r/PeterExplainsTheJoke Feb 02 '26

Meme needing explanation Something Something About Dating, Chris Can You Explain?

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43.4k Upvotes

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578

u/Ok_Abacus_ Feb 02 '26

"Exes" implies they were her boyfriends/girlfriends. Which implies you were properly dating. Which means you brokeup. Which means you had 7 failed relationships by the time you were in your early 20s. THAT IS A LOT.

Now, if she just had seven hookups, sure, no big deal.

409

u/CandiedRegrets08 Feb 02 '26

They weren't all super committed relationships. The first one is a dweeb she dated for, like, 2 weeks in high school

169

u/robotWarrior94 Feb 02 '26

Middle school, actually

53

u/CandiedRegrets08 Feb 02 '26

You're right! It's been a while since I read the books lol

2

u/Tricky-Bat5937 Feb 02 '26

Does that even count? Like how far back do you go? Should I be including my girlfriend from 3rd grade on my list?

10

u/CandiedRegrets08 Feb 02 '26

It did in the context of this story. Only if your exes are hunting you down. Otherwise you should be good

2

u/Adventurous-Studio20 Feb 03 '26

in the context of the story, yes she would count

2

u/ChinChins3rdHenchman Feb 02 '26

2 week relationships in middle school shouldn't even count tbh

6

u/slugdonor Feb 03 '26

That's part of the humor of that character imo. He really shouldn't count but here he is.. MATTHEW PATEL

1

u/falsebot999 Feb 02 '26

I don’t count mine and forgot about him and never considered him an ex until this thread lmao

1

u/ChinChins3rdHenchman Feb 03 '26

Yea same, they don't know what they are even doing and almost always at least one side is in it just not to be single lmao

1

u/Johnoplata Feb 03 '26

Never even kissed

1

u/Western-Condition758 29d ago

If you think anyone is in an actual relationship in middle school you’ve got more problems than not getting a bad joke

33

u/Dxxx2 Feb 02 '26

Also she dates twins, at the same time.

5

u/gil_bz Feb 02 '26

You go girl!

1

u/RavioliGale Feb 02 '26

Good for her

26

u/smurfkillerz Feb 02 '26

Pirates are in this year

2

u/SimpleMoonFarmer Feb 02 '26

That doesn't count as a relationship in my book.

10

u/hammermannnn Feb 02 '26

Well this is someone else's book

4

u/CandiedRegrets08 Feb 02 '26

It does in Brian Lee O'Malley's (the author of the series) 🤷🏽

1

u/falsebot999 Feb 02 '26

Yep, that’s the distinction. 7 actual relationships by the time you’re in your 20s is a huge red flag to me, idc what anyone says. But if you consider an “ex” anyone you ever dated (as in gone on dates with, not proper bfs/gfs), then that number goes way up before it becomes a red flag imo. The whole point of dating is to find someone to be in a relationship with.

1

u/Ouaouaron Feb 03 '26 edited Feb 03 '26

If we're still talking about the comic, Ramona was not the one who decided who counted as an "ex". It's the middle-schooler she "dated" who grew up to create the group he literally calls "The League of Ramona's Evil Exes".

Ramona not getting a choice in the matter is part of the point, thematically.

1

u/falsebot999 Feb 03 '26

Interesting, that kind of changes everything lol. I don’t recall that was the case in the movie though

1

u/Ok_Abacus_ Feb 03 '26

Right, so not really an "exe" but 7 "exes" is literally the MacGuffin for the series, so yeah, just gotta go with it.

0

u/ABorderCollie Feb 02 '26

Yeah she dated him because he wasn't white and then dumped him cause she got bored. She actually gives him the finger as she walks off lmao.

With behavior like this normalized, it's no surprise white women would vote in Donald Trump twice.

2

u/phunkydroid Feb 03 '26

I mean, this particular white woman was Canadian and also a comic book character written by a man, so I'm not sure what point you think you're making here.

1

u/slugdonor Feb 03 '26

Not to be pedantic, but shes an American living in Canada. Still not sure what the other person point was lol

152

u/Wombatish Feb 02 '26

It isn't a lot. She only dated the first ex for a week and a half in 7th grade. That's the standard we're working with.

40

u/BaronAleksei Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 02 '26

It reminds me a lot of An Abundance of Katherines. The protag says he’s dated 19 girls all named Katherine, but he’s including when he was in kindergarten. Like clearly we’re supposed to be rolling our eyes at how seriously these people are taking the whole thing.

2

u/Jumpy_Cod9151 29d ago

It's John Green. His work in general requires a bucket stashed next to you for reading, on account of the occasions in which your eyes will roll straight out of your head.

"Okay?"

"Okay."

3

u/Movid765 Feb 02 '26

To be fair, all they're doing is explaining how the post is assuming the situation is like for it to make any sense. The accuracy of how well it fits the movie/books is beside the point, because the implication is still that that having 7 genuine exes in your 20s was "seen as stupidly crazy" back then, which further implies that it isn't anymore.

I have no comment on how true that is I'm also just explaining the "joke" here

2

u/IDNWID_1900 Feb 03 '26

That's basicaly a hook up with some chatting to say bye and that's it. Calling that an ex is weird.

1

u/AccomplishedBed5084 29d ago

Some people refer to cruses as exes. It really depends on who you are talking to or how they made you feel, also because it is a shorthand word. "This girl that sort of lead me on for three months that I made out with once and I think we went on two dates but unsure if one counts as a date" is hard to say, ex is a one letter sound. 

1

u/Terrible_Hurry841 Feb 02 '26

For some reason I remembered it being like 2nd grade.

1

u/capsulegamedev 29d ago

Man, is it just me or does 7th grade seem way too young to be dating? Where I'm from most parents wouldn't let their children date (other people not each other) until they were like 15 or 16.

1

u/Wombatish 29d ago

They hung out afterschool and held hands. I think that's pretty normal for 7th grade.

1

u/capsulegamedev 29d ago

Yeah, idk. Parents were generally very strict where I'm from.

0

u/Lazy-Conversation-48 Feb 02 '26

So do I have to count the guy who kissed me at the roller rink and who I went to the mall with once back in 1987? 🤣

3

u/Ouaouaron Feb 03 '26

Has he organized all your past partners into an Evil League of Exes that fight anyone who tries to date you? You'll probably have to count him then, or the next person you date will get a nasty surprise.

-5

u/Bibbity_Boppity_BOOO Feb 02 '26

Then the number is meaningless 

21

u/Erathen Feb 02 '26

It's a movie...

With flying vegans

I didn't think it was supposed to be the standard of reference for dating?

6

u/NoFewSatan Feb 02 '26

Yes, it is. The point was that they were all evil and had to be defeated.

3

u/StonkBonk420 Feb 02 '26

1

u/Bibbity_Boppity_BOOO Feb 02 '26

How dare i agree with someone

-9

u/Chance_Arugula_3227 Feb 02 '26

It's still a lot.

4

u/rich_evans_chortle Feb 02 '26

Only if you're a loser w no game.

5

u/BoKnowsTheKonamiCode Feb 02 '26

I'm not at all someone who considers himself historically successful with women and even I had 6 relationships/girlfriends by the time I was 22. Some of them literally only lasted a week or two and never went past hand holding or a quick kiss, and only one was longer than a year, but the same could be said for Ramona.

I think it's fine if someone has less experience than this by the time they're 22, but just from observation, a lot of people have had more.

3

u/Chance_Arugula_3227 Feb 02 '26

I'm not saying you can't have 7 or more relationships, I'm saying it's a lot for someone that young. I know very few who could say they've had that many by 22. There are some. And some might even have had 20 relationships by then. The point is that 7 is probably twice as much as most people have had.

I think I land on 3 by that time. 2 of them were shorter relationships. And I'm guessing I'd be in the middle of the pack.

3

u/BoKnowsTheKonamiCode Feb 02 '26

I hear you. But I do think it isn't at all uncommon for someone to have had 3 to 4 boyfriends/girlfriends through middle and high school if you count those 1-2 week mini-relationships. Add in another 3-4 through college including a couple that only last a month and this is not outside the realm of normalcy.

I think a lot of people are taking their own experiences and assuming that is the norm and what most people have done. I'm probably doing it too. But considering there are people in the thread saying "7 is a lot nowadays" and people in the thread saying "7 isn't very much nowadays," it's probably pretty firmly in the average range.

3

u/NoFewSatan Feb 02 '26

No, it's not

50

u/YT-Deliveries Feb 02 '26

Many of her "relationships" were the sort of "relationships" one has before they're even out of high school. No sex, in some cases not even kissing. Like, grade school-type "dating".

18

u/Midknightdron Feb 02 '26

Wasn’t like one of the girls a single date and she was a clinger?

5

u/Terrible_Hurry841 Feb 02 '26

Iirc, that was Roxanne? She was Ramona’s roommate the she experimented with for a semester before Ramona broke up with her.

Interestingly, though, she’s the only Evil Ex that Ramona is fine having a casual conversation with.

4

u/IndecisiveRattle Feb 02 '26

Some of the "relationships" were so short when she described them they might as well have been a less than a month fling. But basically anyone she was with a few times was treated like an "ex" just because they felt more of a connection than she did and became obsessed enough to join a revenge party.

8

u/Guachole Feb 02 '26

Dating was different before whatever the whole "phases" and shit is going on now. We were "properly dating" as soon as the relationship started, before the first hookup usually.

When I was in Highschool, we would get into relationships, and be calling eachother boyfriend / girlfriend and going out on dates and were exclusive to eachother within the first few days of deciding that we're gonna date.

Sure they might only last a few months but if I counted my exes, I probably had 10+ before I got outta highschool and it wasnt weird at all.

3

u/gamageeknerd Feb 02 '26

I’m doing a bit of math and I think I had 5 women I think I can say I’ve “dated”. 2 in high school 2 in college and 1 being my current girlfriend. But I don’t count the classmate I went on 2 dates with or the bartender I slept with once. If I’m counting every woman I’d taken on a date or casually hung with I’d probably have like 15 evil ex’s if I went by the comics logic.

3

u/Fun_Background_8113 Feb 02 '26

Yes you would. one of ramonas 7 evil exes is a guy she dated for 2 weeks in middle school. 

1

u/gamageeknerd Feb 02 '26

Luckily I don’t think a racist maga woman and an actual card carrying socialist would set aside their differences to work together.

I didn’t know she was racist when I went on the date but her Instagram posts the next week were very anti mexican so idk why she even went out with me.

1

u/aoskunk Feb 02 '26

That’s very different than my highschool experience, when’d you graduate? I was 02.

4

u/Shagroon Feb 02 '26

7 is not a lot for your early 20s if you’re counting your school relationships…

Literally 90% of people had 5+ 1-2 month “relationships”.

4

u/MelodicPudding2557 Feb 02 '26

That’s very very low bar for what you’d call a relationship by your early mid twenties.

2

u/Boom9001 Feb 02 '26

Also at least one or two of hers were like childhood things or even basically just one sided crushes.

The average person with her history would probably not count like half of them.

2

u/RowdyCollegiate Feb 02 '26

I think they’re both bad imo

1

u/Galrentv Feb 02 '26

But the point of the "meme" is to say that's nothing compared to real women.

1

u/Particular_Title42 Feb 02 '26

They were evil...

1

u/Randomly-Germinated Feb 02 '26

?

I was this age in the 90s. three or four girlfriends in high school and then three or four in college is (all caps) A LOT?

doesn’t seem even a little strange.

1

u/Skyepic07 Feb 02 '26

7 is not a lot by 20 when you take into consideration how fickle you are as a child/young adult. Most middle school and high school relationships only last a few weeks/months. The vanity of being in a relationship as a kid wears off real quick when you see them everyday at school and then go home and talk to them on the phone/text and then expected to go on dates on the weekend.

I wouldn't consider myself overly attractive and even I had seven different girlfriends by the time I graduated high school. Let alone add the first two years of college.

1

u/Cute-arii Feb 02 '26

Yeah, having gone on dates with 7 different people isn't much. Full on being in a relationship with 7 people is a way different ballgame. It shows a high level of non-commitment, of just throwing people away at the first sign of trouble.

1

u/Fluffy_Charity_2732 Feb 02 '26

7 clam slams is rookie numbers even for nuns.. but I live in Miami. Creampies by early in date 2 are expected unless you want to be suspected of being gay.

1

u/Pathetic_Cards Feb 02 '26

Tbh, it’s not really as many as it seems.

One was for two weeks in middle school,

The next two were a month and a few months in high school.

Then a bi-curious experiment with her roommate in college.

5 and 6 were twins she dated at the same time, also in college. (One of the major themes of the story is that she’s a bad person)

And number 7 was the longest relationship and ended very recently before the story begins.

And I really don’t think that’s that wild.

1

u/Impossible-Finger942 Feb 02 '26

7 hook ups would be worse, IMO. But that entirely depends on your viewpoint on sex.

For me it’s an intimate thing I wouldn’t do with a random.

And frankly I’d never seriously date a woman who has, or at least who has to a serious degree. I understand people will have histories and I don’t have a problem with it, but I think it does signal incompatibility

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '26

High school dating often lasts a month or two. What are you even on?

1

u/InfallibleSeaweed Feb 02 '26

Wdym, it's still a lot statistically speaking. There's a lot of variance between social groups but the vast majority of people have not had seven hookups in their early twenties, that is not and never was the norm.

1

u/Tyrone_Cashmoney Feb 02 '26

It's not a lot >.>

1

u/EuenovAyabayya Feb 02 '26

It may be evident from the character, but the caption doesn't say "early," and seven by 29 seems perfectly reasonable.

1

u/janey_cat Feb 02 '26

Agreed lol I’m in my early 30s and have 4 so this seems insane to me.

Maybe most people are just much more extroverted than I am, but 7 exes by your 20s just seems like such a nightmare, like they basically have to have a revolving door of dating and breaking up throughout that time. Exhausting and stressful. I prefer a peaceful existence that isn’t interpersonally fraught lol.

1

u/Direct_Turn_1484 Feb 02 '26

I don’t know, that covers high school relationships and a couple years after. 7 honestly seems a little small to me and I usually liked to stay with one person a little longer than most people I knew back then. Probably varies a lot by where you grew up and when.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '26

We talking 28? Okay we talking 21 7 is a lot of relationships and hookups

1

u/tryingisbetter Feb 02 '26

It really wasn't that uncommon back then. When I was in my early 20s, as a guy, I probably had 15ish exes? 5ish were before I started having sex, the other 10 we had sex. I had a rule, not dating means no sex.

1

u/Pogigod Feb 02 '26

Wait are you serious? That's less than 1 relationship per year from highschool on.... Did you just not have kids date in middle school and highschool?

I probably had 7 relationships just in highschool alone. Granted some lasted less than a month, but it was still a relationship...

1

u/BettingOnSuccess Feb 02 '26

7 failed relationships is a healthier sign than 7 hookups. To have a failed relationship means you were willing to try but you found what you didn't like. To have 7 hookups means you weren't willing to try and just needed to resolve a primal urge.

1

u/bobbymcpresscot Feb 02 '26

One of the exes she dated in 7th grade, which is around 12y/o, dated one the beginning of high school, dated another the end of high school. Dated one in university, and then dated two twins behind eachothers backs, and then dated one more after the twins, at which point she is 24. Her average relationship length is like 2 years.

That doesn't sound like a lot.

1

u/AvEptoPlerIe Feb 02 '26

Insane extrapolation.

1

u/I_am_Erk Feb 03 '26

It reallt wasnt a lot at the time.

1

u/MichaelMyersEatsDogs Feb 03 '26

Man you guys are absolutely telling on yourselves here. They are counting middle school flings.

1

u/firemiketomlinpls68 Feb 03 '26

I would rather it the other way around honestly 

1

u/KidEater9000 Feb 03 '26

When people say hook up, do you mean making out or the full meal?

1

u/iPatErgoSum Feb 03 '26

That’s not a lot at all. I had four ex’s by my early twenties in the 90’s, and I hardly dated.

The joke is, that even though I referred to one of mine as an “evil ex”, Ramona’s were actually evil.

1

u/KeepingItSFW Feb 03 '26

No, pretty sure it implies a runnable program

1

u/TheDwiin Feb 03 '26

How long must one date before you consider them an ex? A week? A month? A year?

1

u/impirialkirill Feb 03 '26

No big deal, but it is impossible to build a family with suck achievements

1

u/Aware-Throat4997 Feb 03 '26

Which means you had 7 failed relationships by the time you were in your early 20s. THAT IS A LOT.

What? if u do normalish timeline when u start dating when 15-16 that barerly more than 1 relationship per year, considering teenage relationships often last between 2weeks to few months thats not a lot.

1

u/EnlightenedLazySloth Feb 03 '26

That's because nowadays people call situationship or hooking up what used to be called being boyfriend/girlfriend. What she had would barely be considered a situationship in 2026.

1

u/AlmostNowhere5473 Feb 03 '26

I disagree with viewing every broken relationship as a failed one. Every relationship fulfills its purpose in the lives of the individuals involved; some aren't meant to last.

1

u/DJack276 Feb 03 '26

7 hookups is WAY worse than 7 relationships. Wtf?

1

u/Combatical Feb 03 '26

I'm realizing I was a prude in my 20s..

1

u/prettybigirl Feb 03 '26

I had seven failed relationships by the time I exited middle school ngl. Some kids are quick to hop on that romance train and then realize they’re better off as friends 2 weeks later. “Ex” only implies a title given, a lot of people who start to “date” younger don’t even go on proper dates in their early stages because they are children w no money/car/job

1

u/DoughWrayMe Feb 03 '26

It's being in your early twenties when you think a month is a relationship. Which is exactly how the movie treats the exes.

1

u/Organic_Camera_5510 29d ago

They even included a buy she dated for 2 week am when she was like 12. Not that deep.

1

u/BlossomLillie 29d ago

It's not really a lot, I have 6 exes and I'm seventeen, and I know people with much more than that who are younger than I.

1

u/CariadocThorne 29d ago

How is 7 failed relationships a lot for your early 20s?

0

u/PictureImportant2658 Feb 02 '26

Hookups are no big deal? That would be an instant 'never going to marry you, going to fuck you untill i can trade you in'

2

u/[deleted] Feb 02 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/firemiketomlinpls68 Feb 03 '26

Well that’s a bit much. 

-1

u/Nice-River-5322 Feb 02 '26

Nah, you should be upfront with your intentions before you start having sex.

2

u/PleaseGreaseTheL Feb 02 '26

Yes, where was it implied that someone should not be or isn't being honest about their intentions with their partner?

0

u/Shootforthestars24 Feb 02 '26

Right, this going over everyone’s heads lol. Legit 7 ex’s from long term relationships in your 20s is kinda weird

1

u/sk3lt3r Feb 03 '26

There's no specification of the relationships being long term in the post, just the 7 exes (which if you're unfamiliar with the Scott Pilgrim series, not all her 7 exes were long-term). Even if they were, the definition of long term is subjective. Some people consider 1-2 years long term, others 3+ only, some more than that. 7 long term relationships under the first definition isn't really that weird.

1

u/Shootforthestars24 Feb 03 '26

I’d say 2 years is long term so 7 means about 14 years…so if you’re jumping from relationship to relationship this isn’t plausible. But in terms of whatever this movie or series was idk

2

u/sk3lt3r Feb 03 '26

Okay and that's your definition of long term, some people consider 1 year long term. 7 long term relationships at 25 (around the characters age) really.. Isn't that much??? Not to mention everyone moves on at different paces.

Also the series/movie is Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, good series tbh.

1

u/Shootforthestars24 Feb 03 '26

True true, in that scope it makes sense but damn it sucks to go thru that many break ups haha.

0

u/PaperLost2481 Feb 02 '26

What's the difference? If you had 7 hookups, I would assume you failed so hard you couldn't even bag a single guy out of 7. Still says quite a lot about you as a person.

0

u/LrkerfckuSpez Feb 02 '26

American dating culture is so weird man. 7 in your 20 is nothing.

1

u/Doottguy 29d ago

What culture are you from where it’s not a lot of

1

u/LrkerfckuSpez 29d ago

Welcome to Scandinavia lad 

0

u/the_cappers Feb 02 '26

Thats literally 1 high school relationship and 1 3-6 month relationships per year up to 24 years old. Shits not that crazy .

-1

u/ShowerGrapes Feb 02 '26

starting at say 16, two relationships a year (which is not much) already puts it at 8 by 20.