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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

What's normal re: friends with an ex

40 replies

Phoebebuffaystwin · 25/09/2021 12:02

Hi. Please read this message, bearing in mind that I've never had a proper, loving, non abusive relationship :(
So I'm after opinions from those in fully functioning, healthy relationships as to what normal and 'okay'.

There's a man that around 7 years ago, I was kind of seeing - we tried to make a go of things but he was unfortunately a flake and it fizzled out, we then met up sporadically up until 2 years ago, which was always initiated by me, I suppose he was basically a bit of an emotional crutch as I was going through a bad time.

I cut contact for a while and he met someone, got engaged and is happy.

We spoke for the first time yesterday in over a year, he said that I had just disappeared, I explained that he started to ignore my messages so I stopped contacting him and I decided to ask about his treatment of me in the past, he told me that he had liked me lot back then, but was "in a bad place" and I "always had some other guy in the background". He also said "you last told me you loved x (the abusive, bad relationship guy), so I back off". I told him this just before he met his now fiancee and we haven't spoken since they have been together, until now.

Anyway. I no longer have feelings for him, there aren't even any residual feelings of fancying him, he told me yesterday that he has always had a soft spot for me, whatever that means.
He is completely loved up, has no feelings for me as far as I know.

So, we arranged to meet up next week at his work.
Would this be okay? I don't know how I would feel if my fiance of a month met up with an ex, mot that we are really exes...it was more of a prolonged and deeply weird fling... would you expect him to tell her he's asked me to meet?

Going to his work seems strange, but he works at a place where people pop in on a regular basis and all his workmates have friends that pop in through the day.

From her point of view, though, she wouldn't see it as weird/wrong given our history? If he told her that is. Should he even tell her, as meeting up with female friends is fine presumably in a healthy relationships, does it work the same if said friend is a kind of ex?

Anyway. I don't want to put their relationship in any risk, he reckons he's got his head on straight now but sometimes men are a bit blind, aren't they, and women see things differently. She seems lovely from what he tells me of her, and apparently she's very easy going but I just wanted to see what you all thought?

The intention by the way is to be friends. I said I would rather be proper mates or never speak again, than all this sporadic chatting that we've been doing for the past 6 years and he agreed that he would like to be friends, too.

What do you all think?

OP posts:
Phoebebuffaystwin · 25/09/2021 12:04

Gosh, please excuse the typos and the fact it ended up being a bit of an essay!

I did try to brief it all down :(

OP posts:
premium77 · 25/09/2021 12:08

Personally I don’t think it’s right

AttilaTheMeerkat · 25/09/2021 12:13

I don’t think much of this from him either and I would cancel this meet up. What does he really want here from you?. Why now after a year of no contact whatsoever?.

Would suggest you continue the process of rebuilding your life. Have you ever seen a therapist re your past abusive relationships?.

romdowa · 25/09/2021 12:15

It's a bit innapropriate given the history between you both. I'd stop contacting him and just forget him

Gilda152 · 25/09/2021 12:16

It's salient to ask, did you contact him first again?

Hadenoughofthisbullshit · 25/09/2021 12:18

he told me yesterday that he has always had a soft spot for me, whatever that means leave him alone. You are still using him as an emotional crutch, stop it.

ComtesseDeSpair · 25/09/2021 12:18

I think you need to question why or whether you actually want to be friends. You didn’t have a very good relationship, there still seems to be a lot of navel gazing on both sides going on, it doesn’t sound as though you had some great connection or suite of shared interests which you’d build a friendship on. I’d pass on by for those reasons. You don’t have to be friends just because you once dated and he’s told he likes you.

I’m friends with several of my ex partners and DFiance with several of his, and where there’s genuine mutual friendship I don’t think there’s anything untoward about being friends with an ex. This just doesn’t sound like one of those situations, your only motivation for wanting to meet up seems to be that he’s asked you to.

JustThisLastLittleBit · 25/09/2021 12:18

Nah, this smells fishy to me re his motivation, and I don't see anything good in it for you

Peggytheredhen · 25/09/2021 12:19

He doesn't sound like a friend to me. The amount you are thinking around this is key here.

bringincrazyback · 25/09/2021 12:19

He sounds like a bit of a headf*ck to be honest OP, and I'd be questioning whether it was worth even bothering to try and establish a friendship. I also do think his fiancee's likely to question your motives, you know you don't still have feelings for him, but it may seem to his fiancee as though you do. HTH.

Gilda152 · 25/09/2021 12:20

If you did, it seems that he might just be being over polite and not wanting to hurt your feelings. If you messaged him first and always have - he's not your friend.

GertietheGherkin · 25/09/2021 12:27

What is the purpose of him being your friend now?

You've dipped in and out of each others lives with little to no success, so why do you need to be in each others lives now that you're both in new relationships and seemingly happy?

If you're pondering on all of these "we've got to be proper friends, or nothing" that sounds like an ultimatum... You don't usually issue ultimatums for friendships. Going to his work, meeting his friends, and being in touch seems something you are prepared to undertake, but he's in a relationship with someone else, are you lacking in friends?

This seems to have blown hot and cold in the past, and looks likely to again. I'd just wish each other well and cease contact. If you proceed you may jepodise the happiness you now have.

Rainbowqueeen · 25/09/2021 12:28

Staying friends with exes can be a minefield

In this case it sounds like your friendship has always been unbalanced. I’d steer clear. Newly engaged, history of using him as an emotional crutch, his comment about always having a soft spot for you when, as you yourself admit, contact has always been initiated by you.

This could end badly for you

category12 · 25/09/2021 12:33

I would focus on making other friendships instead - this seems like it has too much potential to get messy.

Phoebebuffaystwin · 25/09/2021 12:54

@Gilda152

If you did, it seems that he might just be being over polite and not wanting to hurt your feelings. If you messaged him first and always have - he's not your friend.
Sorry, I didn't expect so many replies so quickly.

Yes, I messaged him first. He had posted on his Facebook about his new love and how he had been messed around in the past being thrown crumbs and realising only after he met his new fiancee that crumbs were all they were. The dates he gave were around the time he was messing me about so I messaged because I was upset, really, that he might've been seeing more than just me back then, and if he wasn't, then it's ironic that he felt used by someone when he was kind of doing the same to me.

I worded the message as a kind of closure thing, adding that I hoped he got to the end before blocking me, he replied that he wasn't going to block me and asked how I was...and the conversation went from there.

I care about him a lot, although it doesn't feel romantic to me so I felt okay about being friends - no I don't have many friends (to those who asked), I'm a bit of a loner really.

I suppose it was a selfish reason for contacting him and who knows what his motives are, maybe he just wants a an ego boost or maybe he is just being polite. He does meet up with a lot of people, he's what I suppose you'd call a social butterfly and he works in media so he does tend to get a lot of hangers on.

I wouldn't want to be seen as one of those so I suppose I should back off now...

OP posts:
Phoebebuffaystwin · 25/09/2021 12:56

@Rainbowqueeen

Staying friends with exes can be a minefield

In this case it sounds like your friendship has always been unbalanced. I’d steer clear. Newly engaged, history of using him as an emotional crutch, his comment about always having a soft spot for you when, as you yourself admit, contact has always been initiated by you.

This could end badly for you

End badly for me in what way? Genuine question as I'm clearly naive and very emotionally immature Grin

I genuinely thought we could be friendly, seeing as the past has always been so emotionally charged and weird. I thought it'd be easier now there are no feelings involved.

OP posts:
middlingmess · 25/09/2021 12:57

Nope.
What's the point?
I assume that you are lonely, I understand that, but this is not going to help - it has disaster written all over it and is disrespectful to his fiancé.

category12 · 25/09/2021 13:07

End badly for me in what way? Genuine question as I'm clearly naive and very emotionally immature

I can't really speak for the other poster, but I'm not sure you're being entirely honest with yourself. I'm not sure what your motivation is to keep pursuing any sort of relationship with a guy who has flaked on you and you have this sort of history with.

If you want friends, why not seek out straightforward ones? Why boomerang back around to this guy, who you're not really friends with and never were.

Letting go of people who are unhealthy for us is a good thing to learn. I think when you come out of abusive relationships you can be reluctant to give up any sort of connection and determined to make things work somehow, when actually some things are better left alone.

rawhidebone · 25/09/2021 13:12

Well he obviously wants to have sex on a or twice with you, without his fiancé's knowledge, and the two of you aren't mates so the whole title about being friends with an ex is misleading.

Phoebebuffaystwin · 25/09/2021 13:16

@rawhidebone

Well he obviously wants to have sex on a or twice with you, without his fiancé's knowledge, and the two of you aren't mates so the whole title about being friends with an ex is misleading.
Sorry. I did say I didn't know what to put as the title :(
OP posts:
Phoebebuffaystwin · 25/09/2021 13:16

@rawhidebone Oh, I didn't. But I meant to.

OP posts:
Rainbowqueeen · 25/09/2021 13:39

Hi again OP.

When I said it would end badly I meant that he was after sex. He knows you are vulnerable and it wouldn’t take much to get you into bed. And that you will be hurt.

Please protect yourself.

Phoebebuffaystwin · 25/09/2021 13:49

@Rainbowqueeen

Hi again OP. When I said it would end badly I meant that he was after sex. He knows you are vulnerable and it wouldn’t take much to get you into bed. And that you will be hurt.

Please protect yourself.

Oh, okay 😔

Surely not every man is like that, though?

I suppose I always felt like we had some sort of connection, and with him saying he's always had a soft spot for me (it was said in the context of asking how I was, I said I was having a few issues but nothing too major and he told me "you know I'd always help you, I've always had a soft spot for you"). I took that as a sign he might genuinely care for me as a friend and want me in his life.

Maybe I've just watched too many films and stories of people falling out of touch for years, then getting back in contact and striking up some great romance, so I thought you could do the same with being friends.

Ah well. I'll leave it, then.

So my next question is do I tell him I won't be there on Monday or just not show up? Seems a bit rude to not say anything, but then I guess he won't care either way if he's either just being polite (as someone else said) or after something non too wholesome?

OP posts:
Phoebebuffaystwin · 25/09/2021 14:06

@middlingmess

Nope. What's the point? I assume that you are lonely, I understand that, but this is not going to help - it has disaster written all over it and is disrespectful to his fiancé.
Can I ask why you think it's disrespectful to his fiance? Would it be the case even if he told her he was meeting me? Although I don't know whether he would tell her, or whether if he would even be required to, morally.
OP posts:
Verbena87 · 25/09/2021 14:06

You could message him and see if he and his fiancée want to meet up for a drink?

I’m friends with my nice exes and their wives, so is my husband. My first long term boyfriend in particular because he knows what a shit I can be, likes me anyway, and can always be relied on to call me out when I’m being a dick. He and my husband share hobbies so they get on really well as well, and we had kids around the same time so his wife was one of my breastfeeding-at-3am WhatsApp buddies.

My exes from dysfunctional/tricky relationships I’ve had no contact with in years.

If a friendship makes you feel doubtful, worried, as if you need to think carefully about what you do/say, or as if you’re questioning the other person, why bother? Friendships should make your life easier and better, not complicated and uncomfortable.

And his soft spot comment seems simultaneously patronising and as if he’s after more than friendship. I’d leave it well alone.