Is the ex in a Romance book ever NOT awful? 🫠

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Is the ex in a Romance book ever NOT awful? 🫠

Рет қаралды 302,736

Elisabeth Wheatley

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 557

@TeddieLovers 4 ай бұрын

Should have added "and his parents loved her" just to remind readers we're not supposed to root for her...

@edoardoprevelato6577 3 ай бұрын

And then there is Dune, where the "hero" 's mother is full onboard with the current GF

@RoseTiger-Roblox 3 ай бұрын

@@edoardoprevelato6577I saw Dune Part 2 over Easter. It's brilliant!

@WelcometoNZ 4 ай бұрын

"The patriarchy is so proud of you right now!" Love it 😂 need to remember this one

@ry8539 3 ай бұрын

funny that when woman disagree with other woman it is somehow mens fault. Re-evaluate your philosophy.

@brentmartin6833 3 ай бұрын

I guess we're assuming the Author is a woman and not a man? He *could* be the patriarchy!

@cuteandcreepy1456 3 ай бұрын

@@ry8539 patriarchy =\= men Whenever ANYONE writes characters that are meant to be vilified and decides to highlight their femininity and “promiscuous” behavior in comparison to a “tomboy ish”, quirky, and “not like the other girls” main character, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for interpretation. It would the same criticism vice versa.

@fiddlesticks7245 3 ай бұрын

Goofy woman moment.

@ry8539 3 ай бұрын

@@cuteandcreepy1456 that's not my experience. The term patriarchy is usually just used as a stick to hit people you disagree with.

@avalonangel334 4 ай бұрын

I read one historical romance where the ex was not awful. She just decided to not marry the male lead because it would have made them both unhappy and she wanted a passionate love.

@disorientedvlogs6164 4 ай бұрын

May I know what was the name please? Desperately need stories like these.

@cyralamen 4 ай бұрын

⁠@@disorientedvlogs6164 Probably not what you want but I’m currently reading We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian. It’s queer, a historical romance (I think?) and one of the guys was engaged to a girl; the girl was pretty nice and very supportive

@cockroach7543 3 ай бұрын

Sounds interesting. May I know the title for this one?

@AdoraWilson 3 ай бұрын

Same, pls tag me if you name this book😊 thank you ❤

@beratsuaydn1645 3 ай бұрын

Rez

@boopagm8275 4 ай бұрын

I'm now understanding why the "Reborn as the Villainess" stories became more of a thing.

@pog15r 4 ай бұрын

You never saw it coming. Neither did I

@Merilirem 4 ай бұрын

Yep.

@msk-qp6fn 4 ай бұрын

Started as subverting the trope, became a fun classic and now a fun cliche

@MsLilly200 3 ай бұрын

@@msk-qp6fn And now the cliche trope is literally just the same thing. The original female lead is now the sneaky slutty evil witch, while the "villainess" is a pure innocent maiden.

@Milenia_ 3 ай бұрын

@@msk-qp6fn I'm waiting for someone to subvert the subverted trope😂

@Yaoijoy21 4 ай бұрын

I want an ex who just goes "oh yeah we didn't work out but you you are awesome" and befriends the heroine please I have a need

@albertonishiyama1980 4 ай бұрын

The problem with this is that since the reason an ex to show in an romance is to be a problem to the romance, if she actually likes the heroine she may do it by point all the red flags of the guy and this would break the fantasy. I mean... if an ex goes to an 50 shades'ish heroine and starts to speak about how everything happening is not okay that would be a bigger problem than any "evil ex bullying".

@BldElfPrince 4 ай бұрын

I actually read a story like that once. Right as the main characters started dating, the ex, who went to a different school, showed up and the main character was internally freaking out and it causes issues (b/c the ex was prettier, super popular, and really talented) but the ex swooped in, had an open talk with the mc, helped her fix the relationship, and became her new best friend. The guy and the ex had stayed best friends and basically just realized they'd confused platonic love for romantic and mutually ended it. I don't remember the name at all, but it was really unusual and refreshing!

@Yaoijoy21 4 ай бұрын

@BldElfPrince noooo if you ever remember please tell me!

@Yaoijoy21 4 ай бұрын

@albertonishiyama1980 I know why it is the way it is but still no need to desire a broken thing just because people can't figure out how to make a better not broken thing

@gailasprey7787 4 ай бұрын

I also want an ex who’s like “oh yeah I thought I needed relationships to be happy, turned out I’m aro/ace!” And the MC and the partner sit with her and eat garlic bread. That sounds like a really fun subversion of the classic way the story goes.

@ellynneg.6926 3 ай бұрын

I read one where the hero's ex finds out he's in love with someone and she's so thankful he'll now be sending his bad poetry to somebody else.

@eej1731 3 ай бұрын

Oh that’s fantastic! I genuinely lol’d reading that. I’m hoping the FL thinks ML’s terrible poetry is cute in all its awkwardness

@karentorresalfaro3371 3 ай бұрын

😂😂😂😂😂😂

@shireads2954 3 ай бұрын

I read that one too! It was called Romeo and Juliet

@karentorresalfaro3371 3 ай бұрын

@@shireads2954 yeah, Rosalyn was so happy when he finally leaved her alone, but I don't think she loved the fact that he went after her 13 year old little cousin.

@Albinojackrussel 4 ай бұрын

The ex in The Shadowed Sun is such a great woman. She takes the protagonist under her wing, and she has serious words with the love interest when hes being an ass.

@mirjanbouma 3 ай бұрын

That sounds good

@gustavakerman5419 4 ай бұрын

I like making the ex-interests kind of enchanting and alluring, but with one major red flag or flaw. That way, you get why someone could fall in love with said character, before realising their mistake

@gailasprey7787 4 ай бұрын

If I were to write exes I’d either write them like that or write them as people who are great people but they just didn’t click with the other character they were with. That’s a very common thing to happen. Maybe they even found out they were aro/ace during the relationship which was why they weren’t clicking well with the love interest which meant they now were moving onto different things. I like seeing exes who are nice people that just didn’t click with someone, it feels more real.

@minecraftingmom 4 ай бұрын

I like the "she's a good person, but we weren't good together" version

@calebmarmon1310 4 ай бұрын

I’ll admit, I kinda like the trope of the ex being this inexplicably unlikable and seemingly incompatible person, only to later discover they either aren’t that bad or at least were a better/more reasonable person before.

@harukogirl 3 ай бұрын

I prefer it when they just aren’t a good fit. I went on three dates with a guy once that I wanted to like more than I did. We shared the same values and beliefs… but the commonalities were ended there. Our personalities, hobbies, interests and likes weren’t just different, they were diametrically opposed. I just kept hoping for SOME intersection point because he was cute, kind, and we shared values! But after 3 dates both of us gave up and admitted that we just didn’t have enough in common. I always put it as “I’d recommend him as a date to a sister or best friend in a heartbeat, because there wasn’t a single thing wrong with him or red flag that I saw, we just both tried our best and realized we didn’t have enough in common to make a relationship work.”

@cmm5542 3 ай бұрын

@@gailasprey7787'Just not clicking' is TOO common to make an intriguing plot. It would be a totally boring romance without any conflict.

@Moracher 3 ай бұрын

It's so much more compelling when the ex showing up is more of a "threat" because she isn't awful, and the lead and the ex actually loved each other deeply.

@mailee2353 3 ай бұрын

Yeah they’re not really a threat if they were a horrible person. They’re more of a threat when they make that “what if” answer a very strong possibility. Plus I feel like it’s more normal to part peacefully with someone if it didn’t work out for whatever reason. We just don’t hear about the peaceful break ups because they’re “boring”.

@Moracher 3 ай бұрын

@mailee2353 which I never understand, I mean, look at Mary Linton in RDR2 with Arthur. It isn't a love triangle dynamic, but Arthur and Mary's story is so heartbreaking because we all know they still love each other, and that Mary would take Arthur back in an instant if he just asked. But they are different people now, and they know it wouldn't work out. That dynamic can be very compelling if you throw in that the Arthur of the situation is now a changed person with a new love and new life. It can be both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. Though this dynamic can go badly, too, if it isn't treated with respect or is too out of nowhere. Such as X-Men '97 with Rogue, Gambit, and Magneto. Which is problematic in so many ways.

@nevskislake 4 ай бұрын

I love how you call out misogyny from romance authors. Thank you!

@lyamainu 4 ай бұрын

As a general rule, a person with terrible exes is a red flag for me.

@silverjohn6037 3 ай бұрын

If nothing else it makes you question whether you're going to be one as well if that's the kind of person they're attracted to.

@burntcoppery 3 ай бұрын

my friend A: 'ex-wife is a bitch, T is a princess.' *splits with T, gets with S* 'T is a bitch, S is a princess.' 'uh, A, you do remember we all know T really well?

@CeliriaRose 3 ай бұрын

How? Somehow people are responsible now for bad relationships? So someone who has bad luck in partners is a red flag now? Or how about this, anyone who gets out of an abusive relationship? Because that is certainly a terrible ex so by your logic thats a red flag on them for daring to not be psychic and forseeing the future that the person they are dating might turn out to be an asshole down the road. The reality is not every bad relationship starts off bad. People change, people hide elements of themselves that come out down the road, some things just aren’t apparent until later on. In many cases people don’t know the person is bad until they’ve already started dating them. Thats how people often become exes, because someone they thought was okay turned out to be awful and they therefore ended the relationship. Holding it against them is just nonsensical.

@jwolfe1209 3 ай бұрын

@@CeliriaRose one, or a couple if they've been putting themselves out there, sure. But if a significant portion of their past partners are awful people it's more than likely that a) they have really terrible judgement, to the point you have to question how stupid they are in other areas, b) they're lying about how bad their past partners were, and they're actually normal people who's only real "crime" is breaking up with Romantic Interest, or c) they were once normal but something about being in a relationship with Romantic Interest has turned them into a complete psycho. Having "bad luck" can be a red flag if it shows a pattern of behavior, especially if that person makes seemingly no effort to learn from their mistakes and try to avoid them in the future

@karentorresalfaro3371 3 ай бұрын

@@CeliriaRoseto have one or three bad relationships is bad luck, if every relationship is terrible is because they are definetly atracted to a bad pattern and the person needs to re evaluaremos themselves, their taste, their social círculos and maybe even their traumas because after so many bad relationships th3y shojld be able to see the redflags.

@kaitlinhogan9072 4 ай бұрын

I always question the male love interest at this point. Why were you with someone who was so openly catty and mean? I wouldn't want to date a guy who was attracted to someone as soulless as many exes are made out to be.

@Yaoijoy21 4 ай бұрын

Oh but she was sneaky about it clearly /s

@kaitlinhogan9072 4 ай бұрын

@@Yaoijoy21 😂🙃

@ZoneofA 3 ай бұрын

Males in those romance dramas have no agency, they are just objects for female antagonist to fight over. Those are stories about anxiety over intersexual competition, so male "characters" are just a prop that will do whatever is necessary to facilitate drama between female antagonists.

@tyturner7110 3 ай бұрын

You just don’t understand what it was like, growing up a street urchin in Victorian England 😔 his mother took in sewing & a lover to keep bread on the table. He stole medicine once she got the consumption. He hates the rich because he remembers how their carriages used to pass them by. Upon the death of his beloved mother, he found out her lover was in-fact a well off ,handsome, shipping Captain who just returned from the West Indies. Now he is thrust in the world of the elite and grows up Tall Dark & Brooding, naturally the “spoiled” wealthy daughter of his father’s business partner would be his social equal. She can buy anything, why not a husband?

@AB-zr8pu 3 ай бұрын

Sometimes the ex truly is an awful person and the MC had blinders on during their relationship. Sometimes it's about point of view - the scenes written from the new lovers perspective include jealousy and looking for things to be wrong with the ex.

@Maria-cb5fz 3 ай бұрын

"The patriarchy is so proud of you right now" 🤣🤣🤣

@bboops23 3 ай бұрын

I read a romance where the ex was the FL's cousin and she was actually relieved to find out that her cousin got with him because she knew he deserved love and her cousin was a good person who would treat him well.

@Hrafnskald 3 ай бұрын

I'd read that story so many times the covers would fall off :D

@bboops23 3 ай бұрын

@@Hrafnskald her cousin barely even appears in the story, but when she does at the end she's relieved that they fell in love and she has already moved onto someone else.

@renclear3825 4 ай бұрын

I was half asleep and thought the title was "the ex in a romance book is NOT awful?!" And I was so excited for a book recommendation 😅

@choryllis6646 3 ай бұрын

The ex's reason for existing should not be to cause problems for the heroine, but to highlight what went wrong in the relationship with the love interest. "So you're Lover's ex? What caused you guys to break up?" "Oh, he got weirdly clingy once he found out I was texting my male friends. We weren't even talking about anything wild, just a concert we bought tickets for a year in advance. So I broke it off." "Oh, well, I have male friends I text. Is he going to get clingy with me?" "Dunno. People can change, but only if they want to. You two are cute together, and you both seem really happy, but if he does anything to you, call me up first and we'll curbstomp him together, aight?" And then the rest of the book is the heroine watching Lover's behavior closely to see of he's changed or is the same, and how to move forward

@misakisakakibara4532 3 ай бұрын

I LOVE THIS

@callmekit87 3 ай бұрын

I’ve been using this series as a “don’t do” list for my writing 😂 (or at least a “do with caution” list)

@c.b.- 3 ай бұрын

Good plan. The thing is these tropes can work if handled with care. Like, the catty-ex is _perceived_ that way when what she is _actually_ trying to do is tell the female lead _"No girl, RUN. That man is a walking red flag."_ And the female lead may actually realize the guy she's with either needs to _really_ work on himself, or that he's really "not the one".

@harukogirl 3 ай бұрын

Recently saw a historical re-birth cdramas that I LOVED in part because the sister (who was favored by the parents and seemingly perfect) was also NICE. She was placed in opposition to the heroine in the beginning, but after the FL realized part of the first life issues between them were her misunderstanding, she gave the sister a chance and the sister consistently lived up to her trust. I loved it in large part because it was so fresh and different… which is sad 😅

@eej1731 3 ай бұрын

Ooh, I’m on a Cdrama binge right now - do you remember the title so I can look it up?

@SongOfChaos1 3 ай бұрын

I was legit waiting for a gag where it reveals that this is actually an enemies-to-lovers trope and the ex lover winds up stealing hero's love interest and they live happily ever after. Someone needs to do a Becky x Stacy subversion in one of these.

@hutchen7686 4 ай бұрын

And then the ML is either traumatized by her or still has feelings 😂

@perogun 4 ай бұрын

Plot twist: the women get together at the end

@sahaanat4619 4 ай бұрын

❤❤

@sahaanat4619 4 ай бұрын

I need thisss! ❤

@Yaoijoy21 4 ай бұрын

I'd read it

@bollywoodgirl21 4 ай бұрын

So like at the end of legend of kora😅?

@gailasprey7787 4 ай бұрын

The perfect lesbian/bi story!!

@sighcantthinkofaname 3 ай бұрын

I read so many books with this dynamic in middle school and it always confused me more than anything. As a real life human person i had interest in some girly things but not others, and it confused me that these books had it as an all or nothing thing. Either you're dressed up with skirts, manicures, prefect hair, and prefect makeup EVERY SINGLE DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL or you're a tomboy. Real life would like a word lol

@cmm5542 3 ай бұрын

It's a book. Authors assume people have ENOUGH real life in their, ahem, REAL LIVES and try to provide us with something different. A book identical to real life would be a total repetitive bore and not worth reading! WHY do so many people not get this?

@c.b.- 3 ай бұрын

@@cmm5542 this is like... gauging how unreal you care for your fiction to be. Some fiction doesn't sweat details like outfit-changes or whether the character has matching socks on. Others delve into the details as part of the world building. No shame in whichever is your preference. Romance novels do tend to lean heavy on "feminine dress/behavior denotes this person is good/bad" without recognizing that this gives their work a negative feeling. (For example, Fifty Shades has so much hatred for blonde women in it that a reader might start to think the author needs serious counseling.)

@Tamaki-cha 3 ай бұрын

Then the villainess is revealed to actually have a deeper backstory than someone imagined

@lolli_popples 3 ай бұрын

Ngl I *love* the idea of a ex who has had a string of previous relationships but is really nice to the heroine and helps answer questions/ quell fears because the heroine is inexperienced. That would be a fun trope inversion.

@BookswithStefania 4 ай бұрын

I LOVE your reactions 😂 like seriously though, these stereotypes get annoying ❤

@akitoyaname7897 3 ай бұрын

that's why i love being an author myself. The exes that appear in my book are more like what i actually experienced. Still friends with the partner, sometimes more distant, sometimes more supportive. Sometimes they need a break, sometimes it's like the relationship never happened and there is no impact on the friendship.

@Veelasiren 4 ай бұрын

Louder, for those in the back!!!! This is so annoying, and so true it hurts

@marisalee843 3 ай бұрын

I once read this one story, it was part of a collection of novellas I believe. Either way, I was obsessed with the story especially because the ex from the first novel was the female lead of the second. And, she had this beautiful rant about how hypocritical the people around her were now that they pitied her.

@nmartinez18 4 ай бұрын

It is hella frustrating when the ex is always awful and mean, and often because they are feminine, which is a rant for another day. The male lead liked them for a reason, so they should have desirable and attractive qualities. If their only attractive quality is that they are hot, it makes the male lead look shallow as hell. Even if the author bypasses that by making it an arranged marriage that fell through, that trope is done to death, too. I like how it was done well in Mistborn, given how Eland lacked a lot of confidence in the beginning and was someone who wouldn't fight it directly at first. And all of the shrews who claim the series is sexist because Vin's character development includes her being more feminine as time progresses can jump in the beads of Shadesmar and not come back up. How often femininity is seen as bad drives me up the damn wall.

@Tessa_Ru 3 ай бұрын

You raise a good point that I believe I subconsciously thought, but never noticed! I judge a character for their exes. They genuinely seem more shallow/foolish when an ex is just garbage. Like why were their standards or self-respect THAT non-existant before?? Obviously there's a small handful of times it's an exploration of meeting an abusive ex after growing as a person, but imo that's not the same as the trope this vid is talking about. Has more depth (hopefully).

@nmartinez18 3 ай бұрын

@Tessa_Ru One of my exes was abusive to the point I still have traumatic stress symptoms. And I can point to exactly why I got into a relationship with her, how it went to hell, and why I let it go on so long. Physical attraction was only one factor and not even one of the big ones. It would be less of an issue in the trope if they could point to why they made the mistake and it was an understandable, human mistake that could have potentially happened to any of us.

@deathbloom27 3 ай бұрын

The fourth wing did all of this, down to the arranged marriage 😂

@victormagoco9752 3 ай бұрын

@@Tessa_RuI once read a urban fantasy romance(don’t remember the name because it’s been years) and the justification for the awful ex was that the ML didn’t have many options to start with, see, he and his ex are immortal because of magic that they didn’t cast so they can’t replicate, so they’re each other’s only constant company through eternity until the FL comes along(she reincarnates and starts getting her memory back every time she reunites with the ML)

@victormagoco9752 3 ай бұрын

Since I am talking about it anyway there’s also a urban fantasy romance based on Abrahamic religions where the ML’ s Ex is awful BECAUSE of the ML, the guy is a fallen angel and his Ex spent a long time trying to redeem him so he can return to heaven, in fact she spent so much time time slumming it down in the mortal world that she herself became a fallen angel, the villain of the first book was also the ML’s fault by the way, the ML used him as a meat suit every once in a while for centuries(he himself wasn’t 100% human, long story) because fallen angels can’t feel physical sensations, so they guy went psycho and tried to kill the ML

@liabowden8526 3 ай бұрын

I'd like to see it start like this, but in such a way thst in the end they're either best friends or a throuple *without her changing*... like it was 75% the main "heroine" seeing her thru a shitty lens.😅

@honeykitty7278 3 ай бұрын

I don’t read many romance novels but this video makes me want to write and entire book just so the ex can be kind and supportive to the new gf

@eej1731 3 ай бұрын

And maybe even get her own HEA?

@cmm5542 3 ай бұрын

Please don't waste your time writing a story about something so boring. People read to be entertained, and a book with 0 conflict is not going to gain a wide readership. Use your writing talent to write something exciting and interesting!

@eej1731 3 ай бұрын

@@cmm5542 Who said zero conflict? The repetitious tropes don't entertain any more - they're just boring, predictable and frankly annoying. So have an evil ex, but make her evil cos she's an undercover double agent, or manically career driven, heck, make her a serial killer, the head of the mafia, has world domination plans, or even just enjoys kicking puppies to hear them cry (pure evil!) - not cos she's jealous/possessive/got daddy issues/'insert standard trope here'

@freyjathehealer5559 3 ай бұрын

What about how when he’s a widower his deceased wife is either never mentioned beyond that or he was never actually in love with her. What he has with the main character is so much better. God forbid he had a loving relationship where he will always love and miss his first wife but continues to have a healthy and loving marriage with his second wife.

@cervanera2228 4 ай бұрын

Lol I kinda did the opposite of this, like the heroine is the one who's randomly gelous when she has nothing to worry about, the "ex" character is not an ex, just a friend, and she's actually nice.

@slappyd4483 4 ай бұрын

I know I have read something where the ex was a badass and the man was always awkward around them but I can't remember which series.

@anna-flora999 4 ай бұрын

"are exes ever not awful" Yes, but only if they're also the main love interest and the happy end is them getting together again

@leeloo6676 3 ай бұрын

Plotwist: both women characters fall in love and make a beautiful Sapphic relationship, the end

@shahidkamal253 4 ай бұрын

Help why is this so true 😭

@madalice5134 4 ай бұрын

I want stories with amicable exes who team up with the new SO to tease their ex while also being a wingman/wingwoman because they are mature enough to recognize why their relationship didn't work out and want their ex to be happy. Is that too much to ask?

@IAR97 4 ай бұрын

I am tired of ex lover boyfriend is enemy to the Heroine, i want novel where they become friends even best friend

@xdani_thethinkingneko 3 ай бұрын

I love when you do these videos, they always have me dying laughing 😭❤

@giraffegirl1691 3 ай бұрын

Personally, I prefer the "Your SO's have unionized" trope that happens sometimes when the ex and the current partner get along scarily well and gently make life hell for their shared love interest.

@dorykrysz 3 ай бұрын

"The patriarchy is so proud of your right now" even made me feel attacked 😂 I always love these phrases from you

@ellymyths 3 ай бұрын

“And *Scandalous gasp* M A K E U P!”

@nara9404 3 ай бұрын

Good thing my book doesn't have an ex. Because it is not even a romance in the first place 🤣. They are just engaged

@placibusofpanacea 3 ай бұрын

My favorite romance (lost the title) had an ex who was not only a great person but literally became the main character's best friend and helped them through a rough patch in their relationship. They used their past ex experiences to help the MC understand differing perspectives and gave them really great advice.

@Austengirl89 3 ай бұрын

My ex love interest is motivated by jealousy and does some really stupid stuff. But I think there are terrible people in the world (true crime anyone?) and my point is that the hero overlooked her faults before in favor of her beauty and she makes the miscalculation that he might again. To me it's not about making the heroine look better, it's about showing growth in the hero

@cmm5542 3 ай бұрын

Sounds brilliant! 👍

@DianaGonzalez-nw4dh 3 ай бұрын

I love your skits hahah they are so on point

@Tsukiyori9 3 ай бұрын

Her Dark Lies - im almost finished and it is such a roller coaster of a read!

@noa_thebooknerd 3 ай бұрын

The urge to write a romance novel where the ex is actually sweet and the pair get along great is so strong because of this short

@Hudaaaldin2047 3 ай бұрын

Why is this so relatable 😂 I'm crying from the heartsqueeze

@elisabethmapann4939 3 ай бұрын

The ex and heroine getting together in the end would be an interesting turn of events

@Celine.G. 3 ай бұрын

I love this "oh no... - author" series 😂😂 do more!

@TheSnowyBlossom 3 ай бұрын

I’m so glad as a writer none of my books are this bad 🙏🙏🙏 they don’t have anything in the norms and I love them for that 👍 in my current book the look story is the side theme between my main character and a character who is not the antagonist but appears as if for multiple characters till the find out they got their memories wiped cause of a contract and that they where actually married it’s such a fun series for me to write 👍 and I can’t wait to publish it properly going on Wattpad first cause they are judgy and I love the feed back :D

@NeenjaStarr 3 ай бұрын

I never thought I'd say it but this is precisely why I love the Baroness in The Sound of Music

@imaginekey 3 ай бұрын

I love how the author is typing with one hand while holding the laptop like a serving tray 😂

@smenstle 3 ай бұрын

I always question why their ex's are so different from the love interest

@Sabaki715 3 ай бұрын

This is so true every book i have read so far has an evil ex boyfriend or girlfriend who comes back and flaunts their wealth thinking it will make their ex get back with them.

@Acen402 3 ай бұрын

I hope we get more of this series

@BetaJackMaxis 3 ай бұрын

Reminds me of those pop songs about evil exes that might as well be cartoon villaims on crack.

@deathbloom27 3 ай бұрын

Even the fourth wing follows this trope, damn 😂

@user-dk5mo3mh7w 3 ай бұрын

I’m a big fan of your author voice, it’s perfect!

@BurrowingBookworm 3 ай бұрын

Honestly I like those books because I’m sort of a tomboy, I’ve never kissed, and I’m kinda ugly so those books make me feel like I’m the main character except the main character is always gorgeous

@TheEverGrowingRosey-333 3 күн бұрын

But you can have a protagonist like that, without demonizing women that are more feminine. Feminity isn’t inherently shallow, superficial, or evil, characterizing it as so is misogynistic.

@nature_nightowl 3 ай бұрын

The part of the reader- This always makes me happy!😂 Thank you!

@codyvanderzwaag8031 3 ай бұрын

I love these skits very much

@Justanotherchildofhades 3 ай бұрын

love this video series so much XD

@darksean99 3 ай бұрын

Ok this exact setup with absolutely nothing changed, but she ends up being the love interest.

@stardust1815 3 ай бұрын

I actually read a book recently where the ex was not awful. It was an age-gap (so obviously not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it was an age gap done well) and she was so sweet and became basically a maternal figure to the fmc who came from an abusive household.

@ZoeyTG 3 ай бұрын

Greatest relationship of all time. Patrick O'Brien's, Steven and Jack. Starts with enmity over a disagreement during a musical performance and never ends.

@r_r_r_r 3 ай бұрын

I just adore this series 😂

@_Kyprioth_ 3 ай бұрын

I was raised right with the Tamora Pierce ‘lioness’ series. The MC literally sets (one of) her ex’s up with his future wife and they practically remain besties for life 😅 No slut-shaming or negative female stereotypes were involved 😊

@penelopeoftheshire 4 ай бұрын

While he was dead, in the Witching After Forty series by LA Boruff, you meet her late husband in ghost form a few books in and he was really supportive of her new life and new love interest.

@dezs.5202 3 ай бұрын

I’ll never not love how into it the author character is lol

@Bllue 3 ай бұрын

She's always guilty of cHeAtInG because hero isn't her first BF, OBVIOUSLY

@notalive1585 3 ай бұрын

Every Colleen Hoover book with an ex

@HappyHoney_Happy 3 ай бұрын

I would love a book that goes somewhere along the lines of “The love between two women is very strong, also one is closeted and has a boyfriend who has dated the other”

@hayleighhartenstein8526 2 ай бұрын

There are so many ways that my brain wants to subvert the stereotype, and most of them end with the “jealous ex” and heroine becoming at least friends

@mariazedek1157 3 ай бұрын

Omg the hughheels and skirt 😂😂😂😂

@bronwynbrightmore8466 3 ай бұрын

gosh, I love that even though based on your vids you could easily fit the *not wearing visible makeup, not like other girls* stereotype, you call this shit out

@artywolve 3 ай бұрын

Yeah, I tried writing an ex that one of my protagonists had been seriously in love with for a long time and still cared for but had to let go because their relationship was making them both unhappy - but she was such a tragic sweetheart I couldn't let her go and I actually shipped them as much as the main pairing. Like, I couldn't bear to let her have a sad ending, so in the end I just threw in the towel and let my other protagonist bring her home to cuddle through the childhood trauma and work towards a healthy throuple instead T^T I feel like because I made her go through so much shit in the backstory breakup I actually ended up babying her more than my original main characters. Like those guys have mental and emotional fortitude thanks to their positive character development, if you hit em with a stick they will come back and knock your teeth out, this one though has scary eyes but her heart is made of glass, don't hurt her, please, we just picked up the pieces ^^"

@s.r.nulton9480 3 ай бұрын

I love when they change it up and the ex wants to be good friends with FMC, help her get more comfortable with herself, and calls out LI for being a jerk

@PriyankaAgnihotri-si6vh 3 ай бұрын

I read a gorgeous book wherein the ex had actually moved on and had a happy relationship with her husband and literally became best friends with her ex-boyfriend's wife and helped save her ex-boyfriend's marriage...

@letsplay7828 3 ай бұрын

Okay but I love when the women become friends!! There is a bunch of Chinese and Taiwanese shows where the mean ex becomes the heroine's bff/bodyguard.

@lewispascoe1145 3 ай бұрын

I find this author character supremely entertaining.

@heatherbagley7668 3 ай бұрын

I'M ACTUALLY WRITING ONE HERO'S EX LOVER INTO MY BOOK and she's actually kind of a badass. She's a blood healer which is about exactly what it sounds like. If she bleeds on a wound, it heals it. She ends up leading the main characters to some vital information and teaches the fmc some lessons on jealousy and friendship. Oh, she also has a giant, horse-sized wolf.

@sierrareyelts1481 3 ай бұрын

"The patriarchy is so proud of you right now." I'm dying

@alexiggutierrez 3 ай бұрын

I only like this trope of the two women end up together in the end.

@Grimmona 3 ай бұрын

Love it❤ please do more!

@andrzejsobanski6752 3 ай бұрын

We at Patriarchy HQ do not claim bad writers either.

@catMania-87 3 ай бұрын

Yeah I'm working on a book right now and my main character is love interest has an ex but she is literally the sweetest person alive and there's no like animosity or anything between them they just don't talk anymore she actually helps them escape creepy cultists

@user-oj9iz4vb4q 3 ай бұрын

It'd be great to have one where the ex is the well adjusted one and the protagonist is the jealous lunatic.

@lola1033 3 ай бұрын

Please do one about kids books from 30 years ago LOL. We tried reading mine to our baby now, and we were so excited but it’s so outraging that we had to stop hahah

@fairystail1 3 ай бұрын

I think my favourite 'other gu/girl' is the guy from Sweet Home Alabama. It's been forever since I saw it but the guy seemed really nice, and while he wasn't happy about his fiancee getting with her ex he also wasnt a dick about it.

@nasanerd2009 3 ай бұрын

This is literally, LITERALLY just the plot of You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift. I half expected her to start singing it!

@jessamynrising3990 3 ай бұрын

I was wondering how far down the comments I'd have to scroll to find this 😂

@jessamynrising3990 3 ай бұрын

And I have mixed feelings because on the one hand, it's a total bop and I have fond memories of seeing it on the bus with friends, and on the other hand, it's TERRIBLE messaging for young people about how relationships are supposed to work. So when it comes on I just bop along in try not to think too hard about the lyrics, lol

@Is_me_I_am_here 4 ай бұрын

Because of your description of The Cruel Prince I read the book. WHY DID SO MANY PEOPLE TELL ME IT WAS A ROMANCE!

@caetlinbirmingham5077 2 ай бұрын

I wanted to write a Contemporary Romance the Ex-Love Interest of the Male Lead was a lesbian who only dated the ML out of CompHet and ended the relationship on those grounds. She and the ex were on good terms because he'd realized it long before she had but wanted her to figure it out and come out on her oen when she was ready. Until then, he was willing to be her beard to her unknowingly lesbian self. She wound up being the one to get the Female Lead and Male Lead together and the Antagonist of the story was going to be CompHet Distaster Lesbian's older brother who was over seas for a Student Exchange Program and was behind on all the Gossip. All attempts at filling him in before the climax fail because he was too busy being an Over Protective Older Brother to listen to anyone.

@cosmicriptid 3 ай бұрын

I hate that so much. An ex doesn't have to be evil to be an ex. You don't need cheating to break up a relationship. So many other issues, but really. Just have them not be compatible. Unless there is a specific story reason for them to be a problem.

@ItsSomethingGacha 3 ай бұрын

Nah I want a romance book where the mc leaves the dude for his ex, that would be amazing

@madmim8766 3 ай бұрын

It would be fantastic if this took a hard left into sapphic enemies to lovers

@dudewhatthewhat8983 3 ай бұрын

If someone wants the love interests ex to be feel like an actual threat, MAKE THEM A GREAT PERSON! The ex who is a bully is bound to lose, unless the love interests has super low standards or is super shallow. In either case, I am sure the MC can do better. But if the Ex is a genuinely nice and fun person, you can actually understand why they used to date, and more importantly, you understand why the MC is worried they might get back together. And if the love interest rejects someone who is genuinely awesome, all because of their love for the MC, that feels like such a better win for their relationship (Unless the MC is awful or boring. Then it feels like the love interest is an idiot.) Bonus points if we find out why they broke up, and it’s not cause the ex is secretly evil or something. Instead it’s because of more down to earth human flaws or they just realized they don’t work well together as a couple. Maybe has a bad habit of bottling up small frustrations to avoid confrontations in the moment, and then they eventually bottle up and she explodes. Maybe he is a family guy, but she does not want kids. Maybe one is way more ambitious than the other. Maybe they had communication problems that slowly made them fall out of love. Especially in the last one, it can be used to emphasize how much of a better fit the MC is, without turning his ex into wannabe Regina George.