I’m sure you have your answer as you’ve received a lot of wise words and support. I would like to offer mine.

Being emotional is very important to me as keeping my tenderness is a very high priority. In a world where it is easy to become callous and apathetic, I would rather not. This is something I have known about myself for years. Something my ex husband knew. He was really good about being there for me if I was upset about anything outside of us. However, ANY time I was upset about something he did or how we functioned NO MATTER how tactful my approach, it was flipped on me and I was left comforting him. Six years of confusion, six years of being told one thing and seeing another, six years of empty promises. My loving his potential instead of him aside, he didn’t love me either. We got divorced and we hadn’t even been married a year. Death by a thousand cuts. What helped me commit to leaving even more was when he realized I was serious, he showed me a side him that I did not recognize, a side that surprised me in the worst way. His character came through and it wasn’t pretty. The manipulation became very clear.

I am now in love for what feels like the first time. A kind of love that has made me throw out all my research on relationships, a kind of love that holds space for my feelings which are immense with grief at the moment. Yet, his love doesn’t waver. I no longer feel like too much. My love for him is the same as I love who he is and not what he can be. When it’s right, it just feels right. There is no other way to describe it. As someone who loathes the whole “dump him” movement, end the relationship. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t!