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Best friend gone, now what?

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  • #184577
    Rick
    Participant

    Hi guys,

    This girl I met in class a year and a half ago broke up with me two weeks ago. We are both in our early 20s. It wasn’t like an official relationship, so to speak, but imo it was definitely more than just friends. Now she broke it off with me and I am so lost and depressed. I really want her back in my life.

    Maybe a bit background info: In the first year of our friendship, she was usually the one who initiated conversations (both in texts and in person) and she was mainly the one who asked me out to do stuff with her (she asked me out on her birthday without telling me that it was her birthday). Note: she was very quiet and quite introverted and had few friends (also not bothering to meet new people) so she really “went out of her way” to do all that. I didn’t have feelings for her back then and was acting cool but I could tell that she liked me quite a bit (eg. she remembered everything I said, looked at me admiringly, initiated physical contact with me (cuddling), always found random stuff to tell me, etc).

    Then, back in June, I started to develop feelings for her. We were getting really close and saw each other quite often and we told each other stuff that we never told anyone else before. I really felt that spark between us and thought I found “the one.” In July, she had to go back to Asia for two months, and the week or two before she left, I started to hold hands with her, went on a few amazing dates, and on the day she flew, we kissed for like 5 minutes in my car. We continued to message/call/skype each other for about a month even though we were apart and everything was awesome on the surface.

    Then, in early August, she messaged me out of the blue that she couldn’t do this anymore and she saw me only as a very good friend. I agreed and we didn’t talk much during the rest of the month. Then she came back and it was my turn to leave for Asia for a month. We went back to texting each other almost every day (only during the last week we texted infrequently). When I came back, I gave her a surprise at her workplace (she was doing a co-op placement job for a year) and she looked so depressed and exhausted and she tried to avoid me and push me away. We later talked it through, exchanged a few letters, and we became good friends again, maybe even better. We hung out like four times a week and texted each other every day. But then we started to have small arguments here and there (eg. I made a joke that she didn’t like, we had disagreements on random topics, I didn’t remember things that she’d told me, etc), and I was always the one who apologized in the end.

    In December, she started to sound distant and cold. So I asked her if something was upsetting her and she denied it. She always said she was busy and started to make excuses not to see me. I didn’t stay cool (which I should’ve) and demanded her to tell me if something was up. She then told me she needed a break from me and I told her, Fine I would talk to you again in a week. We agreed to meet just before Christmas, and by then I realized I should’ve given her more space all along and stopped being so needy/clingy. We met and I apologized for my mistakes and asked for her forgiveness and she told me she couldn’t give me another chance because I made the same mistakes too many times and she wanted me to get my stuff back. I asked her what mistakes and she said you were the one who was supposed to find them out yourself. I knew I couldn’t convince her and agreed. A few days later I took my stuff back and I apologized for my mistakes once again and told her that I would work on myself and become a better person. I was crying and she was on the verge of tears.

    Pardon me for the long story. I have been really sad and lost for two weeks now. I know we both have to let go. But because it was my first time having such an intimate relationship, I now felt so empty without her. I have a gut feeling that we are not over yet and we will meet again. I am working on myself now and I really hope that she would have the chance to see the new version of me in a few months. What should I do now? Should I check in with her once in a month? Should I ask her out or should I let her come to me? I am not thinking about being romantic with her anymore. I really miss her as a best friend.

    Thanks, guys. Appreciate it if you could give me some advice.

    #184585
    Eliana
    Participant

    Hi Rick,

    I wouldn’t hold out too much hope for any kind of future with her as far as a relationship. In your post, it looks like time and time she has distanced herself. The last time she did, she put the blame on you, which I am sure she made plenty of mistakes herself. Yet, she made you look like you made all the mistakes and made you feel guilty, without really telling you the real reason what was going on and why she was distancing herself all the time. If you were to keep things going with her, she would continue the same behavior, such as being aloof, cold, exhausted, distancing, blaming, making you feel more and more confused.

    She sounds like she is emotionally high maintenance, not knowing what she wants, but assigning the blame on you, and not talking things out with you When something is bothering her. I know you really like her, but in the long run, I don’t see this working out in any kind of relationship. You would end up always feeling confused and frustrated and this is not what you want. Best to let your feelings settle, maybe no contact for awhile, and then one day, you can become friends again. Maybe others will post with different viewpoints, but it does not sound promising. Please feel free to post with your thoughts or comments. I don’t think she is ready for any kind of relationship. But that is just my opinion and feel you deserve better. Wishing you a very Happy New Year.

     

    • This reply was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by Eliana.
    #184595
    Rick
    Participant

    Hi Eliana,

    Thanks for taking the time and answering my post. She did say to me on multiple occasions (a long time ago) that she did not know what she wanted and that she was not ready for a relationship (neither of us had dated with anyone else before). She is very career-oriented and I have always tried my best to respect her decision and be there for her as a friend. She was really serious about our friendship, I think. I know I shouldn’t keep my hopes up, but I always have this nagging feeling that she will come back to me when everything on her side is settled–that our breakup was just temporary. I know that she has recently been under a tremendous amount of stress (probably from work), and the way she chose to handle it was to isolate herself and take the easy way out (i.e. pushing me out of her life), which I do not like. I really want to help her and it really hurts me to see her like that.

    When we broke up two weeks ago, she said that I disrespected her feelings and she didn’t care about what I told her anymore and it was too late for me to make up. I do take responsibility for my immaturity and insensitivity and for some of the stupid things that I’d said which might have hurt her feelings unintentionally. I know that our past “relationship” was messy and probably beyond repair so I knew it was the right decision to break it off, though it really hurt a lot. I do believe that time would heal most wounds. How long should I stay NC? When should I approach her again to see if she is ready to start a new friendship?

    Thanks again and happy new year. I also welcome other people’s comments. Thanks!

    #184601
    Eliana
    Participant

    Hi Rick,

    I would give it a couple of weeks, maybe see if she will contact you. If not, maybe text or e-mail something light and casual, keep it friendly..like a clean start. Nothing heavy..about the past..mistakes..etc. See what happens. There may still be hope at regaining the friendship. I hope others will post as well. Let us know your thoughts and if you hear from her.

    #184657
    Inky
    Participant

    Hi Rick,

    I would go No Initiating Contact for a year. Now, she may (probably) contact you before then, sometime this year. That’s fine. Answer her. Talk to her. But don’t you initiate contact yourself.

    Then, maybe by next year, she will see that she can’t jerk you around like that. Then you can be friends. But a relationship? Not anytime soon.

    Best,

    Inky

    #184673
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear Rick:

    What I would do, at this point, if I was you, would be to evaluate the mistakes part of this friendship/ relationship. You expressed taking responsibility for your mistakes in the relationship, suggesting you made mistakes that caused her to end the relationship (you also mentioned increased stress of her work to be part reason).

    But from reading your sharing, I don’t know if indeed you made significant mistakes or if the problem is that she is blaming you for what you are not guilty of. For example, you might say to her: you look so pretty today! What she may hear is: you looked unattractive yesterday!

    In this example, you meant to tell her something that will please her, but she heard something that displeased her. You didn’t make a mistake, she did. She didn’t interpret your statement correctly.

    If you would like, you can share examples here, factual, concrete examples: what you said-what she said, and I will give you my evaluation of those.

    anita

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