“Should I block my ex on social media?” This is a question that I get asked… a lot.
“To follow or not to follow” and ” to block or not to block,” has become post-breakup, modern day Shakespeare. It’s one of the first things you think of after a breakup because it’s one of the only things that you have exclusive control of.
It’s hard because it hurts too much to even think of him, let alone have to see his “I’m-so-happy-I move-on-so-easy-and-you’re-so-forgettable,” existence on your social media feed. You know that you need to unfollow him, but what good would that do? You’d still check his profile, even if it’s private. You keep track of his numbers and look out for his profile photo to be updated. You start to wonder, “should I block my ex on social media?” It feels surreal that you now are debating having to block someone who you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with.
There are pros and cons either way. So, what do you do? Once you block, you know that there’s no going back and it’s scary. Finality is scary.
If you are asking yourself, “should I block my ex on social media?”
Here’s everything you need to know…
Okay, let’s break this down. Besides the opportunity for your ex to see what he has lost/what he’s missing out on, here are some of the other reasons we just can’t hit that block button
- You’re hoping to find something, anything that shows that he’s just as miserable as you are. And maybe… just maybe… he misses you too.
- Emotional PC (political correctness). You’re trying to be a “mature” and “good person.” You think that if you unfollow or block your ex, that will just prove to him and all of your mutual friends that you’re weak, not over him, and that it hurts too much to stick it out. You care more about what other people think than you care about protecting your peace and mental health.
- You didn’t have THAT bad of a breakup and don’t want to seem like you’re overreacting.
I get it, I’ve been there. And there was no way I could alleviate the pain and anxiety over it all; I obsessed over everything.
Even if you’ve had the most mature and friendly breakup known to man, both sides still need time after the breakup to let the dust settle. Unless you are superhuman or you’ve already moved on, there is no way that seeing your ex’s posts, likes, and comments is going to do any good for your mental health. But then again, you tell yourself that it’s worth it because you really want him to see how hot and “happy” you are too.
Your breakup has now, officially been reduced to who can out-fake, out-happy, out-mature, and out-do the other.
It’s taken me a lot of time and a painful amount of humiliation to finally get to a point where my words match my actions (that’s called having character). Now, if I do go through a breakup of any kind, that means it’s OVER.
When the relationship ends, all access to me is shut down.
Every time I was in FBI-stalking-mode, it wasn’t social media or my ex that was hurting me. It was me choosing to retraumatize myself. I was the one who kept reopening my own wounds on the daily; gladly filling them with salt, and then, crying over the inevitable sting!
In my opinion, the best thing you can do after a breakup is unfollow your ex on all social media platforms or at least, hide his updates from your feed. “Should I block my ex on social media?” – I’ll get to that soon.
“Should I delete photos of my ex and I on my social media?”
Personally, I would suggest deleting all photos of your ex on your social media. You can archive the photos and look at them in the future when you’ve reached a place of indifference and peace – not every damn time you log onto anything.
Don’t worry about how you’re coming across to your ex or anyone else. Worry about YOU and your own emotional health right now.
When to block your ex on social media:
- If your ex got his/her validation by exploiting your hunger for theirs. An emotionally unavailable ex who treated you with a consistent lack of respect, honesty, love, and loyalty should not be able to find you under any search result. Period. You wouldn’t continue to follow a friend, a classmate, or a coworker that treated you like crap, would you? Remember, you’re the C.E.O of Y.O.U. Act like it and know when certain people need to be fired from the company and when others need to be blocked from accessing the building ever again.
- When your ex is using social media to get info on you/hurt you/create drama/create jealousy and/or when you are doing the same. There is nothing worse than feeling like you can’t be yourself. When you feel like you have to censor what you post and you think of your ex before posting, liking, or commenting on anything, your profiles are no longer yours. You have already been through enough. I KNOW how hard it is, I KNOW how addicting it is and I am telling you, I have wasted YEARS of my life staking the social media lives of exes (and girls I don’t even know) instead of blocking and unapologetically, living my own life. It was never worth it.
Should I unfollow our mutual friends/his friends?
- If your ex is using them to communicate with you in any way, yes.
- If you know they’ll “pass along information” to your ex or his family/other friends, YES.
- If they’re fake friends to you, yes.
- If it affects your mental health in any way, yes.
- If you know they’ll go tell/show your ex what you post, YES. (I KNOW this can be fun, but build your self-esteem by not engaging in these stupid games with pathetic people and stop validation seeking. Who cares if your ex-boyfriend and his friends gossip and share your photos? Don’t engage. Yes, it’s hard but you’ll have so much more self-respect – and they’ll still have nothing reminiscent of what actually matters in life). Believe me, if you work on building a life of your own, they’ll know who the f*ck you are and what the hell your ex lost.
You have to decide if you want to do the hard work now and reclaim your power, your self-esteem, and your self-respect. Or, do you want to be the murderer of the person you are destined to be? Who you are destined to be is so much more than a set of eyes, ears, and fingers to type, that are dedicated to monitoring the social media life of someone who had no problem insulting your intelligence and betraying you.
I can’t tell you how amazing it is to post whatever the hell you want to without having to think or worry about your ex at all. It’s also pretty amazing to shut the door on them and all of their hurtful dysfunction. They may have broken up with you, but you can still have the last laugh.
WHO CARES what other people think? Anyone who is going to think you’re weak or that you just want to start drama or are making a big deal of nothing, etc., by blocking your ex, is no one that you need to be close with.
Since when did NOT wanting a daily stab in the heart and prioritizing your mental health mean that you’re weak?
You’re not in the amateur hour of that relationship anymore. You do what’s best for YOU and let your dignified actions do the talking.
If your ex really misses you, wants to see you, know what you’re up to, and gain any kind of access to you, translate through your actions (by blocking) that he’ll have to do a lot more than turn on his cell phone and log into an app.
And if he’s toxic, believe me when I say, you blocking him won’t make it “easier” to forget you.
We always remember the people that didn’t show up to the circus – not the ones who are there.
x Natasha
+ If you need further and more personalized help with your breakup, please look into working with me here.
Because of this article, I just (finally) unfollowed him and that’s it, no going back again. It’s scary but I know it’s the right thing. This was the push that I needed. My early christmas present to myself <3 I can't thank you enough times Natasha and this Thanksgiving I'm thankful for you. I don't know where I would be without your words and wisdom
xoxo
Right on! agree 10000000%
So great!! I recently had a bad breakup and have still struggled with the lingering ness of what appears on social media. This was amazing. I need to send this to about 15 of my friends!
Completely agree! It took me a few times to realize I was hurting myself and reopening the wound by stalking. Total cold turkey has been the best way to heal for me in the past. Thank you!!! Going to send this to my friends.
What if his accounts are public? So far I have had no desire to be on social media because I want to stay busy with other things, but I do want to be back to normal. It would be easier to unfollow him, but his accounts are public and easily searchable. We hold no resentment towards each other and his account is mostly for business purposes anyways. But it is hard to see. I don’t want to block him and seem petty if we do become friends in the future.
Hi Pricilla!
I totally understand. If it bothers you to see his stuff on your feed, I would unfollow. It’s your feed, your profile, your life. You do what makes YOU feel the best. xoxo
I would add to this the need to search online dating sites to see if he is on them…. SO painful and so addictive. It’s like a “need” to connect and know yet it offers nothing but pain and insecurity when it’s confirmed that he is “moving on”
Turning to this for support instead of going into detective/search mode.
One day at a time….
Hi Robin,
Yes, that’s a good one; you’re right. I totally understand. Proud of you for coming back here. Detective/search mode isn’t a good look 🙂 And don’t feel like you have to even take it one DAY at a time. Time it hour by hour. Be easy on yourself. You’re not alone xoxo
What about snapchat? I have unfollowed him but he can see my story.
I kind of want him to see how well I’m doing / I keep checking if he’s viewed it. Thanks so much xxx
Hi Jackie! I would need more details; this is why I can’t give advice on the comments. If it’s not hurting/costing you, I don’t see the harm in it, but do get rid of everything that hinders you moving on. You deserve the best! xx
YESSSSSS Natasha! Thank you for such a powerful post! I was in a one-year relationsh*t with a disrespectful EU f*cktard. I had actually tried to end the relationship first at 8 months, but he (of course) swooped in with all the sweet nothings in order to keep control. When it did finally end 4 months later (on his terms), I didn’t resist – I first listened to his nonsense, then proceeded to pack up all the things I had around his apartment… and rode off on my white horse into the horizon of no contact.
Only… I didn’t go COMPLETELY NC. I let him continue to exist on all of my social media accounts. For the first 3 weeks, as I cycled through all of the NORMAL post breakup emotions of sadness, anger, pity, anxiety, disgust, etc., neither one of us posted on social media. It was an eerie silence, with neither person showing any sign of what they were up to. Now this didn’t mean that I wasn’t stalking the living crap out of him… I WAS. All day. Every day. Incessantly. I was looking for any sign of him being miserable or having moved on, who his next victim would be – something, anything. And oddly enough, the social media posting silence started to feel like a game, a competition, a battle… kinda like our relations*t.
I broke that silence after 3 weeks by posting a photo of myself with my family on a boat that was drifting along a harbor. We were drinking champagne and life looked easy and breezy and carefree. My ex knew that I was going to be visiting the fam for a celebration on this particular weekend – he had, after all, been invited to join us prior to our demise. IMMEDIATELY after I posted, he posted a photo of himself en route to London – a work trip that I also knew about. A day after that, he liked my family photo. And when I saw that, my blood froze.
His like on my photo sent me into a tailspin. He officially ended it, he disengaged in such a cold and emotionless fashion, and now he’s giving me a thumbs up?! I thought this was what I wanted (validation-seeking), but all I could think was…. HOW DARE HE. Knowing what I know about these b*stards, I knew he wasn’t happy for me, or missing me, or gently communicating, “no hard feelings… it wasn’t you, it was ME.” His like smelled of malicious intent. Of game-playing. Of mind-f*ckery. He WANTED me to overthink it. He WANTED me to torment over its meaning. He WANTED me to continue to crave for his attention and approval. He WANTED me to twist and squirm and stay caught and bleeding in his evil little trap. And it was working. I thought by him liking my photo, and by my ignoring his, I was “winning” this social media/post breakup game…. but I was back to feeling anger/rage/disgust/anxiety, back to dissecting and chewing over his intentions, and I was left even more drained and in a tailspin. And I was left feeling censored – I would now have to be choosy and selective of my posts (or not post at all) so he wouldn’t think it’s about him.
This was maddening. And sad. And pathetic. And weak. I didn’t want to remove him from social media because I didn’t want him to know how badly he was still under skin. And yet, there I was, stalking, playing into post breakup hovering mind games, censoring myself, and continuing to linger in his darkness and sickness. WHY was I doing this to myself?
And so I gave myself the best and greatest gift of all: freedom. 1 month after the breakup, and a few days after his ill-intended like, I unfriended and blocked the sh*t out of him. I cut off the damn supply – no more oxygen for him, no more poison for me. It was liberating! Freeing! It literally felt like I had exorcised a demon. My mental health and disposition instantly improved and, for the first time all month, I finally tasted sweet indifference.
And let me tell you – he didn’t like it. He IMMEDIATELY reacted by blocking me back (a favor to me since his account is public). I had feared that blocking him would show me to be weak and affected, but in reality he was weakened and affected by my decision… it proved to be a brilliant blow to his ego.
Game over.
YAAAA 🙂 You go girl. Thank you so much for the love, sisterhood, support and for sharing. xxxx
You’re incredible. And an inspiration. Don’t forget it <3
Holy smokes Emma I know I am late to the game on this but you freaken rock! I love that post so much and you totally just validated and empowered me so much!
Natasha- I don’t even know what to say. You are my lifeline right now- what a beautiful blessing you are ???
Right back at you Kara 🙂 Thank you for being a part of this tribe. I’m so happy to help! xx
Honestly this blog is saving my life right now. Two years with a EUM who I work with and he finishes everything a month before I was supposed to meet his mum for the first time. Totally out of the blue, the typical “I’m unsure about my future, I need to be alone, I’m not ready for a relationship” despite the fact he practically lived with me (at my house) and met my whole family. Cuts me out, acts like nothing happened, and flaunts his life on social media like now he’s free from some oppressed regime despite still following my every move on instagram. Managed to block him on this, now trying to pluck up the courage to do it on Facebook…then I will tackle getting back to normality at work where I have to see his unsympathetic face everyday! Thank you soooooo much for this blog. It’s my new bible.
Hi Jix!
I’m so happy and honored to help 🙂 Thank you for your love, support, and for being a part of this tribe. You are not alone in this (or ever!). xxxx
Hi Natasha and tribe,
I’m ashamed to say that I am still struggling 16! months post break up and still heartbroken. We were only together 10 months but this relationship has screwed me up like no other. I’m still friends with him on Facebook and have his number in my phone and cyber stalk him like a crazy woman. Checking if hes ‘online’ wondering who he is talking to. He threw me some ‘crumbs’ about a month ago which I eagerly responded to and got my pathetic little hopes up ( even though I convinced myself I hadnt). I know that the relationship is over. I think I know I need to erase him completely (ie delete from everywhere) but I still can’t seem to make that final move…like it would be a mistake? I still work with him but I don’t see him all that often (apart from when he seeks me out!).
PLEASE can someone give me advice? I don’t feel I can talk to friends about it any more as they feel I should be over it now (which I know I should!)
Much love to all and Natasha thankyou for your posts which help immensely xxx
Hi Lara!
I wish I had the time to write out everything that I want to but first of all – What you are feeling is completely normal. I have struggled getting over relationships for longer than the relationship lasted. It’s okay <3
I would definitely de-friend and flush so that you can move on. It will show him that you've got standards and those standards don't include room for anyone who has ever dishonored you or made you feel as though you are hard to love. You are incredible. Wish I had the time to write more and hope this helps.
Thank you for being a part of this tribe 🙂 All my love to you sister. xx
Hi Lara,
I know this is a bit belated as you posted last year but I am now 12 months round from my break up. I am not on Facebook but have viewed my exes profile through friends like a crazy woman. I still have all his WhatsApp messages on my phone including the ones post breakup. I convince myself that I keep them there to remind me of how badly he treated me but if i’m honest they are the last link I have to him. I am ashamed to say that i’ve also looked on there to see when he’s online in a desperate, hopeless bid to see if he might be typing a message to me! How sad is that?!. He is with another girl now (a coworker) who is 20 years younger than him and me. I bumped into both of them a month ago and I felt physically sick but somehow managed not to react. I had my suspicions about her when he and I were living together and am pretty sure now that they were having an affair behind my back before he broke up with me. He has treated me badly and with no respect but has followed the same pattern in previous relationships however like a fool I thought I was different and that he’d changed. I found out recently that his goddaughter told him at Christmas that he’s a disgrace for dating someone half his age and who is only a few years older than her. That did make me feel a bit better but also made me feel angry that i’d not fronted him out when we were together and when I had suspected something was going on.
My reason for this message is that I completely understand how you feel..I, like you, try to not discuss this with my friends anymore as some of them feel I should move on and forget him. Easier said than done however I am getting to the stage now where I think that deleting his messages will be the best and right thing to do. I’ve still not pressed that ‘delete all’ button but am very close. I agree with Natasha in that if an ex really wants to make contact (ultimately to stroke his own ego or for his own selfish gain) then it shouldn’t be as easy as turning on his phone and clicking on Social Media. Natasha is also spot on when she says that we think by seeing photos/evidence of our exes happy with someone else it will help us get over them.. it doesn’t..it just hurts even more.
Don’t beat yourself up by thinking you should be over him, it’s different for everyone and you have to be ready in your own mind to move on. Don’t think you’re on your own either because there are others including me who are the same. I do now however want to feel free from the shackles of my ex. I live in the same town as him so sadly am likely to see him and her around at times but when I do, I want to hold my head up high and feel glad i’m free from his lies and bulls**t. She is welcome to him and his lies because he will do the same to her over time. He is not worth wasting anymore of my life on and by the sounds of it neither is your ex. I hope you find the courage to remove your ex from your social media and your life. You, we, all deserve much more.
Someone once told me that it you continue looking at the door that’s closed behind you, you won’t notice the one that’s opened up in front of you. ??X
I love seeing this love, connection, and support <3 Thank you Helen. Love to you both. We are never alone. XX
i Just deleted my ex who broke my heart, from social media after re-adding him back in back in September because I thought I was over it. Turns out I slipped because of pain caused by another fucktard person I was talking to. Also turns out that I wasn’t over it after all. We kept hanging out getting drunk over the weekend and hooking up. Kept happening until about a month ago when he asked me to leave because I said some hurtful things to him that I hate him and that I will never date him again. I left. And then never looked back. Just deleted him from social media and I don’t really feel bad. It’s weird, in a good way. Thank you for making the no contact contract for your readers. It is a life changing program and I have been listening to it every.single.day since last Friday. Love it. Love you sister??
Dear Natasha,
Thank you very much for this incredible blog. It’s helping me so much these days…!
My ex broke up with me about 3 weeks ago. Emotional unavailable man, he dumped me in a cruel way without respecting my feelings. The thing is… I decided yesterday to block him on Instagram, since I could see how he was always checking my stories and surely I was conditioned by this every time I wanted to post something (I only post a couple of times a week, but still).
So I decided to block in order to stop this. I told myself: “This doesn’t make sense, and it doesn’t help me at all moving on”. However, now I feel SUPER guilty and sad for having done this. It’s like I pushed him away “more” and I know it sounds stupid (he’s already gone from my life). I was feeling OK before doing it, but now I feel as if I had gone a few steps back in my recovery… Why is this? 🙁
Thank you again for making me feel so identified xx
Dearest Anna,
Thank YOU so much for taking the time to share and for being a part of this tribe 🙂 You did the right thing. I wish that I had the time to write more (thank you for your kindness and understanding), but feeling guilty is NORMAL. Truly. <3
Read this (+ there are many other blogs on here that will help): https://postmalesyndrome.com/10-ways-to-overcome-guilt-for-setting-boundaries/
Also, my course on No Contact will be massively helpful too: https://courses.natashaadamo.com/p/the-no-contact-contract
You are not alone. The guilt is a normal symptom of having your self-esteem drained from this relationsh*t. If I can recover alone, we most definitely can together. You got this. xx
Hey I’ve just experienced the same was dumped by a EU guy in the most cruel way ever !!!
I’m considering blocking it unfollow…. but leaning towards blocking as if someone can treat me that bad I should want them in my life or on my social media !!!
Omg everytime i am looking for an answer about whats going on my mind i just come here and you help everytime. loved this article. thank you so much . Do you think its immature to block him? xxo
That makes me so happy 🙂 Thanks Julie!
It depends on the situation but if it’s a toxic person you are dealing with who dishonored you… no, I don’t think it’s immature.
All my love to you sister. xox
This guy has dogged me immensely! For the first two years we were together he didn’t tell me that he was married. I was sitting at work in March 2018 and got a text message on Facebook asking me why are my pictures on her happily married husband’s page? I wrote her back and I was like who are you and this guy and I have been together for 2 years! She sent me a shitload of wedding pictures and I sent her back as shitload of pictures of us and that 2 years we were together. He’s from Ghana, and he’s Muslim the so-called wife is gonny and also in Muslim long story short this man has dogged me has told her all kind of rude things about me has put his hands on me been very disrespectful just a lot now in total of 5 years I’m still trying to get over it, and he takes everything is a game he gets mad at me because I’m mad at him because of all the hell that he put me through I feel crazy even still talking about this but he will not take my pictures down off of his Facebook page? Is he just doing that to try to keep me wondering, guessing? This got to stop! I have wasted almost 6 years of my life with a complete loser and I feel like I am losing my mind Natasha 😔😔 I go to his Facebook page though we are not Facebook friends but his page is open to a certain degree and so is mine to a certain degree but those pictures of he and I are there in their public I can’t see the majority of the other stuff on his page was really doesn’t matter too much I guess I’m just wondering why he still has the pictures up what does that mean am I looking too much into it? This is antagonizing I know I did right by this guy and he deserves every bit of hell that shall come to him if there’s such a thing as you reap what you sow, what goes around comes around, the oak cliches and karma this is just too much, I mean really is too much I’m a wonderful person inside and out beautiful and like I said this man has disrespected me to no end! I wanted deleting so he can’t see anything I post some stuff Publix but it doesn’t do any good and I know it doesn’t do any good he’s looking at things he’s not saying anything but he’ll look I’m sure but what good is that doing for me? Again this is antagonizing I don’t deserve this and I want better for my life why am I stuck in this root with this nut this is crazy help.
Hi Karen,
I’m so sorry that you’re going through this all. Although it’s humanely impossible for me to directly advise in the comments, I would make sure to untag yourself from everything and block. If you’re looking for more personalized help, my coaching will open back up soon. You are not alone and you deserve a life of peace and joy. All my love to you, soul sister.
Wish I had the time to write more. Thank you so much for your kindness, understanding, and for being a part of this tribe. xox
Hi Natasha,
I am very glad that you have these kinds of articles, I learned so much from you. I have my first ever ex-boyfriend (an 8months relationship), who broke up with me 4 days ago, which I accept later on even though we both know that we still have feelings for each other so to sum this up we broke up respectfully, and then I’ve read all your article about the break-up thing since day one. I blocked him( will unblock him when I am totally moving on from him), I cut all the possible way of our communication. I obey all your advice on how to get over with it and what to do next after the break up which really helps me a lot, of course Not instantly I’m okay but at least I am getting better as the day goes by. It’s just that I don’t know what to do if we cross our path one day or if he wants our relationship to come back. Or maybe I am assuming that there’s still a chance for us. Haha. Am hoping that one day I will get through this, by the Grace of God. Thank you and more power! – From the Philippines 🙂
Dearest Jonah,
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to comment, it means the world to me. I have been where you are and trust me when I say, you can never go wrong with having your own back, loving yourself, and protecting your peace. Keep doing what’s best for you/your mental health and just know that you are never alone.
It is a dream of mine to visit the Philippines one day! Before that happens, I hope to meet you digitally at one of my digital events. Give yourself a big hug from me and thank you for having the courage to share. You are helping so many people (who are too shy to comment/can’t find the words) feel less alone in their pain.
All my love to you. Thank you for being you and for being a part of this tribe. xox
Hi Natasha & whoever is reading this,
SO It’s definitely been a hard 3 months for me getting over my narcissistic ex. I know the term narcissist gets thrown around a lot these days and I hate to misdiagnose anyone but I have done a lot of research and he fits every single box. So even if he isn’t diagnosed….he has a lot of narcissistic qualities (grandiose sense of self importance, obsessed with material things and titles, jealous, uncaring, no empathy, sexist with a bad relationship w mother, thinks everyone wants him and wants to be him….the list goes on and on…)
We only dated for about a year but I spent so much time on him, prioritizing his happiness over mine, making excuses for his behavior to my friends and family, etc…regardless of how mean and critical he was to me on the daily. Like yes, he was nice sometimes and we had a great sex life, but mostly when he was drunk (he drinks a LOT) and the affection he showed never lasted all that long.
I also fully admit that this break-up has made me CRAZY and has been one of the hardest I have experienced… we are both very active on social media (I’m 24 for reference) and I have unfollowed and refollowed a couple of times since August. I initially had blocked him when we first broke up when he wished harm upon me and called me a loser (why I had to end things) but he was like an addiction to me and I’m still weaning off….
I feel embarrassed because I was the one who ended things in August but I have been the one who hasn’t been able to let go. At the same time, however, he wanted to “stay friends” after breaking up… looking to me for hookups and validation (which I allowed for a month because I didn’t want to lose him…sadly) so I unblocked, refollowed, and I felt ashamed because I knew I was wrong and I knew he was using me. But I still allowed it.
Then, In early September, after getting texts and messages from him on the daily (often waking up to messages) he called me “crazy” for being upset about him telling me how he was “single” and that I needed to “worry about myself and get some mental help” !!!??? This is when I told him to stop liking my things on social media and messaging me because he was the reason for my inability to move on. And he did for a bit…..then it started again.
The following weeks were torture. I unfollowed and then refollowed yet again and I KEPT APOLOGIZING (!!) for being “immature and crazy” when I neglected to realize he was making me like this. He kept saying the same manipulative things…”you ended things between us, you are still an amazing person, we can still be friends if you can move on…” while then alternating to “my life is none of your business, I am already hooking up with other people, you had your turn, you are so annoying just like a toddler, you do not know what love is, I am going to block you if you don’t cut the shit….” always followed by him pretending he never said these things.
It’s been a week since our last interaction and since then, I finally decided I needed to block him…for good.
Prior to last Friday, We had been snapchatting for over a week, as “friends”, but it was everyday and it was so unbelievably TOXIC. Then, after a few drinks Friday night, I had drunkenly messaged him saying that I was still so heartbroken and was upset that he wasn’t feeling the same (like I mentioned, he’s dating other girls already and seemingly fine) But what did he do?? he got ANGRY. Angry that I was upset cuz “why” should I be?? “You chose this. You are the one that ruined things and made things difficult. You don’t know what love is…you only want validation” and then proceeded to tell me the one thing he got out of our relationship was that “I got him back into dating ” followed by listing all the things he hated about me from over the past year….admitting he never really cared about me in the first place. Did I mention he used to message girls and get explicit photos behind my back?? Because that happened too.
I ended the conversation (of course it was over snapchat text, because he KNOWS it disappears and can’t be held accountable/take screenshots) by thanking him for finally admitting why my doubts were valid and for validating my original decision to leave. I said although I still cared, I would get over it, and that life goes on.
What I keep reminding myself is he said these things knowing how destroyed I was. He said these things to destroy me. Someone who really loves and cares about you and is your “friend” would never say these things even at their angriest.
I mustered up the courage to block him off of snapchat and Instagram that night. This time, I know it has to be for good.
It was the hardest thing I have ever done because part of me wanted to keep him so he could see me doing better (eventually) without him. I also know I lowkey didn’t want to let go of the made-up image I had in my head of him.
But let me also mention I hadn’t yet deleted him off Facebook that night so the very next day I shared a funny memory and you wanna know what happened? He laugh reacted at it. Like we were friends. Like he didn’t just tell me he never loved me and never cared about me. Delusional. This was of course followed by me getting rid of him there, too.
A week later and I’m still going crazy not knowing what he’s up to and that he doesn’t know what I’m doing but I KNOW it is in my best interest. I need to do this for MYSELF. To love MYSELF and rid of this toxic person who caused me so much pain without remorse.
I won’t lie, I am at the lowest I have ever been in my life…struggling with body image (thanks to him), confidence in my abilities to be successful (thanks to him) and uncertainty that I am worthy of love (thanks to him). However, I no longer care that he blames me for the relationship ending because I know I am a good person with a good heart, who will find someone who truly loves me (I’m only 24…after all!) & he unfortunately can’t say the same.
His punishment is living with himself and I am no longer allowing him to take up any more space in my mind. It will get easier over time and it still stings every day but if anyone who is reading this can relate or feels helpless like I did…PLEASE just block the person who is causing you pain. LET GO. Rip off the band-aid and choose to love yourself instead of saving face. Not everyone deserves your kindness/forgiveness. As an empathetic person, this has been a hard lesson for me to learn. But you can do it – just remind yourself of your worth.
Thanks for reading.
Hi Bridget!
I wish that I had the time to write everything that’s in my heart. There is nothing I could write back to you that would even come close to expressing my gratitude. THANK YOU for having the courage and taking the time to share. By doing so, you are helping countless others (who are too shy to comment or can’t find the words) feel less alone in their pain, situation, circumstances, and emotions.
“His punishment is living with himself and I am no longer allowing him to take up any more space in my mind. It will get easier over time and it still stings every day but if anyone who is reading this can relate or feels helpless like I did… PLEASE just block the person who is causing you pain. LET GO. Rip off the band-aid and choose to love yourself instead of saving face.” – AMEN, soul sister.
Thank you for being a part of this tribe.
Thank you for you. All my love to you xx