Basic Trope: A character cannot date someone new due to still getting over their first relationship.
- Straight: Bob and Kate have feelings for each other, but Bob is still recovering from his break-up with Alice, so he does not pursue her until he's resolved those issues.
- Exaggerated: Bob takes ten years to get over Alice...and Kate is still waiting for him in all that time.
- Downplayed: Bob and Kate hit it off relatively well, but Alice is the one thing neither of them can bring up.
- Justified:
- Bob and Alice were together for a long time, then she cheated on him and betrayed his trust and devotion, and he doesn't want to be hurt again.
- Alice was especially cruel when she broke up with Bob and intentionally destroyed his self-esteem, so he feels like he's not worthy of Kate.
- Inverted: Bob dumped Alice to date Kate.
- Subverted: Kate thinks this is the reason Bob isn't pursuing her...but it turns out Bob just doesn't feel that way towards her.
- Double Subverted: Bob confesses he lied to Kate: he does love her, but because he's still sorting out his feelings from his break-up with Alice, he let Kate believe he didn't so she wouldn't be waiting for him.
- Averted: Bob doesn't have any problems going out with Kate after his break-up with Alice.
- Parodied: All there ever was to Bob and Alice's relationship was some Puppy Love back in their Preschool years. By now, Bob is a fully-grown adult in his late twenties, but he somehow still hasn't gotten over that relationship.
- Deconstructed: Kate gets tired of waiting for Bob to get over his break-up and dates someone else.
- Reconstructed: Bob is having trouble getting over Alice, which is negatively affecting Bob and Kate's relationship. However, Kate is exactly the kind of person he needs to help him get over it, due to her Undying Loyalty to him and patience with the struggle, in addition to what she does to actively help him. The end result is a relationship that is much, much better and more deeply ingrained than Alice and Bob's ever was.
