{"id":13575,"date":"2016-10-14T01:00:33","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T08:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/datemixstaging.wpengine.com\/?p=13575"},"modified":"2021-05-31T14:01:08","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T21:01:08","slug":"friends-with-an-ex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/relationship-advice\/moving-on\/friends-with-an-ex\/","title":{"rendered":"Why We Can\u2019t Be Friends: When to Admit You Can\u2019t Talk to An Ex AT ALL"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When you\u2019re going through a breakup, there\u2019s an invisible checklist of questions that inevitably come up. <em>Who did it? Why did it happen? Are you okay?<\/em> After you\u2019ve sat with the breakup for a bit and adjusted to the idea of moving forward, you\u2019ll come face-to-face with a big one: <em>Do you think you\u2019ll stay friends?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, know that the answer to this question is your business. It can be helpful to talk through your breakup with close friends and family, but at the end of the day, those personal details are nobody\u2019s business but your own. Second, your answer may change. It might be different in a year, a month, a week, or even a few hours. And that\u2019s okay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s hard to cut communication with an ex. After all, you probably didn\u2019t start a relationship with them thinking it would end in a breakup. This is somebody you once shared love, laughter, and countless happy memories with. But after your split, they don\u2019t just disappear into thin air, though that would make the healing process easier. As you adjust and move forward, you must decide how your ex fits into your newly single life. Do you make room for them, or cut them out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people prefer a clean break with no further contact; it\u2019s the fast track to getting over your ex and moving on. Social media accounts are unfollowed, phone numbers are deleted, and mementos are stashed away or tossed altogether. But not every relationship is the same, and others opt to stay in touch after a breakup. Maybe you share mutual friends with your ex and know you\u2019re inevitably going to be around each other, so you decide to keep your relationship friendly. Maybe you share children, in which case it\u2019s nearly impossible to cut them out completely. But if your gut is telling you that you need distance, you should listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you know when it\u2019s time to walk away from someone for good? There are many different clues: When you have that sinking feeling that you\u2019re worse off with them than without them. When you don\u2019t completely trust yourself, and suspect you\u2019ll give into temptation if you\u2019re around them. When your physical or emotional well-being are threatened. Let me restate that last one: If you feel like you\u2019ll be physically or emotionally unsafe around your ex, it\u2019s not only okay to cut them out,&nbsp;it\u2019s imperative that you do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every breakup is unique and has its own set of circumstances to navigate. The best advice I can give is to be honest with yourself. Set boundaries and stick to them. If you need space and distance, clearly define what that looks like for your personal situation. Communicate those boundaries to your ex if necessary, and enlist help if further necessary. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s been days or years since your breakup; it\u2019s never too late to completely walk away, especially if you\u2019re doing so for your own good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to know when it&#8217;s time to walk away. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":13586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[973],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moving-on"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>When You Shouldn&#039;t Be Friends With an Ex<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At the end of a relationship it&#039;s hard to let go and know how far to walk away. We share tips on how to know you shouldn&#039;t be friends with an ex.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/relationship-advice\/moving-on\/friends-with-an-ex\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When You Shouldn&#039;t Be Friends With an Ex\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At the end of a relationship it&#039;s hard to let go and know how far to walk away. We share tips on how to know you shouldn&#039;t be friends with an ex.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/relationship-advice\/moving-on\/friends-with-an-ex\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Date Mix\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zoosk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-14T08:00:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-31T21:01:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dq1eylutsoz4u.cloudfront.net\/2016\/10\/14110407\/friends-with-an-ex1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Entenman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/elizabenten\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Zoosk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Entenman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"When You Shouldn't Be Friends With an Ex","description":"At the end of a relationship it's hard to let go and know how far to walk away. 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Based in Brooklyn, she's written about a variety of topics related to online dating, love, single life, and relationships. In her spare time, you'll likely find her somewhere Instagramming her dogs! You can find some of her other work at EliteSingles and SilverSingles. 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