History Main / NewOldFlame

A gentle RetCon to allow a previously unmentioned [[OldFlame love-of-their-life]] to pop up for a main character in an episode. Characteristically a TemporaryLoveInterest, this is a simple way to skip all the boring foreplay and jump right to the intensity. Sometimes the long absence and sudden reappearance is explained by a FallbackMarriagePact.

* ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' has a variant, where in the first season Prue's love interest is the same guy she dated in high school (which, since he's introduced that way right away, doesn't feel jarring). The "skipping foreplay" part is sort of [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]]: they sleep together on the first date of their new relationship, but Prue objects when Piper argues that that's equivalent to sleeping with the guy on the "first date," since they already know each other.

* Justified when Three and Two's respective old flames Sarah and Dr Irena Shaw are introduced in ''Series/DarkMatter'', since the ''Raza'' crew are all total amnesiacs.

* ''Film/BlondeSavage'': When Steve Blake arrives at Mark Harper's diamond mine, he discovers that Harper's wife Connie is a former girlfriend of his whom he has not seen in five years.Connie immediately starts making a play for the handsome Blake as her ticket out of the jungle.

* ''Series/FBIMostWanted'': In "Caesar", Barnes encounters Sandra Coates, a woman she was involved with when working undercover with NYPD, and takes up with her again to get an 'in' with Cleo's gang.

Often, the character with the NewOldFlame is [[AbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder already (re-)married]], and it turns out it's not just the audience that's surprised.

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'' Marie's NewOldFlame Joe Buttakaki shows up. They both have leftover feelings for one another and are about to rekindle their relationship when said NewOldFlame suffers from [[spoiler: [[BusCrash Death On A Bus]]]]. It set off the Stein/Marie shippers since Stein is the one who consoles her.

** Unsurprisingly, Jack has a few more of these. The radio plays gave us Stella Courtney (from 30 years ago) in ''The Dead Line'', and the Duchess in ''Golden Age'' (very much a NewOldFlame: he hasn't seen her since 1924, she hasn't aged a day.)

* In the DatingSim ''Videogame/AlwaysRememberMe'', the NewOldFlame is also a BitchInSheepsClothing trying to convince the AmnesiacLover that she is his current girlfriend when she is really his ex. Needless to say, this irritates his ''real'' current girlfriend, who is working hard to help him regain his memories.

** Zig-zagged with Sam, Wilson's first ex-wife. It was always canon that Wilson had been married and divorced three times, but the only things we know about her are that she was married to Wilson and that she served him with divorce papers the weekend he met House. The series doesn't even give her a name until the episode where Wilson tells Thirteen he's thinking of getting back in contact with her.

* [[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]]: Arthur Merriman to Liz Pennykettle.

** A more traditional version of the trope is "[[Recap/TheATeamS2E3TheOnlyChurchInTown The Only Church In Town]]", in which Face's first love Leslie Becktall turns up after a fifteen-year absence. (During which time she's [[TakingTheVeil become a nun]]. Ouch.)

* ''Series/DropDeadGorgeous'': In "Love's First Kiss", a painting of one of Rebecca's suitors is brought to Ainsbury High. Heathcliffe the suitor jumps out of the portrait, putting Jonathan in there instead, and goes in pursuit of Rebecca.

* ''Literature/TheHollows'': Pierce, Rachel's guy she compares all other guys to, shows up even though we have never heard of him before. When explaining his back story, they bring up that he had helped her defeat an undead vampire. While this incident is occasionally mentioned over the course of the books, this is the first time where it is mentioned that she had help.

* Used in the aptly-named ''Series/HogansHeroes'' episode [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Klink's Old Flame."]] It's played with, though: Klink hears that his old flame is coming to the stalag, but she is now married to an influential general. Knowing that if she rediscovers her old feelings for him, he could end up fired or shot, [[HilarityEnsues he takes drastic measures to make himself as unattractive to her as possible.]] [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted though, as it's later revealed she never got past a handshake with him, and she's actually an underground agent who arranged the 'reunion' to meet with Hogan.]]

* ''Series/BlackSaddle'': In "Client: [=McQueen=]", Clay is hired by his old employer Senator [=McQueen=] to get back control of his ranch. [=McQueen=]'s daughter Susan--now married--is an old crush of Clay's.

** In Season 3, David's manipulative, selfish ex boyfriend Sebastien Raine shows up in town.

* The titular [[Disney/RobinHood Robin Hood]] and Maid Marian, who had been childhood friends and were in love before they were separated for some time and later reunited.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Discworld/LordsAndLadies'', though neither ''character'' is actually new, it does come as a bit of a surprise to learn that Mustrum Ridcully and Esmerelda Weatherwax were, at one time, An Item (and are explicitly stated to be ''married'' in an alternate reality).

* Film/YoungLadyChatterlyII'' introduces Robert was Cynthia's FirstLove. She is overjoyed when she learns he is coming to visit her estate in England. She is shocked to discover that he has joined the priesthood in their years apart.

* In ''ComicBook/LoriLovecraft/The Big Comeback'', Lori encounters ex-lover R.C. Bowman: a former private eye now working as studio security.