An Ex Is An Ex For A Reason. True Or False?

You’ve likely heard your friends or people on the net say that an ex is an ex for a reason. They’ve tried to convince you that breakups happen for a reason and that you shouldn’t stress over an ex too much.

Although they meant to give you healthy advice, they probably didn’t make you feel any better. You weren’t yet ready to hear things like, “Give up on your ex, your ex isn’t the right person for you, get over it” as you were still in denial or in a lot of pain and anxiety and wanted some sympathy and empathy.

Deep inside, you probably felt that your ex wasn’t your ideal partner otherwise the breakup wouldn’t have happened, but you still didn’t want to hear such crude words. You wanted more understanding and patience. Especially if the people telling you that an ex is an ex for a reason were your loved ones.

You need to keep in mind that not everyone will be empathetic about your exes. Some people aren’t very empathetic, so they’ll tell you what you need to hear even if you aren’t ready to hear it. By doing so, they’ll do two things to you.

  1. hurt you immensely.
  2. help you get out of denial quicker than if they told you that your ex might still love you and want you back.

So all in all, the saying that an ex is an ex for a reason has a good and a bad side to it. The good side is that you’ll lose hope quicker than normal. The bad side, however, is that you’ll suffer and feel that people don’t understand you and know what you need.

Ideally, you want advice that doesn’t destroy too much hope at once or give too much hope. And the people who may give that to you are the people with breakup experience and empathy. Friends can be those people, but it’s much more likely that family members or therapists will do a better job as they’ll see you’re struggling and that they shouldn’t be too harsh.

While it’s true that an ex is an ex for a reason as no breakup happens without a reason, it’s also true that most dumpees don’t need to hear it. If they’re struggling to cope with the breakup, it would be better for them to hear that their ex should have been more thoughtful towards them.

That way, dumpees wouldn’t be in so much pain. They wouldn’t have to listen to their friends say to forget about their ex and find someone better. Dumpees need months of time to process the breakup and get themselves back, so hearing things like that makes them feel that no one understands them and that they’re all alone in the breakup.

This article will talk about whether an ex is an ex for a reason or if it’s something people say just because everyone else says it.

An ex is an ex for a reason

An ex is an ex for a reason

As much as I hate the saying that an ex is an ex for a reason, it, unfortunately, has a lot of truth to it. An ex is indeed an ex for a reason as something goes wrong in the relationship. Someone stops maintaining the relationship and falls out of love to chase happiness elsewhere.

A breakup can happen for many different reasons such as personality clashes, stressors, depression, anxiety, family drama, doubts, or anything negative you can think of. But no matter what or who causes the breakup, the real cause is not that important.

The underlying issue is that the person leaving loses the interest, willpower, love, patience, and commitment necessary for watering the relationship. He or she starts craving alone time and finds the relationship tiring. That’s why the dumper starts looking for a way out of the relationship and develops negative perceptions of the dumpee.

If these perceptions are strong and unhealthy, they can even turn into repulsion, resentment, and contempt. It all depends on whether the dumper is developed as a person and in control of his or her body. If the dumper is developed, he or she will give you closure, support you when needed, and leave you alone to heal.

And if the dumper isn’t developed (mature), he or she will get angry when you reach out and ask for attention, call you names, get revenge, refuse to take any responsibility, and block you.

No matter what the dumper does, you should never blame yourself for his or her mean and aggressive behavior. Even if you beg for another chance and smother the dumper, the dumper should still be empathetic despite not feeling like it.

Maturity doesn’t mean you don’t feel negative emotions. It means you have control over them and that you do what the situation requires you to do. If you need to be caring, patient, and kind, you’re caring, patient, and kind. And if you must leave your ex alone to heal, you do that too.

You basically read your ex’s emotional state and give your ex what your ex needs (not what you need). This is called being an empathic, mature, and moral person. Everyone (regardless of whether they’re the dumpee or the dumper) should work on these three things.

But, unfortunately, not everyone does. Many people work on themselves only when they need to. And they need to when they’re in pain and feel they have no choice but to grow. Such people grow only once or twice in life. For most of their lives, they stay on autopilot.

Anyway, we can say that an ex is an ex for a reason because he or she ran away when the relationship became difficult to handle. Instead of acknowledging the fact that relationships have ups and downs and that they require work, the dumper thought it wasn’t supposed to be that difficult and gave up.

This says a lot about a person’s relationship mentality and ability to persevere. I’m not saying people should tolerate abuse and a person who won’t listen to them and care about their feelings, but they can resolve most if not all differences and issues if they really want to. The problem for most people is that they don’t want to.

They usually wait so long that they feel exhausted and lose the drive to fix anything. That’s when they normally abandon the relationship and show that an ex is an ex for a very good reason.

Here’s the meaning of the famous saying that an ex is an ex for a reason.

An ex is an ex for a reason meaning

Is an ex always an ex for a reason?

People choose to become exes. Other people may influence their thinking, but they still decide what they want and what’s best for them. That’s why we can say that exes always become exes for a reason. They don’t focus on finding solutions but rather on distancing themselves from problems and making themselves feel better.

As a result, they allow themselves to lose feelings and start desiring something or someone else. That’s when they start looking for an opportunity to leave the relationship and don’t look back.

Some exes feel guilty and communicate with their exes, but they have no intention of getting back together. They just want to stay friends, assuage their guilt, and keep their exes around for convenience and support. Such exes give the impression that they still love their dumpees, but they usually just don’t want to stop communicating with them.

They want friendship or friendship with benefits or convenience.

So if you got dumped and you’re wondering if your ex is an ex for a reason, keep in mind that he or she is. Your ex wasn’t willing and capable of communicating and resolving issues and decided to leave you to focus on himself or herself.

You can’t change the way your ex feels about you now that it’s over. You can only make things worse. Especially if you try to reason with your ex and overwhelm him or her.

If you want the best for your ex as well as yourself, you have to leave your ex completely alone. You have to go indefinite no contact so that your ex can have the space to do what he or she wants. Space and time could make your ex realize you’re a decent person and that the relationship wasn’t that bad.

However, if you did the dumping yourself, then you have to keep in mind that you left your ex for a reason and that you shouldn’t get back with your ex unless that reason is gone or fixable. This means that if you feel resentful, you need to deal with resentment. You have to work on yourself so that if you get back together that your relationship can have a new beginning.

Should you get back with an ex?

It’s not for me to say whether you should reconcile with your ex. But I can give you some advice to follow if you’re on the fence.

The first tip is not to listen to your heart. If you make an emotional decision, you could get back with your ex because you’re feeling guilty, bored, lonely, or afraid to let go. You should get back with your ex if doing so improves your life long-term, not just now that the breakup created some uncomfortable emotions and situations.

People who get back together because of strong emotions such as jealousy and guilt tend to break up again. That’s because they eventually stop feeling painful emotions and realize they don’t love their partner.

Secondly, make sure that the relationship was healthy. If you treated each other poorly, you’ll continue treating each other poorly when you get back together, too. This is because you’ll jump into the same situation and behave the way you used to.

You’ve got to keep in mind that a little bit of space won’t resolve the way you perceive each other and respond to difficult situations. Only self-reflection and a strong desire to improve can do that.

And finally, get back with your ex if months have gone by and you’ve realized you love your ex and that the dumper has made a rash decision. Don’t get back with your ex unless you’re certain that anger/unhealthy emotions are gone and that the person who left the relationship will give the dumpee his or her power and importance back.

If the relationship remains imbalanced, the person with the most power is likely going to lose interest again and cause more pain. So be aware of that and figure out if getting back with an ex is even a good idea.

What do you think? Do you think an ex is an ex for a reason? Post your thoughts below the post.

And if you’re looking for breakup coaching, sign up for a session here.

8 thoughts on “An Ex Is An Ex For A Reason. True Or False?”

  1. Another thing I would add after watching some YouTube videos about talking to friends and family is be very careful about taking their advice. They may tell you to do things that will actually worsen your chances of getting your ex back if you want them back. It’s not that they don’t mean well, they just don’t understand how to handle breakups.
    On the flip side they may trash talk your ex. If you want your ex back you’ll want to refrain from that because if it ever gets back to your ex that you were trash talking them that may ruin any chances you have. The one person that was telling me to just get over her and date other women said my ex was toxic (I think ‘toxic’ and ‘narcissist’ are two terms that are way overused). Finally in frustration I just said look, she’s not ‘toxic’ just because she broke up with me. She wasn’t abusive, she didn’t belittle me to her friends, she was never cruel in the relationship. What she did was she broke up with me. Yeah, it hurts like hell. But that doesn’t make her ‘toxic.’ There was nothing about our relationship before she broke up with me that was anything like a toxic relationship.

    Reply
    • Hi Damian.

      Thanks for the great advice. Not all family members and friends know how breakups work. They may have your best interests at heart, but they can complicate things for you. I agree with you that narcissism is way overused. Not every ex is a narc/toxic person. Dumpers oftentimes just lack commitment and patience as they’re excited to distance themselves from the dumpee and start dating someone else.

      Best regards,
      Zan

      Reply
  2. I totally agree that an ex is an ex got a reason but it’s so damn hard to accept it in the beginning.

    And yes, eople choose to become exes. My ex did not focus on finding solutions but rather on distancing from problems and just thinking about themselve and just how feel better. super selfish but look at me I’m 2.0 version thank to your help Zan 🫶🏻

    Reply
    • Hi Linda.

      It’s super hard to accept that an ex is an ex for a reason. I suppose it’d be easier if people expressed this to us in other ways. They could say, “I know you want your ex back, but try to remember that your ex wasn’t perfect and that no matter how you tried, you couldn’t make the relationship work. You guys weren’t on the same page.”

      Best regards,
      Zan

      Reply
  3. I’ve had a tough time with my breakup. A few days after my breakup someone told me I just need to leave her behind and start dating new people. I can tell you that was absolutely unhelpful. It didn’t make me feel better, quite the opposite. I felt like there was something wrong with me since I was hung up on my ex-girlfriend. Thankfully I chatted with a friend of mine and first she said people shouldn’t be telling you when to get over someone. That will happen when it happens. And she said it’s perfectly normal to feel like I wanted her back.

    But as someone who was dumped, all being told that I needed to get over her, date other people, and an ex is an ex for a reason (I hate that saying) is it made me feel even more depressed and upset.

    I can tell you I’m having a rough time of it. It’s been 9 weeks and I’m still not over her. I think part of it is because things were pretty good. We didn’t get into fights, there was no abuse, we did a lot of different things together. There was a lot of give and take. There was affection. Now it wasn’t perfect. I have anxious attachment issues (mostly having to do with seeking her validation, but no jealousy or controlling behavior). I’m going to therapy and taking an online course on relationships to deal with my issues. I don’t even blame her for breaking up with me because I was doing repetitive things. But I saw a real future with her. So it’s been hard for me to let go and I continue to hope someday maybe she will contact me again, when I’ve overcome my anxiety issues. I just feel like we left a lot unfinished. And in many ways she is a good and decent person who actually did make me want to be a better person. She was always supportive and encouraged me.

    And telling me to start dating new people days later? There is no way I’m in a headspace to start dating other women. Not while I’m still hung up on my ex. That would be incredibly selfish to my date to do that. The only positive is I figure that will give me the time I need to work on my own issues. I know I need to overcome my anxious attachment issues and get over my ex. Then if she does contact me I’ll be in a much better place to accept her back in my life because I still feel she adds to my life (I’ve heard from a number of different sources they seem to contact you when you’ve moved on). If not, then I’ll be in a healthier frame of mind to start dating again knowing I won’t do the same things again in a future relationship.

    Reply
    • Hi Damian.

      Hearing things like “get over it” sucks. It has no compassion and offers no solution. So I hope you found the help that actually helps. You would have been a bigger mess if your relationship was unhealthy because if that was the case, you would have trauma-bonded. You’d have gotten attached to your ex and wouldn’t be able to pull away as quickly as you did now.

      9 weeks is good time, Damian, but you need more time to detach. People normally make good progress 4 months after the breakup when they start realizing they’re not thinking about their ex that much anymore. Your job is to keep healing and working on your anxious attachment style. The more work you do now, the more secure you’ll be in your next relationship.

      Best regards,
      Zan

      Reply
  4. Hi Zan
    I read several of your articles and they are helping me great deal to understand and navigate in my current situation. Me 30M and my gf 27F are currently on a break. Quick back story: we met 4,5 years ago but we lived in different countries. I moved to where she was and we immediately moved in together. Seems crazy but things had been truly great. We continued living together all this time and we had a period of over 1 year when we worked together as well. A few months ago my gf brought up that she feels like she needs space as she felt like her feelings and emotions were burnt out and what’s left at the moment is attachment and not much of love. She then suggested that living apart is the only solution and we said we’d give it a try and see how it goes although I was reluctant at first and then truly depressed with crying etc. 2 weeks ago she did move out a few blocks down the road. At first we were gonna be together but live apart meaning we would meet, come over to each other’s apartment etc but we would not act like a couple for now. A week ago I said it felt strange that we are a couple but act as friends. My gf suggested to take a break and not be together officially for now, continue to meet etc and see how things go. I read your article about taking a break and know that you it’s a bad idea. However, in your practice have you had clients for whom this worked? Ever since this happened I have been DEVASTADED, I love her so much and think this is the one, how do I navigate all this? She does have a history in her family that a close family member did take a break with their then partner and they are happily married now. So far I’ve said a few times how I missed her and cried once or twice when me met as I just couldn’t control my emotions. Up until the last few months I was planning our future together and still can’t believe the whole situation. Sorry for long post, appreciate if you could advise.

    Reply
    • Hi Greg.

      A break doesn’t mean an actual break. Dumpers are just afraid of telling the truth as they don’t want to see a strong reaction from their ex. I suggest that you give her the space she’s asked for. She’s going through the dumper stages, so she needs lots of time to process things. Sure, I’ve had many clients with almost identical stories, but not all of them went back with their ex. Some did, but most didn’t get a chance or they just stopped respecting their ex.

      Best regards,
      Zan

      Reply

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