Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder/Playing With


 * Basic Trope: A couple that is apart from one another ends up breaking up. Infidelity is often (though not always) involved.
 * Played Straight:
 * Alice and Bob are together, and Bob is in the military. He gets deployed, and some time during his deployment, Alice decides he's not worth waiting for and finds herself in bed with Charles.
 * Or Bob had a one-night stand with another woman.
 * Exaggerated:
 * Bob returns to find that Alice has actually married Charles.
 * Alice has affairs with several men...and maybe some women.
 * Downplayed: Alice shares a kiss with Charles while Bob is gone, but feels guilty and remains faithful until Bob returns.
 * Justified:
 * Alice has heard that Bob was K.I.A.
 * Alice has some time to think things over, and she believes it won't work (or Bob believes this, or both), and she sends him a breakup letter or email.
 * Alice and Bob have agreed that during their separation, their relationship will be an open one.
 * Inverted: The longer Bob is away from Alice the more she wants him and no one else.
 * Subverted: It's a struggle but Alice waits patiently and faithfully for Bob to return home.
 * Double Subverted: But Alice misses companionship so much that she sleeps with Charles but tells her self that it means nothing because she was lonely.
 * Deconstructed: A major reason why a Long Distance Relationship poses a challenge; the couple misses each other (and sex), and they aren't getting the face-time they need, which may lead to straying.
 * Reconstructed: Alice and Bob contact each other as much as they can and strengthen their bond any way they can. They also exercise enough willpower to not be led into the temptation to cheat.
 * Parodied: Alice excuses herself to the bathroom. When she comes back, Bob is married to another woman.
 * Lampshaded: "You cheated on me while I was gone?!"
 * Averted:
 * Alice and Bob are faithful to one another.
 * Alice and Bob are not in a Long Distance Relationship.
 * Alice and Bob are not in any kind of relationship.
 * Enforced: Rule of Drama
 * Invoked: Bob is away, and Alice is feeling lonely (and horny) one night...and meets up with Charles.
 * Defied: Alice wants to remain faithful to Bob, so she resists Charles' sexual advances.
 * Exploited: Charles sees this as the opportunity to finally have Alice.
 * Discussed: "Do long-distance relationships always end with one or both partners cheating?"
 * Conversed: "Some couples can manage it, others can't."
 * Played For Laughs: See "Parodied"
 * Played For Drama: Almost always is.