History Main / OnTheRebound

Sister trope to ComfortingTheWidow, which is about entering a relationship after a loved one dies. Often a large overlap with SexForSolace. See also ReboundBestFriend for the platonic version.

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* Deconstructed in the ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheTornPrince'', which serves as a sequel to the original film. Kristoff discusses with Elsa [[spoiler: en route to the Southern Isles]] how he feels like Anna only ended up with him as an afterthought after things went wrong with Hans and how he doubts she actually feels anything for him. [[spoiler: His fears are actually quite justified. The chemistry between Anna and Hans never truly died, and while Anna does love Kristoff in her own way, she can't force herself to love him romantically no matter how much she wants. In the end, Anna chooses Hans over Kristoff, who is devastated but receives a BittersweetEnding.]]

* After finally realizing what a jerk Gendo is in ''FanFic/DoingItRightThisTime'', Ritsuko swears off men and asks Maya if she wants to be her "torrid lesbian rebound fling". Maya immediately agrees and the following relationship actually works out pretty well. It helps that Maya convinced Ritsuko to make an effort in a genuine relationship rather than just make it a one-and-done thing.
* ''Fanfic/InLanternsDayInCanarysNight'': Felicity comes to the conclusion that any relationship Oliver has with another woman who isn't Laurel is this. Whether she's right or not is debatable, but at the very least her own relationship with Oliver was this, as one of the reasons Oliver even dated Felicity is because he thought he ruined whatever chances he had with Laurel.
* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21214895 Old Associations]]'': During their first and only session of couple's counseling, Felicity accuses her relationship of Oliver being this once a WordAssociationTest reveals Oliver subconsciously considers his ex-girlfriend Laurel "Home", effectively confirming that he's still in love with her. She then RageQuits the session early on [[TherapyBackfire and permanently ends their relationship]], declaring she refuses to be a "consolation prize", the implication being Oliver only started pursuing her because he believed he had wrecked things so badly with Laurel that they had no chance of making a romantic relationship work again. The rest of the session, and later on his continuing therapy with the original therapist, has Oliver realize that she's ''right'': every time Oliver suffers something bad, he always ends up going back to Laurel in the end, and whenever they hit a rocky patch in their relationship, instead of trying to make the effort to talk things out and fix things, he leaves and goes somewhere else for a while until the cycle repeats again. He admits this to Laurel towards the end of the story and tells her he's going to therapy to help him break the habit so he can stick with her for good, whether it's as a friend or as a lover.

* In ''Film/DrinkingBuddies'', after [[spoiler: Kate gets dumped by Chris]], she hooks up with a coworker that she doesn't even like that much. When a friend calls her out on it, she says she doesn't love him or anything, and just acted.

* ''Series/{{Dexter}}''.

** Lumen is a ReplacementGoldfish for Rita after [[spoiler: she dies]], being a blonde BrokenBird herself.

* Implied with Griffith from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' [[HoYay towards Guts]]. He was distraught after Guts defeated him and left the Band of the Hawks, so distraught he immediately sought out Princess Charlotte for sex in a desperate attempt to make himself feel better and regain control of the situation. It didn’t work, and if anything it made everything worse for him, because the King (who has his own little issues regarding his daughter) would find out and have him put to the torture before declaring everyone he led {{outlaw}}. Made even more of an example in the movie where he is shown thinking of Guts the entire time he is having sex with Charlotte.

* ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'': Don with Liz after he and Robin break up, implied to be less than a week in between. The speed combined with the fact that he doesn't tell anyone about the breakup causes a lot of the people closest to him to believe it's something else entirely.

* ''Fanfic/InLanternsDayInCanarysNight'': Felicity comes to the conclusion that any relationship Oliver has with another woman who isn't Laurel is this. Whether she's right or not is debatable, but at the very least her own relationship with Oliver was this.

* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'': Mako gets back together with his ex-girlfriend [[OldFlame Asami]] after he breaks up with Korra. [[spoiler: It doesn't last.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''. Poor, poor La'gann was Miss Martian's "rebound guy" during her OffScreenBreakup with Superboy during the TimeSkip. He even gets called such on the series. [[spoiler: She eventually dumps La'gann because she realizes that he's just a rebound guy to her]].

* ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21214895 Old Associations]]'': During their first and only session of couple's counseling, Felicity accuses her relationship of Oliver being this once a WordAssociationTest reveals Oliver subconsciously considers his ex-girlfriend Laurel "Home", effectively confirming that he's still in love with her. She then RageQuits the session early on [[TherapyBackfire and permanently ends their relationship]], declaring she refuses to be a "consolation prize", the implication being Oliver only started pursuing her because he believed he had wrecked things so badly with Laurel that they had no chance of making a romantic relationship work again. The rest of the session, and later on his continuing therapy with the original therapist, has Oliver realize that she's ''right'': every time Oliver suffers something bad, he always ends up going back to Laurel in the end, and whenever they hit a rocky patch in their relationship, instead of trying to make the effort to talk things out and fix things, he leaves and goes somewhere else for a while until the cycle repeats again. He admits this to Laurel towards the end of the story and tells her he's going to therapy to help him break the habit so he can stick with her good, whether it's as a friend or as a lover.

* ''VideoGame/LoveAndPies'': On the first day of her high school ex Joe's full-time job at Amelia's café, she struggles with her rekindled feelings for him because it has only been a week since she signed the divorce papers. She tells herself to focus on her work and try not to let romance distract her in the meantime and insists that she and Joe are in a StrictlyProfessionalRelationship.

* ''VideoGame/LoveAndPies'': On the first day of her high school ex Joe's full-time job at Amelia's café, she struggles with her rekindled feelings for him because it has only been a week since she signed the divorce papers. She tells herself to focus on her work and try not to let romance distract her in the meantime.

** Rachel tries to meet Ross at the terminal after he returns from his trip to China but is dismayed to discover he has brought home a new girlfriend. Her response is to seek out her own ex-boyfriend Paolo and impulsively have a one-night stand with him. Granted, Ross and Rachel hadn't yet formally gotten together before this point, but...
** When Joey moves out of his apartment, Chandler very quickly gets a new roommate, Eddie. Rachel comments that it will never last and Eddie is just a "rebound roommate".

-->'''Eleanor:''' Talking about your feelings is the worst. It's so much easier just to find a rebound guy and have sex about your feelings.* Occurs a few times in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''.

* Rui Tachibana from Domestic Girlfriend:

* In the movie ''Film/{{Swingers}}'', Mike is assured by a friend that his ex's current relationship won't last because it's a rebound relationship. But her relationship with Mike was also a rebound.
* In ''Film/DrinkingBuddies'', after [[spoiler: Kate gets dumped by Chris]], she hooks up with a coworker that she doesn't even like that much. When a friend calls her out on it, she says she doesn't love him or anything, and just acted.

* Occurs a few times in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''.

* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
** Rachel tries to meet Ross at the terminal after he returns from his trip to China but is dismayed to discover he has brought home a new girlfriend. Her response is to seek out her own ex-boyfriend Paolo and impulsively have a one-night stand with him. Granted, Ross and Rachel hadn't yet formally gotten together before this point, but...
** When Joey moves out of his apartment, Chandler very quickly gets a new roommate, Eddie. Rachel comments that it will never last and Eddie is just a "rebound roommate".
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}''.
** Lila is explicitly referred to as a rebound for Dexter after Rita dumps Dexter (ironically, because Rita falsely believed Dexter had slept with Lila).
** Lumen is a ReplacementGoldfish for Rita after [[spoiler: she dies]], being a blonde BrokenBird herself.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': After Angel leaves the show [[Series/{{Angel}} for LA]] Buffy falls for Parker, another student at her university, who promptly dumps her after a one night stand.
** When Buffy breaks up with her next boyfriend Riley Finn, Xander accuses her of treating him like the rebound guy from Angel, rather than a proper LoveInterest. The fact that Riley [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute looks a little like Angel]] and the fact that they had little to no chemistry makes you wonder if he has a point.
** After Drusilla leaves Spike after season 2 and he fails to get her affections back in season 3, he returns in season 4 with Harmony on his arm as a new girlfriend. He's pretty clearly not over Dru, as Harmony mentions several times that he endlessly gripes about how she left him for a moss demon. He also pretty openly despises Harmony aside from the uh... [[RetargetedLust services]] she happily provides. [[spoiler: After Buffy likewise dumps him in season 6, he comes to Xander and Anya's wedding with some random goth girl who is ''so much'' a rebound relationship that she [[NoNameGiven isn't even named]]. Even he's perfectly honest about the fact that it was nothing more than OperationJealousy.]]

* In ''Series/TheGoodPlace'', Janet is upset after Jason starts dating Tahani, she having subconsciously remained in love with him even after [[spoiler:she and the four humans had their memories wiped hundreds of times]]. Eleanor suggests that to cope she find a rebound guy, though admits her options are pretty thin. So Janet ''creates'' a boyfriend for herself, Derek. At the end of the episode, Eleanor admits that she gave Janet bad advice and tells her the only way to get over genuine heartbreak is to allow herself a mourning period instead of taking the easy route and ignoring her feelings.
-->'''Eleanor:''' Talking about your feelings is the worst. It's so much easier just to find a rebound guy and have sex about your feelings.
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
** Leonard's attempt at a "serious" relationship with Leslie was this, after his first time attempting to date Penny went south. At one point he and Penny run into each other across and the hall with their new romantic partners. They swoop their respective into a passionate kiss and try not to stop until the other does (which goes on for at least a few minutes) in an effort to show just how "fine" they're doing without each other.
** After Leonard and Penny tried dating the second time Penny gets together with Zach. She admits that while he's a nice guy, he's dumb as a sack of hammers and the only reason she bothered to give him the time of day was so she wouldn't be lonely and to take her mind off of Leonard.
* On ''Series/{{Zoey101}}'' Zoey begins dating Chase's SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute James more or less right after she and Chase have to put their RelationshipUpgrade on hold because of distance. The finale dealt with the fact she was never in love with James, and that Chase was always her first choice.
* In ''Series/NewGirl'', Jess tries to have a rebound fling, but she has issues with getting attached. After another relationship, she has a rebound backslide where she hooks up with an old ex-boyfriend.

* ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'': Don with Liz after he and Robin break up, implied to be less than a week in between. The speed combined with the fact that he doesn't tell anyone about the breakup causes a lot of the people closest to him to believe it's something else entirely.
** After Robin and Don have gotten back together, Liz assures her she was just the rebound and Don was always stuck on Robin.

* In the Music/TheyMightBeGiants song "Contrecoup", the explicit phrase "on the rebound" makes sure you won't miss that they're relating this trope to secondary brain damage from a head injury.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': After Edna breaks up with Skinner, she then hooks up with Comic Book Guy on the Rebound. Lampshaded by Marge:
-->'''Marge:''' You meet the worst people on the rebound. That's how [[UsefulNotes/JacquelineKennedy Jackie]] got her "O".
* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfKorra'': Mako gets back together with his ex-girlfriend [[OldFlame Asami]] after he breaks up with Korra. [[spoiler: It doesn't last.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': The episode "The Secret Origin of Denzel Crocker" shows this is how Timmy's parents got together. Timmy's mom and Dinkleburg were dating at first, only for Dinkleburg to dump her when he got government funding and apparently decided to trade up. Timmy's dad was there for her in that moment and a genuine relationship formed from that. It helps that it was shown that Timmy's dad genuinely had feelings for her before then.

* ''Film/MrRight''has Martha meeting Francis immediately after breaking up with her creep of a boyfriend. The title actually comes from a sarcastic remark from her roommate about how quickly she falls for him.

** After Drusilla leaves Spike after season 2 and he fails to get her affections back in season 3, he returns in season 4 with Harmony on his arm as a new girlfriend. He's pretty clearly not over Dru, as Harmony mentions several times that he endlessly gripes about how she left him for a moss demon. He also [[BastardBoyfriend pretty openly despises Harmony]] aside from the uh... [[RetargetedLust services]] she happily provides. [[spoiler: After Buffy likewise dumps him in season 6, he comes to Xander and Anya's wedding with some random goth girl who is ''so much'' a rebound relationship that she [[NoNameGiven isn't even named]]. Even he's perfectly honest about the fact that it was nothing more than OperationJealousy.]]

* ''Manga/{{Mars}}'': TheCasanova cum LadykillerInLove Rei attempts to do this after [[spoiler:he breaks up with Kira after he struggles to come to terms with her trauma-induced behavior]]. But it's ultimately subverted because he finds out that since he's in love, his [[TheLoinsSleepTonight body doesn't respond to other women anymore]] and he and Kira patch things up soon after.

-->'''Marge:''' You meet the worst people on the rebound.

* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'': After the death of his girlfriend Ersa, Sun-King Avad will flirt with Aloy a little, who has more than a passing resemblance to Ersa in temperament. Aloy shuts this down quickly without player input, accusing Avad of using her as a ReplacementGoldfish. Later, Avad apologizes for being too forward, and they move on.

* Manga/{{Mars}}'': TheCasanova cum LadykillerInLove Rei attempts to do this after [[spoiler:he breaks up with Kira after he struggles to come to terms with her trauma-induced behavior]]. But it's ultimately subverted because he finds out that since he's in love, his [[TheLoinsSleepTonight body doesn't respond to other women anymore]] and he and Kira patch things up soon after.

* Manga/{{Mars}}'': TheCasanova cum LadykllerInLove Rei attempts to do this after [[spoiler:he breaks up with Kira after he struggles to come to terms with her trauma-induced behavior]]. But it's ultimately subverted because he finds out that since he's in love, his [[TheLoinsSleepTonight body doesn't respond to other women anymore]] and he and Kira patch things up soon after.

** After Robin and Don’t have gotten back together, Liz assures her she was just the rebound and Don was always stuck on Robin.