Left my [25F] boyfriend [23M] 5-6 months ago and couldn’t be happier

Sorry this is super long but I swear there’s a point!!

So I was with this guy for 5.5 years, it was very serious. We lived together for 2 of those years and honestly already felt like we were married. We did everything together but he was an unfortunately lazy person. He was working on his fifth year of college with no end in site and refused to get a job in the meantime.

I start travel nursing last Year and things seem fine. I get to come home for a few days about every week and a half. Fast forward a month and things got weird fast. He started trying to befriend one of his friends exes and was constantly talking to me about her and was super weird about his phone. I eventually confronted him and he apologized and said he would stop since it made me uncomfortable.

I take my next assignment only 1.5 hours away so we’re seeing each other a couple times a week then. Seems like things are good again, back to normal. Until I have to go to the ED one day for intense abdominal pain and turns out I have appendicitis. He’s constantly checking in on me and offers to leave and drive to where I’m at. I keep telling him I’m fine and then I find out I have this so I’m going to need surgery. I call him and tell him and say I wouldn’t hate it you came now. He gets super weird says he’s busy with an assignment and hangs up. Uhhhh ok? I ignore it cause I’m in pain and kinda have other things to focus on. I end up taking a week off of work to recover and I go back with him to our apartment. He’s either constantly on his phone or playing on his computer the entire time I’m there. Eeeeextremely distant and protective of his phone. I finally see an unfamiliar girls name come across his phone. I know at this point something is up and I probably need to confront the situation.

I have to work like 5 days in a row so I leave and intend to bring it up the next time we’re together. Well next time we’re together he offers me his laptop to watch Netflix while he finishes up some homework. Well his iMessage was connected to his computer and he starts getting some weird messages but it’s from a guys name. It’s not sitting right so I look back into the texts and find all this shit. He’s texting MULTIPLE other girls and sending/receiving nude pictures. Totally froze up. Also found incriminating texts talking about the sex he’s had with a few of them. I’m beyond disgusted and I go to start packing my shit. He claims he’s “sad” since I’m gone and they give him the attention that Im not currently giving to him. Barf. Also claimed he’s now suicidal since I’ve been gone and it feels good to have people make him feel like he’s wanted. (Now I take mental illness very seriously and I’m not saying he wasn’t depressed or suicidal but the timing was nothing short of impeccable, am I right?)I pack and leave.

Ended up meeting a guy a few short weeks after all this went down. I told him everything and he was surprisingly ok with continuing to talk to me and give me a chance. Well I’m unbelievably thankful that he did because he’s incredible! I can’t say enough great things about him.

The moral of the story is that I got comfortable. There were probably a million reasons to leave the first guy that I refused to see because we were together for so long. This new guy has taught me so much about myself and makes me strive to be a better person and more importantly to expect more from people. I just want everyone to know it gets better and never to settle!! Also once a cheater always a cheater so immediately leave that shit behind.

TL;DR: left my boyfriend of 5.5 years and found the most amazing guy. Never settle!!