My ex says she still loves me but broke up with me because of her mental health. Do I wait for her or move on
I never thought I’d post something like this, but honestly I’m pretty lost and could use some outside perspective.
I’m 23M and my ex is 19F. We recently broke up after being together for several months.
About a month and a half before the breakup, she told me she didn’t feel loved in the relationship. I was genuinely shocked because I love this girl a lot and thought I was showing it. She explained that she wanted me to be more romantic, and after putting myself in her shoes, I could understand where she was coming from.
I’m in the military, and three days later I was leaving for two weeks of leave back home, so we agreed to take a short break and work on ourselves. That lasted about two days because we both missed each other, so instead we agreed to limit texting to a couple times a day and call every night to catch up. Honestly, things seemed to be getting better.
Then, three days before I was supposed to come home, she texted me asking if she could call. On the phone she told me she noticed the changes I’d been making and appreciated my effort, but that her mental health was genuinely terrible and she didn’t think being in a relationship was good for her right now.
I’ll admit, I reacted badly. I was hurt and said something along the lines of, “I don’t understand how you can say you love someone and then break up with them.” I know that wasn’t fair, but I was 700 miles away from home and completely blindsided.
The day I got back, after a 13-hour drive, I texted her asking if I could come get my things. She agreed. When I got there, she looked visibly upset, so we started talking about everything. I asked why she chose to break up with me while I was so far away, and she said, “I thought it would be easier for me.”
Then she started crying and telling me how much she loves me and how much she hates hurting me.
We ended up getting food and talking more. At one point she grabbed my face and kissed me. I hesitated because I didn’t know if that would make everything harder, but eventually I kissed her back.
For a little while, it honestly felt like everything was normal again. The problem was that whenever I brought up the breakup, she’d start crying again. Eventually we agreed to stay in contact.
Two days later I asked her on a date and she responded really enthusiastically. We went out, and honestly it felt almost exactly like when we were together. After dinner we sat in my truck for about two hours holding each other and talking.
Eventually the relationship came up again and the same thing happened. She started crying and told me how much I mean to her and how much she loves me, but that being in a relationship right now is too much for her.
I asked if she’d be willing to be exclusive but just take things slowly without a relationship title. She said no because even having a title/expectation of anything right now feels like too much pressure.
I genuinely believe her when she says she needs time to work on herself.
At one point she told me, “If we’re meant to be together, God will make it happen.”
Later that night we ended up being intimate and spent another couple hours holding each other. I took her home and she kissed me and then told me, “Goodnight, I love you,” and I said it back.
Later that night she sent me pictures we’d taken together, which honestly made me think maybe she was changing her mind.
We had plans to see each other the next night, but the following morning I asked if she was still coming over and she sent me this:
“Honestly no, I was up all last night thinking and I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep up whatever it is we’ve been doing. At the end of the day we want different things right now and I don’t want either of us to get hurt. I don’t want to be exclusive and you’ve communicated that you wouldn’t be able to be in contact with me if that was the case. And I know I wouldn’t be able to stay in something I’d feel used in if we just kept hooking up. Last night was really nice and I know it sucks, but I think we should go no contact.”
Honestly, I agreed with her.
Then she sent me:
“I’m so grateful I got to fall in love with you Grant, thank you so much for everything you have done <3”
I assumed that was basically goodbye and we’d actually go no contact.
Then, about 14 hours later at midnight, she broke no contact and sent:
“are you not sharing your location”
“I can’t see it”
“are you not coming out”
I hadn’t turned my location off. I had just decided to stay home.
Six hours later I responded that I hadn’t turned it off and had decided to stay in. She replied:
“sorry I texted”
That was the last time we talked, which was six days ago.
The confusing part is that she has told me she still loves me and has even said that maybe in the future, if she gets back on antidepressants, works on herself, and eventually moves out of her parents’ house, we could potentially try again.
At the same time, she repeatedly tells me she doesn’t want to give me false hope and doesn’t want me waiting around for her.
I told her I’d genuinely wait for her, but now I’m questioning whether that’s actually healthy.
I genuinely care about this girl and I know she cares about me. I don’t want to immediately move on and have her think that I never loved her or that I gave up on her. But I also don’t want to spend months waiting for someone who may never come back.
I’m obviously not expecting anyone to predict the future, but I’m really looking for perspective from people who have been through something similar.
If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Would you give her complete space and let her come back if/when she’s ready, or would you start moving on and dating other people?
And based on everything I’ve described, does this sound like someone who genuinely doesn’t want the relationship anymore, or someone who still loves me but genuinely isn’t capable of being in a relationship right now?
Any advice is appreciated.
Posted Aug 12, 2026, 2:15 PM UTC