Relationship breakups dont always mean that the person youre breaking up with needs to be cut completely out of your life. Many people continue to have warm and satisfying friendships with their exes by making sure that their relationship breakups are done without hurting anyone more than necessary.
There are situations where you know that you dont really want that person to continue to be in your life. Maybe things that happened during the relationship are just too painful. You feel like you cant forgive him or her for what they did.
You might be surprised later on once the initial hurt has passed at how differently you feel. While the chances that you would want to get back together with that person are slim, you might discover you really miss having him or her in your life.
This is never more true than when your ex was your friend first. When you had a great friendship and that lead to a romantic relationship, relationship breakups dont just end the romance, but now youve lost that great friendship, too.
It doesnt have to be that way, though, if the other person wants to keep you in his or her life, too. The only way to find this out is to have a conversation about it. You might be in for a pleasant surprise to discover that your ex still wants to be friends, too.
If you talk to your boyfriend, though, and he has an attitude or is angry and doesnt want to continue a friendship, then accept it but dont burn any bridges. Dont go out with an attitude or become insulting.
Theres always the chance that he cant see past the hurt and anger hes feeling, and could change his mind later. But if you throw a few parting shots to make the pain and hurt even worse, you might be sabotaging your chances of having this person as a friend later.
Relationship breakups are never easy, and its not necessarily easy to stay friends afterwards. This is true even if you were best friends before you began the romantic relationship. When youre in a romance with someone, that person knows intimate details about you and your life.
And after a breakup, some people might see those tidbits of information as weapons. Its very easy to insult someone in a way that you know will really hurt them when youre hurting, too. The desire to lash out or to protect yourself by striking the first verbal blow is a natural emotional response.
No one knows the little details that can wound you quite as deeply as someone youve been in a relationship with. If your ex uses these little things to hurt you, try to keep it in perspective. Yes, its painful, but hes coming from a place of anger, too.
Dont fight back like that. Take the high road, and be respectful. Even if your relationship breakups dont end in you remaining friends, youll feel better for not making the situation even worse.