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Confronting the "Rebound" Relationship

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  • #72001
    Sayoko
    Participant

    I think that I may be in a rebound relationship, which I am totally okay with. Before getting together that night we were just ex coworkers that occasionally hung out with a group of people. We got together spontaneously at after drinking to much at a friend’s birthday, but have continued to see each other about 2 to 3 times a week for about a month now. e. I feel like our lives have been fairly integrated within this short amount of time: I’ve met most of his friends, he cooks dinner for me, meets me at school, hangs out with me when I study. He and I were both somewhat recently in long term relationship. I’ve been out of mine for about 4 months and contemplated my decision carefully so at this point I feel for the most part recovered. However, he had only broke up with his girlfriend a month before we hooked up that night. My past relationship lasted about 2 years, and I’m pretty sure that he was his old partner for even longer than that. I should mention that I always kind of had a side crush on him, and he had one on me too. (we discussed this.)

    I would really like to ask him if he has had to the time recover: Has he had time to find who he is outside of a relationship? I feel like this is super important thing to consider after getting out of a long term relationship. I don’t want to seem nosy, but I am curious because I care about him and want him to know that I am here to listen if he ever wants to talk about it. I also want to know myself about what the emotional stability level of the person I am with is. I hate to bring up the “Hey, let’s talk”, but I think it would also strengthen our connection.

    I’m not really sure how to bring it up, or know if I really should because maybe he needs his own space to think about it. I’m concerned that I am may be a distraction keeping him from confronting his own emotions.

    THOUGH INPUT PLEAAAASE.
    (Thanks for reading and taking the time to respond.)

    #72002
    Robert Singh
    Participant

    Hi Sayoko! Thanks for sharing . Being the somewhat emotionally under-developed person that I am , I may not be the best source on this but I wanted to respond anyway. I was just in this situation , I found myself comparing my (now ex) current partner with my ex and all that unhealthy stuff but felt that there was no way to communicate this or channel that.

    On one hand I would have been very grateful to be able to have an honest discussion about this , I believe this would have helped. On the other I feel this would have been impossible. Maybe its just the people Ive dated but there always seemed to be a not so subtle imperative to talk about ex’s in black and white terms (usually black) without much room , even with an open-minded person to talk about the real , living impact which a previous relationship had , especially since I carry mostly positive memories of my past girlfriends. It sometimes seemed like a zero sum game (again, the amount of “pain” which talking about positive attributes of an ex seems to be inversely proportional to their self-esteem and security in the relationship) where praising anything about my ex was similar to putting my (then)current gf down.

    So its a minefield for sure and the reaction really depends on the person and possibly, how long you have been dating. Since it has only been a month you may not have built a sturdy enough foundation for an “advanced” nuanced discussion like this , then again it may be a great way to build that foundation (after all , issues which are not addressed can have the same impact on day 2 or year 2 ) if handled very carefully.

    Personally I believe that people can help each other without being “codependent” (I feel that word is chronically overused and that any human relationship is “codependent in some sense, unless our goal is to become islands, but Im not a mental health professional) and that we do not have to be on our own to process emotions or traumas in a healthy way So maybe you and your partner are both just processing the many emotions which must surround the recent dissolution of these long-term relationships together. Perhaps you are helping each other do just and with time, introspection and good communication you will both process all these emotions in a healthy way “rebound” or not.

    But I do not think forcing the issue is a good idea at this point . If you choose to address these issues , I think it should be done in a very careful way (self-referencing rather than coming off as accusatory ) but that is because I believe grace has a place , even , in the most intimate relationships.

    However you should take my advice with a grain of salt as I am now a veteran of two failed, long-term relationships. I know I probably didn’t address your concerns directly (I hesitate to be more direct or give any solid advice because I suspect that I have no idea what Im talking about) but I hope there is something you can take from this.

    Mostly I hope it works out for both of you 🙂

    #72011
    L
    Participant

    Hi Sayoko,

    As it’s only been a month, I think I agree with Robert Singh (in the previous post) and would say wait a little while longer. But I’d also advise you to keep a level head and not get super emotionally attached to this guy just yet. And that if/when you do decide to have this conversation, pay attention to how you go about it, and make sure it is open and kind, and not accusatory. Based on what you said, it sounds like you’re not the kind of person to do that anyway, or at least that you care enough about him to not go into it like that.

    A few years ago, I started getting together with a guy who I had had a thing for in the back of my mind since I met him. There was definitely a connection for both of us when we first met (this was freshman year of college), but it so happened he ended up dating this other girl for awhile. Fast forward to when they broke up, and we started seeing each other. After about a month or so, he tells me that he thinks he was actually just using me to “fill in the void” he felt after his last girlfriend broke up with him. Which apparently, at the time, wasn’t that long ago. Basically, I was a rebound. Nothing conclusive was said after that, and things kind of just fizzled out afterwards… meaning he basically decided to simply not talk to me anymore. Although we never entered into an “official” relationship, I definitely liked him and was very hurt. I’m telling this story just as an example of what can happen if you get too attached too quickly to someone who isn’t over someone else, or who hasn’t had efficient time to heal. Though of course, everyone’s different.

    Fast forward to the end of college (last year), and I sort of took the reverse position. I dated my first serious boyfriend for over 2 years (similar to your situation), and we ended up breaking up last year for a number of reasons. Nevertheless, I was completely heartbroken and hurt, and it was made worse later on at the end of the summer, but that’s a different story. Anyway, that summer after graduation, I started seeing this guy at home. Wanting to avoid getting swept up in a “rebound relationship” and hurting both myself and him, I made sure to take things very slowly. And he didn’t push me either. I think if he had tried to ask me too many questions about my last relationship at that point, it may not have been good for us. I wasn’t ready. We both knew, however, that at the end of the summer he would go back to school and I was moving away to work abroad for a year. There was no point in either of us starting anything serious anyway. So that sort of gave us an out. However, although we’re apart now, we continue to talk, and I’ve had a lot more time to heal. I don’t know what will happen with us, if anything, when I go back home, but the point is I’m in a much better position in my life to start something a bit more serious if I want to. So I would advise giving your guy a little more time, too. Of course, there comes a point where you need to know his true feelings and what his intentions are, but as long as you’re ok with it, I would say ride it out for a little while longer, and look for signs from him on how he’s feeling. When the time comes, it will be important to talk about these things, but as long as YOU feel like he isn’t just using you and you’re ok with waiting a bit, I’d suggest that.

    Sorry for the long anecdotes, just thought they might help. Good luck!!

    #72042
    Sayoko
    Participant

    Robert and L.

    Thank you for both sharing your stories with me. Reading them put the situation and how he may or may not be feeling into a little more perspective. I agree that it is probably a little too soon, I’ll enjoy it for what it is now. (^_^)

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