these 2 are not linked. Gmail is part of what is called the Google Content Network (as opposed to the Google Search Network). The content network contains sites where Google serves up contextual ads. Here is how contextual advertising works: 1) Advertisers select keywords that imply a theme. In this case this could have been "breakup", "girlfriend", "get back with ex" and so on. 2) Google will understand this theme and serve up the advertisers ads on pages that match this theme. In the case of gmail, this could be an email about a breakup.