's won a vacation to Panama by calling in to a radio station, though...

[[folder:Theatre]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]

* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'': [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vuD8YbXpxX0&pp=ygUXZXRyYSBjaGFuIHNhdyBpdCBhZmZhaXI%3D Akane]] abandoned her husband Kuroki and [[ParentalAbandonment daughter Tsutsuji]] to be with another man. A year later, she asks her ex-neighbor Karin to help her get back together with Kuroki, not because she regretted abandoning him and Tsutsuji, but because [[IHaveNoSon her parents disowned her]], her former in-laws hate her, she's broke, and sleeping at a manga cafe. However, not only is Kuroki married to another woman, he also wants nothing to do with Akane.

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/CheatingMenMustDie'': An Sheng used to date Su Lüxia before pimping her out to gain an acting role. When his acting career starts tanking thanks to Su Lüxia's scheming, he assumes that the reason is that Su Lüxia is sour over him dumping her. Despite already being in a relationship with Lin Xue, An Sheng offers to get back with Su Lüxia, even telling her that he still loved her. Unfortunately for An Sheng, not only does Su Lüxia see right through him, she also [[CaughtOnTape recorded him]] and gave the recorder to Lin Xue.

[[folder:Web Videos]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Jasper and Lapis's powerful but unstable [[FusionDance fusion]], Malachite, is [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a metaphor for a highly toxic relationship]]. In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E15AloneAtSea Alone at Sea]]", Jasper crashes onto Lapis's boat and begs Lapis to fuse with her again, knowing that their fusion was destructive, but craving the immense power they wielded when they combined. Jasper insists she's "changed," but when Lapis (who herself has a ton of shame for how she took her anger out on Jasper via Malachite) turns her down, Jasper lashes out, making it clear she only cares about her ''own'' power and not how being Malachite made ''Lapis'' feel.

* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' begins with protagonist Susan being turned into a GiantWoman on her wedding day. When she reunites with her fiancé Derek, he selfishly dumps her out of concern for his own career, leaving Susan heartbroken. At the end of the film, after Susan helps the other monsters [[spoiler:defeat Gallaxhar and]] become heroes, Derek returns and offers to take her back, though it's clear he's only interested in her newfound fame. Susan sees through it and tells him to take a hike.

* In ''Film/LegallyBlonde'' Warren breaks up with protagonist Elle Woods as he thinks she's not serious enough to make his career look good, In his words "If I want to be elected Senator by the time I'm 30, I need to marry a [[UsefulNotes/JacquelineKennedy Jackie]], not a [[Creator/MarilynMonroe Marilyn]].". Thus inciting Elle to apply to Harvard Law, and become a successful lawyer herself to win back his affections. [[spoiler:When she successfully wins a famous case whilst still a student Warren tries to get back with Elle but by that point she's fallen in love with someone else and realised she doesn't love Warren anymore and replies with, “If I'm gonna be a partner in a law firm by the time I'm 30, I'm going to need a boyfriend who's not such a complete bonehead.”]]

* In ''{{Series/Monk}}'' episode "[[Recap/MonkS2E7MrMonkAndTheSleepingSuspect Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect]]", Sharona's ex-husband Trevor returns in order to get back with Sharona and their son Benji. Turns out his only reason for doing this is that his uncle has removed him from his will because of his separation from Sharona; Trevor was hoping to be put back in the will if he reunited with her.

* In ''{{Series/Monk}}'' episode "[[Recap/MonkS2E7MrMonkAndTheSleepingSuspect Mr. Monk and the Sleeping Suspect]]", Sharona's ex-husband Trevor returns in order to get back with Sharona and their son Benji. Turns out his only reason for doing this is that his uncle has removed him from his will because of his separation from Sharona; Trevor was hoping to be out back in the will if he reunited with her.

* ''Fanfic/SynepeiesACollectionOfNTRConsequences'': As part of the story's {{deconstruction}} of the {{netorare}} genre, the cheating women often regret cheating on the protagonists, who, while less manly, are good, loyal, and reliable, in comparison to the antagonists, assholes whose only positive quality is being good in bed. While some of the cheating women genuinely regret what they did, others only regret doing it because it caused them to [[KarmicShunning become pariahs amongst their friends and family, meaning they have no one else to rely on]], and also they can't stand the idea of their "loser" exes [[ThrivingExCrush moving on from them]].

* ''Fanfic/SynepeiesACollectionOfNTRConsequences'': As part of the story's {{deconstruction}} of the {{netorare}} genre, the cheating women often regret cheating on the protagonists, who while less manly, are good, loyal, and reliable, in comparison to the antagonists, who are assholes whose only positive quality is being good in bed. While some of the cheating women genuinely regret what they did, others are unremorseful about their cheating and only regret doing it because it caused them to [[KarmicShunning become pariahs amongst their friends and family, meaning they have no one else to rely on]].

Some people date/marry people for selfish and/or superficial reasons, such as [[GoldDigger money]], popularity, looks, sex, pride etc. Many of those same people would also dump their lovers for those same reasons. And some people are so shameless and self-centered that they have no problem getting back together with someone they dumped when it's convenient for them.

A common variation involves this trope is when a person who dumped/cheated on their old lover for someone else wanted to get back with their first lover for some reason. If the reason for chosing the second lover was due to being an "upgrade" over the first, expect them to come crawling back to the first as soon as they surpass their "replacement." If the second relationship turned out sour, they'll probably try to use their first partner as a sort of "[[OnTheRebound re-re-bound]]." Expect the Fair-Weather Ex to try to paint the second partner in a bad light in order to manipulate their first into getting back together.

* In the series finale of ''Series/EverythingsGonnaBeOkay'', Alex, who had previously dumped Nicholas for being immature and selfish, tries to get back together with him after finding out that Nicholas is autistic, because he doesn't want to look like an asshole who'd abandon an autistic boyfriend, especially one who didn't even know he was autistic until recently. Nicholas sees right through this and tells him to rack off.

* Music/CherLloyd: In "Want U Back," part of the reason why the protagonist wants her ex-boyfriend back is because she expected him to be desperate to get her back, and felt insulted that he moved on with another girl.

* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'': [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vuD8YbXpxX0&pp=ygUXZXRyYSBjaGFuIHNhdyBpdCBhZmZhaXI%3D Akane]] abandoned her husband Kuroki and [[ParentalAbandonment daughter Tsutsuji]] to be with another man. A year latter, she asks her ex-neighbor Karin to help her get back together with Kuroki, not because she regretted abandoning him and Tsutsuji, but because [[IHaveNoSon her parents disowned her]], her former in-laws hate her, she's broke, and sleeping at a manga cafe. However, not only is Kuroki married to another woman, he also wants nothing to do with Akane.

* ''WebAnimation/SparkTales'': The protagonist's cheating ex's always try to get back together for selfish reasons, such as not getting sued for adultery, a desire to exploit the protagonist, having no one else to turn to, [[GoldDigger money]], or because their new relationship turned sour.

[[/folder]]

The romantic counterpart of the FairWeatherFriend, the Fair-Weather Ex is an character who is willing to get back together with their ex for entirely self-serving reasons. A GoldDigger who dumped their old partner for being poor or losing their money might want to rekindle the relationship when the dumpee becomes rich/regains their fortune. A shallow person who dumped someone for their looks will have no problem getting back together with the one they dumped when the latter becomes hot. A prideful person who hates the idea of their ex-lover moving on from them might want to get back together to save face.

-->'''Jim Lahey:''' [[TheyJustDontGetIt Randy just doesn't understand]]. I mean, I love him dearly, but [[RevengeBeforeReason I hate Ricky more]]. I just don't wanna put up with that prick for the rest of my life. (...) If I get to be married to Barb, I'll [[IOwnThisTown have total control of Sunnyvale]], and then I can unleash a shit-nami tidal wave that'll engulf Ricky and extinguish his shit-flames forever. And with any luck, he'll drown in the undershit of that wave. {{Beat}} ''[[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Shit-waves]].''

A ThrivingExCrush will sometimes have to deal with this type of character. Sometimes overlaps with EntitledToHaveYou, FairWeatherFoe, AttemptedHomewrecker, and CrossingTheBurntBridge. Compare JerkWithAHeartOfJerk, FalselyReformedVillain, and BitchInSheepsClothing. Contrast PsychoEx, who is usually genuinely in love with their ex, and IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy, which a Fair-Weather Ex is unlikely to be.

[[folder: Fan Works]]

[[folder: Films - Animated]]

[[folder: Films - Live-Action]]

[[folder: Jokes]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]

[[folder: Music]]

[[folder: Theatre]]

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

[[folder: Web Animation]]

[[folder: Web Videos]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{Monirobo}}'': Pretty much every episode involving the main character's cheating ex will have said ex begging to get back together for selfish reasons, such as not getting sued, [[GoldDigger the main character's money]], their new lover breaking up with them, not having anyone else to turn to, or to pay off debt. Said main character will naturally see right through them and refuse.

The romantic counterpart of the FairWeatherFriend, the Fair-Weather Ex is an character who is willing to get back together with their ex for entirely self-serving reasons. A GoldDigger who dumped their old partner for being poor or losing their money might want to rekindle the relationship when the dumpee becomes rich/regains their fortune. A shallow person who dumped someone for their looks will have no problem getting back together with the one the one they dumped when the latter becomes hot. A prideful person who hates the idea their ex-lover moving on from them might want to get back together to save face.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': In "[[Recap/TheBigBangTheoryS3E23TheLunarExcitation The Lunar Excitation]]", Penny drunkenly asks her ex Leonard to have angry sex with her, since she feels he has, "destroyed my ability to tolerate idiots". As a DoggedNiceGuy, he agrees. When she regrets it in the morning, he gets upset that she essentially used him for sex instead of genuinely wanting to get back together, so he tries to have meaningless sex with his ex, Leslie Winkle, and then again with Penny, to get over it. Both have the common sense to reject him.

* ''Music/CherLloyd'': In "Want U Back," part of the reason why the protagonist wants her ex-boyfriend back is because she expected him to be desperate to get her back, and felt insulted that he moved on with another girl.
* ''Elle King'': In the song "Exes and Ohs", the singer's exes want to get back together with her, but only because she's good in bed.

[[/folder]]

'''Indices'''
* SelfishnessTropes
* TheExIndex
* ThisIndexBrokeUp
* CynicismTropes
* CharacterFlawIndex