Hi Meredith,

My boyfriend and I broke up last week, after being together for five months. From the first date, we had an intense connection. He’s handsome, funny, respectful, hard-working, and affectionate. Our relationship got serious very fast. He said he loved me after three weeks together. Having been in a not-so-great relationship prior, it was refreshing to be with someone who actually appreciated and respected me. I also got along with his child (I met his kid after two months). We often spoke about moving in together, buying a car, marriage, kids, and even building a future business together.

My boyfriend and I are both passionate and stubborn, so our conversations sometimes lead to bickering. Our arguments were always over petty and trivial matters though, never lasting longer than a few minutes. His job was very demanding, requiring him to be connected 24/7. He often felt stressed, under a lot of pressure to juggle everything, which sometimes put a strain on our relationship.

About three weeks ago, our communication started to fall apart. It was like the honeymoon phase abruptly ended and his attitude changed; he was disengaged at times and on edge about everything. I voiced my concerns and he reassured me that I was “the one” and that we’d ride out these “relationship growing pains” together. Two weeks ago, after shopping together, we had an argument that resulted in not speaking to each other all day. Yes, I know it was childish and immature of us, but neither wanted to back down from making their point. The not speaking to each other turned into three days, at which point I broke the silence and reached out. He said he had nothing to say to me and that he was done with the relationship. He said I pushed him away and that he was fed up and didn’t need this added stress in his life. He said by letting days go by without talking, I took myself out of the equation and now he was done. In complete shock, I took full accountability for any actions on my part, but he was already gone. His mind was made up. I am left devastated, confused, angry, and blindsided. How does something so deep end so quickly? Was it all a lie?

– Blindsided