The Right Way To Break Up? Be Honest

A few weeks before Christmas, the guy I was seeing "broke up" with me.

I use the term loosely because we'd seen each other only a handful of times, but the result was the same: From that point on, we would no longer be dating. He told me he tried to be honest about these things and something was just missing between us. He didn't think it was fair to prolong the inevitable, but he would still like to be friends if I was up for it. Lemondrop: Book Recommendations For The Recently Dumped

It wasn't the first time one of my relationships had ended just before the holidays, but this time I was sitting on my couch, listening calmly, rather than sobbing on the phone outside a restaurant in San Diego while my family waited for me to join them inside, and my mom popped out from time to time to check on me. And this time I got the speech I'd always wanted to hear. Lemondrop: Lame Dating Excuses

For years, I've discussed with friends how frustrating it is when guys suddenly disappear after a seemingly normal interaction. We can't help but analyze every detail of our last encounter—did he find that joke offensive? Did we go too far? Did we seem too eager and freak him out? Or too aloof and he thought we weren't interested?

Read the rest on Lemondrop. 

• So You Like Someone Else's Someone—Now What?
• Salvage Love—New Services Do Your Breakup Dirty Work For You
• Should You Draft A Dating Prenup Before Moving In Together?

Written by Lori Fradkin for Lemondrop.