E885 Ask Nick - The Best Bangsgiving Ever
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So who did you hook up with? I hooked up with my roommate slash best friend's friend who just got out of an eight-year relationship with her other friend. Your roommate's slash best friend's friend. Friend. Okay. Okay. This person, they're not your friend. They are now. We were kind of becoming a friend group. Okay. All right.

But not until he became single. So before we get into it, what are the potential problems that you're concerned about? One of the biggest potential problems already happened, actually. So my best friend, Jessica, she felt like she needed to tell his ex, Emily. Why? Just because they're friends. And I guess she was devastated. She's friends with the ex. She's good friends with the ex. Okay. And the ex was devastated. They were broken up for like four months before we hooked up.

And so why did your why did your friend feel the need to tell her? Because she I guess they had been talking about the breakup all the time. Emily had been calling her like almost daily just to talk about the breakup for like hours on end because she was spiraling over the whole thing. But how is telling her that her ex-boyfriend of four months had sex with another girl helping her?

Unless she like asked. Right. She just thought that she figured that she was going to hear from someone else. And if Jessica wasn't the one who told her, she knew that she would just not be happy about that. And is your friend, Jessica, these are fake names, everybody. Was she upset with you or was she just, you know, whatever, whatever happened. She didn't care, but she was just trying to be a good friend to the ex. To the ex. Okay. Correct. Okay. All right.

Yeah. So that happened. And then the guy, we can call him Brad, he ended up feeling the need to go and talk to Emily, his ex, about it in person for like hours. Did this Emily person, I'm assuming she like lost her shit and... Lost her shit. Yeah. It turned into a whole ordeal. How old are these people? How old are you again? I'm 27. They're 29.

But what I didn't know at the time was happening was that Brad was still telling Emily that there was a chance they were getting back together. I did not know that.

I don't know. I don't know how big of a deal that is, to be honest. I know people might disagree with me, but who'd you hear that from? Everyone, including him. Now I found that out, but at the time that was not made clear to me. I think there's just a lot of gray. There's a lot in that, in that conversation. You know, if he is reaching out to her on a regular basis and just letting her know that like, Hey, we might get back together. Yeah.

He honestly hadn't been. They hadn't spoken in a couple months, I would say. They had both mutually agreed to block each other. So they hadn't talked in a while. When was the last time that he was like, I don't know, maybe, sure, maybe we'll get back together? That doesn't also mean... That he said that to her, it had been probably at least a couple weeks, if not a month, before we hooked up. Yeah, I mean...

This is a lifetime ago, but like my last serious relationship before I ever went on The Bachelor. Overall, it was a great relationship. We did it for two and a half years and we were just butting heads. And so we broke up. And at the time, it was the closest thing I ever had to a mutual breakup. We were living together. We were just butting heads.

She moved out, but I was a couple years older than her. This was not her first serious relationship, but I already had a seven-year relationship that was a nightmare for me to get out of. I had a failed engagement already.

So, like, I was at the point in my relationship life where I was, like, I was done getting back together with exes. And when we broke up, she very much was like, let's just take a break. And I was very sad that we broke up, you know? I really...

I hated how much we fought. And I'm sure at some point I was like, yeah, I mean, like, yes, you know, maybe we'll see how things go. We'll see how this break goes. But like, just so saying that doesn't make it illegal for either of those two people to date or hook up or do whatever the fuck. So short of him, like, again, proactively saying this to her as like a manipulation tactic to stop her from

from going out and living her life and seeing other people. I don't really think this is that big of a deal. I don't think he really, I don't think he's the bad guy that she is trying to paint him to be to everyone in this group of friends, just because at some point he was telling her like, there's a possibility things might work out. No, I completely agree with you. And hence, you know, I hooked up with him.

On Thanksgiving and the next night. Well, you didn't know that truth. But no, no, at the time I didn't know the whole ordeal. And I also didn't anticipate all the drama that would follow. Since then it's continued. I think my initial question for you was, should we continue doing this? And-

Well, what I mean, forget about forget about the axe. What is this with you two right now? So that's the current question. So it's one of those classic situationships, right? He's not he just got of an eight year relationship. He's not like, oh, they did it for eight years. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Um, and I've been single for about three years, so I am looking for, you know, something real. Um, and sorry for interrupting my, my, my first girlfriend, we did it off and on for seven years. I've written about her. I finally ended the relationship.

And it took meeting someone to have the guts to even break up with her. But I quickly got into another relationship. And when she found out about it, she showed up at her apartment where I was and waited in her lobby until I came down. Oh, no.

Yeah. Yeah. Anyways. Yeah. It will. Those are. Yeah. Those eight year relationships will fuck you up. So I do have empathy for this for this ex. It doesn't mean she's right, but I do have empathy for her. So anyways, he doesn't want to be in a relationship.

He, yeah, so he is, you know, we kind of started it out expecting it to be like a light, fun hookup after a night out type of situation. But it's turned into spending a lot of nights together, a lot of like full weekends together, going on dates, doing the whole, like I'm playing house, essentially. And...

And that wasn't really my doing. I didn't push for it. He was naturally the one to be like, come over, let's do this. Let's go out on this date. Let's, you know, spend another night. Yeah. Listen, it takes two to tango. So you were, so I was not upset. I was not upset with his initiatives, but at this point it kind of feels, you know, more serious to me. He is a relationship guy. So he's not the type to just do like a hookup situation in his life. Like

So I've heard from my best friend. Irrelevant. Yeah. Irrelevant. Anyways, so we've turned into this kind of situationship of sorts. But the kicker is I actually just said to him, if you don't know by mid-February if you want to put a label on this or not, then we should just go back to being friends.

So I kind of gave not necessarily an ultimatum, but like, how'd you say it? I said it in this, in the sense of, I, we don't even know what this is right now. You know, it was kind of when, after all the drama went down, I was like, we don't know what this is. We don't really know each other that well. We'd been good friends for a couple of months, but hadn't explored a

a lot romantically. And I said, I know that you're still going through it still, you know, trying to get your footing as an independent person moving into a new apartment and you know, having a whole new life of sorts after an eight year relationship. So let's just take some time get to know each other. And by mid February, if we, you know, can't figure out what this is, then we should just go back to being friends.

Okay, what did he say? He thought that was great. And your plan as to what? Keep playing house for now? The issue is, obviously, like I said, this moved a lot faster than I anticipated when I set these ground rules of, you know, let's wait a few months and see. And since then, he has brought it up, like the whole label thing, a couple times. Because I was not... I was planning on dropping that, saying this is our plan, and leaving it. But he has brought it up a couple times and saying...

Things like, oh, like, I like I'm, you know, I'm still not ready yet, but we're heading in the right direction. Okay. So like, here's what you need. Here's what you need to do. It's real simple. It sounds like things are going pretty good, but you are in dangerous territory right now. I am. Yeah. And you are at a crossroad.

But it's not too late. And I'm glad you called in at the right time because you're still in a slight position of power. Because it sounds like he really enjoys spending time with you. And I don't doubt that your friend said that he's known to be a relationship. I mean, listen, he was in an eight-year relationship.

Yeah. But I was in a seven year relationship. He will have fear of entering in a relationship. And just because he's a relationship guy doesn't mean he can't also give fuck boy. You did a pretty good job trying to set some boundaries. You had the best intentions. The problem with your pitch is that it includes giving him.

the milk for free, so to speak, right? And allowing him to have access to all the benefits of being your, having you as a girlfriend without the commitment. And no one,

gives that up easily you need to very as soon as possible next time you see him say like this like listen i also by the way i love hanging out with you this is great really enjoy your time blah blah blah empathize with them at first i know that obviously you got out of a very long relationship that's i don't even know what that's like that must be crazy i i totally get it

But I've rethought about what I said. Don't ask him. Tell him how you feel. You're just expressing how you feel. You're like, I do think we're actually moving a little fast. You ought to admit we're playing a little house.

I mean, listen, I love hanging out with you. So like, it is hard for me to say no, but like, and I hope you feel the same about me, but like you have some things to figure out because you got all this relationship and I'm not saying I don't want to see you anymore, but I think you need to figure this out, you know? And I think we should just stop doing what we're doing right now. And I don't think we should hook up anymore. And I don't want to spend the night or vice versa. Like,

If you want to take me on a date, ask me out on a date, we can take things super slow. I really like you. And I hope that we continue to hang out on a regular basis. But like, I don't want to sleep with you anymore until we're something. And if, and if you don't want to be that, if you're not ready, that's also totally okay. But like, I don't want to play girlfriend if you're not going to be my boyfriend and I don't want to put pressure on you and I don't think you're ready. Right.

And you tell him you don't think he's ready. And then you don't say it if you can't back it up. No, I know. If you're going to say, I'm not going to sleep with you. And then next week, hook up with him late at night because you're feeling horny. Don't waste your time because you will lose credibility. So here's the kicker on that one. We're going on vacation together in two weeks. Where? The Bahamas. Yeah.

With friends. It's not just us. But we're sharing a room the whole nine yards. I think you should not. Yeah. Can you switch rooms? Yeah.

Yeah. You'll get what you want much faster. Yeah. I mean, that's fair. And listen, you just be very chill about it. And just like, listen, again, if he's like, well, this is crazy. It's just like, you're not ready for a relationship. And like people who take vacations together and share hotel rooms are like, that's, I do that with boyfriends. And you say like, listen, this is my fault. I shouldn't have done this. I don't know your financial situation, but

And that's not an issue. - Yeah, so if it's not an issue, like I don't think it should come to this and hopefully people will switch rooms, be like, if it's a matter of money, like I'll get my own room or whatever, I'll cover that 'cause I don't wanna inconvenience you. But like be the independent person, like that's attractive.

The more you show him that you don't need him, the more he will want you. The more you pull away and that you do it calmly and you be the... Like right now he's dealing with the crazy ex and I'm not... I'm sure she's not crazy. She's just going through it, but you get what I'm saying. Yeah. And so the more calm and like just confident and independent and secure person that you can be, the more desirable you'll be towards him. Right. But if you...

Don't take my advice. And you go on this trip and play house and you keep having sex with him and you let him call the shots about when to hang out and when he's ready and you say yes and

When he asks you to, he'll never want to be your boyfriend. Valid point. Not even valid. These are facts. These aren't points. No, I know. And this is helpful because this is what I was leaning towards. And the controversy among my friends was, should I move the goalposts? Because I set an initial date. Yeah, stop. And never do that anymore. Don't make up fake deadlines. All they really do is take away your credibility. Yeah. Because it's like, you know, what is mid-February? I don't know. He might not be ready by mid-February.

Right. It's you have to show him that you can resist him and say no to him and that you can enforce your standards and boundaries and so that he has to meet your expectations from where he's ready right now. This is all about him being ready.

So as long as he's not ready, he feels justified to say, I can't be your boyfriend, but do you still want to have sex? And you're going to calmly be like, yeah, you're not ready. But when you are ready here, I need you to do X, Y, and Z. If you want to be my boyfriend, I need you to do this. And you just be calm as fuck about it. The key is just going to be sticking to it.

Yeah, if you can't stick to it, then you lose. Right. Then I lose. It's not that hard. It's just not that hard. It's not that hard. It's just sex. Yeah, I mean, again, you get off on being in a position of power here. Like, this is, you know, kind of, you know, it's a little manipulative. Fine. But whatever. Play the game.

Play it well. Yeah. Otherwise, he will be in the driver's seat and this can go on forever. It will go on forever. Almost certainly go on forever. Especially, and you are at risk. You never know. Eight years, four months, he absolutely could get back together with her.

Oh yeah. I don't. Yeah. I mean, I don't see that. Probably not. But it's, I mean, it's always a possibility. Yeah. I'm just saying he's not out of the woods yet. He's not eight years. He's not out of the woods. That's why, I mean, that's why he spent two hours talking to her because he feels an obligation to her. You got to do it right. Damn. Okay. No more stuffing. No more stuffing. It was the best bangs giving ever. There you go. Well, there you go.

So you got laid a couple times. You've had some fun. And now you got what you wanted. Now, if you really want what you really want, you're going to have to change course. You're going to have to mix it up. You have to stick to your guns. Yeah, that would be fun. I would literally reach out to him the next time you see him and just listen. I

I don't think we should stay in the same room. I like, I want to keep, I'll be clear. I'm not, I know you're going to think this is a drastic, but like, I just don't, I don't want to play house. I re I do. I really like you, but you're not ready. And I just don't think we should be sharing a hotel room when, when you're not ready. Yeah. And if he, yeah. And even if he's like, no, I'm ready to be like, no, like, listen, you're just reacting. We're we'll, we'll still go on this trip. We'll, but you cannot sleep with them on the trip. And that's going to be, I don't know.

That's going to be tough. I mean, you're saving yourself. I can't tell you how many hours and years of potentially months of heartbreak and disappointment and frustration with this guy. Yeah. It'll be worth it. Yeah. It shouldn't be that hard. I get it in the short run, but like I'm 100% right here. You usually are.

This one I'm confident about. Okay. So the choice is yours. Yeah, the ball is in my court for sure. He really is not ready. I mean, that how much I believe. Oh, no shot he is ready. No shot. I literally, Nick, I have taught him how to cook. He did not know how to do anything. Forgetting about that. When I, when I, when I, me and my girlfriend of seven years off and on broke up. And again, I jumped into another relationship that moved very fast. So fast that like we moved in together and got engaged in a year and a half.

I didn't stop thinking about the other girlfriend until after me and the next girlfriend a year and a half later broke up. Wow. So he's just, he's not ready. Yeah. No. No, he's ready. But you creating distance and you showing him that you can say no to him and that you have your own standards and expectations he needs to meet. It will make him focus more on you and what he needs to do for you and

and less focused on her. When you make it easy for him to have access to you, he doesn't have to invest his emotional energy in you. And then he will have time and space to invest his emotional energy on feeling bad for his ex-girlfriend. If he's feeling bad for her, he's investing his energy in her.

Oh yeah. And I mean, the whole reason that he like makes it says that he doesn't want to label is because of the optics. He's like, people are going to think I moved on too fast. Yeah. So he's a, he's still emotionally trying to take care of her, which is understandable, but you need him to start emotionally meeting your needs and expectations and giving him what he wants when he wants it. Won't get it done. Yeah. It's not going to help. Okay. Okay. Let us know what you end up doing.

I will. We have a game plan. All right. I definitely want an update. Okay. Will do. Will do. Thank you for your time. All right. Thank you. Take care. Yeah, you too. It was nice to meet you. You as well. Bye-bye.

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and boost your confidence from head to toe with Lumi. How's it going? Hi, my name is Casey and I'm 30 years old and my family has a group chat without me. Well, I consider you lucky, but why does that bother you?

I'm assuming you wish you were in the group chat. Yes. There's like a bunch of like backstory to this, if it's okay if I dive into that a little bit. So basically from the time I was like three years old to now, me and my dad have like an off and on again relationship. It's been very bumpy, just...

because him and my mom separated when we were really little. Well, when I was really little. And so, you know, I had to go back and forth to his house from her house. There was a time where like, when I think I was like four or five, where I just didn't want to go over there. And, you know, I would go kicking and screaming, crying. But unfortunately, because I was like made to go, it made me resent him a lot. And there were just

When I was over there, I couldn't be myself and I couldn't do the things that I wanted to do or be the person I wanted to be. And so that was like another level of resentment there. And so it just continued to build years and years and years. And finally, when I was like, I don't know, I had to be like 2021, I cut him off.

Because I just had gotten fed up with his behavior of just continuously making me feel left out. And what I did was I cut him off. I cut my stepmom off. I cut that side of the family off, all ties without saying anything. And...

Once I had my daughter in 2020, you know, I wanted him to be a part of her life. So I tried to reconnect with him and we, you know, I had to apologize for cutting him off. And I think that's another thing that gets me so upset is that I always have to be the one to apologize, even though like his behavior is what like led us here.

And now we're in a good place, me and him and the rest of the family. Like I've made up for, you know, those years where I cut them off. And I was at my grandma's house the other day and they were all talking about how they all have like he was basically like telling my stepmom, I'm like, oh, like, did you put this in the group chat? Did you put that in the group chat?

so that Chaney could see it. And like, I just looked at him and my stepmom and I was like, what group chat? And he was, my stepmom was just like trying to play it off. It's like, oh, we just have this group chat, you know, that, you know, me, your dad, your sister, your brother are all a part of, you know, you're just, you're not in it basically. And because I'm not

want to really like speak up and feel speak on how I feel I basically just didn't say anything I just kind of let it go you didn't even joke being like well I'd love to be in it you know add me yeah no I'm just

I am so bad at, like, speaking how I feel. Like, I've been... I'm just so, just, like, passive. Like, I don't like conflict or confrontation, so I just won't say anything. But, like, when it gets behind closed doors, I'll, like...

I'll get upset. I'll get mad and like talk to my mom or like my partner about it. And they're like, well, you have to say something. And I'm I just I've never I'm not going to be honest. I've never had the balls to like speak up to him because every time I do, it just turns into this huge confrontation between the two of us. So do you think if you asked to be a part of this group text, they would.

Say no? I don't know what they would say. I feel like my stepmom would have like just some kind of like excuse of why I can't be in it.

because like going back to just why we're in this bad situation that we're in, like the reason I started hating going over to his house so much is when he married this woman and they, she has always made me feel like I am the redheaded stepchild of the family. And that like, you know, her kids come first and like, well,

that's i don't fit in that equation so then why do you want to be in this group chat because i feel like i still want that i still want to be like accepted like into the family right and i feel like i've worked so hard to get there but like they're just not it's it's like they don't want it like she doesn't want to accept me at the end of the day well what if let's assume stepmom's not going to change yeah that's probably safe to assume and knowing that let's

Let's assume, given that she's not going to change and that your stepmom is always going to have a sense of, you know, her kids and their kids are really the first priority and you're kind of, you know, the Cinderella of the group. Wouldn't it be safe to assume that being in this group chat would almost at times make you feel a certain way?

or allow them to trigger you? Yeah, because I'm not going to lie. What happened a couple of days ago is my grandma passed away back in September. And that's the whole reason we were at her house to begin with. And that's when they talked about the group chat. But I found out the other day through social media that my stepmom and my sister went and got matching tattoos for my grandma.

didn't ask me like if i wanted to go if i wanted to do that so like this sister is she is she your stepsister your half sister full sister like what's the relation so actually they adopted her when i was younger so she's not even like by blood related to me but like they adopted her when i was like seven or eight sure but yeah well that's all yeah but like

So that your stepmom decided to adopt her. So I'm obviously in her mind, you know, there's going to be a special connection there. And like you've pointed out, stepmom has kind of gone out of her way to,

make you feel a little less important yeah like do you do you want a matching tattoo with that woman not really but like it was just it's just the fuck this always the fact that like they just never like ask or even like check in to say like hey do you are you okay with this i completely i completely hear you on why that bothers you i really do you know

However, we are talking about someone who, I mean, do you even like her? At times I do. At other times I can't stand her. Okay. Well, that's normal. But like, I just like, this is like a want what you can't have. And I understand why you want it and you have the right to want it.

But it's like your desire to want to be in this group chat and your desire to have a matching tattoo with someone is mostly based off of you not being asked rather than the fact that you want to go. It's like, you know, when I was single, there was just a lot of events I wanted to be asked to be a part of that I honestly didn't want to go to. Yeah. And I would care more if I wasn't asked. But to be honest, I was like, I don't really want to go. And it's the same mindset.

So you have the right to be upset, but I think you would be happier if you could just accept the fact that, you know, as upsetting as it is, this woman operates this way. And, you know, I'm just a big believer in it's a lot easier to be around people, whoever those people are, when you just accept who they are. Yeah.

And I guess it's just so hard to accept that because it's like, well, like my dad's going to be with this woman, like what seems like the rest of his life. And it's just like, how do I have a relationship with him? All relationships are different. He's always in the picture. And like, I feel like she's maliciously doing these things to me. Like I'm making this up in my mind. No, I don't think you're making it up at all. I just think you're an adult.

You know, you have your own life. You know, you have a partner. Did you say, do you have kids? Yes, I have two little girls. You have your own family. And yeah, you don't like how stepmom is handling yourself. And yes, it's affecting your relationship with your dad, but your relationship with your dad's never been great. And on some level, well, not on some level, on the most level, that's his responsibility.

It's like, you know, she obviously is influencing him, but like he's allowing himself to be influenced by her. Yeah. And I just think you're going to have to decide how much energy you want to give these people who have demonstrated a lifetime of making you feel less than. And I don't think you should cut them off. I don't think it's like has to be a black and white situation. I think.

I think there's just a big difference between cutting them off and just like, again, accepting their shortcomings and taking what you can get, so to speak. Tom Sandoval comes to mind. I'm not like close friends with the guy, but where other people like are like, I want nothing to do with him. I'm not offended by Tom Sandoval's presence. I'm fully aware of who Tom Sandoval is. I don't expect more of Tom Sandoval than I think I should.

Tom Sandoval has never disappointed me. I know this, I guess this is family. And so it's not the best comparison, but I really think in general, why I often don't get disappointed by people is because I quickly am honest with myself about how I think they are. And if they continue to demonstrate to me an inability to

to meet my expectations, then I stop having those same expectations of them. And when you stop having expectations of people, they stop disappointing you. Yeah. And you can still have people who you have very little expectations of still be a part of your life. You know, we've had this similar conversation for a different reason with a caller, but this was like a parent-child relationship call and

I get it. It's heartbreaking not to have the relationship with your parent that you wish you had. And I say that as someone who's very lucky to have that relationship. So I'm saying that in a position of privilege. And so I understand that I don't know what it's like to be in your shoes. At the same time, for people I do know,

who are in your position, they've been able to be happier and have a better relationship with those people when they stop expecting them to be something they've clearly proven they can't be, you know? Yeah. No, that makes sense. So, you know, coupled with the fact that like, I get, you know, no one likes to be left out, but there's a good chance being in this group chat would make you feel not better, but worse.

Yeah. No, and I never thought of it that way. I think it was just more of like, wow, just another thing that like I wasn't included in. And again, it just makes you feel like, like you said, the Cinderella of like the evil stepmom and the evil stepsister storyline. Like, yeah, I don't think you have to be confrontational to if you ever wanted to your dad to say,

I would really love it if you would include me more, if you were willing to do that with the stuff that you do with the family. And if you don't want to, that's fine, but it would mean a lot to me if you included me more. Yeah. And I think I'm just like scared to bring it up because anytime him and I, like the conversations we have, it's like talking to like a colleague because you're so scared to say something that's like, why would you be scared? Why would you be scared to say that to your dad? What I just said, because he just,

like he doesn't ever he's like he's just a very strange guy who like just doesn't like to talk about like anything that's like under the surface like he just likes to keep it strictly like he doesn't like to talk about his feelings well you're not asking him about his feelings yeah that's true have you ever said that to your dad said like what I just said no what I what I suggested you say oh no I haven't so I don't give it a shot

Yeah. No, I get what you're saying. There's a huge difference between calling up your dad and saying, you never include me. I'm always Cinderella. You're the worst. Why can't you be different? You call someone, whether you're right or wrong, you call someone up and say that, they're going to get defensive. Yeah. Yeah.

If you call someone up and say, hey, if you ever wanted to include me, it would mean a lot if you guys included me more without complaint. Don't complain. Just say what would tell them what would make you feel good. Everybody likes helping other people out because when you help someone out, it makes them feel good too. So tell your dad how he can help you make you feel good. He may not take the bait.

But, and I don't know, you know, maybe he'll lose his mind and argue with you and whatever. It's possible. I mean, who knows?

But he's far less likely to do that because you're not accusing him of anything. You're not giving him a real reason to be defensive. You're just asking for a favor. You're not complaining about stepmom. You're not pointing out that you're never included in anything. Just tell him what he can do to make you feel better and see what happens. Yeah, no, I think that's great advice. I think...

When I've had conversations with him in the past about things that have bothered me, I've been very like, well, you did this and you did that. And you're much better at confrontation than you give yourself credit for. So don't be confrontational and just tell him ways that he can help you because people love to help people.

Yeah. No, that's true. Even if it's for selfish reasons. And hopefully he'll be receptive of that. But like, you're right. I have to quit.

letting like the little things that they do bother me because it just, it does like, it kind of like digs at my soul a little bit every time. I hear you. And again, like that's, it's a, it's a tough, I'm not, I'm not saying it doesn't suck and you have every right to bother you, but accepting who people are and being honest with yourself about who they are and what their limitations are.

is a great way to stop being disappointed and having you get hurt. If I insisted that Tom Sandoval be my main confidant and the person I trusted all my deepest, darkest secrets with and needed Tom Sandoval to be my emotional support system, I might be very disappointed often. If I allowed how Tom treated me to impact how I feel about myself,

And again, I understand that a guy who's not even that much of a friend of mine is not different than your father, but the premise still applies is that your dad has given you years and years and years of proof that he's just not that great of a dad to you.

And he has a hard time being the empathetic, emotional, loving dad that you wish he was. So just accepting that he's not that person and stop hoping that he's going to be that person.

is going to set you up for success better with your dad. And then just communicating to him things that would make you feel more connected to him without complaining about things he has or hasn't done in the past is a much more effective way of getting what you want from him or anyone else. Yeah. No, I think that's great advice. Like I said, I've never thought about it that way of like,

I'm making this version of my dad up in my head that I would like him to be. And every time he doesn't live up to that expectation, it makes me upset because I've created this false reality in my head of who he actually is. It's not a false reality. It's just more hope. I'm sure you've seen other people in your life have parents who've done things you wish your dad would do. I've seen him have that relationship with my sister and my brother. And it's just like...

what it's always like, well, where did it go wrong? And I,

I don't know. I've been in therapy for years for this. And like, it's just, it's just something I'm going to have to live with. And I think your advice is like spot on and is like, stop expecting him to be this person that he's not. And your brother, what's your relationship with your brother? Is he also adopted? No, they had him like he is not adopted. They had him. So he's, he's my half brother. So again, it's, it's not meant to make you feel better, but instead of,

I mean, go to therapy, but instead of talking about the same thing with your therapist over and over and have this thing be a constant thing that you, it sounds like up in this point, every time your dad and stepmom treat you a certain way, you ask yourself, well, what did I do wrong? Where did it all go wrong?

The answer is obvious. You know, she is clearly a loud voice in that family. And she has decided that her adopted daughter and the son that she gave birth with is just more important than her stepdaughter, who she doesn't feel is connected to. And she has decided to kind of be a dick about it. And that has nothing to do with you. She's just that kind of shitty stepmom. And honestly...

it's more common than you think it really is it you know yeah that that doesn't surprise me like i i just like i don't i guess like with the way she's acted all these years i just kind of assume that that's how all step step parents act but there is there is some there is some truth to that i think it is it's very common and i don't think i don't even think sometimes the the parents realize it

Natalie has seven siblings, right? They all have the same dad. Four of her siblings are full siblings. She's got three siblings that are half siblings. She's, you know, they're all family now, but her oldest sister, which is technically her half sister, you know, like she's close with Natalie's mom, but like she has a version of when she was like a teenage girl and her dad married Natalie's mom. Like she has a version of that story.

that I think is different than Natalie's mom's version. And it may not be quite as like, you know, but I don't think she felt quite as loved by Natalie's mom as the love that Natalie's showed for her own kids.

Right. You know, and I would, you know, I don't think it was malicious or intentional. So like, you know, and maybe this woman that your, your stepmom was a total nightmare, but what you need to focus on is that like, it's not you, it's not your fault. There's nothing to figure out and stop being like, Oh, well, what did I do wrong? Like you didn't, you didn't do nothing wrong and stop expecting your dad to do things differently when he hasn't shown anything different over the years.

And instead of saying things that are going to make him feel like he needs to defend himself, ask for his help and try to make it as simple as possible for him to help you. Yeah. No, I think, I mean, I think that's great. I think it'll be a new way for me to try to communicate with him on like what I'm feeling. And yeah,

I'm just going to like, just ask him for help. I'm not going to say anything about the chat or like anything like that. Just like, listen, I, it really makes me feel good when you guys include me. I'd love to be closer with you guys. You know, he might say, well, maybe you shouldn't have cut us off back then. And it's just like, yeah, maybe I shouldn't have, but I guess I'm, and then you say without being confrontational and taking the bait, you say, just say, yeah, I'm sorry, but I, I really just want to focus on a better relationship going forward with you. And I, you know,

you know, you might have to be the bigger person here and it sucks. No one likes to be the bigger person when it comes to their parent. No one's the parent or child, but like, you know, as we get to be adults, sometimes we have to. Yeah. And every time I talk to my mom or my partner about it, they're like very like,

they're more confrontational than I ever want to be. And like, my mom's like, I would just tell them how you feel. And I'm like, you know, I don't think that's going to go over. That's the thing. It doesn't, you know, it's not going to get you anywhere, you know? No. Do you want to be ready? Do you want to be happy? Yeah. When I, when I scheduled this call, I kept thinking of like the things that you might say. And like, I knew that like either the boundaries thing, um,

what's going to come up is like setting the like certain boundaries or like the wanting to be right or wanting to be happy. And to be honest with you, my goal here is to be happy and to have a relationship with my dad. Maybe not to the full extent that I like hope it's going to be, but like just enough to where I love him and he loves me. You know, he gets to spend time with my kids. Yeah. And that's better than nothing. And that's better than constantly feeling less than and fighting with your dad. You know, it's like,

It's the way I see your energy. It is. I'm wasting too much time on it. It's like it's taking up too much space in my brain. And I'm an overthinker. So once these incidents happen, I'm sitting there and I'm overthinking the whole thing, which is why I probably think she does things more maliciously than she intends to. Maybe. But I wouldn't want to be in that group chat.

Well, yesterday was my brother's birthday, actually. And, you know, she posted all the photos of him with my, with her, with my dad, with my sister, but none with me and him. So I was just like, you know what, that felt malicious, but.

i was like okay but you again that should stop surprising you yeah yeah i mean it it hurt but she doesn't see you she does not see you as a part of her family it's that simple i know and listen you did she's made it very obvious you did cut them off for a period of time i did i did and i owned that and i said i was sorry yeah but i was like i was young and i was like i had gotten to the point where i was just like okay enough is enough and it was actually it

it was an event that happened with my stepmom that made me like finally cut them off was that we were wedding dress shopping for my sister. And she turns around and looks at me and she goes, well, I guess I'm going to have to buy your dress too. And I was like, at this point I was making my own money. Like I had a great job. That's why you cut them off. Yeah. Yeah. Because the comment she made to me, it just, it had built for so many years. And then,

I just kept ruminating on that comment that she made to me. And I was like, I've had enough. On a one-off, that does seem a little petty and a little bit overreactive. But that's not really the point. And we're not here to litigate the past. But I think the big takeaway from that is you...

not accepting people for who they are and continuing to have unrealistic expectations sets you up for disappointment after disappointment so that when they make some kind of remark that honestly she probably thought nothing of it, you overreact and lose your shit. Yeah.

A hundred percent. That's a hundred percent what I did. And I know it was petty, which is why like after a couple of years of like ruminating in my pettiness, I did apologize. You have your own family now. Yeah. Stop wasting all this energy on that family. Focus on your family. Yeah, no, I agree. That's a lot of energy. You're focusing on people who aren't appreciating your love and that's energy you could be giving your kids and your partner.

Yeah, no, I agree. And like I said, the reason I did make up with him after all those years is because I want him to have relationship with my children. There you go. So. All right. Was this helpful? It was very helpful. All right. Well, good luck. Keep us posted on how, you know, I'd love to hear if you're able to.

implement this and if that improves your waste and energy because right now I think your problem is just how much energy you're wasting on this and none of it is really the rest you just have to accept for it for what it is there's nothing there's nothing else to change because they're not going to your podcast is like just help so much because I've been listening to it for so long now like your ass and make episodes I love and just the language that you've been like

teaching like through there has helped me like in my relationships with my partner and how we communicate better so i just want to say thank you thank you for saying that helpful well i appreciate you saying that and thank you for listening and um best of luck thank you so much all right take care bye

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How's it going? How we doing, sir? I'm good. What's your name? My name is Max. How old are you, Max? I'm 35. How can I help, Max? My girlfriend abandoned me during my mom's passing and during Christmas time. Okay. Is she still your girlfriend? No, we actually broke up in December. Okay. Well, I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. What do you mean by...

abandoning you over christmas during the christmas time frame you know you know her and i had lived together you know we moved locations uh due to some other circumstances due to contracts and whatnot we moved i got you know kept my same field of profession so did she and as time went on she just kind of started to i guess i guess give red flags if that's the best way to describe it and

And when Christmas came along, she started to, I guess, pull away even harder. You know, she decided to say that she wasn't ready for this. She didn't know what she wanted after we had spent over a year together.

and moved 2,800 miles together. And she didn't know what she wanted. She didn't know herself and that she didn't know if she wanted to take a break or not, but she just felt like there wasn't any connection anymore, which didn't make sense seeing as, you know, I had made significant plans in other places with her. And it just turned into, you

you know, her basically packing her things and leaving me to spend for myself along with the financial cost of, uh,

everything. So just kind of up and left, especially since she knew about what my mother was going through and was very sick and, and, you know, in a very critical state. You were dating for like about a year, you said? A little over a year and three months. Okay. Calling in, I'm curious, like what, I mean, obviously you're hurting right now, like hearing you talk, it really reminds me of breakups I had in the past. Um,

And so I can hear you talk. It really brought me back to, you know, some difficult times I had in my life. What are you hoping to get out of this call? Like what, what can I help you work through? I guess how to move forward on how to kind of recover from this because there was more financial decisions and plans that I had made with her that now I'm committed to that I cannot get out of. Okay. Like what? Her and

Her and I, I was building a dream home near her hometown, and I had committed to that in November as a Christmas present. We were building a, I think it's called a barn dominium, and I committed to that and bought land and things of that nature. It was, I paid a five-figure down payment, right?

To get this started and then we break up and now I'm basically left with the tab I you know, it's in my name. Sure, but at this point you just bought land I bought land and I financed the building of the house Well that sucks I mean the financial part and the fact that like it sounds like the location was mostly based around her Have you looked at just talking practical? stuff

Are you able to sell this not ideal and not convenient? And maybe you might not get back what you put in. What can you get out of this? Assuming you don't want to move forward with this particular piece of property. I,

Want to keep the property. We have discussed options with Airbnb and renting it and trying to turn it into a profit. That way, you know, I can still keep this and whatnot because it'll be about two years before I can even come close to selling it due to terms. Okay. So if I'm hearing you right, to me, that sounds like...

Right now, fucking sucks. But in reality, it's just an extra fucking, you know, fucking knife. It feels like a real added fuck you that you didn't need in an already difficult situation. Yes, sir. And it doesn't help that I paid to, you know, I was going to propose this coming up summer. Sure. She's a very sentimental person and she was very close to her father. And I had paid an event coordinator to...

actually basically furnished the whole altar and everything out on her dad's ancestral land to propose. And that cost me about five grand. And then, you know, the ring. And then all of a sudden it's just like, well, I don't want this anymore. And I'm like,

well, what am I supposed to do here? And there was other things attached to it also, but you know. So when you're talking, and I said, you know, when I said a lot of what you're saying reminds me, it really reminds me of the first time I got engaged. And that was, I was like 20, fuck man, I was 28. That was, I don't know how many years ago, a lifetime ago.

you know, a lot of different situations, but when you're talking, so obviously a lot of what you're expressing is coming from your feelings. So even when you first said, you know, my girlfriend abandoned me when my mom passed and over Christmas, what I'm hearing is I feel abandoned, you know, by my girlfriend.

because of how she handled the breakup around my mother's passing over Christmas. And Christmas is, you know, I get why you're saying that because that feels like a time where people have, you know, they usually connect.

And when you don't have someone over those times, you feel abandoned. And I say feel because, well, I don't know your girlfriend and I don't know her story. If I'm just taking an objective approach at this, people have a right to leave relationships. And obviously, you know that, right? And then I hear you talking and a lot of things, a lot of what you're saying right now is you're relitigating relationships.

you guys made as a couple to each other, you know, the expectation that you guys would get married or engaged, you know, like clearly you weren't like someone who was just like flying by the seat of, by their pants. Like you made a financial investment in this property and this ring. And a lot of those investments were based off of conversations you two had and expectations that you guys said as a couple. And now you feel misguided.

You feel lied to, you feel probably manipulated and things like that. And when me and my fiance at the time broke up, I remember being at work

And I was like heartbroken as fuck. And I remember I just one coworker and well, two coworkers, Donna and Carmen. And man, I would spend all day be like, she said this to me and I don't know. And they would always like, yeah, that's fucked up. And like, you know, I was just like talking with the girls. I was just constantly talking about all the shit she said and

that she no longer backed up with her actions. And in my mind, I was just like, I just got angrier and angrier at her and mad and mad. And like, you know, I was hurt. And I think right now, listen, it's still really raw. It's so raw. And like, obviously you're also dealing with the passing of your mom. So now you probably haven't even been able to fully deal with that loss.

because you've had to deal with this loss, which, you know, you were hoping that your girlfriend would be there for you to help you with the loss of your mother. And like, I can completely understand why you feel abandoned. Yeah, it was a very different time because she knew what was going on. I would always lean on her to have a conversation. And I told her about it. And one of the iconic statements I remember her telling me

is that she said, I can't give advice because I'm not in that situation. I just kind of looked at her and I was like, I'm not asking for advice. I was asking for some sort of, you know, comfort, some way to kind of, you know, reassurance, so to speak. And that statement right there kind of stuck with me. And then

After the breakup, she kind of just like shoved all the issues on me and basically told me, you know, didn't even tell me anything, just said, you know, basically left me to deal with all the consequences. Yeah. Which I'm still dealing with. So, yeah. So listen, I guess if you're hoping for advice on how to move on.

The best advice I can give you is a lot of what you're ruminating over right now is something I'm very familiar with and something I was very good at doing when I was in your position when I was younger. And that is definitely going to make you stuck as opposed to helping you move on.

And for whatever reason, your girlfriend opted out of this relationship. I don't know her. Whatever she said to you, I'm not ready for this. I mean, when people break up with someone, all they're trying to do is just like get out of that conversation as fast as possible without feeling like the bad guy. You know what I'm saying? And there's nothing she could have said to you that would have made you go, oh, okay. I

I see your point. Yeah, I'm good. We should break up. You know, like you didn't want to break up. You cared about her. You felt differently than her. I don't know why she opted out. She did. It fucking stings. You know, it happened at the worst possible time. A different, not even comparing it to your loss, but my very first, I was like fucking 19. My very first girlfriend that we ended up getting back together off and on. But the first time she broke up with me, my mom was having very serious head surgery.

And I just remember like wishing I had my girlfriend and feeling very abandoned, you know, and that really stuck with me and fucked me up a little bit. But, you know, listen, right now, again, like give yourself some grace because this is so raw and it just happened.

And it's just going to take a little bit of time. But what will help you start moving on faster, what you really need to stop doing as much as you can is to re-litigate things that she said to you in the past and trying to make sense of why she said what she said in the past and compare that to what she did in terms of ending the relationship and breaking your heart. Because none of it will make sense. It will just piss you off.

and you'll feel more right, and yeah, in your mind, she'll just be more of a monster, but that really won't make you hate her. It will just make you miss her, and it just doesn't help you move on. Yeah, I guess the weirdest part, like you said, was trying to turn her into this monster, I guess this enemy, and...

what, you know, back then in Christmas, you know, I had paid for plane tickets for us to go. And then after she had canceled it, she just kind of took that piece of my financial status with her. Like she canceled my plane ticket, didn't give me my money back. I didn't even know what was going on. I basically got blindsided, like you said, but

It gave me this image of her that I didn't recognize. And I think that I think you're right, that the best way is to kind of think of her about this monster and kind of distance myself away from the issue. Yeah, I mean, which is easier said than done at first. It's really the ruminating. You know, I'm a big believer now that you can control your thoughts. And I think there's a big difference in it because like I used to not think that I used to like argue with my dad. I'm like, I can't help how I feel. I'm sad. You know, there's nothing I can do about it.

And yeah, you can't do anything about your feelings. We can't help the thoughts that pop in our head. You're going to wake up tomorrow morning

And I don't know something she said is going to pop in your head and it's going to trigger you and piss you off Nothing you can do about that that's going to happen But what I used to do and it sounds like you're doing a lot of as well Is this thought will pop in your head instead of just being like, yeah, I fucking sucked and then try to I don't know Think of something else work. I don't know whatever your interests are You know a hobby calling your buddy up asking you to get you out of your fucking mind go golfing whatever the fuck it is

Instead of doing that, you're having a conversation with her in your head by yourself. I couldn't tell you how many arguments I've had with ex-girlfriends in my head by myself in the car. If someone saw me, I'd probably look like a fucking crazy person. And you're probably doing a lot of that. Everyone in your shoes does that right now. And the trick to trying to move forward faster is to catch yourself and be like, all right, fuck, you know, Max, you're fucking doing it. Like just...

Just think of something else. I don't know. Instead of doing... I used to obsess over the car my ex used to drive. And then all of a sudden, I was like, everywhere I go, I'm seeing a silver Ford Focus. I was like, no, I'm just looking for them. And you know what? They were, at the time, a very popular car. And so I was just obsessing over things that... Convincing myself of all this shit. And that was just me obsessing, ruminating, and I...

And I wasn't like stopping myself and like just checking myself, you know, because again, you're like, this is raw. You're going to hurt for a while. That's inevitable. There's nothing you can do about it. But the difference between hurting for a month or two versus like a year is your ability to get better at acknowledging these thoughts. And instead of ruminating over and over work on getting out of that headspace, finding the distractions, um,

I'm a big believer in kind of faking it to your making in this department. I used to when I had my heart broken, when people would be like, how are you doing? I'd be like, I'm fucking miserable, man. Like, I'm just like, I am fucking miserable. I would wear my pain on my sleeve and I'd mope around. That didn't help. I

I went through another heartbreak later and I was just like, I'm not going to do that anymore. And when people would ask, I'd be like, I'm good, man. And I didn't feel good inside. I did not feel good. But when I went out and I hung out with my friends, you know, yeah, I found one or two friends to vent to and get it off my chest. But for everyone else...

I wasn't going to like burden my, like wear my pain on my sleeve and just like mope around every day that I started saying, you know what, I'm doing all right. I'm doing, I, I believed it a little bit more and a little bit more. And I started just being all right. If you do that one day, you'll wake up and be like, I'm actually, you know what, I haven't thought about it in a while. You know, you'll go from thinking about it every day to like thinking about it, you know, half the day.

And then half the day will become a third of a day. But you have to challenge yourself to not do that because...

Before I did that, for six months, I wore this on my sleeve. My mom called me every morning and for an hour, I had an hour drive to work and for an hour every day, I would fucking ruminate about it. And, you know, as much as it was great to talk to my mom, it just made a bad situation worse because I stayed in it and I hung on to that pain because quite honestly, that was the last thing I had of the relationship was the pain.

Yeah, that's the key piece because it's, you know, when I think it's over, it's not really over because this situation has evolved into a bigger issue where, because

Because I, you know, I was actually doing what you were stating. I was basically going to the gym all the time, hanging out with my friends, becoming better, pursuing a higher education, doing these things that I needed to do to, you know, secure my financial success, which I have to say was fantastic after I found out about it. And...

Then, you know, she kind of keeps adding to the situation, even though her and I haven't spoken. She continues to add more to the situation by pulling my family into it. How so? How is she doing that? I work in the health care field. One member of my family, he got injured and then he got brought to the facility and he

When he got brought in, she was in charge of him. She walked in as a person taking care of him and she didn't know that me and him were related. And she kind of blew the situation out of proportion and started to make these accusations and everything else. And it started to make caring for him harder because, you know, I had to take him back and forth to appointments because he got severely hurt.

And she just kind of keeps adding on and involving other people. And it just keeps stacking on in my life, if that makes sense. Was she accusing you of being like a jerk or stealing? What is she? Well, she was she was accusing me of being a stalker. She's saying that I was trying to harass her or whatever. She was she was trying to accuse me of that. And I haven't spoken to her for over a month. And she tried to basically say.

say that I was there for her when I wasn't because I didn't even know she worked there. I didn't, I had no idea. Gotcha. Gotcha. I had absolutely no idea she worked there. Well, listen, like hopefully this is just a one-off situation where, you know, tensions are high between the two of you. I mean, and quite honestly, the more you describe about this person, I'm not trying to talk shit on her or anything like that, but like you only have known this person for a little over a year. She maybe just is not the person that,

You thought she was. Like the person I got engaged to first, like, you know, great person, not my person, but I definitely didn't see that at the time. And she really fucked me up when we broke up. And it took a long time to be like, you know what? Thank God that relationship ended, you know? And the more you talk, it's just like, you know, maybe she's just,

Not your person. But I think what's really important now is, and I would, you know, listen, when we break up unexpectedly and it feels blindsided and that person doesn't give us the quote unquote closure that we think we need, even though it's not really her job to give you closure, but it certainly doesn't feel that way. We hang on to hope.

And I think whatever hope that you may have had about this relationship and getting back together, my hope for you is that mentally you have said goodbye to this relationship and you have let go of the possibility

of getting back together. Where do you land on that? - Truth be told, I've kind of fully checked out, like after certain things that occurred and-- - Great, I love that. - You know, I had found out certain things and I just kind of checked out because I was like, I-- - That's great, that's awesome. - Yeah, I don't wanna do it anymore. - That's amazing news. - I know how we're getting back together. - That's amazing news. So if she's gonna pop in your head, I want the things that have been revealed to you

since you've broken up that have made you, that have kind of soured her in your mind. If you're going to focus on anything, focus on that. And that's not to disparage her or whatever. Like eventually you'll just, eventually she simply just won't be a thought in your mind. But for now, your heart is going to want to romanticize

about the relationship and the promises that were made and things like that. It's time to just say, this relationship is over. It's about moving forward, about moving on. Get back to reinvesting into yourself and the gym and hanging out with your guys and higher education and things like that. And when it comes to this property, listen,

you just got to take the L. I had to sell my engagement ring for a loss. It sucked, but you take the L. You've been through some difficult times with your background. Clearly, you must have some resiliency in you. You know what it's like to get knocked down. This is about not getting yourself knocked down and getting back up. And so instead of feeling bad for yourself and

oh, that was stupid and I shouldn't have done that or whatever negative thoughts that you, you know, whatever. You took the fucking L and now this is about figuring out how to make the most of that situation. Figure out what do you need to do, this property, I don't know. You got to be pragmatic about it. You got to take the emotion out of it. You got the sentimental, what it was meant to be, fuck that shit. Now this is a piece of investment property that like, you know, it wasn't your plan, but

talk to who you need to talk to and get the best sound advice about the best solution for this property. Whether it ends up being a bit of investment property that you hang on to or you hang on to it for a period of time before you're able to sell it. And even if it's at a loss, just make the best business decision for yourself and take the feelings and the romance out of it and don't allow yourself to ruminate and have any sentimental value for this property. It's just a piece of land.

I think that's what I'm going to end up doing. Just doing whatever I can to take the emotional side of it away and then adding the objective sense. Yeah. You're going to be sad. It's still really raw. Like, that's normal. She's going to pop in your head. You're going to want to ruminate. You're just going to have to get better and better at checking yourself and not doing it.

Are you in any type of therapy? I go to two types of therapy. I go to, I do iron therapy, which is the gym. And then I, you know, I have, I go to a counseling session probably about once a month, you know, just talk about everything, check in and stuff like that. Cause we,

We do that group because we have a support group and we all are there for each other and we talk about things and we try to do things that are positive for us. Lean into that, man, especially with the loss of your mom. Because right now you have to be mindful of the fact that this breakup has not allowed you to process the loss of your mom. So be mindful of that.

whether it's the support group or jumping into therapy, I would make a serious investment in making sure that you are able to get this shit out in a productive way, not just like ruminating it with your friends or whatever, but like just making sure that you are dealing with this loss of your mom and properly moving on from your girlfriend because like,

This is emotional energy. And that emotional energy could be put to a lot of other things that are far more productive. But until you deal with it, it's going to cost. So, you know, a lot of people say, I don't want to spend money on therapy or whatever. Like, if you want to think about it pragmatically, it's just, you know, figuring it out now because like that shit ain't going to go anywhere until you deal with it.

Yeah, it makes sense because it's a very traumatic time and everything because it was pretty big on my mind. That's the reason I've been going to therapy, trying to deal with that. Kind of, I guess, per se, confront the demon, try to get that out of the way. Yeah. And listen, there's a world and if you were to try to learn anything from your relationships,

Again, if you're going to think about your relationship, think about what you can learn from it. Don't relitigate the past. This is not about figuring out how you were a victim in that relationship or why she's a total monster. If you're going to think about it, what could you learn? And I don't know, you were only dating this person for a year. It takes a long time to get to know someone, even if it feels like you've known them for a long time. Listen, people move fast. Sometimes people get it right. But I don't know, maybe she did feel like things were moving too fast. You know what I'm saying? So next time...

It can get really exciting when you're in love and you make big plans together, but don't be afraid to check in with your partner and just say, hey, listen, like we can always slow down and let's just make sure we're ready. Because sometimes people can move too fast and sometimes that can freak people out. And sometimes, you know, people don't know how to express their emotions and feel things feel intense and then they don't do it and that bottles up and then they just kind of leave because they don't want to handle it. And that sounds a lot like what your girlfriend did. Yeah. Yeah.

Because, I mean, when she decided to do it that night, she was kind of implicating things about moving too fast, stating...

You want to, you know, you want to get married next year. You want to have kids after that. I did expressly tell her, I was like, I want to slow it down. I don't want to go that fast for us to have the freedom to do, have fun with each other and then move on to that piece whenever we're ready. But she, you know, from my understanding, it looked like she was just ready to, to, to leave. Yeah. Maybe. And maybe she was, how old was she? She was 22. Okay. How old are you? I'm 35. Okay. So listen, I,

And obviously, you know, I mean, my wife is a lot younger than me. We met when she was 21. That's a risk, man. When me and my now wife got together, you know, you're going to date someone a lot younger than you. You have to prepare yourself for the fact that like, you know, when you were 22, you were pretty sure about what you wanted only to realize that maybe you didn't want the things that you thought you wanted. And there was a lot of, at least when I was 22.

That's just all to say that should help you make you feel that again with the ruminating, you know, instead of trying to figure things out, you can just chalk it up to the fact that like, you know, maybe she just thought she wanted this. She didn't want it. And that is a risk of dating someone a bit younger than you. That's something that I realized that maybe, maybe that played a part into all of it. And as you said, just chalk it up to a loss and lean forward, so to speak. Yeah. Yeah.

All right. Well, hopefully this was helpful, man. Oh, it was. It was very helpful. All right. Well, you know, it sounds like you're doing a lot of the right things. Really just keep doing it. Allow yourself to feel because it's still really raw.

but just check yourself when you're ruminating, keep leaning into that support group. I would look into therapy and, uh, just keep investing yourself. And I think, uh, this will get better over time. You know, just, just be willing to learn from the things that didn't work out. Well, I appreciate your time and thank you for having me. I appreciate your call. It's always, always great. I mean, not, not great that you're going through this, but really love hearing from, uh,

the men out there who, uh, who are also go through some of the relationship problems. It's nice to hear. So I appreciate your vulnerability. Yes, sir. Well, thank you again. All right. Take care. Bye-bye.

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