According to a poll conducted by Women’s Health, 8 in 15 women think it’s possible to stay friends with an ex. I’m definitely not in that number. Out of all of my ex-boyfriends, I’m only “friends” with two of them on Facebook. And I think that’s only because one of them I dated in high school and the other immediately thereafter. With over fifteen years in between coupling and communicating, I was willing to hit “accept” rather than “ignore.” But is my opinion that unusual?
I have many girlfriends- married and single alike- who maintain real friendships with exes. They see them socially, their new boyfriend or husband has even met (and even liked!) them. I’ve just never been inclined to do that. Maybe it’s because when my relationships ended, the easiest way for me to move on was to go “cold turkey” and cut off all contact. Many of my exes wanted to stay friends, but I never felt that would work for me.
And now that I’m married, would it work for my husband? I’m not so sure. And I wonder how I’d feel about him maintaining a friendship with his exes? I’m not the jealous type per se, but I can’t imagine I’d love it. Especially if they were hotter than me. (Just being honest.)
But am I curious about ex-boyfriends? Yes! I’m interested in knowing who they married or what their children look like. But not enough to send an email or call them. Not when it’s so much easier to gather info about them on the world wide web! (*smile*) And according to another question Women’s Health asked in that same poll, 72% of women have checked out their ex’s new girlfriend on Facebook. Now that’s a number I can definitely wrap my head around.
Are you friends with your exes? Why or why not?
