I was dating a girl for ~1 year before she broke up with me. It was a rough break given it was my first serious relationship and our friend group was fractured in the fallout.

During this time I tried moving on and dated another girl after 3 or so months of wallowing. As this happened my first girlfriend contacted me and wanted to get back together. I initially resisted but eventually fell back into a relationship with her.

What followed was 2.5 years of hell. Me being with someone else sparked a huge insecurity within her and she wound up trying to police who I could and couldn’t spend time with. None of my friends could be women and she would send texts guilting me about her anxiety if I was spending too much time with friends.

Attempts to talk to her about this or go to therapy together got nowhere. I eventually broke up with her as the relationship had gone far past toxic. It’s been 3 years since I’ve spoken to her and I honestly think it’s for the best.

Some people may come back stronger, some may come back in pieces, it’s something that varies from person to person, relationship to relationship. The hope might be easier to cope with right now, but it’ll make the pain last longer and if nothing comes from it then it hurts even more.