Dumpers miss their exes too

Everyone's situation is different, so nobody can say exactly what an ex is thinking. But from my own experience after ending a relationship that lasted 5 years, I can honestly say I miss my ex every day. I still think about him all the time. He shows up in my dreams, and he's usually the first person I think about in the morning and the last one before I fall asleep. It's been about seven weeks of no contact, and I still cry. Some days it's only for a few minutes, other days it's much longer.

I believe that when you've shared years of your life with someone, it's almost impossible to stop missing them overnight. Even if you were the one who chose to leave, that doesn't erase the love, memories, guilt, or sadness. Losing someone who was such a big part of your life hurts no matter which side of the breakup you're on.

I'm not saying this to give anyone false hope. Missing someone doesn't automatically mean you want the relationship back. I actually did want to get back together for a while. But after thinking about it, I realized we probably would have fallen into the same unhealthy patterns. If both people aren't willing to admit their mistakes and make real changes, the same problems usually come back.

The point of this post is simple. If you were together for a long time, there's a good chance your ex misses you too. That doesn't mean they'll come back, but it also doesn't mean they forgot about you the moment the relationship ended. I also don't like the word "discarded." In many cases, it's not an honest way to describe a breakup between two people who once truly cared about each other.