There are times when at the end of a relationship you consider continuing on as just friends. It happens more often than not but does it really work? Can you stay friends after a relationship has ended? I have searched online for the answer and it seems to be that almost everyone agrees that this is impossible. I am here to tell you it really is possible if you both want to remain friends and work at it.
I personally am friends with an ex and we are very close. He and I were engaged for a short period of time but things just did not work out. I truly was not ready to be married and he had just went through a long divorce. I was very possessive of my stuff that as I saw it I had worked for and I was not willing to share it with any one. To make a long story short, a three year long relationship ended with some major blow ups and not so friendly words.
We did not become friends right away. At first, we didn’t talk at all. He moved to another city over an hour away and never crossed my mind. Then things started falling apart for me. I had to talk to someone and I couldn’t think of anyone who would understand except for him. I called him and we talked for several hours. We both expressed the desire to be friends and we were both in committed relationships. We told each other we would always love one another but we could never be together again.
How we have made it work is like this. We talk to each other often. We share what is going on in our own lives and we have set boundaries about what can be said. For instance, we are not allowed to speak badly about whoever the other person is dating. We always pick each other up when we are down, and we never judge the other one for bad decisions that have been made. We also never bring up the past or try to hurt each other with the blame game.
We have been able to make this work because we gave ourselves time to heal after the breakup. We were not in contact with each other for a very long time. We allowed ourselves to move on with our lives and we sat clear boundaries when we decided to be friends.
In conclusion, it is possible to be friends after you have ended a relationship contrary to what is said all over the internet. It takes some work, forgiveness, and time but it really is possible. If you would like to remain friends with your ex, I suggest you take what was said above as an example. It may not work every time for every person but if you really want to make it work you and your ex will find a way. Good luck to those who are trying to stay friends and not create any enemies.
