Can You Ever Be Friends With An Ex?
Jason Manford and his wife have confirmed their split after having been separated for a year, claiming they’re still good friends but can you successfully be friends with an ex?
There are multiple factors to take into account, how the relationship ended, why it ended, are there children involved?
The answer is yes, there are times when you can be friends with your ex but there are also times when this simply won’t work.
Jason and his wife are said to have split after growing apart and so have been able to remain friends. This is completely plausible as it didn’t end badly, they just fell out of love.
Falling out of love is common after having been together for years, your relationship can take more of a friendship stance rather than that of a relationship so breaking up and remaining friends is the next step.
If you’ve got children together, it’s more than likely you’ll keep in touch after breaking up for the sake of the children and some parents will find it easy to be friendly with one another.
Generally if the end of the relationship was a mutual decision then it isn’t foolish to think that you can remain friends with an ex, it’s actually quite common.
However, if the relationship ended badly and painfully then there won’t be much room for friendship.
If resentment, pain and hatred sit with either party from the relationship then there’s little to no chance of a friendship remaining.
So what if you broke up with someone, hoping to be friends, and they can’t get past the hurt?
There’s no guarantee that they’ll ever get over the break-up enough for you to be friends but only time will tell.
Leave them be after the initial break-up and see if they begin to come round to the idea of friendship as the situation calms down.
Many ex’s who broke up and were left devastated can often find it in their heart to forgive their ex years later and actually grow to be pretty good friends.
It all depends on the situation but being friends with your ex certainly isn’t an unrealistic expectation!
Are you friends with an ex? Let us know how it worked out for you by commenting below or tweeting us @FemaleFirst_UK
tagged in Friends Love relationships relationship advice Exes break up