Line #76 Main/DearJohnLetter


1	[[quoteright:204:[[Webcomic/TerminalLance https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dear_john_letter_6.jpg]]]]
2
3	->''I left a note in the hallway''\
4	''By the time you read it I'll be far away''
5	-->-- '''Music/{{Beyonce}}''', [[Music/Lemonade2016 "Sorry"]]
6
7	[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Dear John,]]
8
9	I find it hard to write this letter, but I have to tell you the truth.
10
11	We never would have expected this day to come. Ever since we were [[LongDistanceRelationship separated]] from [[StarcrossedLovers each other]], our letters were the only way we could stay in touch. We promised one another that no matter what, despite our FeudingFamilies, despite you being called to the front, we will one day be together, either HappilyMarried or TogetherInDeath.
12
13	I write to tell you that everything that was between us is over. We're finished.
14
15	I cannot stand life in separation anymore. I simply can't love you anymore, and I have [[AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder found someone else]]. Enclosed you will find [[ReturningTheWeddingRing the ring you gave me]].
16
17	Don't grieve -- you are neither the first nor the last to get such a letter. Traditions of sending soldiers such letters date back to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII or even UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, which would make it OlderThanTelevision.
18
19	Good bye, my former love. You will never see me again.
20
21	P.S.: See also Website/{{Wikipedia}}, they have an [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_John_letter article linked here.]]
22
23	P.S.S: Do also compare this to DumpedViaTextMessage, which is a far less formal breakup method.
24
25	----
26	!!Examples:
27
28	[[foldercontrol]]
29
30	[[folder:Advertising]]
31	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD6S8DZHpG4 This]] classic 1980s UsefulNotes/NewZealand ad for BASF cassette tapes features a soldier receiving a version of the country song "Dear John" sung by his fiancée on a BASF tape with some new lyrics turning it into a straight example, leading to the tagline:
32	-->''BASF: Even the bad times sound good"
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
36	* ''Anime/HelloSandybell'': Mark Blanche Wellington dumps Kitty Shearer this way. Mark never wanted to marry Kitty, but his family, the Wellingtons, have gone from RichesToRags and his father stresses great importance on the family image since they're of BlueBlood. Since Kitty is the daughter of a wealthy conglomerate owner, Mark marrying her would salvage the family name. Before they're set to be engaged, Mark runs away from Scotland and leaves two letters - one towards Kitty, telling the wealthy heiress he can't be with her and bidding her farewell, and one to Sandybell, promising he will come back to look for her and become a great painter.
37	%%* [[spoiler:Michel]] from Anime/MobileSuitGundamThe08thMSTeam received such letter from his girlfriend [[spoiler: B.B.]]
38	* ''Manga/ATownWhereYouLive'' Yuzuki writes one to Haruto and puts it in a present she gave him, however it was several months (and several attempts to stay with her regardless) later that he actually found and read the letter.
39	* ''Literature/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'': Jilk, one of the five capture targets of the OtomeGame, ended his relationship with his former fiancée, Clarice, this way. She's devastated by this and suffers a mental breakdown, even trying to get revenge until Leon intervenes and forces Jilk to apologize to her face to face.
40	* ''Anime/VariableGeo'': Played with in the opening scene of episode 2 when Yuka visits Satomi's home and finds it empty, minus a farewell letter [[spoiler:[[CouldntFindAPen written in blood]]]]. Yuka reacts as if she's just found out she's been [[HomoeroticSubtext "dumped"]] [[PseudoRomanticFriendship by her best friend]], prompting Jun to ask if they've "broken up". To which Yuka dejectedly replies, "Yes".
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Comic Books]]
44	* ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' magazine had a section where you could create your own "Dear John" letter in a Mad Libs sort of way with lists of various phrases you could use to fill in the blanks, to make the letter sound as ridiculous as you desire.
45	* ''ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersPink'' ends with a flash-forward to Kimberly writing the infamous letter during ''Zeo''. It's all but stated that there ''isn't'' a new guy, but she thinks it's kinder than the truth: that she's ready to move on from being a Ranger, and knows that Tommy isn't.
46	* Ramona Flowers from ''ComicBook/ScottPilgrim'' writes one to [[spoiler: Gideon, her most recent ex-lover. She never sends it, and it is later found unopened when she disappears at the end of volume 5, leaving the titular hero to ponder what it means.]]
47	* ''ComicBook/SensationComics'': One of Dr. Pat's schoolmates received a letter from his fiancée informing him that she couldn't wait for him to be out of med school and their relationship was over. She eventually changed her mind, but the experience left him permanently bitter and mistrustful.
48	* ''ComicBook/UltimateDaredevilAndElektra'': Elektra leaves her dorm, ready to kill Trey. She takes all her belongings, leaving only a goodbye note for Phoebe and Melissa.
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
52	* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'' featured a cartoon of two male deer in a forest, one holding a letter: "My God! She left me a John Deer letter!"
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Fan Works]]
56	* In ''Fanfic/TheApprenticeTheStudentAndTheCharlatan'', Clover writes one to Nova as a final goodbye.
57	* In ''WebAnimation/BartTheGeneral'', "Omarn" gets one from Marge.
58	-->''Dear Homer, you [[{{Squick}} have a cold dick]]. I remember the last time I touched it.
59	* An inversion appears in ''Fanfic/BeyondHeroes: Of Sunshine and Red Lyrium'', after the jaunt to the [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition Arbor Wilds]]. [[spoiler:Bianca sends one to Varric - not because she's found someone else (she's been married for years), but because she's pretty sure ''he'' has.]] Hilariously, the implication goes completely over the recipient's head.
60	* In the penultimate chapter of Fanfic/TheSunWillComeUpAndTheSeasonsWillChange [[spoiler: Dana decides to leave one for Todd, explaining that she’s leaving because she knows he, Reagan, and Mary will never forgive her for her actions and she’s moving somewhere secret where neither Irene nor anybody from her old life will never find her, as well as seek the therapy she so desperately needs and discover who she truly is]].
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
64	* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm:'' Andrea Beaumont suddenly disappears on Bruce, leaving only a note saying she's too young to marry and "needs more time", leaving Bruce heartbroken, but allowing him to become Batman fully. [[spoiler:It's actually a cover for the fact she and her father went on the run from mob hitmen.]]
65
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
69	* ''Film/TheAwfulTruth'': When Lucy decides she doesn't want to marry Dan she prepares him a letter calling off the engagement and explaining why. But in a twist, Dan gets the letter ''after'' he and Lucy have broken up during an impromptu face-to-face meeting.
70	--> '''Dan:''' I certainly learned about women from you.
71	--> '''Aunt Patsy:''' [hands Dan the letter] [[DeadpanSnarker Here's your diploma.]]
72	* In ''Film/BramStokersDracula'', Mina sends one of these to Drac when she decides to stay faithful to Johnathan and go see him in Budapest. The news is so devastating to Dracula that he undergoes GlamorFailure while weeping before deciding to take his rage out on Lucy and finish feeding on her.
73	* In ''Film/{{Casablanca}},'' Rick and his lover, Ilsa, were supposed to meet at the train station to get out of Paris before the Nazis arrived; instead, she sent a letter explaining that she couldn't be with him, for unexplained reasons. Years later, they meet in Casablanca, and she explains that she had returned to her husband, Victor, whom she had believed dead before getting together with Rick.
74	* ''Film/{{The Circle\|1925}}'': Honestly, pinning your Dear John letter to the pajamas of your toddler child is a poor choice.
75	* ''Film/ACuriousConjunctionOfCoincidences'': Erich’s rough day starts with him receiving one of these from his fiancée. Apparently, she met a stronger, smarter, and funnier man.
76	* ''Film/Daredevil2003''. Matt Murdock is shown listening to a verbal version left on his answering machine, the sender pointing out that [[CallingOutForNotCalling it's not as if he's left her any other option]]. She doesn't sound angry with Matt but does call him out for [[NotStayingForBreakfast never staying the night]] or even inviting him to his apartment--which is [[TheMasqueradeWillKillYourDatingLife actually his secret lair for his nighttime vigilante activities]].
77	* In ''Film/TheDarkKnight,'' Rachel Dawes writes Bruce Wayne a letter about how she intends to marry Harvey Dent and that she'll always be with him as a friend. However, after her death, Alfred burns it before Bruce can read it. It's a relatively minor but still tragic instance of PoorCommunicationKills: Bruce assumes she was going to leave Harvey for him. In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', Alfred confessed to Bruce about the letter, which didn't make Bruce feel any better.
78	* ''Film/DearJohn'': The TropeNamer. Bonus points for the recipient's name actually being ''[[DoubleMeaningTitle John]]''. He ends up burning the letter and all the previous ones he received from his now ex-girlfriend.
79	* In ''Film/DoctorAtSea'', Jenkins thinks he has received one from his wife:
80	-->'''Jenkins''': "Dear Vic, just to tell you... I'm in trouble because of my lover. Rosie".
81	-->'''Dr. Sparrow''': Can I have a look? ({{Beat}}) Jenkins, can't you read? She says, "I'm in trouble because of my ''liver''".
82	* Humorously referenced in ''Film/DrStrangelove'', where one of the nukes about to be dropped on the Soviet Union has "Dear John" written on the front.
83	* In ''Film/DumbAndDumber,'' Harry got one of these from Fraida Felcher, mistakenly referring to it as a "John Deere" letter. It's obvious to everyone (even Harry himself) that she was cheating on him with Lloyd, though he feigned ignorance until the end of the movie.
84	* In ''Film/{{FOE}}'', when Hen leaves Junior, she leaves him an utterly blank letter. In a previous recording, she said a blank letter would say "nothing and everything at the same time."
85	* ''Film/TheGoodbyeGirl'' opens with Paula coming home to the apartment she shares with Tony and finding out that, instead of them moving together to California as they'd planned, he is breaking up with her and has left to Europe to film a Creator/BernardoBertolucci movie. What he fails to mention is that he's sublet their apartment to a man she doesn't know, fellow actor Elliot, which kicks off the plot as Paula and Elliot wind up rooming together.
86	* John in ''Film/GoodbyePorkPie'' finds one from Sue in his typewriter, which simply reads "Dear John".
87	* In ''Film/KillList'', Gal says that he woke up to find a "Dear John taped to me cock".
88	* ''[[Film/KonTiki2012 Kon-Tiki]]'': Thor Heyerdahl's arrival in Polynesia in triumph is accompanied by a Dear John letter from his wife, who says she's leaving because he is MarriedToTheJob.
89	* ''Film/LegendsOfTheFall'': "Susanna, all we had is dead. As I am dead. Marry another."
90	* ''Film/TheOddAngryShot'': While in Vietnam, Bill receives a thinly-disguised break-up letter from his girlfriend back home.
91	%%* What drove the villain insane in ''Film/TheProwler''.
92	* Micheal in ''Film/SiegeOfTheDead'' gets one of these just before the start of the movie and is hoping to patch things up. Things don't turn out quite as planned.
93	* In ''Film/SpyGame'', a forged one was left by John Miur for his protegé Tom Bishop so that the latter could focus on their mission in Beirut rather than get distracted by Elizabeth Hadley - Muir in fact tipped off Chinese agents to Hadley's location (in exchange for the release of a US diplomat) so that they could kidnap her, as she was involved in the bombing of their embassy in Britain. Bishop saw through it and went after her, resulting in his own capture.
94	* ''Film/StarshipTroopers''. While in MI boot camp, Johnny Rico gets a literal Dear John video from his girlfriend Carmen Ibanez, who's in training to join the Fleet (space navy), which of course he is watching on a big-screen TV in the barracks with his entire squad watching and making commentary... [[ThatsGottaHurt Until they realize what the message is about and make themselves scarce.]]
95	-->'''Ace:''' Funny how they always wanna be friends after they rip your guts out.
96	* ''Film/{{Submarine}}'': Jordana formally breaks up with Oliver via a letter informing him that she's seeing someone else, and that she's upset with him for not accompanying him to the hospital.
97	* In ''Film/TheThinRedLine'' (1998), one of the protagonists (Private Bell) tells anyone around him how he really loves his wife (and so won't cheat on her with the local Ladies of Negotiable Virtue). In a (possibly unintentional) hilarious moment, about halfway through the film, he then receives a Dear John letter from his wife about how she's found a new love.
98	* ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'': The OffscreenBreakup of Thor and Jane came after a long period of the two growing distant from one another. Jane wrote Thor a letter which he took as an end to the relationship, though Jane implies she feels he could have fought to keep things going.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Literature]]
102	* This trope appeared in a story written by the Polish writer Jarosław Grzędowicz, where a Pole who went work to England was completely devastated when his girlfriend sent him such a letter. A few years later, it appeared in a novel written by his wife, Maja Kossakowska, but American marine in the book has found it quite amusing. Having to endure weeks of torture, having his legs broken, and getting a bullet in the lungs could have something to do with it.
103	* ''Literature/TheCatWhoSeries'': In book #29 (''The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers''), a few weeks into Polly's visit to Paris, she sends one to Qwill, announcing that she's taken a three-year contract working for a local bookstore, and is having all her belongings sold to benefit the church while her cats are given up for adoption. Qwill himself recognizes it for what it is, and is most dismayed, but accepts it.
104	* In Creator/PoulAnderson's "The Corkscrew Of Space", Magarac had gotten one and no longer awaited a letter from his girl.
105	* In Creator/GregCostikyan's ''Literature/FirstContract'', the protagonist's business collapses when peaceful contact with aliens crashes Earth's economy. He comes home to find a "Dear John" DVD from his TrophyWife, informing him that since he's lost his money, he's lost her too.
106	* ''Literature/TheHanSoloTrilogy'':
107	** Han gets one from Bria late in the first book, freeing him to go to the Imperial Academy, and he ends up carrying it with him as a keepsake until late in book 3, when her actions anger him so badly that he tears it to pieces in front of her.
108	** In book 2, Han gets ''another'' one, this time from Xaverri after they've reached the end of their tour around the galaxy. He's not as badly affected by it though.
109	** In book 3, ''Han'' writes one to Salla Zend, who's become rather insistent on marrying him after the loss of her ship. Han, however, isn't ready for marriage, and lights out for the Corporate Sector after leaving her a letter explaining this.
110	* In one short story in the ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' universe [[{{Commissar}} Commissar Yuri Radamacher]] comments that he spends more time helping heartbroken naval personnel deal with "Dear John" or "Dear Jane" letters than he does actively trying to seek out disloyalty.
111	* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/IfThisGoesOn'', John Lyle gets a literal Dear John letter. It's briefly depressing before he realizes that he can't remember her that well anyway.
112	* Marianne gets one from Willoughby in ''Literature/SenseAndSensibility'' the day after they run into each other at a ball in London, after he's made assiduous efforts to avoid her in town. He tries to play it off that the feelings were all on Marianne's end and he was very sorry but he'd long been in love with Miss Grey (a very wealthy heiress). Nobody buys it.
113	* Vivienne's first boyfriend in ''Literature/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' broke up with her with a letter that revealed that he was "semi-engaged" to someone else, essentially telling her that she was just a summer fling.
114	* Played with in the novel ''Literature/StarshipTroopers''. When at OCS, Johnny claims he and Carmen were dating, but she sent him a "Dear John". This is technically true, since he and Carmen went on a few dates, nothing serious, and she always begins her (occasional) letters with "Dear John". Essentially, Johnny is playing up the trope to gain some street cred.
115	%%* A literal example with [[spoiler:John Bell]] in ''The Thin Red Line''.
116	* ''Literature/VattasWar'': After being forced to leave the Slotter Key Military Academy in disgrace due to events beyond her control, Kylara's classmate and boyfriend sends her an extremely harsh one, essentially telling her that she is only one step up from a traitor and unfit to be romantically involved with a loyal officer like him. As a rotten cherry on top, he encloses her class ring, which she gave him, but with the academy insignia defaced.
117	* A double-subversion in ''[[Literature/TheWindsOfWarAndWarAndRemembrance The Winds of War]]''. Rhoda writes this to Victor but after hearing of Pearl Harbor writes a second letter asking him to forget it. However, she later goes through with it, leaving Victor feeling free to remarry a woman he had developed feelings for but [[IGaveMyWord had just barely forced himself to turn down]].
118	[[/folder]]
119
120	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
121	* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': Depending on how it you look at it, Laurel and Oliver's relationship in Season 1 ended either at the very end of that season, or the beginning of the next. Regardless, it was a mutual decision made due to the traumatic events of the Season 1 Finale. This was {{Retcon}}ned in Season 4, [[spoiler:the episode after Laurel's death no less]], which instead changed it to her wanting to continue their relationship, only for him to pull this on her and then run back to Lian Yu for several months, in a rather large KickTheDog move. This went...poorly with the fandom.
122	* Being essentially a 10+ hour war film about a unit of World War Two soldiers, this naturally crops up a couple of times in ''Series/BandOfBrothers''. There's even a bit of a spectrum of responses:
123	** PFC. "Babe" Heffron appears to have received one between episodes three and four, but doesn't seem particularly cut-up about it.
124	** Lt. Buck Compton gets one in "The Breaking Point". It hits him hard, though this is at least partly because his mental state is already deteriorating due to pre-existing traumas after being seriously injured and the general strains and hardships of the Battle of the Bulge, and being dumped by letter just hasn't helped.
125	** Captain Lewis Nixon falls somewhere in-between. He's not overly thrilled by his wife writing to let him know she's divorcing him, but he appears resigned to the end of the marriage itself, and his biggest gripe appears to be that she's also taking his dog with her.
126	* ''Series/Charmed1998'': In "Long Live The Queen", Phoebe is [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor torn between]] her calling as a Charmed One and her love for Cole who's now The Source of Evil. She sits down and writes out two of these letters, one for her sisters and one for Cole, but when Cole arrives she admits she still doesn't know which letter to deliver. [[spoiler:The letters end up being moot, as shortly afterwards her sisters arrive to confront Cole over the death of a man they were trying to protect. Phoebe finally chooses to stand with her sisters and helps them vanquish Cole.]]
127	* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'':
128	** Suffering a case of cold feet, and thinking about starting something with Rebecca, Frasier writes one of these to Lilith, only to realize Rebecca's apparent flirting was Norm and Cliff messing with him, making him rush back to his house, where Lilith apparently hasn't seen it. That is, until she tosses her drink in his face.
129	--->'''Frasier:''' So... you've read the letter?\
130	'''Lilith:''' Of course I read the letter, you licentious QUACK! And what facile tripe it is! "I need freedom". I'll give you freedom, alright! Freedom from your ''teeth''!
131	** In season 11, Frasier himself is on the receiving end when he and Lilith are going through a trial separation. When Lilith suddenly reappears, she mentions she hadn't written any such letter. Turns out her new romantic partner is a major {{Yandere}} and wrote it himself.
132	* Peyton does this to Mac on ''Series/{{CSINY}}''. She didn't think they could work out the distance issues since he was working in New York but her home was in London, and likely figured Mac was still mourning his late wife. [[TheBusCameBack She did return]] for one episode later on and apologized, saying he deserved better than a note, but ''3 YEARS'' later...AND she had sent the note to the Crime Lab instead of his home address, so it's no wonder he rebuffed her obvious hint that she wanted to kiss and make up.
133	* ''Series/DeadMansGun'': Robert Cosgrove receives one at the end of "The Highwayman", and learns that all of the acts he has been performing that he thought were drawing his wife closer to him (and the crimes he committed to be able to afford them) have actually driven her away, to the point where she leaves him.
134	* English ''Series/DearJohn'' show and its TransAtlanticEquivalent with the same name, starring Creator/JuddHirsch in the late 80s. The TitleSequence had the main character coming home and discovering from a letter that his wife has left him. The ExpositoryThemeTune was sung from her point of view.
135	* Abby got one from Carter on ''Series/{{ER}}'', after their relationship took a series of strange turns for the worse, climaxing in her bipolar brother falling into his grandmother's grave.
136	* During the seventh season of ''Series/FamilyMatters'', Maxine receives a poorly-written and poorly-addressed "Dear John" letter from Waldo.
137	* ''Series/TheFlash2014'':
138	** In Season 3, Jesse and Wally become an item, although they end up in different worlds (literally), with Jesse first going to Earth-3 to protect that world's Central City in the absence of Jay Garrick and then returns to her native Earth-2, as that version of Central City is lacking a speedster champion. While being in separate universes would normally constitute a LongDistanceRelationship, being speedsters, they're able to pop back and forth between Earths at will. Then Harry arrives with a strange-looking device, which projects Jesse's holo-image and then sputters (crappy Atlantean plastic). Harry is forced to explain to Wally that the device is a "breakup cube", which is the Earth-2 version of this trope. The cube even dispenses tissues in the event of tears. Wally does end up going to Earth-2 to talk it out with Jesse. It's heavily implied that Wally becoming a speedster put a damper on their relationship, as Jesse was expecting him to move with her to Earth-2, but the Central City of Earth-1 needs a Flash, after Barry's disappearance.
139	** After [[spoiler:Barry fires and exiles his daughter Nora without even consulting Iris first]], [[spoiler:Iris]] starts to consider estranging herself from [[spoiler:Barry]], which would make things much worse than they already are. When she is intending to write the letter, Ralph and Cecille dissuade her from resuming it.
140	* In ''Series/{{Forever\|2014}}'' when Abigail leaves Henry in 1985, she writes him a letter stating she needs time to think and decide what to do. When months go by with no word, Henry tries to report her as missing, but the cops he talks to read the letter and decide it's one of these, and Henry's wife probably doesn't ''want'' to be found.
141	* ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'': In the episode "Love Me Tender", Dorothy's boyfriend of the week says that his wife broke up with him this way after more than thirty years of marriage. Rose thinks it's terrible that they were married for so long and [[LiteralMinded she didn't know his name is actually Eddie]].
142	* Happens a '''bunch''' of times on ''Series/{{Mash}}''.
143	** Radar's sweetheart dumps him (the message comes in the form of a ''45 RPM record''), so his friends try to set him up with someone else to help him get over it.
144	** Later, there's one from Frank's wife announcing she plans to divorce him (she'd heard about his affair with Margaret). Frank is able to talk her out of it with a phonecall by convincing her that the Margaret Houlihan she'd heard about is actually an "old warhorse" and an "army mule" of a head nurse, saving his marriage while ([[StatusQuoIsGod briefly]]) putting him on the outs with Margaret.
145	** When Klinger got one from his wife, it was the one time he tried to get hardship leave when he wasn't scamming.
146	** At least a few times a season, a GI of the week got a Dear John letter. An Italian is distraught upon receiving a "Dear Giovanni" letter.
147	*** And once it was {{subverted}}: a blinded GI in post-op asked Father Mulcahy to read his mail to him and the first one, from his girlfriend, started "Dear John..." That was his name.
148	*** Subverted again when a pilot [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname only known as Cowboy]] abducts Colonel Blake to extort a discharge to see his wife, whom he believes is unfaithful. Cowboy clears up the first two warning flags (the [[DivorceInReno Reno return address]] and the literal "Dear John" first line) by saying that's where he lives and his real name, respectively. They go on, revealing that, although she admits that she was "tested and tempted" during their absence, the letter is an affirmation of her love for him. Cowboy lands and everything is sorted out.
149	*** One of the instances in the series has a soldier patient getting a Dear John letter written in a callous tone with a demand for her old photo back, because she's dumped him to marry a rich guy and doesn't want such high-class people to know about her relationship with him. The staff decide to help the soldier by packaging various photos of women gathered from around the camp along with an insulting letter telling her he's forgotten what she even looks like and to pick out which one is hers. The soldier caps it off by suggesting they send the whole parcel "postage due".
150	* Gibbs from ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', when asked if he's ever gotten a love letter in Season Two, asks if a "Dear John" counts.
151	* Joel from ''Series/NorthernExposure'' gets one of these from his fiancee in the season 2 premiere.
152	* The storyline in the ''Series/{{Porridge}}'' episode "Heartbreak Hotel" is Godber getting a letter from his girlfriend Denise.
153	-->'''Fletcher''': A "Dear John" letter?\
154	'''Godber''': [[LiteralMinded No, a "Dear Lenny" letter]].
155	* In ''Series/PowerRangersZeo'', [[spoiler: Tommy]] got such a letter from [[spoiler: Kimberly]], which successfully [[ShipSinking sunk]] their canon couple status to allow writers pair him with [[spoiler:Katherine]]. The amount of fanfics this spawned qualifies it for PR's most infamous FandomSpecificPlot. Again the 2010s comic (see the Comic Books folder above) explain this wasn't entirely the truth.
156	* On a ''Series/SavedByTheBellTheNewClass'' episode, Screech receives one of these. The kids set him up with another girl to help get him over it.
157	* In ''Series/{{Smallville}}'', [[spoiler:Whitney]] gets a video Dear John letter from [[spoiler:Lana]] so that [[spoiler: she can pursue Clark]].[[note]]A [[CharacterDevelopment now-understanding Whitney]] wrote back to her that he accepts her choice. Sadly, Whitney died before he can sent it, and a devastated Lana believes Whitney think she doesn't want him back.[[/note]] Ironically, [[spoiler: Lana later pulls a repeat performance of this on Clark at the end of Season 7]]. This time it's not to pursue another person, she just believes that their relationship is holding him back from his true potential to be a hero. [[spoiler: Except not. She was forced the make the video at gunpoint, and actually wanted to continue the relationship.]]
158	* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
159	** In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Hunters," Janeway gets one from her (former) fiancée, telling her that he got married. {{Justified\|Trope}}, though, as she and her crew had been declared dead after disappearing from the Alpha Quadrant and had only recently reestablished contact with Earth after four years.
160	** In the ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' episode "Silent Enemy," Trip gets one from his girlfriend Natalie, allowing him to [[{{Lampshaded}} lampshade]] the difficulties of a LongDistanceRelationship. 100 light-years is as long-distance as it gets in that era.
161	* ''Series/{{Titus}}'': It initially seems as if Dave is going to kill himself after finding a Dear John letter from his girlfriend, Nancy. Titus shows up to stop him, [[MistakenForSuicidal only to discover he has instead joined the army]]. Nancy arrives to clarify that the letter wasn't to him but to her ex ''named'' John.
162	* ''Series/TourOfDuty''. Averted when the wife concerned flies over to Vietnam to break up with him, saying that [[AmicableExes he deserves something better]] than just a Dear John letter.
163	[[/folder]]
164
165	[[folder:Music]]
166	* The Music/TaylorSwift song "Dear John" is a subversion of this trope. Even though the narrator is ending the relationship, the song reveals that she was involved in an unhealthy relationship with an older man, who it's implied took advantage of her and broke her heart. Thus the song is a six-minute-long TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
167	* Christian musician Keith Green had a slightly tongue-in-cheek song called "Dear John Letter (To the Devil)".
168	* A sarcastic reading of a Dear John letter by its recipient comprises the entire lyrics of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIQWt3oMids Your Woman]]" by White Town, a UK #1 single in 1997.
169	* [[Music/TobyKeith Toby Keith's]] "Big Blue Note" is about the singer getting a Dear John on blue notepaper. After sitting up with it, showing it to his friends and even talking about it with his therapist, he finally goes to a cliff with his new blue notepaper airplane and tosses it off the edge.
170	* The front cover of the final Music/LedZeppelin album, ''In Through the Out Door'', portrays several different perspectives of the same scene at a bar of a man burning a "Dear John" letter in an ashtray. The last song on that album, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzGhK52itBY I'm Gonna Crawl]]", would seem to be written from this perspective.
171	* Probably the original "Dear John" song: "A Dear John Letter", first recorded in the 1950s by Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard and later covered by Pat Boone, in which a soldier (apparently actually named John) stationed overseas gets a letter from his girlfriend announcing that she couldn't wait any longer and decided to [[SettleForSibling marry his brother]]. Creator/StanFreberg parodied it as "A Dear John and Marsha Letter" (where she marries John's ''father'' and finishes the letter "That's all for now. Love, Mother").
172	* Larry Finnegan's 1962 hit "Dear One" centers around one of these.
173	* "Good" by Music/BetterThanEzra is about the singer finding one. We only hear one line from it: "It was [[TitleDrop good]] living with you."
174	* Music/DoctorSteel sent one to one of the heads of his fan club, the [[Website/ToySoldiersUnite Army of Toy Soldiers]], upon his reluctant retirement.
175	* "Postcard from Pasadena" by Gord Bamford. His girlfriend runs off with a tall dark stranger and breaks the news to him by sending a postcard that says, "Don't call, I'll call you."
176	* The narrator of Music/CollinRaye's "Little Red Rodeo" discovers a Dear John letter written by his girlfriend, who is leaving because he can't commit. This prompts a RaceForYourLove, in which he goes to track her down, showing her photograph and asking people if they've seen his love with "Texas plates, candy apple red Rodeo."
177	* Music/GlenCampbell's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is told from the point of view of a man who leaves a Dear John Letter for his lover and leaves her before she awakes, and while on the road imagines the things his lover will probably be doing by the time he reaches certain points on his route.
178	* B.J. Thomas's "Billy and Sue" (1966) ends with Billy getting one of these from Sue while fighting in a war and deliberately letting himself get shot and killed in response.
179	* "Letterbomb" by Music/GreenDay, within the context of their album Music/AmericanIdiot.
180	-->"Nobody likes you\
181	Everyone left you\
182	They're all out without you\
183	Having fun"
184	* Referenced in "That Ain't No Way to Go" by Music/BrooksAndDunn:
185	-->Lipstick letters across the mirror this morning\
186	Said, "goodbye, baby." You left with no warning...
187	* The lyrics of Music/OliviaNewtonJohn's "Please Mister Please" (1975) imply the narrator received one of these from her ex-boyfriend:
188	-->But I guess I'd better get myself together\
189	'Cause when you left you didn't leave too much behind\
190	Just a note that said, "I'm sorry," by your picture\
191	And a song that's weighing heavy on my mind
192	* "Home and broken-hearted" by Music/ColdChisel is all about the narrator coming home to find a very curt one of these from his wife propped up against the dressing table mirror. He doesn't take it well (and notes that her leaving on the week before Christmas is especially mean).
193	* Music/BBKing: "I've Got a Mind to Give Up Living" features the singer's ex leaving a breakup letter in her spot in bed.
194	* Music/TimMcGraw's "When She Wakes Up (And Finds Me Gone)" has a RareMaleExample. Here it's portrayed as a cowardly choice, because he's writing it to avoid seeing her heartbroken reaction when she realizes he's left her.
195	[[/folder]]
196
197	[[folder:Theater]]
198	* ''Theatre/DontDrinkTheWater'': After developing cold feet Susan calls off her engagement to [[DisposableFiance Donald]] via letter. Justified in that she's trapped in a hostile country and cannot leave the US Embassy.
199	* ''Theatre/OnTheTown'': Ivy leaves Gabey a letter at a nightclub, claiming she has to attend a "high society affair". [[spoiler: In reality, she took a job as a hooch dancer on Coney Island to pay for her dance lessons, and her teacher threatened to write to her folks about what she's been doing if she didn't make her 11:30 shift.]]
200	[[/folder]]
201
202	[[folder:Video Games]]
203	* '' VideoGame/CallOfDuty'':
204	** Jason Hudson from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps'' received one at some point before the game. Players that can figure out the password to his account on the terminal hidden in the main menu can read it themselves.
205	** Subverted in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWWII''. Daniels gets a letter from [[MyGirlBackHome his girlfriend Hazel, who's back in the States]], which Stiles comments is probably one of these. It turns out Hazel wrote informing Daniels that she's pregnant.
206	* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins:'' The mission 'Correspondence Interruptus' features you finding various love letters. One of which is these, addressed to an actual Ser Jon no less. It features all the usual things: ItsNotYouItsMe, I need to find myself, and LetsJustBeFriends.
207	* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', the Inquisitor can receive one of these from a dying soldier, who asks that it be left in the hollow tree where her sweetheart looks for her letters; instead of telling him she's dying, she makes it sound like she's breaking up with him, [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim so he can move on faster]]. Meanwhile, in Skyhold, the Inquisitor can find one which was apparently sent to an Inquisition soldier, telling him that his girlfriend is dumping him for another woman (because she won't go off to war).
208	* ''VideoGame/FlightOfTheAmazonQueen'' has the girlfriend break up with John, because she found a doctor.
209	* At the end of ''VideoGame/StarCraft: [[ExpansionPack Brood War]]'', [[spoiler: and Kerrigan's ascension, Admiral Gerard [=DuGalle=]]] sends a letter to [[spoiler: his wife]] in Earth about everything which happened in the game. [[spoiler: The cutscene ends with a GoryDiscretionShot. [[DrivenToSuicide Gerard has committed suicide]].]]
210	--> [[spoiler:"Dearest Helena, By now the news of our defeat has reached the Earth. The creatures we were sent here to tame are un-tamable, and the colonies we were sent to reclaim have proven to be stronger than we anticipated. Whatever you may hear about what has happened out here, know this; Alexei did not die gloriously in battle. I killed him. My pride killed him. And now my pride has consumed me as well. You will never see me again, Helena. Tell our children that I love them and that their father died in defense of their future. Au revoir."]]
211	* In ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'', players can find a letter from Frank to his partner, [[CrazySurvivalist Bill]], next to his body, Frank having hung himself after being infected. Unlike most Dear John letters, Frank's letter to Bill is incredibly bitter and hateful.
212	* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' a human woman ponders to do this to her serving husband, leaving him for her Asari mistress. And then begins to get second thoughts when the Asari starts backpedaling at the thought of them being in a serious long-term relationship.[[note]] Of course "long term" for an Asari is [[MayFlyDecemberRomance totally different from "long term" for a human.]][[/note]]
213	* ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheOldBlood'' has an example, but rather than being given to an Allied soldier, it's given to a German soldier.
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
217	* In ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', main character Hisao receives one from his old sort-of girlfriend Iwanako part way through the story. The way he reacts to it is different in each route depending on how he's changed through his current relationship, though in all of them it causes a barrel full of mixed feelings and introspection on his part.
218	[[/folder]]
219
220	[[folder:Web Animation]]
221	* ''WebAnimation/EtraChanSawIt'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZD5O63QuCk After a year of work and neglect]], Tsutsuji leaves behind a letter for Akamatsu to find, which said that she is leaving him. [[spoiler:However, she doesn't divorce him because Akamatsu gave her a letter earlier before she left about how much she meant to him and the two talk to each other about their issues]].
222	* In the ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' "2 years", Strong Bad predicts that the stop sign will break up with the cinder block it sits on. Cue the most generic breakup letter ever written.
223	[[/folder]]
224
225	[[folder:Web Comics]]
226	* In ''Webcomic/GeneralProtectionFault'', [[spoiler: Nick is abducted by Ki's EvilCounterpart from a parallel universe the night before he is to marry her, and his counterpart leaves behind a letter saying he can't marry her, but Ki refuses to believe it and eventually enters the dimension on a rescue mission]]. The letter is even called a DearJohnLetter
227	* In ''Webcomic/{{Housepets}}'' Sasha [[http://www.housepetscomic.com/2013/02/13/swapping-gift/ hand-delivered]] her "Dear John Letter" to Bino.
228	* In ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'', getting one of these causes one prey species to be DrivenToSuicide.
229	* Parodied in ''Webcomic/TerminalLance'': [[http://terminallance.com/2012/07/10/terminal-lance-213-john-dear/ Abe gets one]] only a ''week'' into his deployment.
230	** That's when he ''got'' it. It was ''written'' only a few hours after he left.
231	* Seen in [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=269#comic this]] ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' strip as the motivation for contemplating whether to kill the kids or drive a Civic.
232	* In ''Webcomic/SplitScreen'', Jan assumes this is what Jeremy gave her when he snuck out on her. Stubborn pride caused her to not read the letter for a whole year, where she found out [[spoiler: it was a love confession and an explanation as to why he did what he did. ItMakesSenseInContext.]]
233	[[/folder]]
234
235	[[folder:Web Original]]
236	* ''WebVideo/NightmareTime''
237	** In the episode "Time Bastard," Jenny was in love with her best friend Ted, but was convinced he only viewed her platonically, so she only got up the courage to confess when she was leaving town ''to be with another man''. She sent him a letter, explaining that she had always loved him and wished him nothing but happiness, but it was simply too painful for her to be around him every day knowing her feelings would always be unrequited, so this would have to be goodbye. Except Ted ''did'' love her back, and losing Jenny in this way was the first in a series of DisasterDominoes that leads to a ''major'' TraumaCongaLine for Ted, Jenny, and the man she planned to leave town with. Had she simply had the spine to at least say goodbye to his face, ''none of it'' ever would've happened. She wasn't trying to be cruel, but she irreparably hurt several innocent parties, herself included.
238	** In the episode "Yellow Jacket," Lex leaves one of these to her boyfriend Ethan. She and her sister are on the run from scientists who want to experiment with their powers, so she breaks up with him to keep him safe.
239	* ''Website/NotAlwaysRomantic'' has [[https://notalwaysright.com/time-to-bite-the-bullet/214091/ two]] [[https://notalwaysright.com/time-to-bite-the-bullet-part-2/217111/ stories]] (so far) about "Potong Jalan" -- the Singlish (Singaporean-English) version of this trope.
240	* Referenced in Website/TheOnion: [[http://www.theonion.com/articles/us-quietly-slips-out-of-afghanistan-in-dead-of-nig,20957/ U.S. Quietly Slips Out Of Afghanistan In Dead Of Night]]
241	* Spoofed with [[Website/TFWikiDotNet the TFWiki's]] [[https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Molecule_breaking-up_weapon page]] for Rescue Force 2's (yes, that's his actual canonical name) Molecule Breaking-Up Weapon.
242	--> Dear Decepticon,
243	-->I know that we are enemies, but I have to put my job first, before any interpersonal relationships. When I saw you trapped under that pile of rocks, [[ChronicHeroSyndrome I knew in my heart that I had to let you go free]], no matter what it might mean for you and me in the future.
244	-->To that end, I used my '''molecule breaking-up weapons''' to destroy the bonds holding those rocks together, allowing you to escape. I want you to know that I would have done the same thing if I had seen you trapped by fire. It would have been a simple thing to convert into my armored water cannon mode and direct high-pressure jets through those same weapons, extinguishing the spark that once burned brightly.
245	-->But you must understand that this is a task I cannot carry out for only one individual. I know that being crushed by tons of debris hurt you very deeply, and I only hope in time the pain will fade.
246	-->Sincerely,
247	-->- Rescue Force 2
248	[[/folder]]
249
250	[[folder:Western Animation]]
251	* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': In "The Day of Black Sun, Part 1: The Invasion," Zuko writes a letter to Mai [[spoiler:about leaving her and the Fire Nation, so that he can help Aang defeat his father and end the war. She is not amused of the letter.]]
252	-->'''Mai:''' All I get is a letter? You could have at least looked me in the eyes when you ripped out my heart.
253	* Non-romantic version in ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman''. Near the end of the final season, [[spoiler:Bojack has been trying to get in contact with his half-sister, Hollyhock, after it was revealed how he was involved in Sarah Lynn’s death. Eventually he finds out she changed the number on her phone and sent him a letter which he reads while at a frat party. We never find out what it said, but Bojack is devastated by the content; it's implied that she told him that she was cutting ties with him. Considering she was the only stable and living family member in his life]], it's what really pushes him over the DespairEventHorizon.
254	* In the Season 2 ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'' Episode, "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Bluster", King K. Rool has a fake one written out to DK from Candy as an attempt to strip him of his motivation in protecting the Crystal Coconut. When received, Diddy even explains this trope to DK, who doesn't take it well, but Diddy manages to cheer him up almost instantly by proposing the idea of calling Candy out on it.
255	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'' movie "I Yabba-Dabba-Do!", Pebbles thought she was getting one of these from Bamm-Bamm after she had been listening to one of her more cynical friends about relationships, but it was really a love letter ending with him proposing.
256	* On ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill,'' Bill's wife Lenore left him without any notice, leading him to cling to the belief she would return for years. He eventually snaps in the episode "Pretty, Pretty Dresses" and (in his mind) tells Lenore off for abandoning him, saying that he was ''at least'' worth a Dear John letter.
257	* On ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyTunesShow'', Lola learns the concept of a Dear John letter from a movie. Later, Bugs leaves a note to a mechanic named John on his broken microwave, reading "Dear John: This isn't working." Lola sees the note, assumes it's addressed to her (never mind that it doesn't say "Dear Lola", but [[CloudCuckoolander that's Lola for you]]) and leaves to a monastery to find inner peace. But before she leaves, she catches a cockroach trying to enter her apartment, so she leaves a note for all bugs to go away. Naturally, Bugs sees a note reading "Dear Bugs: I don't want to ever see you again" and assumes the worst.
258	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Popeye}}'':
259	** In an Al Brodax cartoon, Popeye's trained fleas fly the coop on a passing dog. They leave him a Dear John letter which ends with "Help!".
260	** The Fleischer shorts "I Never Changes My Altitude" and "Me Feelins is Hurt" have these too.
261	* Rick from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' gets this from Unity, a hive-minded entity that he had a thing with. In "Auto Erotic Assimilation", she realizes how much of a bad influence he is, she, along with the population she assimilated, left the planet empty and littered with breakup letters for Rick to read.
262	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
263	** At a meeting of {{Caustic Critic}}s, the Farm Supplies Critic mentions his favorite recent quip in a review of a tractor:
264	--->'''Farm Supplies Critic:''' We see John Deere has a new line of roto-tillers. Surprise, surprise; they're green! I'd say it's about time someone sent John Deere a Dear John!
265	** Homer receives a videotaped Dear John from Marge in TheMovie. For an extra punch to his (and the audience's) gut, she [[TapedOverTurmoil taped it over their wedding video]], so immediately after she's done, it cuts to them dancing at their wedding. ''Ouch''.
266	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': In "Skank Hunt," the girls at South Park Elementary protest the misogynistic trolling in the town by handing breakup letters to their boyfriends and walking off. The standout example, Wendy's breakup note to Stan, reads, "This is goodbye forever, Stan. I can't fix you. Wendy."
267	* In the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' short "Tom and Chérie", the last letter Jerry receives from his girlfriend Lilli says "L'amour est fini."[[labelnote:translation]]The love is finished[[/labelnote]]
268	[[/folder]]

Context Main / DearJohnLetter