If you\u2019ve gone through your fair share of breakups, you\u2019ve likely heard the old \u201cI hope we can still be friends\u201d clich\u00e9 at some point. But how many times have you actually put in the effort to be friends with your ex? To be fair, people can and do manage to maintain great friendships with their exes. Just because you broke up, it doesn\u2019t mean that you don\u2019t care about each other anymore. But maintaining friendships take work. Once you\u2019ve broken up with someone, is that effort really worth it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not the easiest decision to make, especially if the breakup itself was really tough. So to help you determine whether or not it\u2019s worth it to stay friends with an ex, here are some questions you should be asking yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How long has it been since the breakup?<\/strong> Once you\u2019ve given yourself enough time to really heal and find your sense of self, then you can clearly assess whether or not a friendship can work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why do you want a friendship with them?<\/strong> \u201cThe friendship will be constantly rubbing in your face that you don’t have more than that, and you’ll be crushed if you hear them talk about their love life,\u201d Suzannah Weiss, writer and sex educator, tells The Date Mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re already in a relationship, it\u2019s even more important to ask yourself why you need this friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou want to make sure you’re not emotionally cheating, which means you should really only be in the friendship for a friendship\u2014not because you like knowing your ex is attracted to you,\u201d Weiss says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What does \u201cbeing friends\u201d mean to you?<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s important to understand what \u2018being friends\u2019 means to each person as it differs from person to person,\u201d New York relationship counselor, Jackie Bencivenga, tells The Date Mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do you really need them in your life again?<\/strong> Will this make me happy?<\/strong> If staying friends with your ex will make you confused, frustrated, and upset, it may not be worth it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":19908,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[983,998,994,973],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-up","category-break-up","category-friends","category-moving-on"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u201cAfter a break-up, it’s important to have space for yourself,\u201d Rachel Hercman, LCSW, tells The Date Mix. \u201cMaybe you need to grieve, heal, and learn some lessons about yourself and about what you want out of a relationship. If your ex is still in the picture, you don’t get the chance to get that clarity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIf you want to be friends with an ex, you need to be completely honest with yourself about why you\u2019d want to pursue a friendship. If you two no longer have feelings for each other but you still care deeply, a friendship may work. If not, it may get complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIs it talking every other day and keeping up to date on each other\u2019s lives? Or is it texting and catching up from time to time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nAs painful as it is to have someone not be a part of your life anymore, Bencivenga says, \u201cLife will go on.\u201d It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re still friends or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nYour happiness matters. Only you know yourself. If you feel like staying friends with your ex will only make you confused, frustrated, and upset, it may not be worth it. But if you feel like a friendship with your ex will make a positive addition to your already great life, go for it. At the end of the day, it all depends on you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"