Of course, the danger is that if the love remains very strong, you may want to ignore the bigger issues that you broke up over to just fall back into love again, which you remember so fondly.
You’ll never be able to be “just friends” because there will be too much history there. You must take a break and give your strong daily bond some time to weaken. Hopefully, once you begin seeing other again in a different context, you can both explore a new, modified type of friendship where you can still enjoy time spent together.
It will take a certain kind of new man in your life who will be able to accept you having an ex still in your life.
For example, one of my husband’s exes was in our wedding, but it took some work on my part to be OK with the idea.
I remember the evening I accepted there was a special friendship between my husband and his ex. It was early on in our dating relationship; we were supposed to go out one night and my boyfriend asked if it was OK for him to cancel to go see his ex who needed help.
I knew she still held space in his heart but I also knew that he was in love with me now. Being honest, I said I did feel jealous, but I understood. We had a deep trust established already.
I knew this woman was special to him, that she was more than “just a friend,” but I knew it didn’t mean it was going to take anything away from our relationship. And it never did, and my life was made better by having her in it.
A harder type of relationship to maintain after a breakup is one where you still have a strong sexual attraction. But if your situations permit it, and you both feel that it can work, you may possibly be able to make a “friends with benefits” situation work. (It probably won’t, though.) Many young people have gone through a phase in their lives where those kinds of relationships work.
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