Ending a relationship can be difficult. You and your partner shared an important space in each other’s life — beginning from friendship, which turned into love and you became each other’s confidante. So, breaking that off is bound to hurt your feelings and make the whole situation strenuous.
After the break-up, being clouded with the desire to speak to your ex again because you miss their presence is normal. Your ex might want to reach out to you to remain friends.
So, if you are wondering if it is safe to be friends with an ex, here are some tips to maintain an amicable relationship –
- Give yourself and your ex the time to heal from the breakup. You and your ex might not immediately become friends. Be patient. Heal yourself. Rushing in would only make it complicated and awkward.
- People choose to stay friends so that they have their ex’s emotional support, count on them for advice, or find it difficult to let them go because of their shared memories. Try to establish the real reason for being friends with your ex. Is it because you do not want to be alone? Or is it going to be strictly platonic?
- Remember to redraw the boundaries. You both might have started off as friends and then started dating. So going back to being friends would mean going ahead with this unromantically. You cannot expect them to hang out with you all the time, or call or chat with you like before.
- If you and your ex have children together, discuss how you both will communicate with each other about your child and their needs.
- If there were any grievances you or your ex had during the relationship, do not bring that up when you are working out a way to be friends. Don’t hold onto grudges and let the past go. Treat each other with respect and dignity.
Remember that ending the relationship must have seemed necessary and that is why you both chose to part ways. If being friends is difficult, you can always choose to walk away.
