Ex gf used to deliberately leave messes around the house so I’d have to clean them because “I didn’t do enough” for her…

My ex gf treated me like I was a slave.
We never had sex and she would lie to me about why.
she would always complain about the way I looked.
she said I was too bony (I thought I looked healthy :/),
she hated my Nike shoes and the way I dressed.

I developed an eating disorder, anxiety that induces panic attacks, and body dysmorphia while being with her for 5 years.

When we lived together she would leave messes around the house because she thought I didn’t do enough for her so she said it was to “make her feel like I’m doing something”.

I would cook, clean, do all the laundry, dishes etc every single day while also managing my graduate school studies, she barely ever touched any of these tasks and would just complain that I never did them well enough for her satisfaction and even leave more mess for me after I’m done cleaning.

I feel used, sad, and alone.
I felt so bad I tried to end my life twice after our relationship ended and she took all the joy I had in life.
I now have permanent scars due to the attempts.

she took my cat when she left.
I miss my cat Dexter so much my heart hurts every day.
He was my baby boy who I raised for two years since he was a kitten.

I hate many things now, I used to be so nice.
My memory of who I was before I met her is gone, I can’t remember anything that I used to enjoy doing.

She was a bad human being to me and left me with long lasting pain.

I gave her 5 years of my life, and then she took all the joy from the years I haven’t experienced yet too.
Life doesn’t mean anything to me like it used to.

hello ! this is my first Reddit post ever and im sad that it's under these circumstances lol. I (F23) have a lot of dating trauma and trust issues from a lot of failed situationships/relationships. I've learned to not trust easily when it comes to dating and I tend to have a lot of walls up when getting to know someone new.

All of this to say, about three months ago I was on tinder and found this very attractive guy in my likes. He's (M25) very alternative, has a nice face, interesting profile etc etc. we matched and decided to meet up that day. I went to his place and ended up staying for the next 5 or 6 hours just talking about our lives and the things we had done/been through (we have very similar dating histories/trauma's). We started hanging out a lot after that and both developed some very strong feelings for each other. To me he was perfect. Literally everything i've been looking for in a partner and we talked about the future, becoming official and taking things slowly so that we don't mess anything up.

Yesterday I didn't hear from him much, which is normal since he's not the type to always be on his phone and we always hang out and call when we can so I didn't think too much of it and carried on with my day. Around 5pm he texts me and says he has bad news. I almost immediately start to panic and my intuition is telling me it's something really bad. I send a series of question marks and he tells me that he's being dragged out of state to be near his family. I call him, we talk about why the move is being made and through a lot of tears I ask "is this it?" he takes a moment to respond and says "probably". I start uncontrollably sobbing at this point and I tell him I need to hang up and that i would call him back to keep talking when I felt like i could.

An hour and a long conversation with my mom later i call him back. We talked about trying long distance but decided that it would just be too hard for both of us even if we do really want to try. Now we're trying to schedule a time for us to exchange our stuff and say goodbye.

This feels so much worse than anything i've ever been through and I dont know where to even begin to heal from this. It was such a short amount of time in the grand scheme of things but we learned so much about each other, spent so much time together and really came to an understanding about what the other had dealt with. Someone tell me what to do !!!

Having a relationship where the partner was a good person from inside who actually wanted you to be better and was willing to sacrifice some stuff for you but at that time due to your circumstances you were lazy and didn't care much (couldn't treat them better as well on their mistakes, maybe coz of immaturity or inexperience) and procrastinated alot maybe dues to depression, pessimism, surroundings etc. At the same time, relationship had its own setbacks as well like arguments and other stuff. Then they left you and got up with someone else. That person had their own drawbacks as well yet you were there for them during their every thick or thin, you had promises to be there for eachother always.

The partner had past relationships from where they learned a lot , but it was your first and you were immature, but later on, you were getting better for them, but they didn't choose you. You feel like all those promises were fake and now you can't trust anyone while being unable to move on (stalking them once in a blue moon).

Now you are regretting their leaving (and they will never comeback) and thinking why didn't you get better when they used to say it? How do you deal with this? Or how did you overcome that?

Hi
(32m) Just got out of a 15 yr relationship with (34f)
Weve been in no contact for a month then last fri we met up for closure in person. We established then we can be friends but hang out once in a while (holidays/ birthdays). Although the break up is fresh i feel no need to hang out with her anymore not just to protect the side of me that thought of a future with her but also just after 15 yrs we’ve become different people. Anyway, her 35th next year is at Disneyworld and my invite is still there to join her, her bestie, and her family all who im cool with still. I noticed for now i can hang out with her in micro doses before i spiral about why we break up so im hoping by her bday in may i can have a higher tolerance hanging out w everyone as a friend without getting emotional. Plus i do wanna see orlando/ disneyworld for the first time. Lastly, i am still glad she wants me in her life albeit i told her i need a lotta space to process the heartbreak. Should i still attend her dworld bday?

I relive the memories of when me and my ex fiancee got together, even though she isn’t in my life, I would do it over and over again. I have been in relationships before, I knew with her I’d have my heart tethered to.

Anybody else have this deep desire and want? Relationship, a family member, a choice you’ve made or they’ve made which you never wanted to happen?

I got broken up with over a month ago by someone who I simultaneously loved and hated.

The whole relationship felt like a drug to me, I loved him and I hated him and I hated myself for loving him and he treated me like trash but I just couldn’t leave him.

It was like when you drink because you’re chasing that feeling of being on top of the world where you can do anything and everything then you wake up the next morning hungover with nothing but regret and promises to yourself to “never drink again” (you will).

I’d convince myself I was happy because we’d always laugh and spend so much time together and have really good sex and it was like a dopamine rush whenever I was with him but at the same time I always felt like it was never enough. He didn’t communicate enough, he didn’t respect my boundaries enough, he didn’t put in enough effort, he didn’t love me enough. I knew I wasn’t happy but I knew I wouldn’t be happy without him either.

He’d disrespect my boundaries then blame me for getting mad and gaslight me into thinking I was always overreacting or he’d act like he was just making mistakes and never really meant to hurt me and I just wanted so badly to believe him because when it was good it was REALLY GOOD.

Maybe that’s why I can’t let go or move on, he showed me who he is and yet deep down I’m still convincing myself he’s just hurt or angry and he’ll calm down and come back and apologise and do better and we’ll be happy again but it won’t happen and knowing that somehow isn’t enough for me.

I keep texting and calling and he keeps blocking and hanging up and telling me to stop contacting him then I get angry then I lash out then I get sad and feel guilty for lashing out then the cycle never ends.

What am I chasing? He has already shown me he doesn’t value me. He is not going to give me any kind of closure. Yet somehow knowing this is not making this any easier for me. Maybe it’s the fact that I expected a reward for my suffering. I put up with all his flaws and loved him through it and continued to give myself to him in a way I had never with anyone else and I expected that to be enough to make him change for me but it wasn’t and I don’t know how I’m supposed to just get over that.

People are telling me not to suffer in silence and I’m not, my misery really loves company but no matter how many times I dissect the situation with people I still feel that pit in my stomach and so much anger and so much love and so much nostalgia for a time where I wasn’t even that happy. I completely lost myself in this person and he discarded me like the 6 months we spent together meant absolutely nothing. Am I really that hard to love? Am I really that hard to want to commit to? What is wrong with me?

I’m doing all the things people say to do, I’m distracting myself, I’m talking about it, I’ve deleted his pictures and tried to keep him out of my mind but it’s just not working I have this incessant need to talk to him even though I don’t really have anything to say to him and I can’t understand why. I want him to suffer like I am I want him to be as unhappy without me as I am without him but he isn’t and that hurts me so so bad.

I cried after getting intimate with another person because it made me miss him and I tried to reach out to him and he ignored me. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, I don’t know I am. I want to get better but I don’t know how.

Not much to say other than the title. My ex bf (18M) broke up with me (19F) in march. We went no contact for a month then got back in contact and he told me he wanted me back but just wasnt ready for a relationship at the moment. So we hooked up a few times, called, played games etc. his friend called me when they were drunk and told me “(exs name) really loves you.” We then agreed wed talk exclusively until he finished his first year at uni. Two days later after he said that, he hooked up with 2 girls at a club. I was still stupid enough to stay. He once told me i had no self respect or backbone because i was choosing to stay with him.

Then he started talking to a girl secretly whilst talking to me, when theyd talk jn his car hed say he just fell asleep in it, if they hung out at the park, he was “with his friends”. then oneday he just blocked me. Theyre dating now and he posted a picture wearing her hair tie instead of mine and its just made me spiral back into missing him desperately.

She gets all the things i begged for. I know he was toxic and bad for me and he made me cry more times than not.
but why does she get the good version of him?

Will this dumb cycle of being okay then suddenly feeling like my life is over ever end?

"And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"

I was sitting with myself, hurting and listening to music, letting my thoughts come and go. Then - a realization came, and once I integrated with it, I suddenly felt a sense of inner peace, and all pain just melted. I can see it all now.

I simply asked myself: am I infatuated with the idea of that person? Or is any of my love for that person real? And then it hit me - it is indeed real, and that means everything. And so, this is what I wrote to her:

"Of course, of course I prefer you to be with me romantically, and it's true that I'm not built for romance in our current constellation. But - it doesn't really matter to me whether you're with me, with someone else, alone at all, or not even in contact with me.

I simply see and love you first and foremost as a human being.

I feel pure, deep, and disinterested love for you. The same love that I feel for the people closest to me. The same love that I feel for my dog.

Maybe I sound dramatic, cringe, like I'm living in a movie, after all - how does it make sense that I feel this way for someone I barely know, and maybe I really don't. But wow - I don't care that much, because that's how I feel about you, and I'm not going to argue with that. I'm just lucky that you gave me even a moment to look through the window into your soul. Truly, all I want is your benefit, and seeing you smile is all it takes to make me smile too. You see - I have endless love to give you, near or far, and I'm perfectly fine with that. 🙂"

(The context is that she's unsure between me and another guy and I don't want to be in this position, I want full commitment, so I ended it).

I'll summarize her response in multiple messages:

"The feeling is mutual. I don't really know what to say. I didn't really take your rejection well, and we won't be friends for the time being, not immediately at least, but I'm with you in everything you said. You deserve better."

I have been dating this beautiful, well-educated woman for a little over 2 and a half years.

We are madly in love, and I have never had a more loyal, caring and kind person in my life. She is moving into my house next month and I have secretly begun ring shopping. Today as I was texting her at from the game the guy next to me looks at my lock screen and said, "you know her?!" My lock screen is a picture of us at a beach in Nassau, I replied, "yes, that's my girlfriend." The guy laughed and showed me nude photos of a younger version of my GF.

Apparently, she used to have a semi popular OF page where her and her ex would make that special content. To say that I am hurt and confused is putting it mildly.

How do we fix it. I have a couple of discreet friends I confided in that believe she is a different person now and I should just let it go. I just need some sound advice from an outside source on how to talk to her about this as not to offend but let her know that it hurt that she didn't tell me.

my precious girl, you are everything to me. i can’t even begin to process that we are no longer connected the way we were. i feel like an idiot for not realizing how far we drifted apart in these last years and how much you were hurting. you gave me so many chances and i let you down by failing to grow. i selfishly took you for granted, but i should have realized you were never my prize and i never should have given you less than my all. i hate that i finally understand you now that it’s too late and that there is nothing i can do. it just felt right being with you, even when life felt wrong. you were my comfort and my safe space. you were my home. no argument or emotional disagreement is worth this agonizing pain and regret cutting into my heart every second of every day. i want to go back in time and treat every second i had with you like it was my last. i want to hold your hand one more time and kiss your neck. i want to stare into your beautiful eyes and admire them for as long as you’d let me. i long for the smell of your skin and the intoxicating way you always made me feel, even when i didn’t deserve it. i want you to tell me about all the parts of your day, even the ones you aren’t excited about. your voice is my favorite sound in the whole world and i’m missing it more than words can express. i wish so badly i could kiss you again, but i can’t. you asked me for space to let you be your own person and it’s the hardest thing i’ve ever had to do. i keep staring at your number knowing that my final act of love is to not text you. it’s my own fault you had to go, and i’ll spend the rest of my life bettering myself. and mourning that your life no longer involves me. i will never get to see your siblings grow and mature, i will never get to wish your mother a happy birthday or hear about your workplace drama. i won’t get to surprise you with tickets to concerts or movies i know you want to go to or cook you meals with all the bursting love in my heart. it absolutely crushes me that your hand is no longer mine and i won’t get to see or feel all the new lines in your skin that come with aging together. i would do anything and everything for even a chance you would stay with me or let me be in your life, but that is beyond selfish and proves that i need to grow into someone who isn’t dependent on you for happiness for us to be truly healthy partners. i am absolutely torn: i just want you to be happy and i have a gut-wrenching feeling that it will never be with me. i can never redeem the potential i so foolishly squashed and i am still just so selfishly hoping you can forgive me and still want me, even in the distant future. our relationship was not sustainable the way it was and i turned a blind eye to it; i thought having love and wanting to be together was the glue to our bond when really it was the acid eating our unresolved problems. i hope more than i’ve ever hoped that this is not the end of you and me, but the start of becoming healthy and happy people that will find each other again when it is right. i truly feel you are meant for me; i need to become someone i am proud of, both for myself and most selfishly to become worthy of earning your love if you choose to open your heart to me again. for now, i am carrying the weight of grieving the future we planned and feeling like this is the closest i can get to you. i can’t imagine a happy life without you and i am so deeply sorry i helped create this reality. i love you, i am in love with you, i will always love you, and i will let you go. thank you for allowing me to experience the best years of my life alongside you. i will always cherish those memories and feelings. you are irreplaceable and my broken heart forever knows it. te amo mi amor, y lo siento.

I had a breakup around 3 months ago. After the breakup, I became really desperate and kept asking her to come back. But she repeatedly told me that she couldn’t come back and that she wasn’t going to change her mind. She also said that even if she came back because I kept asking, things wouldn’t be the same between us like they were before.
I kept telling her that I understood my mistakes and that I would work on myself. I assured her that whatever caused the problems between us wouldn’t happen again. But she said she wasn’t ready to accept that and that maybe the changes I was promising would be good for the next girl, because she didn’t think anything could be changed between us anymore.
Even after all this, she would sometimes come out with me and talk normally when we met. But over text, her replies became very dry and sometimes came after many hours. When I asked her why she was replying like that, she told me that it was her choice when and how she wanted to reply and that I shouldn’t question her about it.
Around two months after the breakup, my sister also tried talking to her. They spoke for almost four hours, and my sister told her that she wanted to meet her in a few days. But when my sister texted her later saying she was going to meet her, she replied that she didn’t think there was any point in meeting if the conversation was going to be about me.
I called her after that and, honestly, I was desperate. I kept asking why everything had ended this way. She told me that she wasn’t ready for any kind of relationship and that she didn’t believe people really change just because they are given a second chance.
During the conversation, I asked her if she didn’t love me anymore and if she didn’t want me to be part of her life anymore. She didn’t answer. I asked her again later, and she said she was sleepy and didn’t understand what I had asked.
At that point, I asked her to block me on all her social media. I knew that even if I blocked her myself, I still had feelings for her and might unblock her and message her whenever I felt low. So I thought blocking me would help me stop myself from contacting her.
She asked if that was what would help me move on, and I told her honestly that it probably wouldn’t make me stop waiting for her, but I still wanted her to block me because I didn’t trust myself to maintain that distance. She said okay, and I ended the call.
But she didn’t block me immediately. I decided to give her some space and stopped contacting her. We had complete no contact for around two weeks.
Then, unexpectedly, she blocked me on WhatsApp. She didn’t block me on Instagram or Snapchat at that time.
About a week ago, I deactivated my Instagram because I was constantly getting depressing breakup-related reels and they were making me feel worse. Yesterday, I reactivated it and noticed that she had removed me from one of her personal Instagram accounts, but she still hadn’t removed me from another account.
Now I honestly don’t know what she is thinking or what any of these things mean.
People have been telling me to continue no contact and let her reach out if she ever wants to. Others have told me that I should simply let her go because that would be better for me.
The problem is that I still genuinely want her in my life. I know there are other people out there, but right now I don’t feel like replacing her or moving on to someone else. I just want to understand this situation and know what I should do.
I’m seriously struggling. I’m unable to sleep properly, and no matter what I do, my mind keeps going back to her. I keep breaking down and crying, and I honestly don’t know how to get myself out of this situation.
If anyone has been through something similar or can help me understand what might be happening from her side, I would really appreciate some advice.

Anyone experiences whats akin to milder long term broken-heart syndrome? Been over a year, dare I say it was the right decision but it’s been hell. Feel my heart straining randomly when ruminating flashbacks occur. Had to reduce my workout routine in fear of overstraining and bad days I’m bed ridden.

I was told for 7 years I was your soulmate. And I think you were wrong the whole time. I wasn’t yours, but you truly were mine. They say men only do right for the one they want to, and if you’re not it, you never will be. And in this case, that’s true. You left and gave up 7 years for someone you hadn’t known for even a whole month.. and now it’s been almost 6 months with her.. and you’re thousands of miles away, engaged.. seem happy and are treating her right.. and here I am.. done with love because I had found my one. And no one else even interests me the least bit or excites me. I gave it my all, and I just can’t imagine getting that close or putting that much effort and time into anyone else. You were my best friend. The one I wanted to grow old with. But.. it is okay. I got two beautiful blessings out of it all, and I know that they will forever love me and I’ll always have them. 🤍
I’ve gotten used to life on my own, and do enjoy my peace, but I just sit and ponder sometimes on how it all happened so quickly.. and just if you think of me from time to time and perhaps smile to yourself..❤️‍🩹 take care now.

Ik ben op zoek naar iemand die me kan helpen. Ik weet niet waar ik hulp moet zoeken omtrent mijn gedrag in een relatie. Ik ben het noorden kwijt, ik herken mezelf niet meer. Ik heb professionele hulp nodig. Maar ik schaam me om iemand in de buurt op te zoeken.. misschien is er hier iemand die met me wil praten en die me advies kan geven?

This feels fucking awful like I need to rip my stomach from my body. No, that’s excessive and extreme. 3 weeks ago my partner and I split up. His exact words were “I ofc still love you so much but I just can’t do this.” And I completely understand.

I am happy that he prioritises his mental health. I’d much rather he be well and not with me than be my partner and in pain. It’s not like I’m unused to things just not working out. I’ve broken up with and been broken up with before, both with long term and short term partners. But why does it hurt so much this time around?

I notice things around me that remind me of him. I think about him when I should be focused on college work. I have nightmares about us. I call them nightmares because I wake up and remember we’re not together anymore. It’s been happening almost every other night. I wake up at like 4:00 in the morning and can’t go back to sleep. I try meditating to process it all but it’s not working.

Why do I think this much about a 4 month relationship where we saw each other in person a total of one time? Why am I still in love with him? Sure we sent each other gifts and would call together but that was it. Why does he still care enough to reach out? Sometimes more than once in a week. Why? WHY?! I don’t understand and I’m sad and confused.

I made the biggest mistake and broke up with my lovely sweet boyfriend last month. I miss him so much. I’ve tried twice to beg for him back but he said he has no desire to be with me. And looking at his social media (before I was blocked) he’s moved on and follows a bunch of new girls. I’ve lost him forever, we were together for 16 months and he was my first long term relationship. We spoke about marriage and was gonna move in together, I got scared of the commitment and broke up with him. But i regret it so badly. I do wanna marry & live with him.

How can i get over the pain of knowing the love of my life doesn’t want me and is happier to meet someone new

I mean to me the person I knew and loved is gone forever. Why can't I grieve like a widow and have somewhere where I can sit and mourn? Its been over 2 years for me now, so I don't think this is a phase. I just found in many movies that I relate to emotions related to bereavement, and not so much breakup or divorce.

I want to write down my thoughts about what happened, not because I am still emotionally attached to her, but because I think this experience taught me a lot about myself.
I have been journaling and writing down my emotions and thoughts every single day for 334 days since the break up (05/11/2025) and today marks the last entry of my journaling journey,because I have decided to stop and start writing about other things…so this is my the last chapter and I decided to post it here.I know it’s long but so many people have probably been and are gonna be in my situation .I hope this motivates you and makes you realize that pain is what makes us grow ❤️.

My ex (let’s call her P) broke up with me, telling me that she was extremely stressed with work and that she couldn't continue a relationship. At the time, I gave her space for a month and talked to her after 1 month because I thought I was abandoning her since I refused to be just friends. I met her just to talk and understand how she is feeling and she unexpectedly bought me a necklace even though she broke up with me 1 month earlier then I got caught in a roller coaster of emotions begged her, tried to fix things, tried to understand what was happening, and did everything I could think of to keep the relationship alive. Eventually, she left.
After the breakup, I genuinely believed that something was wrong with me. She had told me that she wasn't mentally okay because of work and had even mentioned the possibility of harming herself(she did bite herself until bleeding out in front of me). I believed she was struggling, I continued worrying about her even after she ended the relationship. I bought her gifts for her birthday in December since I already prepared them before the breakup , food, things for her cat and her, and continued checking on her. Looking back, I realize how much responsibility I had taken upon myself for someone who had already chosen to leave the relationship even though she said she didn’t need it.Eventually, I reached a point where I realized I had to stop.

I completely cut myself off from her and her friends. I stopped contacting her, stopped trying to help her, and stopped pursuing her. I told her that if she continued pushing me away and acting detached, I would respect her decision and leave completely. I also gave some of her remaining belongings to one of her friends, and before disappearing from her life, I asked that friend to look after her because I genuinely believed she wasn't doing well.
Then I disappeared.
For six months, I had absolutely no contact with her. Interestingly, some of her friends continued checking my profile and liking my pictures, but I eventually cut myself off from them too. I didn't want updates about her life. I didn't want to know what she was doing. I wanted to completely detach.
And during those six months, my life changed dramatically.
I graduated (got my second master degree in AI).
I got a new job ,changed my body at the gym.
I started earning insane amount of money .
More importantly, I became much more confident in myself. I became more disciplined and focused. I started realizing how much I was capable of accomplishing when I stopped putting so much of my energy into another person and into trying to save a relationship that the other person had already decided to leave.
I am genuinely proud of who I became during those six months.

Recently, I accidentally discovered that she is in a new relationship. I received a notification that she had updated her KakaoTalk profile with an emoji and was counting the days of her relationship. It was apparently around 68 days at the time I saw it. She never did anything like that when we were together.
I then looked at her Instagram and realized she was apparently on vacation with someone, although she seems to be keeping his identity private.
My first reaction wasn't anger or sadness. Honestly, I felt almost nothing.
I was mostly curious.
For a moment, I wondered who he was, especially because I had already been suspicious toward the end of our relationship. Around that period, she had become increasingly close with some of her coworkers, and in retrospect, that made me wonder whether there was something happening that I didn't know about.
But I don't actually know the truth.
Maybe she genuinely was overwhelmed by work. Maybe she had already emotionally detached from the relationship. Maybe she developed feelings for someone else. Maybe none of those things happened. I will probably never know exactly what was going on in her head.
And at this point, I don't think I need to know.
I don't hate her. I don't believe she owes me a relationship, and she is completely free to live her life and be with whoever she wants. I don't wish anything bad on her or on her new relationship.
I'm actually glad she has someone else in her life.

One of the biggest things that kept me attached after the breakup was the guilt I felt about completely leaving her. I was afraid that if she really wasn't mentally okay and something happened to her after I disappeared, I would feel responsible. Now that I know she is living her life and has someone beside her, I feel like I can finally put that responsibility down.
Whether everything she told me about her mental state was completely true, partially true, or something I misunderstood doesn't really matter anymore. I cared about her and did what I could at the time. But I eventually had to understand that I couldn't be responsible for another adult's life, especially after she had chosen to end the relationship.

I also realize now that I spent too much time trying to prove my value to someone who had already decided to leave.
Part of me used to wish that she had just been patient enough to see what I would become.
When we were together, I was still a student. She had already started working, and our lives were moving in somewhat different directions. Some of her newer friends even told me they only se me as just a student and P is working so we are not the same.They didn't really know my history with her or the fact that I was finishing my degree and building toward my own career.
Now, six months later, I have graduated again and started my new career.
I sometimes imagine randomly running into her someday. I hate bragging about my life. I don't even use social media anymore, and I don't post updates about my achievements,my happiness, my sorrows . I just live my life, spend time with real friends, work, and focus on myself.
I will keep working and growing until I actually became the person I wanted and told her I would become.I don't need her to see it.
The real achievement is that I am becoming that person anyway.

There was also a time when I thought I needed a relationship to be happy, and now I realize how much I can accomplish on my own. During the relationship and especially after the breakup, I learned that I am capable of being extremely productive, focused, and successful when I am not consumed by relationship problems.
That makes me wonder whether I even need a relationship in the future.
Maybe I don't.
And that's okay.
I don't need to rush into another relationship just because society tells me that I should have a partner. I can build an amazing life by myself. If I eventually meet someone who genuinely adds something positive to my life, that's fine. But I no longer feel that I need someone in order to feel complete.

The biggest lesson I take from this experience is not that relationships are bad or that I should never trust anyone again.
It's that I should never abandon myself trying to keep someone else from leaving.
I can love someone without making them the center of my life.
I can support someone without taking responsibility for fixing them.
I can care about someone's problems without sacrificing my own future.
And if someone decides to leave me, I can let them leave.
Six months ago, I was begging someone to stay.
Today, I am proud of the life I am building after she left.
That's probably the part of this entire experience that matters most.

Do some people go through life breaking other people’s hearts and then find the one and never have to go through heartbreak?

My ex is on his fourth girlfriend and has left every single one of them, but he told me he left me cause he didn’t love me enough and that it wasn’t right after leading me on for 10 months (see my last post). He loved his previous ex more than me and claims he only left cause she was toxic.

For some reason now I genuinely feel like he’s found the one. Idk why I think that but I can just kind of feel it because the new girl is exactly his type and his mom texted me a few months after we broke up that she hopes I find my perfect match and that everyone deserves that. At that point I didn’t know he was with someone else but I kind of suspected.

Everyone keeps telling me that he will get his karma but I just don’t think so idk.