Have you ever stayed in a relationship that you knew wasn’t right? We’ve all been there. Although some relationships are undoubtedly worth fighting for, others might have simply run their course, or become unhealthy for one or both people involved. That doesn’t necessarily make it easy to leave, though. If you find yourself hanging around for any of these reasons, make plans to leave, now.
Okay, so everyone likes to be loved, but that’s not a reason to stay. You might wonder if anyone else will ever love you like they do, as much as they do, or if you’re walking away from the only person who will ever adore you. Love isn’t enough, sometimes. If the relationship isn’t working in general, you have to trust that there’s someone else that will love you – and it’ll be mutual – and get the confidence to leave.
Come on. You run an even greater risk of hurting them if they find out that you’ve stayed together simply because you didn’t want to be the bad guy. Be honest and treat them with respect. They might be hurt, but at least they’ll know where they stand.
Don’t stay in a bad relationship because you don’t want to be single. Don’t stay in any relationship just because you want to be in a relationship. Think about how you’d feel if someone was only with you because they didn’t want to be on their own, and then be the bigger person and break up. Not only are you doing the right thing for your partner, but you’ll also teach yourself that being single is nothing to be afraid of.
Everyone might think that you are perfect together, or you look adorable, or you’re unbreakable. If you don’t agree, though, that’s all that matters. Don’t stay together because other people might be upset or shocked. Your happiness is important, and nobody was ever made happy because their relationship looked good. It needs to feel good, too.
If you’ve been together a while, you’re probably quite close to each other’s families. His mum could know you better than anyone, his brother might be perfect for chatting about Game of Thrones with, or he might have the sisters you never had. You are not dating his family, though. Don’t stay together for other people.
Sometimes it might feel like you’ll never be able to make a clean break because you’ve got mutual friends or you can’t imagine not running into each other all the time. That’s not a great reason, though. Friends will get over the break up, and you can always make new friends, too. Bad relationships cannot be saved by shared friends.
When you’re happy, it’s easy to promise that you’ll love someone forever and that you’ll never break up. The butterflies wear off, you stop feeling so happy, and you have every right to break up if you need to. Don’t stay together because you don’t want to break a promise. Being honest now might break the promise, but at least you won’t break hearts later down the line.
There will always be reasons not to make difficult decisions, and breaking up with someone will always be difficult. That doesn’t mean that you should stay together, though. Take a deep breath and end things. Be respectful and polite and honest, and then walk away with your head held high. Something better is on its way. Got any tips for ending hard relationships? I’d love to hear them.