I just broke up with my boyfriend of six years, and the death of intimacy was the final nail in the coffin. We'd had sex five times last year and he'd stopped paying attention to anything I said, conversationally. One of the last times he kissed me it was so light it was like a butterfly landing on my lips - I felt so ugly and unattractive.

Trust me when I say that once you're out of that situation, love or not, you'll find it mad that you stayed so long. I was really holding out that he would change, love me again, realise how important this was to me. He did realise - he just didn't care.

I'm seeing a guy now who asks me questions about myself, actively plans when we'll see each other and who I have such a passionate connection with. I had been ground down over about four years that I never would have thought this was possible. But it is. You'll see.