Can You Be Friends With An Ex?
Are you friends with an ex? Is your s.o friends with an ex?
82% people think you can be friends with an ex, but only 58% of people are actually friends with their exes. Also only 74% of people would be ok with their partner being friends with their ex, and 44% said they thought their partner would care if they were friends with an ex.
Sometimes staying friends with an ex is nice because you have a close connection with them already, which can be rare!
Things we did when trying to stay friends with an ex that you should probably avoid…. (like secretly still having feelings for them)
How can you stay friends with an ex?
In this week's episode we ask if you can be friends with your ex. We begin by hearing from some of our listeners' opinion on if exes can be friends, if they're friends with any of their exes, if they'd be okay with their significant other being friends with an ex, or if their significant other minds if they're friends with their ex.
We then move on to explaining how we came to be friends with our exes, and what to do if your ex wants to stay friends and you don't. There are often so many reasons not to stay friends- they're your ex for a reason, after all (!)- but sometimes losing someone from your life forever is unnecessary and not worth it. Of course there are wrong reasons to stay friends with someone you dated, like you still secretly have feelings for them and you're hoping they'll change their minds and regret dumping you, but we truly believe, after some time and reflection, exes can be friends. You probably can't be friends straight after a breakup, though. We wouldn't recommend that (from personal experience). And you definitely, definitely, can't be friends with someone you love. We also discuss how we feel about our boyfriends being friends with an ex, and if it's ok for them to be friends with their ex-lovers, even if they don't have feelings for them.
If you're going through a break up, we really feel for you. We know how difficult it can be, but maybe you'll get a friend out of it eventually! Just don't stay friends with them and lie to yourself about not having feelings for them, and you'll be fine!