Hi there,

This May I went through an incredibly hard breakup. The relationship ended because he did not love me anymore. We lived together and were building a life and then in one night, it was completely over. No contact. 

During the first two weeks of the breakup I was seeking validation and company. I ended up finding that in one of my coworkers. We became very close, very vulnerable. But I started to realize that I was not allowing myself to understand the breakup and allow my emotions. So it ended, very cordially and mutually, but I needed to do that for myself. A month or so later, I met a guy on a dating app and fast forward seven months and we are in an incredibly healthy and happy relationship.

The coworker and I have remained cordial and understand each other in a professional way. However, I received a text to retrieve a gift that he had left for me at work. I opened the gift and it contained very thoughtful items with two notes attached. One note describing what each item was for – my favorite wine for example. The other note was a sort of declaration of feelings. He wrote “I wish I had been braver and I wish our chapter was longer. It was one of the best chapters of my life.” I have now told my boyfriend about this gift; he had questions but was extremely understanding. 

But my biggest concern is how I approach this with the coworker. I truly have no idea how to approach the conversation. Please help!

– Coworking