Updated on June 24, 2025
If your ex unblocked you but is in a relationship, your ex probably doesn’t consider you a threat to his or her health and well-being anymore. Your ex considers you a person who keeps their distance and has their emotions under control. He or she wants to prove to you, him/herself, and others that there are no more hard feelings and that he or she can handle unblocking you as long as you keep your distance and respect his or her boundaries.
Many dumpers realize they overreacted during or after the breakup. They learn that their ex stopped chasing and that they needn’t keep their ex blocked forever. They think blocking is disrespectful and impulsive, and don’t want to think of themselves as mean and unforgiving. That’s why they feel bad and unblock their ex when anger, resentment, and contempt subside.
Oftentimes, this happens when they get into a new relationship. A new relationship distracts and empowers them and helps them forget some of their ex’s negative behaviors. Due to their newfound happiness, they forget how their ex made them feel when he or she got angry or begged for attention. They then decide to unblock their ex out of respect or simply to clear their conscience.
If you want to know why your ex unblocked you when he or she is in a new relationship, you need to understand that unblocking isn’t an invitation for you to reach out and get back together. It’s not an encrypted message, urging you to get back in touch and save your ex from a bad relationship. Your ex might be struggling to connect or get along with his or her new partner, but if your ex didn’t reach out and ask for another chance, your ex doesn’t regret leaving you yet. Your ex likely just feels bad for blocking you out of his or her life and hurting your feelings.
He or he might have realized that blocking was uncalled for and that you should be able to reach out if you really need to. “Really need to” means you have something urgent to tell your ex. Something like asking for your belongings back or letting your ex know something serious or tragic happened. Of course, you shouldn’t reach out even if bad things happen, but your ex might have left a channel of communication open for emergencies.
Always remember that a person who unblocks, whether he or she is single, in a new relationship, or somewhere in between, their decision to unblock you indicates emotional progress. It shows that the man or woman’s negative emotions have cooled off a bit and have been replaced with happier thoughts and feelings. Negative perceptions still exist, but they’re not so overwhelming that your ex gets extremely angry or stressed at the thought of hearing from you.
Your ex clearly felt safe and respected and has stopped feeling the need to keep you blocked. He or she likely thought that blocking was rude, that he or she wouldn’t want to get blocked either, and that it was time to unblock you and demonstrate emotional self-control.
I can’t say what exactly went through your head at the time of unblocking, but it’s evident that your ex has naturally processed the breakup to the point where leaving you blocked doesn’t make your ex happy anymore. Your ex doesn’t get any satisfaction out of keeping you away by force and controlling the breakup, so your ex unblocked you when it seemed convenient for him or her.
It just happened to be when your ex was in a relationship and remembered that he or she still had you blocked. To ease his or her guilt, show growth, decide if he/she wants to talk, or let you reach out if there’s an emergency, your ex unblocked you and probably kept it a secret from his or her partner.
Try not to overthink your ex’s unblocking. If you haven’t heard from your ex, it might just be the first step. Your ex still needs to become curious, nostalgic, or guilty—and want to communicate with you. When your ex feels emotions he or she needs your help with, your ex will likely contact you and try to get what he or she needs from you.
That may sound selfish, but dumpers often reach out when they need something from their ex. Usually, they lack self-awareness and a deeper understanding of their reasons for reaching out. Other times, they hide their intentions and confuse their ex in the process. They say things dumpees want but mustn’t hear and make their healing journey much more difficult than it has to be.
If your ex unblocked you but hasn’t reached out, you probably wonder what his or her actions could mean. You might wonder if your ex’s new relationship isn’t going well and if your ex is preparing to get back with you. That could be the case, but it’s not very likely. It could simply mean that your ex has processed strong breakup emotions, thought about his or her strong blocking reaction, felt guilty about it, and decided to make things easier for both of you.
By unblocking, your ex got to forgive him/herself for pushing you away by force and gave you a chance to reach out if you need to. It was about being fair and making things right, rather than leaving the new partner and getting back with you.
Typically, when dumpers unblock, they don’t reach out for weeks, months, or longer. They don’t want to because they don’t regret leaving the relationship or wanting to be friends. They also don’t want to give their ex the wrong idea, be pursued, and feel uncomfortable or pressured. Hence, they leave their ex unblocked and continue minding their own business.
If they receive texts or calls from their ex, they often feel overwhelmed and push their ex further away. Some dumpers stop responding, whereas others block their ex again.
In this post, we shed some light on why your ex unblocked you when he or she is in a relationship, presumably a happy one.
My ex unblocked me but is in a relationship
If your ex unblocked you even though he or she is seeing someone else, your ex clearly processed the pain triggered by the breakup and stopped feeling threatened by you. Instead of continuing to hold you responsible for his or her feelings and blocking behavior, your ex forgave your emotional reactions and/or changed his or her beliefs about blocking.
Your ex decided that blocking was unnecessary and that you deserved better treatment for sticking with him or her till the end. Your ex’s opinion of you may not be positive yet, but your ex still thinks that blocking is too much. It’s especially too much if you were a decent partner who dedicated a big portion of your life to your ex.
Your ex may be starting to realize that, despite not being the most compatible, you’re still a kind-hearted person who envisioned a future together and committed for the long term. If your ex is starting to notice some of your positive traits, your ex no longer thinks of you as the worst person on the planet. Your ex is starting to admit that you’re not a bad person, that you have your emotions under control, and that unblocking you is probably the right thing to do.
Your ex won’t know for certain until your ex sees that you don’t consider unblocking an invitation to reach out.
Try to remember that your ex is just testing the waters. Your ex wants to see that he or she can trust you not to reach out for unimportant reasons. You probably shouldn’t reach out even if you found out you only have a few months left to live. New person or not, your ex has moved on and doesn’t want to talk to you. He or she has different priorities and goals that don’t concern you. Your ex might want to talk, at least for a while, when he or she takes the initiative to contact you and says or shows why he or she broke the silence.
Until then, keep in mind that your ex needs space and that your ex won’t respect you if you start a conversation on your terms.
Curious, guilty, bored, nostalgic, anxious, helpless, and regretful exes reach out on their own. They decide they want to reach out and engage in conversation. If they don’t reach out, their inactions prove they’re still enjoying their newfound freedom and don’t see a reason to reconnect.
So if you’re dying to know why your ex unblocked you but is in a relationship, remember that your ex’s relationship probably has nothing to do with your ex’s unblocking. It may feel empowering, but the real reason your ex unblocked you is that your ex processed negative post-breakup emotions and thought it was time to forgive you and trust you. It wasn’t necessary to leave you blocked because you hadn’t taken any desperate actions that would have forced your ex to keep you away.
You didn’t show up at your ex’s house or work unannounced and showed that you depend on him or her for happiness and self-love. Your ex must have learned to trust you enough to unblock you, especially if you got blocked because you begged and pleaded too much.
Many dumpers feel that they have no choice but to block. To them, blocking is a perfectly reasonable response to a lack of space and privacy and emotional overwhelm.
Such dumpees unblock when they themselves get blocked and change their beliefs.
Having said that, here’s a recap of why your ex unblocked you while he or she is still in a relationship.
What to do when your ex unblocks you?
Whatever you do, don’t take the privilege to contact your ex and pester your ex just because your ex unblocked you. Your ex may feel safe and a bit more open to the idea of chatting, but that doesn’t mean your ex is ready for it now. Your ex is probably just interested in your new life and feels bad for blocking you.
If you want to avoid making things worse, you should consider unblocking a healthy part of your ex’s moving-on process. Remember that mature and healthy dumpers often unblock (especially if the breakup was healthy but intense). They realize they went too far and that their ex isn’t as bad as they felt when emotions ran high.
The best thing you can do is act as if you didn’t get unblocked or didn’t notice it. Stay in no contact and continue to invest in your detachment, growth, and purpose. It will show your ex that you’re not constantly checking their profiles and that you won’t reach out even if they post nostalgic things. What your ex does and how your ex feels don’t change the fact that you’re in no contact and that your ex needs a reason to contact you.
When your ex finds it, your ex could breadcrumb you, befriend you, friend-zone you, feel jealous, or ask to get back together. You’ll handle that when the time comes. For now, you need to focus on the things that are in front of you. You must remain committed to no contact and avoid breaking it, even if you feel super sad and tempted to give up.
If you have trouble staying away from your ex, remind yourself that you’ll make things worse by breaking no contact. Not only will you force the conversation and risk overwhelming your ex with your emotions and expectations, but you’ll also make your ex’s relationship stronger. You’ll make your ex realize that his or her relationship doesn’t have that much pressure and that your ex needs to focus on it harder.
So treat your ex’s unblocking as unimportant and focus on yourself and things you can control. You can’t control how your ex thinks and feels about you, especially by reaching out first. Such actions will only make you look desperate and disrespect your ex’s space and privacy.
No matter why the breakup happened and what your ex’s relationship is like, let your ex come to you. By letting your ex make the first, second, and third steps, you can reclaim your lost power and motivate your ex to grow and invest. If you ignore this advice and do all the work for your ex, your ex will likely soon take you for granted and leave. You’ll feel rejected once more and feel stupid for investing in your ex before he or she invested in you.
My advice is not to check whether you’re blocked or unblocked. It doesn’t matter because it doesn’t change the fact that your ex must reach out of his or her own accord and win your trust and love back. Your top priority must be to self-prioritize and heal. Once you’re healed, you’ll probably stop caring about your ex and checking if you’re blocked.
Did your ex unblock you but is in a relationship? What do you think it means? Share your thoughts below the post.
However, if you need help understanding why your ex unblocked you and what to do next, feel free to reach out. We’ll answer your burning questions and guide you in the right direction.
My name is Zan and I’m the founder of Magnet of Success. I enjoy writing realistic relationship and breakup articles and helping readers heal and grow. With more than 5 years of experience in the self-improvement, relationship, and breakup sphere, my goal is to provide advice that fosters positivity and success and avoids preventable mistakes and pain. Buy me a coffee, learn more about me, or get in touch today.
