History Main / ThrivingExCrush

* Played with in ''Manga/RentAGirlfriend''. The beginning of the story has protagonist Kazuya being dumped by his girlfriend of one month, Mami. While Mami is wealthy, a socialite, and does not want for masculine attention while Kazuya is a meek loser, Mami finds herself furious when she next sees him with the downright gorgeous and courteous Chizuru Mizuhara and conspires to break them up. Little does she know that Kazuya is only renting Chizuru's services as a rental girlfriend and is still the loser he was when he was with her.

* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': Inverted in "The Party." Mittens bumps into Tom several months after having had a tryst with him during the story "The Clouds." In that earlier fic, he is a strapping, hunky street stray who has a one-night stand with Mittens and then ignores and abandons her the next morning. Since then, he has been rescued from the streets and neutered, then adopted by a family who grossly overfeeds him, turning the tomcat into a morbidly obese BigEater and LazyNeuteredPet. Mittens is embarrassed by him and feigns an excuse to leave.
-->'''Tom:''' ''[putting forth a hearty Santa Claus laugh]'' Well, well, hello there, Sable! Long time no see, eh?\\
'''Mittens:''' ''[giving him a perplexed stare]'' Do I... know you? ''[adding under her breath]'' Boy, I sure hope not.\\

* In ''{{Film/Dogma}}'', Bethany's husband left her when she was unable to give birth, and didn't want to adopt. He got married and had children. Later, the angel Bartleby [[KickTheDog tells her that he's perfectly happy without her]].

* ''Literature/TheHike2023'': Helena confides in Maggie that it upsets her to know her ex-boyfriend Robert - who she once hoped to marry - is now happily engaged to someone else and a doting father to his baby daughter. Originally, they both agreed they didn't want children, but Robert later admitted he'd changed his mind. Although the break-up was {{amicable|Exes}}, Helena tells Maggie that seeing how happy Robert is with his family made her realise that maybe she could've happy having children with him too, but it's far too late now. Helena hasn't had a serious relationship since breaking up with Robert and is deeply conflicted when she finds out she might be pregnant from a random hook-up. [[spoiler:She keeps the baby and raises her son as a single parent]].

* The Music/MarkChesnutt song "All My Old Flames Have New Names" has the protagonist trying to hook up with his old lovers from long ago, only to find out that all of them have settled down and moved on with their lives.
* Music/LouReed's "Baton Rouge" is a reflection on the narrator's failed marriage (which, as he believes, failed mostly due to the fact that he did not want kids), with the following lines:
-->So thanks for the card the announcement of child\\
And I must say you and Sam look great\\
Your daughter's gleaming in that\\
White wedding dress with pride\\
Sad to say I could never bring that to you that wide smile

* Music/OliviaRodrigo's song "good 4 u" is about discovering that her ex is doing much better without her, and hating that she's stuck on him and can't move on as easily.

* "[=SK8er=] Boi" by Music/AvrilLavigne tells the story of a girl who, in high school, rejected the eponymous boy because he was unpopular, only to learn that he has become a popular musician, and is currently in a relationship with the narrator of the song.
* Played with in "Taxi" by Music/HarryChapin, in which the narrator is a cab driver who happens to pick up his ex-girlfriend Sue. She's clearly married rich, and he drops her off at a fancy house, but he speculates that she's only acting happy (although it's worth noting that he's also using drugs to cope with his own unhappiness and thus might be projecting.) Subverted in a sequel song ten years later, called "Sequel", in which the driver, now a successful musician, finds Sue again, and this time she's working-class and living in a modest brownstone, but also happier.
* Music/CherLloyd's song "Want U Back" is about Lloyd feeling bad when she watches her ex doing much better with his new girl. When they broke up, she thought he wouldn't take it well but now that he's doing much better than her, she wants him back.
* Music/MaddieAndTae's "Well In Your World" hopes this for a high school sweetheart. She doesn't want him back (and knows he doesn't, either), she was just thinking about him and their relationship and hopes he's doing well.
* "You Oughta Know" by Music/AlanisMorissette features her railing about how her unnamed ex-boyfriend (long believed to be Creator/DaveCoulier), who dumped her, is now rich and famous and has a happy relationship.

!Examples:

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* There's a ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' fancomic where [[https://imgur.com/I0tmwyj all of Ash's female companions turn out to be doing much better for themselves]] ever since they stopped hanging out with him. Ash himself is sincerely happy for them (being perennially 10 probably helps with that), Brock less so.

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[[AC:Literature]]
* ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'': Scrooge is shown by The Ghost of Christmas Past that Belle, who had broken up with him because of his greed, was now happily married and with children and a loving, doting husband. Scrooge, meanwhile, is a solitary miser whose only family left is his nephew, whom Scrooge chooses to avoid, at least until his reformation.

[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
* In the episode "Lionel's Ex-Wife" from ''Series/AsTimeGoesBy'', the titular Margaret contacts Lionel out of the blue and invites him out to have a drink; she is very different now, glamorous, lavishly dressed, and with a handsome young boy toy. At the end of the episode, Margaret openly admits to Lionel and Jean that invoking this trope was her main reason for getting in touch.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': "Murder Most Fowl", the abduction of a child leads to his father, Dean Donegal, a janitor, who was recently divorced and living in a small, one-bedroom apartment and "looking up at broke" after the divorce. Then Castle and Beckett meet his ex-wife, who married a wealthy doctor "before the ink dried" on the divorce papers. Dean isn't the murderer/kidnapper, however. His child was targeted because his job gave him an all-access pass to secure areas at a financial firm.
* ''Series/CobraKai'': PlayedWith. In the 30+ years since the events of ''Film/{{The Karate Kid|1984}}'', Johnny's remained a dead-end loser who peaked in high school and never left LA, while his old girlfriend Ali has gone on to become a pediatric surgeon in Denver. They reconnect at the end of Season 3, and Johnny confesses that he feels like he wasted his life compared to her. Ali replies that her life hasn't been without mistakes and that her marriage is on the rocks.

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': "Dear Dad...Three" references this trope. While watching a home movie, Henry explains to Hawkeye and Trapper that his wife Lorraine had been dating quarterback Buzz Walinski when they first met. Walinski, Henry notes, went on to own the biggest cement contracting company in the state. Hawkeye quips that Henry saved Lorraine from a life of prosperity.
* In her ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' song about monologing, Music/TaylorSwift sings about her ex who broke up with her over the phone assuring him that she is [[https://youtu.be/W2twcSFYlt0?t=127 doing just fine]] hosting the ''Saturday Night Live'' show.

[[AC:Music]]
* "You Oughta Know" by Music/AlanisMorissette, features her railing about how her unnamed ex-boyfriend (long believed to be Creator/DaveCoulier), who dumped her, is now rich and famous and has a happy relationship.
* Music/AvrilLavigne: "[=SK8er=] Boi" tells the story of a girl who, in high school, rejected the eponymous boy because he was unpopular, only to learn that he has become a popular musician, and is currently in a relationship with the narrator of the song.

* Played with in "Taxi" by Music/HarryChapin, in which the narrator is a cab driver who happens to pick up his ex-girlfriend Sue. She's clearly married rich, and he drops her off at a fancy house, but he speculates that she's only acting happy (although it's worth noting that he's also using drugs to cope with his own unhappiness and thus might be projecting.) Subverted in a sequel song ten years later, called "Sequel", in which the driver, now a successful musician, finds Sue again, and this time she's working-class and living in a modest brownstone, but also happier.

--> We can't share a world of different dreams"
--> So I chased mine and she found hers too
--> Someone else made hers come true
--> Now I'm a star, but every time I sing
--> My heart goes drifting down a dusty Dixie road
--> Taking my mind, back in time
--> L.A. lights burn like hell once you know
--> You left heaven waitin' down the Dixie road
* Music/TobyKeith's "How Do You Like Me Now?" is a RevengeBallad of a man rubbing his success in the face of the popular girl who rejected him in high school and reveling in the fact she has gone on to have an AwfulWeddedLife with someone who doesn't care about her.
* Music/CherLloyd's song "Want U Back" is about Lloyd feeling bad when she watches her ex doing much better with his new girl. When they broke up, she thought he wouldn't take it well but now that he's doing much better than her, she wants him back.
* Music/MaddieAndTae's "Well In Your World" hopes this for a high school sweetheart. She doesn't want him back (and knows he doesn't, either), she was just thinking about him and their relationship and hopes he's doing well.
* Music/TimMcGraw: "Everywhere" is a LoveNostalgiaSong about a guy who keeps seeing his ex-love everywhere he goes after they part ways due to a DifferingPrioritiesBreakup. He wanted to travel the world, she wanted to stay in their hometown. Whenever he comes back to visit, people always mention her, and he learns she's married with a couple of kids, and seems happy.

* Music/LouReed's "Baton Rouge" is a reflection on the narrator's failed marriage (which, as he believes, failed mostly due to the fact that he did not want kids), with the following lines:
--> So thanks for the card the announcement of child
--> And I must say you and Sam look great
--> Your daughter's gleaming in that -
--> - white wedding dress with pride
--> Sad to say I could never bring that to you that wide smile

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* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': Inverted in "The Party." Mittens bumps into Tom several months after having had a tryst with him during the story "The Clouds." In that earlier story, he is a strapping, hunky street stray who has a one-night stand with Mittens and then ignores and abandons her the next morning. Since then, he has been rescued from the streets and neutered, then adopted by a family who grossly overfeeds him, turning the tomcat into a morbidly obese BigEater and LazyNeuteredPet. Mittens is embarrassed by him and feigns an excuse to leave.

** In ''Fallen Leaves'', Amamiya Kaede, who sided with her rapist [[CreepyGymCoach Coach Marada]] and dumped Sugimara Yuuichi for him, tries to get back together with him after Marada's activities were exposed and her reputation went downhill for helping cover it up. Marada even went so far as to tell her that Yuuichi was a struggling loser, only for her to discover that was a lie and Yuuichi is actually a successful worker with a nice house and a fiancée. She begs him to take her in anyway, only for him to [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech tell her off]] and kick her out of the house.

* ''WebAnimation/AoharuMangaLibrary'': This is usually Keiichi's position by the end if he has a GoldDigger ex-girlfriend. After struggling and getting dumped cruelly in the beginning, Keiichi manages to persist and continue to work hard, eventually striking it rich. [[FairWeatherEx That's the cue for the ex-girlfriend trying to get back to him because of his newfound wealth]], and Keiichi rejects them.

* Played with in ''Manga/RentAGirlfriend''. The beginning of the story has protagonist Kazuya being dumped by his girlfriend of one month, Mami. While Mami is wealthy, a socialite, and does not want masculine attention while Kazuya is a meek loser, Mami finds herself furious when she next sees him with the downright gorgeous and courteous Chizuru Mizuhara and conspires to break them up. Little does she know that Kazuya is only renting Chizuru's services as a rental girlfriend and is still the loser he was when he was with her.

Compare IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy, if the character is ''pleased'' to see their ex doing well.

* ''Series/CobraKai'': PlayedWith. In the 30+ years since the events of ''Film/{{The Karate Kid|1984}}'', Johnny's remained a dead-end loser who peaked in high school and never left LA, while his old girlfriend Ali has gone on to become a wealthy surgeon in Denver. They reconnect at the end of Season 3, and Johnny confesses that he feels like he wasted his life compared to her. Ali replies that her life hasn't been without mistakes and that her marriage is on the rocks.

People don't always pursue a relationship with someone they are attracted to. There could be any number of reasons, from insecurity, the other person simply being from a different social class or standing, a choice to pursue a career/academia over a relationship. The reason itself doesn't ultimately matter. What matters is, the relationship either never happened, or ground to a screeching halt.

In some stories, we meet the parted former partners through the eyes of other characters, with one living in squalor, while the other is doing quite well for themselves. This is especially common in episodes that feature a CustodyBattle, and might be the motivator in a murder mystery, though the downtrodden half of the exes is just as likely to be a RedHerring.

* A commercial for BMW has a man trying to make a decision on something and is reminded of past bad ones. We see a flashback to him breaking up with his girlfriend, Brooklyn. Cut to him watching an awards show on television and seeing his ex, Creator/BrooklynDecker.

* Played with in ''Manga/RentAGirlfriend''. The beginning of the story has protagonist Kazuya be dumped by his girlfriend of one month, Mami. While Mami is wealthy, a socialite, and is not wanting for masculine attention while Kazuya is a meek loser, Mami finds herself furious when she next sees him with the downright gorgeous and courteous Chizuru Mizuhara and conspires to break them up. Little does she know that Kazuya is only renting Chizuru's services as a rental girlfriend and is still the loser he was when he was with her.

** In ''Hitorijime Undone'', Akina decides to seek help from Kouta, her childhood friend who she rejected in favor of buff, macho Tatsuya, when their AwfulWeddedLife in a dingy apartment, constantly changing jobs, and incoming eviction becomes too much for her to bear. She then discovers that Kouta has since become a wealthy banker with a loving wife and beautiful daughter. [[spoiler:Hiyori, his wife, is willing to let Akina become their nanny, but does so specifically to torment Akina with the happy, wholesome family she could have gotten but turned down by breaking Kouta's heart, and Akina indeed spends the rest of the story stewing in jealousy and regret.]]

* In ''{{Film/Dogma}}'', Bethany's husband left her when she's unable to give birth, and didn't want to adopt. He got married and have children. Later, the angel Bartleby [[KickTheDog tells her that he's perfectly happy without her]].

* In the episode "Lionel's Ex-Wife" from ''Series/AsTimeGoesBy'', the titular Margaret contacts Lionel out of the blue and invites him out to have a drink; she is very different now, glamorous, lavishly dressed and with a handsome young boy toy. At the end of the episode, Margaret openly admits to Lionel and Jean that invoking this trope was her main reason for getting in touch.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': "Murder Most Fowl", the abduction of a child leads to his father, Dean Donegal, a janitor, who was recently divorced and living in a small, one-bedroom apartment and "looking up at broke" after the divorce. Then Castle and Beckett meet his ex-wife, who married a wealthy doctor "before the ink dried" on the divorce papers. Dean isn't the murderer/kidnapper, however. His child was targeted because his job gave him an all access pass to secure areas at a financial firm.

* An episode of ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'' sees Robert Barone happier and settled, having gone past [=NYPD=] Sergeant to promotion to Lieutenant, and considering marriage with Amy. His ex-wife Joanne, who is implied to be struggling, sees this and makes a determined bid to get him back. Robert declines her.
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': "Dear Dad...Three" references this trope. While watching a home movie, Henry explains to Hawkeye and Trapper that his wife, Lorraine, had been dating quarterback Buzz Walinski when they first met. Walinski, Henry notes, went on to own the biggest cement contracting company in the state. Hawkeye quips that Henry saved Lorraine from a life of prosperity.

** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGECVpA7BRs She dumped me right after my company went bankrupt]]'': Neina dumps Tsukasa after his company went bankrupt, causing her to date Yatsuo, Tsukasa's former friend who now works at a big company. The couple also look down on Tsukasa for working in a convenience store, causing Tsukasa to get another job at Tokyo at an obscure entertainment company. Years later, Tsukasa returns to his hometown to find out that Neina had married Yatsuo, but he became jobless after the president and executives of his company were arrested for running a scam, she also asks Tsukasa to take her back, only to find out that he already has a fiancée, Erika, who is also a popular idol. Turns out while living Tokyo, Erika was originally Tsukasa's next door neighbor, and only sang in live music clubs. Tsukasa convinced Erika to go pro, bringing success and growth to Tsukasa's employer. Erika and Tsukasa marry, while Neina and Yatsuo are constantly arguing while trying to raise their son.

** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKY1_lF4lBM My ex-girlfriend came running back after she found out how much money I had...]]'': May broke up with Rick after he couldn't get ahead with his accessory business. However, his childhood friend Alice helps him with his business. May comes back to beg him to take her back, only to be put in her place by Alice.

* Music/TimMcGraw:
** "Everywhere" is a LoveNostalgiaSong about a guy who keeps seeing his ex-love everywhere he goes after they part ways due to a DifferingPrioritiesBreakup. He wanted to travel the world, she wanted to stay in their hometown. Whenever he comes back to visit, people always mention her, and he learns she's married with a couple of kids, and seems happy.
** "I Didn't Ask and She Didn't Say," in which the singer bumps into an ex at an airport and catching each other up on their lives. They've both moved on with other people and have children, but he still thinks of her as the OneThatGotAway and wonders if she thinks of him that way. But he doesn't ask, and she doesn't volunteer the information, so they part ways with him still pining for her.

* ''Music/AvrilLavigne'': ''[=SK8er=] Boi'' tells the story of a girl who, in high school, rejected the eponymous boy because he was unpopular, only to learn that he has become a popular musician, and is currently in a relationship with the narrator of the song.

--> My heart goes drifting down a dusty dixie road

--> You left heaven waitin' down the dixie road
* * Music/CherLloyd's song "Want U Back" is about Lloyd feeling bad when she watches her ex doing much better with his new girl. When they broke up, she thought he wouldn't take it well but now that he's doing much better than her, she wants him back.