Brandon :
I was arguably tough on you in one of your previous posts yesterday, but this came up on my FYP just now so I'm going to take a second to share something personal myself. I was in a similar situation as you. My ex and I were in each other's lives for about 9 years total. From the age of 18 for her, 20 for me, to 27 and 29. I say "together" because of course, it's complicated. I gave her my version of a "promise ring" (not religious) at 1 year in, proposed at 3 years in. We broke up 6 years in when I found out she cheated, but only after I gave her the chance to come clean and found out she hadn't done so completely. I still gave it a 2nd chance, because I still saw the same person I loved at her core. I had already spent so much time investing into this person, I didn't want to just throw it away. So I justified her actions however made sense at the time, and tried to rebuild. We never made it official again but after about a year of limbo between us, she started staying with me again in my new apartment. Fast forward 2 more years, found out she had feelings for and was seeing someone else. This time it wasn't just physical but emotional betrayal too. I tried to cling to it somehow, even then, out of desperation. I was at my lowest when she left. I was the main bread winner, the main one handling the finances, but also the one with the higher emotional capacity as well. I had been going to individual therapy, trying to get her to do couples therapy with me, and the last year even doing my best to support her when she lost her job. I learned a lot from that relationship. It was my entire 20's, but I don't regret staying and trying. I don't regret loving her how I did, even if it wasn't perfect. I still don't think she's a bad person at her core, she just made bad decisions. She clearly had her own, separate experience of that relationship and the reality is that she was not happy for whatever reason, despite me feeling like I did everything I could. Her experience wasn't wrong, but it doesn't mean I was wrong either. I chose to show up, she unfortunately didn't.
2026-03-18 15:33:21