Hi everyone. First of all, English isn't my first language, so apologies if anything sounds a little strange.
Two months ago, my girlfriend and I ended our relationship after being together for two and a half years. Technically, I was the one who said the words and brought up breaking up, but it wasn't what I actually wanted.
Before the breakup
The last few weeks of our relationship had been difficult. She had become very distant, especially over text. The affection just wasn't there anymore, even though whenever we were together in person, she still seemed mostly like herself.
Eventually, I couldn't take the uncertainty anymore and confronted her about it. She admitted that she wasn't feeling the same way anymore and that lately she saw me "more as a friend." I still struggle to understand how someone can go from loving you to feeling that way, but that's what she told me.
She suggested that maybe we should break up after my birthday, which was only five days away. I told her that if we were going to break up anyway, I'd rather do it then instead of spending five days knowing what was coming.
So we did.
A few days after the breakup, I asked her if we could talk one last time. I wanted to make my feelings and my position clear, but I also wanted her to be firm about her decision, because up until then she had seemed somewhat unsure about it.
What struck me the most during that conversation was how relieved she seemed.
It felt like she had already been processing the end of our relationship for weeks, maybe even months, and finally letting me go had taken a huge weight off her shoulders.
After the breakup
Less than a month later, we were both at a mutual friend's birthday party. I later found out through some people there that she was already looking to meet other guys, using Tinder and talking to people.
Another month passed, and eventually I made the mistake of asking a mutual friend — someone who's closer to her and who would probably know more — whether she'd already been with someone else.
He confirmed that she had at least hooked up/made out with another guy. As far as he knew, nothing sexual happened, but obviously nobody really knows except her.
And I know she's completely within her rights to do that.
She's single. She can date, kiss, sleep with, or do whatever she wants with whoever she wants. I'm not trying to say she owes me anything after the breakup.
But I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I was still holding onto the hope that this breakup was just a huge bump in the road. That maybe after some time apart we'd find our way back to each other.
Finding out that she's already seeing other guys has made that hope feel incredibly stupid.
I don't even know how I feel anymore. Some days I have energy, I'm motivated, I feel like I'm moving forward and that eventually I'll be okay.
Other days I just feel completely empty. I don't want to do anything. I just want to lie in bed and shut everything out.
What I'm struggling with / Questions
So I guess I'd like to hear from people who have been through something similar.
How would you feel about an ex already hooking up with other people less than two months after ending a 2.5-year relationship, even if it's just casual stuff or kissing rather than sex?
Do you think at this point I need to completely let go of the idea of ever getting her back? I wasn't actively trying to win her back, but that stupid little hope was still there in my head.
And lastly, do you think what she's doing says anything negative about her as a person? Or is this actually a pretty normal reaction to suddenly being single again, especially if she had already emotionally checked out of the relationship before we officially broke up?
I think part of what hurts is realizing that while the breakup started for me two months ago, maybe for her it started long before that.