History Main / BreakUpDemand

* An overtly violent demand is made in the manga ''Manga/{{Mars}}'' - Hitomi is ready to crush Kira's fingers if she doesn't break up with Rei.

[[folder: Comics]]

* ComicBook/{{Batman}}: Bruce deeply disapproves of the relationship he sees forming between [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] and [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]], mostly because he disapproves of Steph being out on the rooftops as Spoiler, and tries separately asking/requesting both of them to drop it. Neither of them feels inclined to obey and are each other's longest-lasting and most enduring significant others.

[[folder: Fanfiction]]
* There are possibly far too many examples to list in Fanfiction but suffice to say the trope is endemic. It's a handy trope if the writer wants to write about the drama of a break-up, but doesn't want one of their OTP to be the "bad guy."
[[/folder]]

* Referenced in ''Literature/{{Confessions Of Georgia Nicolson}}''. Jas claims that Georgia told her to break up with her boyfriend, Tom (making this a rare case where the "demand" was made to the actual friend, not the partner). Georgia didn't actually do this -- Jas badgered her for advice, and Georgia (not renowned for giving sensible advice) commented on Jas and Tom's differing interests and asked if Jas wanted to play second fiddle to Tom's eco-warrioring.

* Manga/PeachGirl: Happens a few times with Sae in regards to Toji and Momo in a relationship, because she wants to one-up Momo.

* Outright Blackmail version in ''Manga/AliceAcademy'' -- Natsume is ordered to cease his association with Mikan. Or else.

* A favourite tactic of Akito in ''Manga/{{Fruits Basket}}'', who hates anyone getting too close to the Zodiac Sohmas. Be warned if you associate with any member of the Zodiac: if Akito can't browbeat the Sohma into breaking off the relationship, that's not a problem -- the God of the Zodiac will simply scream at and abuse ''you'' instead. And make you think that ''you'' are entirely to blame for all the misery that ensues. Just ask Kana.

* In ''Manga/{{Mens Love}}'', Daigo's father sends his henchmen to get Kaoru to break up with Daigo, offering him a blank cheque, threatening to expose his sexual orientation at work, and telling him Daigo is getting married. Kaoru refuses and decides to take things into his own hands instead.

At best, the character making the demand is a misguided KnightTemplar - they honestly think the break up is the only solution to a perceived problem. In the middle are characters who are deluding themselves: they tell themselves that the break up is for the greater good, and try to ignore their actual, more selfish motive for doing it (for example, they want to date one half of the couple). And then you have the outright ManipulativeBastard, who knows he's doing this for selfish reasons, but wants to shift the blame for the heartbreak onto the person forced into doing the dumping.

* Manga/PeachGirl: Happens a few times with Sae in regards to Toji and Momo in a relationship, because she wants to one up Momo.
** Kairis trio of Fan Girls absolutely hate Momo for winning Kairis affections. They make a habit out of harassing/threatening her, once deliberately made sure she got separated from Kairi and was stranded during a class trip, push her into the path of a campfire when she was holding cooking oil, and, at one point, held her down, and told her that she has to sign a contract swearing that she will stay away from Kairi or they will burn all her hair off (while holding a lighter to her hair), and try to beat her up later on when she states that their selfish and cruel actions won't make Kairi fall in love with them, and when she tells them that her love for Kairi is genuine. In addition, they take the threat even further with threatening to burn her face to the point Kairi will think her ugly and leave her as well as telling her they will set her whole body on fire.
* Tohma orders Shuichi to break up with his partner, Yuki, in ''Manga/{{Gravitation}}'', on the grounds that Shuichi is bad for Yuki's health. Needless to say, Tohma is not a doctor, and is possibly more to blame for Yuki's "fragility" than Shuichi is.

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics'': In the "Betty future" of The Married Life continuity, Mr. Lodge orders Archie to break up with Betty, after the wedding has already taken place! This is supposedly just to make Veronica happy (though Mr. Lodge does promise to pay off Betty), but is actually part of a deeper scheme.
* ComicBook/{{Batman}}: Bruce deeply disapproves of the relationship he sees forming between [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Tim Drake]] and [[ComicBook/Batgirl2009 Stephanie Brown]], mostly because he disapproves of Steph being out on the rooftops as Spoiler, and tries separately asking/requesting both of them to drop it. Neither of them feel inclined to obey and are each others longest lasting and most enduring significant others.

* There are possibly far too many examples to list in Fanfiction, but suffice to say the trope is endemic. It's a handy trope if the writer wants to write about the drama of a break-up, but doesn't want one of their OTP to be the "bad guy."

* Referenced in ''Literature/{{Confessions Of Georgia Nicolson}}''. Jas claims that Georgia told her to break up with her boyfriend, Tom (making this a rare case where the "demand" was made to the actual friend, not the partner). Georgia didn't actually do this -- Jas badgered her for advice, and Georgia (not renowned for giving sensible advice), commented on Jas and Tom's differing interests, and asked if Jas wanted to play second fiddle to Tom's eco-warrioring.

[[folder: Live Action Television]]

* In Season Three of ''Series/{{Buffy The Vampire Slayer}}'', Buffy's mother, Joyce, demands that Angel stop seeing Buffy because of his curse and the likely outcome of their MayflyDecemberRomance. By the end of the season, Angel has come to agree with Joyce...just in time to go off to his own [[Series/{{Angel}} self-titled]] Spin Off.

* In the ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' episode, ''Blood,Sweat and Tears,'' the couple are from two rival circus families, and they make a suicide pact after their families tell them to break up. But then only the guy went through with it and later the body was dumped.

[[/folder]]

* In the ''Series/{{CSI NY}}'' episode, ''Blood,Sweat and Tears,'' the couple are from two rival circus families, and they make a suicide pact after their families tell them to break up. But then only the guy went through with it and later the body was dumped.

* ''Franchise/ArchieComics'': In the "Betty future" of The Married Life continuity, Mr. Lodge orders Archie to break up with Betty, after the wedding has already taken place! This is supposedly just to make Veronica happy (though Mr. Lodge does promise to pay off Betty), but is actually part of a deeper scheme.

* In ''Series/{{Merlin}},'' Arthur got this from Uther in the third season...Morgana found out they were going on a picnic and led Uther right to it, leading to Uther wanting to banish Gwen because she wasn't royalty. It took a big turn from there with the whole framed for enchantment thing, but it still counts.

* {{Archie Comics}}: In the "Betty future" of The Married Life continuity, Mr. Lodge orders Archie to break up with Betty, after the wedding has already taken place! This is supposedly just to make Veronica happy (though Mr. Lodge does promise to pay off Betty), but is actually part of a deeper scheme.

Occasionally you get a character who doesn't hold with the usual methods of [[RelationshipSabotage getting a couple to break up]] - you know, TwistingTheWords, saying that [[EngagementChallenge they'll give their blessing when such-and-such a demand is met]] then MovingTheGoalposts, [[MaliciousSlander spreading rumours]] and other ManipulativeBastard tactics...they just go straight to one half of the couple and order them to split up with their partner.

* In the backstory of John Sayles's ''Lone Star'', the hero and his childhood sweetheart were forced to break up by the hero's father, a [[DirtyCop corrupt sheriff]]. They chalk it up to racism -- she's Hispanic and he's white. [[spoiler: Actually, as they later discover, the breakup was forced because she's his half-sister through an extramarital affair.]]

* ''{{The Sharing Knife}}: Legacy'' - Dag's mother and brother demand his marriage to Fawn be invalidated. Dag's brother Dar mainly wants the arguing to stop, Dag's mother has more complicated reasons.

* Outright Blackmail version in ''Manga/{{Gakuen Alice}}'' -- Natsume is ordered to cease his association with Mikan. Or else.

* In ''{{The Sims 2}}'', your own Sims could demand that another sim "Fight" with their sweetie if they had enough Influence points, often doing enough damage to lead to a breakup.

This may also apply to close friendships rather than romances, especially in shows featuring younger characters,

KnightTemplar characters are extremely prone to making a Break Up Demand, as is the OverprotectiveDad. If the partner proves resistant to the demand, blackmail, or a verbal / physical attack with a degree of WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou, may be used by the person interfering.

* There's an episode of ''{{Sex And The City}}'' where Samantha is going out with a man whose sister tells her that she's not comfortable with her brother seeing a white woman. Eventually Samantha breaks up with him for not standing up to his sister.

* In the ''{{CSI NY}}'' episode, ''Blood,Sweat and Tears,'' the couple are from two rival circus families, and they make a suicide pact after their families tell them to break up. But then only the guy went through with it and later the body was dumped.
* This is normal in ''PubertyBlues''. A girl just goes up to a guy and says "You're dropped!"

* Referenced in ''{{Confessions Of Georgia Nicolson}}''. Jas claims that Georgia told her to break up with her boyfriend, Tom (making this a rare case where the "demand" was made to the actual friend, not the partner). Georgia didn't actually do this -- Jas badgered her for advice, and Georgia (not renowned for giving sensible advice), commented on Jas and Tom's differing interests, and asked if Jas wanted to play second fiddle to Tom's eco-warrioring.

* Wolfram's uncle tries to pressure him into dumping accidental-fiance Yuri in ''{{Kyo Kara Maoh}}'', in order to secure the throne for Wolfram. Wolfram, however, schemes to ensure the best outsome for ''Yuri''...

Occasionally you get a character who doesn't hold with the usual methods of [[RelationshipSabotage getting a couple to break up]] - you know, TwistingTheWords, saying that they'll give their blessing when such-and-such a demand is met then MovingTheGoalposts, spreading rumours and other Manipulative Bastard tactics...they just go straight to one half of the couple and order them to split up with their partner.

Occasionally you get a character who doesn't hold with the usual methods of getting a couple to break up - you know, TwistingTheWords, saying that they'll give their blessing when such-and-such a demand is met then MovingTheGoalposts, spreading rumours and other Manipulative Bastard tactics...they just go straight to one half of the couple and order them to split up with their partner.

* In {{The Sims 2}}, your own Sims could demand that another sim "Fight" with their sweetie if they had enough Influence points, often doing enough damage to lead to a breakup (May or may not count as this trope...)

Occasionally you get a character who doesn't hold with the usual methods of getting a couple to break up - you know, Twisting The Words, saying that they'll give their blessing when such-and-such a demand is met then Moving The Goalposts, spreading rumours and other Manipulative Bastard tactics...they just go straight to one half of the couple and order them to split up with their partner.

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Tohma orders Shuichi to break up with his partner, Yuki, in Gravitation, on the grounds that Shuichi is bad for Yuki's health. Needless to say, Tohma is not a doctor, and is possibly more to blame for Yuki's "fragility" than Shuichi is.
* Outright Blackmail version in Gakuen Alice -- Natsume is ordered to cease his association with Mikan. Or else.
* An overtly violent demand is made in the manga Mars - Hitomi is ready to crush Kira's fingers if she doesn't break up with Rei.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]
* There are possibly far too many examples to list in Fanfiction, but suffice to say the trope is endemic. It's a handy trope if the writer want to write about the drama of a break-up, but doesn't want one of their OTP to be the "bad guy."

[[folder:Literature]]
* Referenced in Confessions Of Georgia Nicolson. Jas claims that Georgia told her to break up with her boyfriend, Tom (making this a rare case where the "demand" was made to the actual friend, not the partner). Georgia didn't actually do this -- Jas badgered her for advice, and Georgia (not renowned for giving sensible advice), commented on Jas and Tom's differing interests, and asked if Jas wanted to play second fiddle to Tom's eco-warrioring.


[[folder:Video Games]]
* In The Sims 2, your own Sims could demand that another sim "Fight" with their sweetie if they had enough Influence points, often doing enough damage to lead to a breakup (May or may not count as this trope...)