Basic Trope: The character's first love didn't work out and now they have a new love.
- Straight: Bob and Alice were in love; unfortunately, she died. However, a few years later, Bob meets and falls in love with Amber.
- Exaggerated: Bob falls in love with both Amber and Carol, having met them together after Alice's death.
- Downplayed: Bob loved Alice but she never reciprocated his feelings, so technically Amber is his first love to return his feelings.
- Justified:
- Bob genuinely loves Amber and feels he's ready for a new relationship.
- Canonically, Amber and Bob end up together at some point.
- Inverted: Bob still isn't over Alice's death and has no interest in falling in love again.
- Subverted: It looks as though Amber will become Bob's Second Love, but then Alice comes Back from the Dead and she and Bob get back together.
- Double Subverted: Alice Came Back Wrong, ultimately ending her relationship with Bob. Whilst comforting Bob over it, he and Amber fall in love.
- Parodied: Bob keeps a list of potential romantic partners, causally moving down the list each time one dies - to the point where he's indifferent to their actual gender, amongst other traits.
- Zig Zagged: ???
- Averted:
- Alice didn't die.
- Bob is a Celibate Hero.
- Enforced: "We can't let Alice's quitting derail the show, so let's give Bob a new Love Interest."
- Lampshaded: ???
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: ???
- Defied:Bob: "I will not pursue a relationship with Amber or anyone else! Alice is my One True Love and I will remain faithful to her until we're reunited!"
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Though everyone fully believes Amber is Bob's first wife, he occasionally makes references to a woman named Alice; yet the sad tone he speaks with makes it clear she isn't a mistress of his. Ultimately, with no other information, nobody can tell the exact relationship despite him being close to her.
- Deconstructed:
- Bob still mourns for Alice and inadvertently compares her to Amber, who becomes increasingly frustrated by it and jealous of Alice's memory, feeling she will never be good enough. It eventually leads to them ruining their relationship.
- As a ghost, Alice watches on and is distraught by the turn of events. She is angered by the fact that Bob has “Cheated” on her and thus is unable to move on. She seeks revenge on her former lover, becoming a Vengeful Ghost.
- Alice goes after Amber instead, accusing her of stealing her true love Bob away from her.
- Reconstructed:
- Amber realises she must accept that as Bob's first love, Alice will always have a special place in his heart but that it doesn't mean he loves her any less; Bob realises that he should love Amber for who she is instead of comparing her to Alice, and that Alice would want him to move on and be happy again.
- Bob confronts Alice’s ghost, explaining to her that while he now with Amber, he will always love Alice. This gives Alice the closure she needs to move on, and in the Afterlife, she meets Peggy, who she eventually enters a relationship with.
- Amber is able to get through to Alice's ghost and calm her down enough to tell her how Bob told Amber stories about wonderful he saw Alice while she was alive while still being able to love Amber as well, and rhetorically asks what happened to the woman Bob loved. This is enough for Alice to realize that antagonizing Amber is hurting Bob as well, and she makes peace with her situation and moves on to the afterlife.
- Played For Laughs: When Bob reaches the afterlife, he discovers that Alice and Amber have already met -and have fallen for each other, completely forgetting about poor Bob.
Back to Second Love, if you're willing to move on.
