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Why must an ex make things so complicated?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
My ex-girlfriend broke up with me at the beginning of February. We lived together, sharing with 2 other housemates. She moved my stuff into the tiny box room whilst she kept 'our' room for herself.

We went through a period of talking a lot about our feelings, and she kept repeating 'I just keep thinking it through and coming to the conclusion that I definitely made the right decision'.

After about 2 weeks of her still being in the house, she told me she still had feelings for me and that she'd like to try again, see how things went. She then went back home (about 2 hours away) for a week - or so she thought.

She ended up finding a job up there, and decided to move her life back home. So at the end of February she came back to our house, went out for dinner with me and talked about how I need to move on and find someone else, because she was trying to as well. She told me that when she said she'd like to try again she was ill, and therefore she was 'feeling vulnerable' and she didn't mean it. The next day she moved most of her stuff out of the house, leaving just a few things, and gave me the key to 'our' room, saying she didn't need a big room if she'd only be visiting a few times, and that I 'deserved' the big room.

In mid-March I wrote her a letter, apologising for the things that had gone wrong in our relationship, but pointing out how things have changed by virtue of her moving out and going back home, so if we tried again it would be a different kind of relationship because the circumstances would be completely different. She said she'd think about it, and about a week later she said that she'd go on a date with me, after my exams, but until then 'I'm single so you mustn't expect me not to act like it'.

About a week later she was treating me weirdly, being really arrogant and talking to me like I was dirt, and I told her so. She told me that she doesn't feel anything for me anymore, that I'm firmly in the friends category, that it sounded to her like I hadn't accepted that we'd broken up and thought we were on some massive break, but that I had to accept that we were finished - and that she'd only agreed to go on a date with me because she was 'curious'.

Anyway, about a week later, she decided she'd come down to visit at the end of April for the bank holiday weekend - and told me she was really looking forward to seeing me, that she'd been thinking about me. I asked her what she meant and she told me that she misses me, but she thinks she's still angry at the way she treated me, and she doesn't know if she still has feelings for me but she wants to see how she feels when she sees me in person.

I don't actually know if she's just messing me around, or if she's serious - and what to do in either circumstance!

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Unfortunately all you can do is to take things one step at a time. She is coming to see you hopefully, so that will be an opportunity for her to reassess her feelings. I would try to keep your expectations to a minimum, although that will obviously be hard.

    I don't know either of you, I don't know your relationship, but my gut feeling would be that this won't resolve itself in the short term. She seemed pretty clear about her feelings having changed and she took a decent period of time to question herself over that. Since being back home she is bound to have had some residual feelings come back, and she will question once again whether she has done the right thing. She will miss you, that's natural. That doesn't mean that she will come back to you. She might, but the likelihood is that the reasons for her walking away in the first place are still very much there. Unless her being homesick had anything to do with anything of course.

    I would suggest you try to think of this as being over and work on accepting the realities of that. That will not stop you from changing tack if she demonstrates serious commitment towards being back together. However, it just might help you to move out of the limbo that you are currently in.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When she broke up with me, it did have a sense of finality, which was changed when she said that she wanted to maybe try again. So when she went back home and suddenly changed her mind about that, I consulted some friends and came to the conclusion that she was rationalising her feelings for me away in favour of focussing on her new job, her new life back home with her parents, and worrying about her family (her brother and her father are both quite ill).

    When I wrote the letter, I had no expectations, and when she said she'd like to go on a date, I was elated - so to have her come back and tell me that actually, she didn't mean it like that, was extremely hurtful. So from that I actually felt like I was beginning to move on - the frustration of her telling me that she's been thinking about me and wondering about how she feels at me is a huge wedge in the process of me successfully moving on.

    She's not coming to see me per se - she's coming because she wanted to come down to visit me and everyone else in the house, and she had some free time. I suggested this particular weekend because there's a beer festival on locally, which she particularly enjoyed last year, and it'll give the weekend a focus other than seeing me and 'having a serious talk', which is what she says she wants to do as well.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thanks for the update, and given what you've said I would suggest that you wait until her visit and see what transpires. I would suggest that it's clear that you need to get a definitive answer one way or another because you want to being moving rather than standing still. If I were in your shoes I would look at her visit as being the last chance for saving things in the short term. Have your discussions with her and ask for her feedback. If she needs to take a week or two to formulate her thoughts then let her do so, but explain to her in a tactful way that it needs to be a finite period of time because if this can't be worked out then you need to accept that and let it go. If it IS to be over then the sooner you deal with that the better. I'm sure she will understand your need for that level of clarity.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Don't be at her whim like this. Break it completely up with her, even the friendship. You don't need such a taskmaster as a friend.
    stu147 wrote: »
    Unfortunately all you can do is to take things one step at a time.

    No, you can take one big step up to the end of it all right now, and tell her you don't want her to come visit you, because you are through. She now knows she can turn you on and off at will, and she will keep doing this and you shouldn't be a part of this.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I've told her that I can't be messed around, and she said she would understand if I said no more; however I said that it has to be sorted when she comes down, one way or another. I can't do this any longer.

    What I do resent is the implication in what she says that she's going to decide whether she wants to take me back - I think the reality should be we decide whether or not to get back together, and she certainly had a lot of flaws that contributed to our demise.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    From my experiences in a similar situation my advice would be that you need to break it off completely and make it known that she can't keep changing her mind on you like this. It's nothing but torture to you and not the least bit healthy. It can be extremely difficult when it's someone that you care about a lot because you want to do anything possible to get them back or be with them which puts you in an extremely vulnerable position of being more willing go back and forth with the other person and their feelings but to be honest it's not fair to you. It can be tough..I've been there. To say the least it comes back to the saying "shit, or get off the pot.". If you keep letting her go back and forth it's just going to be more painful for you in the long run and make it difficult for you to move on. You need to get out and start socializing, meeting new people, sparking up old friendships, anything that you need to do to move on. If she's constantly going back and forth then I'm sorry to say it but her feelings aren't there and her heart isn't in the right place. Best of luck to you my friend.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yeah it sounds like she wants to string you along in case she doesn't find anything better. She's treating you with contempt and deserves to be cut out of your life.

    Good luck.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I accused her of using me as a fall-back position in case she couldn't find a better guy - she went all defensive on me.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    mykeee wrote: »
    I accused her of using me as a fall-back position in case she couldn't find a better guy - she went all defensive on me.

    Well, apparently you understand the implications of this situation, now you should act it too. Because not even if she comes back and decides to give it another try, you should bow to her decision, because you are an old story as soon someone else comes around. Doesn't have to be hot or rich, just someone "new". Don't be a tool, broski.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Direct quote from when I texted her saying that I wasn't happy about feeling like a fall-back guy:

    'All I can tell you, in absolute truth and honesty is that I'm going out on nights out and no one is good enough, I'm not interested'
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Great, so apparently she is over you enough to go out for the pull but would like to have you as a space holder. Guess your intention of what you will be doing is clear, but don't fool yourself. I mean she practically says you are the next best (or rather ok-ish) thing.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I suppose what bugs me the most is that literally three days before she broke up with me, we were at a wedding show together. A wedding show that she wanted to go to, and we'd make a special trip to go to, at the venue we'd already booked.

    How does a girl go from 60 to zero in no seconds flat?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    She doesn't know what she wants, but I reckon that when she works it out it probably won't be you.

    If she sincerely comes back to you, work on a strategy then. For now, she doesn't seem to be worth the energy.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    mykeee wrote: »
    I suppose what bugs me the most is that literally three days before she broke up with me, we were at a wedding show together. A wedding show that she wanted to go to, and we'd make a special trip to go to, at the venue we'd already booked.

    How does a girl go from 60 to zero in no seconds flat?

    If you just keep on giving and giving and let her get away with anything she will learn to have the best of two worlds. Be single when she wants to and have you back by the snap of her fingers. Being a doormat is never a good idea in any kind of interhuman relationship. You will mostly get taken advantage of. And if you don't set her a sign that you are not up to her bullshit, she will keep it up, why wouldn't she?

    Do you honestly think she takes you back because she loves you? I mean she openly ADMITS she is going back to you because she can't find someone else right this moment. Are you that desperate to have such a person back in your life? Isn't it blatantly obvious you are just a inbetween solution?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Apparently the justification for what she said about 'I'm going out on nights out and no one is good enough, I'm not interested' was that what she MEANT was 'I go out and my friends try and push guys at me but nobody holds my interest because I'm busy thinking about you'...

    Thoughts?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I am a nigerian prince who can't access his fortune of 5.000.000 $. I need your bank details so I can transfer it to your account. You can keep 50% of it.

    Thoughts?

    Well, it doesn't matter. I am a firm believer that every person has to make it's own mistakes in life. Everyone has to touch the hot iron once in their life before believing their mum not to touch it. So do whatever you think is right and chalk it up as experience afterwards.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Shes playing you, fuck her off and move onto someone who treats you better.
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