History Repeating Itself

"He cheated on me. And I was glad because that was finally reason enough to allow myself to leave."

"Now I know somebody who's in the same situation. They're trapped. And she's such a gentle and fun person who's afraid to leave him because 'well, it's always been like this, I'm used to it,' and 'I deserve it.'"

"She wants to leave him, she knows she should leave him, but it's so hard to do it, and I know that feeling."

"I'm thinking I should give her my phone number like when the day comes you've had enough, I'll gladly come to help you move out from that s**thole."

- NmlsFool

Mental Health Struggles

"I'm lost in my own trauma and mental illness and he deserves better than anything I have to offer right now."

- Last-Celery7146

"I’ve been on the receiving end of this, and mildly said, it absolutely ruined me. Her trauma and mental problems were BAD, but I still wanted to be with them. So if you ask me, as long as they can give you the space and support you need, and want to be with you, let them make the decision."

- emilersen

"It's also fair and mature to care very much about someone but realize that you only have the emotional bandwidth to take care of yourself right now."

"I'm sure it was very hard for both of you to come to terms with that decision. I don't think it's that he deserves better, I think it's that your attention needs to be on guiding yourself through this thicket of trauma and mental illness before you can be someone else's partner. You can love each other very much but also acknowledge that you don't have the tools to spare for a relationship right now."

"I'm proud of you for focusing on your own mental health and someday, when you have more emotional stability and energy, I hope you find a wonderful partner."

- SpoonAtKnifeFight

Relationship Styles

"We disagreed on how many women he was allowed to date. I’m very strong on monogamy and have no interest in someone (in a supposedly committed relationship) that isn’t."

- Altrano

At Least There's That

"Her psychotic brother tried to kill me. Thankfully he has a Stormtrooper's aim..."

- Active-Plate7939

"Hate the attempted murder, love the 'Star Wars' reference."

- letmetellyousom

Childfree Living

"He wanted a big family, like, six kids, all-natural. Obviously, he wouldn't be birthing them. This was very important to him while I was pretty ambivalent about kids, and the further into my adulthood I've gotten, the more I've realized I just don't want to be pregnant."

"I broke it off so we could both get the lives we wanted. He was also quite a bit more conservative than me, and at the time closeted pansexual person, and some stuff he believed just didn't line up with what I believed. It hurt, but it was amicable."

"Now he has a wife and kids like he wanted, and I am happily partnered and childfree. It worked out for the best."

- Free-Government5162

Family Ties

"She hated that I had a healthy relationship with my family and was trying to find ways to sabotage it."

- Cobra-Serpentress

"Similar aspect to mine, she hated my sister and mother because she had a bad relationship with her sister and mother. She would get mad at me whenever I brought my family up."

- letmetellyousom

Quality Time

"My last boyfriend dumped me because I got mad that he was coming to Dallas after I hadn't seen him for two months, but didn't want to see me."

"He was going to meet up with some friends of his he hadn't seen in a few months. I told him that was fine with me, but I felt he should make time to see me too since we hadn't seen each other in two months and we were supposed to be a couple."

"He responded to my anger by ghosting me. That was two years ago."

- dallasmysterylover

Distracted with a Punch

"A girl contacted me about him talking to her. I asked him what was going on, and he sucker-punched me in the face."

- Brilliant-Victory128

Projecting Insecurities

"He cheated on me for all six years we were together and then accused me of cheating on him, even though I wasn't allowed to leave the house."

"I'm also pretty sure he slept with my sister-in-law when my brother and I went to pick up dinner."

- Affectionate_Egg1252

Children Come First

"He was and still is no father to his kids, has anger issues, and probably has other mental health issues. I tried for years to help him and help the relationship, but he wasn't having it. After seeing how my oldest suffered under him, I had to leave."

- rintan13

Poor Communication

"I communicated how I felt about many things in the relationship. He never communicated about anything."

- aj_oof0323

"Oh look, it's the last 14 years of my life..."

- empathetic111

"I'm guilty of this, and boy, do I regret not being able to open up about my feelings. It cost me my marriage. But now I'm trying to be more open and share my thoughts and feelings. Just wished I could've done this earlier than later."

- REDDIT

Deserving Better

"I started drinking again and became a miserable a**hole due to my own depression and my s**tty job. As such, she didn't get the attention she deserved, and had to put up with my s**tty mood all the time... so she left. I don't blame her."

"So, it was me. I don't know if I trust myself with a relationship again, but aside from the shame of knowing I hurt someone who I loved, and loved me back, but I was too self-absorbed and selfish, I am trying to be a better human to everyone."

"And to my ex: You'll find someone again... someone better."

- cracksintheegg

Big Moves

"He wanted to move to Alaska to be with some girl he was 'friends' with before me."

- dont_be_trash

Alzheimer's Disease

"My ex's early-onset Alzheimers (at the age of 50) and the resulting violence, paranoia, and irrational thinking. I tried to honor my vows, but he was so far out there, I feared for my life."

- No_Transportation258

Different Definitions of Marriage

"She cheated on me after five years total together, the last one of which was while we were engaged. She cheated on me for months, all while I was planning the wedding, working part-time, and going to graduate school so I can support us comfortably in the future."

"I planned on giving her everything I could and sharing the rest of my life with her, and apparently she didn’t care."

- Mountaingoat1001

This conversation just goes to show that relationships can end for all kinds of reasons. Even in relationships where there is still a lot of love and committment, the relationship can still end, just like how the relationship can end suddenly because of a surprising and devastating realization.