I think where people struggle is they still have those feelings for one another. The think, "well if those feelings are there, they must be 'meant to be' and I have to act on it, and continue to work out the relationship" - in reality, they're overcomplicated an issue that's not as complicated as it seems.

You'll ALWAYS feel that way towards one another. You shared something very special at one time, and were intimate with one another. You'll always have a soft spot for someone like that, that you opened yourself up to.

But the truth is, it goes back to the "can't live with them, can't live without them" cliche. Just because you share those emotions, just because you share those feelings, and heck, even if you love each other... it does not mean you're meant to be together on a long-term scale, or even settle down.

I know people right now that stay in the clutches of a LONG dead relationship, simply because of 'memory'. They still have fond memories of what they were, and don't accept the reality of what they are. They hang on to that first memory of being together, the passion, those first few months, or a year in some cases when they were madly in love, and in some weird way they believe that they can re-create that somehow. They just have to do this, they just have to do that.

When the magic is gone - it's gone forever. And it'll never return.

But... people don't want to be alone either. And in the words of a wise friend... "I can't stop thinkin' 'bout 'doin it one more timmeee.... I already left you and you're better off - left behind". They go back to what they feel is safe, because they don't want to put their heart on their sleeve again to get hurt. So they try to accept the faults, instead of realizing they don't have to deal with them, because realizing you don't have to deal with them, also means accepting the responsibility of your own integrity, and alot of people don't want to do that.

Some people simply just don't have the strength to do it alone. "Well... it's better than nothing". No it's worse. Because you're subjecting yourself to an addiction really, and you're undermining yourself.

Got a friend right now, been cheated on multiple times with multiple men... and he still goes back to that human sperm dumpster. Because he's too scared to be alone. Know a girl who's been with only one guy, and been with him for several years. The guy lives practically in ANOTHER STATE, and is never coming back... and she keeps herself tied to him and committed. Stays depressed on a regular basis, because he's not coming back, she knows it, he knows it, and he treats her like shit when he comes down to visit, and it's SO obvious he's trying to send a message to her - "we're over, please dump me" - and she continues to close her eyes and put her hands over her ears. Because what she can't let go of the fact that she envisioned that she would spend the rest of her life with this man. He'd be the father of her kids... it isn't going to happen, and she can't let go of the dream that was never meant to be.