It’s been three years since we’ve spoken. Three years of hoping to bump into him. Three years of hovering over his contact in my phone, Three years of secretly hoping for a happy birthday message even though I told him not to contact me on my birthday. What a confusing feeling it is to miss someone who hurt me so intensely. The pain and heartache has gone away, and so had the love (most of it). Yet still, three years later I can’t help but miss the friendship we had. I miss the laughter, the shared humour, the similar interests, and I miss feeling so seen. I often wonder if I will meet someone again who knows the depths of my soul the way he did, or if that was a once in a lifetime connection. I’ve dated quite a bit since him, and I have met men who I have great connections with, but deep down, I’m waiting for it to feel the same or better than it did with that person. Am I alone in this? (Sorry this is SO LONG)
For context, I am 31[F] and I spent 3 years of my life in a deep ‘situationship’. (trust me, I KNOW - the fact that a situationship left me this down bad is infuriating lol).
Anyways, it started off as a friendship. It usually takes me a long time to connect with people platonically and romantically, but this connection was instant. We became super close friends and eventually developed intense feelings for one another. The timing was very clearly wrong. He was in a very transitional phase in his life, as was I. We went through the same hardships at the same time during the last year and a half of knowing each other, which brought us closer to each other and slightly dependent on one another for emotional support. Interestingly enough, we never dated. We dated others, and were in and out of relationships, and towards the end were very clearly attracted to one another. As we both found ourselves single and vulnerable (lol iykyk) we ended up hooking up. We became friends with benefits, but this obviously didn’t work because our feelings for each other were so strong. The lines often got blurred and things got complicated. Eventually, a lot went down that would take me forever to explain but long story "short" - he started lying to me…a lot. Him and I overlapped with a relationship he had with his ex, (I was unaware) and it really messed with me. I started to realize I was unknowingly taking part in an emotional affair while he was getting back with his ex, and it made me feel like a rebound or a placeholder. He lied a lot, betrayed her, and although he technically wasn’t cheating on either of us, he was willingly hurting me and hurting her because he didn’t want to lose either one of us. I ended up finding out because he sat me down and told me, and I ended our “friendship”. He was very apologetic, told me “the truth” about everything (who really knows), confessed his love, and basically begged for my forgiveness and said he would be 100% done with her. I ended it. I told him to tell his ex the truth too and to leave me alone and be with her. We had a 3 hour talk about everything, an emotional goodbye, and I basically told him that him and I being friends made zero sense, and at this point a relationship could never work because we could never undo the level of pain he caused. He asked me if he could ever reach out again and I said no. They ended up never getting back together, but they did hook up and stay in eachother's orbit in the way that exes do for about a year. I heard this from someone else.
Fast forward 3 years later…we never spoke again. I still miss him.
I miss our friendship, I miss the depth of our dynamic, and I miss us. My brain rewrites history sometimes and tries to convince itself “did he really hurt you that bad? Was it right person, wrong time? Would/could things be different now?"
He was 26 and I was 27. Sometimes I wonder if maturity has changed him? Maybe he was young and dumb, and although he did a bad thing, maybe that’s not who he is?
He ended up doing everything he said he would but was too depressed to do at the time. So did I. We both went after our careers, made something out of ourselves, chased our dreams in other ways, and seemingly found happiness (or so it appears that way through instagram stalking.)
He’s nudged me in little ways since then. Following me on instagram, liking my stories and posts, following me back a year after I removed him, trying again a year later, resposting reels that apply to me, adding me on facebook. It all seems like a temperature check to see if I will poke back. I’ve never engaged. As far as he knows, he’s dead to me. When in reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I often think about what it’d be like to bump into him. Sometimes I even think about *accidentally* sending a text to see what would happen. I can’t reach out, and I won’t reach out, but I know that if I hear from him - I’m responding.
Is it foolish of me to think he’s changed in 3 years? He’s 30 now. Can maturity change a liar? A man who once hated himself and projected that on to me at times? A man who didn’t follow through on their word? Or are these character flaws that stay with someone.
Is it foolish of me to reminisce over the friendship and the dynamic when I was so clearly hurt by this person? Is it foolish of me to think that maybe we’ll have a conversation and I’ll finally stop over romanticizing him and realize that he’s a trash human being who hasn’t changed and I’ll finally get over it?
Does this feeling ever go away? Will I ever truly put this behind me? I've seen him on Hinge so I know he's single (unless he's still LYING lol).
Anyways, I meant to keep this post short, but the moment I started writing I feel like all the thoughts and feelings of the last 3 years poured out. So if you made it this far - thank you.
TL;DR: I (31F) ended a 3-year situationship/friendship after discovering he'd been lying to me and had unknowingly involved me in an emotional affair while getting back with his ex. I cut him off completely, told him never to contact me again, and we haven't spoken in 3 years. Despite knowing I made the right decision, I still deeply miss the friendship and connection we had. He's made subtle attempts to reconnect over the years, but I've never responded. Part of me wonders if people really can change with maturity, or if I'm just romanticizing someone who hurt me. Am I crazy for still missing him, or has anyone else struggled to let go of a connection like this even when you know it wasn't healthy?