Home→Forums→Relationships→Friend/Lover of a year:Ghosting
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May 4, 2018 at 9:13 am #205545LaurieParticipant
I have been involved with a man who lives in another town who started contacting me over a year ago when my long term boyfriend abandoned me. He knew the pain & suffering I went thru, and decided to start calling/texting me out of the blue. Make a long story short, we became intimately involved against my better judgement, however he did help me thru the pain of losing my relationship with the other man. My mom passed away when my other boyfriend left me, and it was extremely hard. So, as of this past Friday, he called me throughout the day as usual, and the last thing he said to me was he would call me first thing Monday morning. He usually calls me first thing when we’re both getting ready to go to work. Monday came & went, and I finally got a vague email from him saying he was suspended from work for a week because he was having issues with a bully supervisor. However, he works for his brother’s company, and it seems sort of weird that he would allow him to be suspended for a week. My friend also told me he left his work truck at the job site, and would be at home for the week trying to figure out how to get around, and working on paperwork for other jobs he had lined up. The last thing in the email he said was, “I will be in touch with you as soon as my mind, body & spirit” are in place. That was the last I heard of him. This is a man who has accepted money from me in the past when he was hurting financially. I have paid for groceries for his kids, bought him a $900 rifle at Christmas, and most recently (two weeks ago) I paid $400 for a personal matter he had to take care of. He didn’t ask for me to pay the latest thing, I did it on my own. He is even on my bank account with his own debit card. He deposits money into that account too. This past week there has been no activity on the card, and he has not contacted me. I am hurt beyond belief. I don’t know if I should try contacting him or not. I figured he was going thru a really rough patch and needed space. I did reply to that weird email he sent on Monday though. I put, “I am so sorry to hear what you’re going thru. I think I understood what you were trying to convey, however. As with anything in life, you had to do what you had to do. I wish you nothing but the very best in life!”
I have not heard from him since. I feel used, and completely betrayed. He has never gone this long without contacting me. I am worried, but I know he is okay. How could he do this to me? He knew the other man had treated me like crap, and abandoned me. I never reached out to him. He is the one who initiated this relationship. We’ve known each other for many years, but this year we have spent a considerable amount of time together. He also knows that I work in a very isolated environment and he was the only person I would talk to throughout the day. I am so sick with depression from this, that I haven’t been able to go to work two days in a row. I’ve been crying non stop, have headaches, and no energy. Should I try emailing him? I don’t know what to do. How could he be this callous? This is a man who has told me that I am the best thing that has ever happened to him, etc. WTF?
May 4, 2018 at 11:06 am #205583MichelleParticipantDear Laurie – I totally understand your pain. I know your feelings of betrayal and feeling used. I’ve been there too. I do not know why people do this, although the longer I get from my own experience with this, the more I realize that I will never get answers beyond the fact that some people are jerks with no remorse or regard for anyone but themselves. That is a harsh truth.
You start by saying “against my better judgement”. I feel that your intuition was warning you of something in the beginning that you chose to not listen to. It might be worth it to revisit this and review the red flags you saw there. Sometimes we need direction beyond our heart.
You have been very generous with him and I feel that has to stop. Get him OFF your bank account. The other money you loaned him may be a wash but you need to ensure he has no access to other funds. I would also avoid emailing him. You have sent him a message and placed the ball in his court. Let him initiate. In the meantime, I know it’s going to hurt for awhile. Its been over a year for me and I still question the truth surrounding one of my relationships. I just let it be. I let my mind wander but I also try to engage it with new stimuli. This will take awhile but keep that focus on yourself.
May 5, 2018 at 4:59 am #205687AnonymousGuestDear Laurie:
I hope you are feeling better and that you had contact with him, that you know what happened. Reads like you are completely surprised by his disappearance and I have no idea, from what you shared, why he disappeared.
anita
May 5, 2018 at 2:22 pm #205731LaurieParticipantNope, it is Saturday now, and I haven’t heard from him. I am at a loss for words. He has never done this before, and has to know I am upset. I don’t even know if his phone is disconnected, or if he is blocking his email. I haven’t tried contacting him either, because I feel if he really wanted to talk to me, he’d call or at least email me. I feel as if I am in grief. This man’s disappearance is beyond hurtful, it’s cruel. He always promised me he’d never do something like this. The last time I spoke to him, we were making plans for the summer. I had no indication he would do this. I think he got back together with his wife (they were seperated) and is feeling guilty and just wants to erase me from his memory. That is the only thing I can think of.
May 6, 2018 at 2:05 am #205759MarkParticipantLaurie,
I’m sorry for your pain.
There is an extreme risk to take up a romantic relationship when he was not divorced. Who knows why he has stopped contacting or responding to you?
This guy used you. The promise he made might have been genuine but he might have been deluding himself as well. Nevertheless him acting like this now shows his true colors.
Michelle gives the best advice in dealing with your situation.
Mark
May 6, 2018 at 3:44 am #205767AnonymousGuestDear Laurie:
Did I understand correctly, that your last message to him was: “I am so sorry to hear what you’re going thru… As with anything in life, you had to do what you had to do. I wish you nothing but the very best in life!” – was that your last communication to him?
If it was, then it reads to me that you communicated to him that there is a break between the two of you, that you are okay with it and wishing him “nothing but the very best in life”, a life without you, that is.
And so, I wonder if there is a miscommunication here, him understanding incorrectly, based on that message, that you are not expecting him to contact you?
anita
May 6, 2018 at 10:27 am #205809LaurieParticipantHere is what he wrote last Monday:
“I hope this email finds you well. I had an upsetting and pretty much confrontational discussion with my stupid supervisor, so for my actions, he rested me for the week. I basically told him to shove it and that I will go back if I want to. So, as of now, I’m working at the house, getting my paperwork together for other jobs I had lined up. I also left my work truck back there at the job site, so I am also trying to work on how to get around other than that little car I had bought for my daughter. I will be in touch with you as soon as I get my mind, body and spirit in place.”
Here was my response:
“I think I understood what you were trying to convey….thank you for at least letting me know. I am really sorry you are having such problems, but with any other areas of your life, you have to do what you have to do. With all sincerity, I truly hope everything will work out for you!”
I was wondering the same thing about the misunderstanding of my response. Was he trying to tell me he was breaking up with me over his email? Did I respond like I was cool with it? I can’t believe he would just never write me back. Is he waiting for me to write back? In my opinion, the ball is in his court, because I am the last person that wrote. Basically he told me that he would contact me when he was ready. That is how I am taking this. A couple of friends seem to think that he will reach out to me eventually, but I don’t. I am pretty convinced that he isn’t going to ever contact me again, because, simply, he doesn’t have to see me. We live four hours away from one another. It doesn’t make the pain any less, though. Do you know how many times I have told him, and offered to back away from the situation & to give him space, and he always says NO! I don’t want space from you! Something happened over last weekend to make this guy change his attitude & feelings towards me. We were so close as friends too. We knew about each other’s deepest, darkest secrets, and then for him to send me some weird, vague email like that is just freaky! This guy knows me very well, and he has to know that I am extremely upset about him not calling. I wonder if he’ll miss me even?
May 6, 2018 at 11:40 am #205815AnonymousGuestDear Laurie:
I will read all of your recent post when I am back to the computer in about sixteen hours and reply then. If you have more thoughts on the matter, thoughts coming to you after your most recent post, please do add them.
Maybe other members will respond before I am back.
Please take good care of yourself.
anita
May 6, 2018 at 1:24 pm #205837LaurieParticipantAnita:
Thank you. It is Sunday, and I am still at a loss for words. What changed in his mind in a matter of a weekend for him to have gone from regular, lovey-dovey on that Friday to Monday where he sent me that weird, vague, cryptic email? I am so heartbroken that I cannot even function. I work as a personal assistant to a rich family, and they are even noticing that I am not “all there.” I am making errors in judgement & just not being a good employee to them. Take all the romantics out of this relationship, and him & I were incredibly close friends. If he didn’t call me, he was texting me, and explaining why. This went on for a year. How could he not be missing me? Is he repulsed by me? Is he regretful? Ashamed? I have no idea. What about the bank account? Is he scared to contact me, because he might be scared I am upset and doesn’t want to hear it? I have so many questions, that I just don’t even know how to feel. I am confused, heartbroken to the point of being in physical pain with headaches & stomach & joint pain, fatigued, sad, ashamed, embarrassed and feel rotten to the core. I wonder if he is even thinking about me at all? I wish I knew.
May 7, 2018 at 5:19 am #205921AnonymousGuestDear Laurie:
He wrote to you: “I had an upsetting… discussion.. I’m working at the house, getting my paperwork for other jobs I had lined up. I also left my work truck back there at the job site.. I will be in touch with you as soon as I get my mind .. in place”.
Your response to him was: “..I understood what you were trying to convey… you have to do what you have to do. With all sincerity, I truly hope everything will work out for you!”
What he told you was that he had an argument at work, is currently looking for another job, and that he is too uncomfortable (?) to get his truck from the job site even though he needs it. You responded telling him that you understand his situation. But you did not understand his situation. You didn’t ask him questions, like why is he not getting his truck from the work site? And you didn’t ask him questions about his new job search. You wished him well in a general kind of way, “truly hope everything will work out for you!”
Your response to him is such that if I was in his place, reading it, I would think that you are okay with him taking his time to get his mind clear and calm.
In your notes to me you listed your many questions: “Was he trying to tell me he was breaking up with me..?” It doesn’t read to me like a break up email, not at all, not to me.
“Did I respond like I was cool with it?”- you responded like you were cool with him taking his time away from you until his mind is clear and calm.
You wrote that you can’t believe he didn’t write you back. Your last note to him communicated that following his need to take his alone time, you are stepping back and letting him have his alone time. There was no request or invitation in your last note to him for a response from him.
You wrote that you offered to give him space many times before and he refused your offer. Well, reads to me that this time, he suggested it himself and you responded by willingly giving him that time, thanking him and expressing “with all sincerity” and “truly” that you are okay with him taking his time and space.
You wrote: “he has to know that I am extremely upset about him not calling”- I don’t know if he knows. Based on your last note to him, you didn’t reveal any upset whatsoever. On the contrary, you revealed being perfectly okay with him taking his time and space.
I don’t know if indeed he wants a breakup, if he entertained that idea when he sent you that email or if he is entertaining the idea now. I don’t see evidence to it. The fact that he didn’t close your shared bank account is an indication, I am thinking, that he has not ended the relationship with you.
What I would do if I was you, being so troubled not knowing what is going on, is to reach out to him for information. Ask him a few questions, for the purpose of getting the information you need, to understand his situation (is he looking still for work, has he terminated his recent employment for good, did he get his truck back, how is he feeling…)
anita
May 7, 2018 at 5:57 am #205933LaurieParticipantAnita, he works for his brother’s company. There is no way he would quit 100%. I don’t even know if that was the truth to be honest.
May 7, 2018 at 6:21 am #205939AnonymousGuestDear Laurie:
You suspect he lied to you. Did he lie before?
Better find out what is going on as soon as possible because it is hurting you to not know, so that you can feel better and function better at work and otherwise.
Is your intent to continue waiting or to initiate contact and ask him what you need to know, asking him in such a way that will increase your chances of getting answers, honest answers.
anita
May 7, 2018 at 10:37 am #205975LaurieParticipantI just found out he used that work thing as an excuse. He came out in the social section of the newspaper with his family at an event this past weekend, so he lied. He straight up used me for money & sex, and didn’t have the courage to tell me he wasn’t interested anymore, and left me so sick with depression I cannot even go to work. I am not contacting him ever. What for? He obviously tricked me and doesn’t want me in his life anymore. This is like a nightmare that I can’t wake up from. My heart actually feels weird, like painful.
May 7, 2018 at 10:51 am #205981AnonymousGuestDear Laurie:
I don’t understand: what evidence do you have that he lied, that is, that he did not have an argument at work, that he is not looking for new jobs, that he left his truck at the work site (at least at one point) and that he is distressed?
anita
May 7, 2018 at 11:26 am #205989MichelleParticipantLaurie – go with your instinct and re-read my earlier advice.
As for how to get over this … it will take awhile. Feeling used by someone else, especially if it went on for awhile, is not an easy thing to accept. I still struggle over this in regards to my own situation from over a year ago. I was with someone for almost two years and it then blew up into uncovering depths of deceit. I am still haunted by thoughts of how easy it was for someone to infiltrate my life with things that weren’t true. I was always an open, friendly person before that; I’ve since closed myself off. While this may be to my own benefit moving forward, I miss being the person I was before. And maybe that’s where you will go too … missing the FEELING someone brought into your life versus the actual person. You can always recreate that feeling with someone new and have the hope that it may be sincere from all parties in the future.
The most immediate thing you can do though is get him off your bank account. Cut that off immediately.
I still think you should cease all contact and move along. This isn’t worth salvaging, in my opinion.
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