1. He wasted no time before jumping into his next relationship.
If
you started dating this guy shortly after his latest breakup, there’s a
good chance he’s not completely over his ex – no matter what he says.
“There are hopes and dreams we have when we get into a relationship that
we lose when we lose that relationship,” “It takes some time [to get
over those things].” Men often avoid the grieving process that follows a
breakup, even though it can be instrumental in helping them assess the
relationship and move on. “You want to be sure he can talk about it –
that he can analyze it a little bit, and can say what went wrong and
what went right and what part he played in what went wrong.” But even if
he isn’t quite there, it doesn’t mean your relationship is doomed.
2. He fell for you before his relationship ended.
These
are men like John Edwards and Tiger Woods, who tell you their previous
relationships are over or broken, but they still go home to their wives
or girlfriends. It sounds obvious, but these guys are bad news. “It
doesn’t matter if he says the relationship is bad OR COMPLICATED SHEESH
-.-” “He has a cheating mentality.” And if he cheats on her, he probably
wouldn’t have a problem with cheating on you. Even if he does
eventually leave his wife or girlfriend – a very big if, by the way —
and you’re willing to give it a go with this guy, he literally hasn’t
had any time on his own to process the demise of that previous
relationship so you could run into the same problems as in #1, above.
Bottom line: This is probably not someone you want to be with.
3. When it comes to his ex, he only deals in extremes.
If
your new guy can’t say his ex’s name without spitting, this is another
warning sign. “If he’s talking about her constantly, and she’s either
the most wonderful thing in the world or the most terrible thing in the
world, but it’s unrealistic, you need to ask him about his role in the
relationship,”
There are two people in every couple, and there’s no way his ex was as
great or awful as he makes her sound. “If he’s not talking about it at
all, you need to say ‘I think it’s valuable to for us to talk about our
past relationships so we can see what went wrong and what we need to do
differently in this relationship.’”
4. He can’t break the string.
There
are plenty of reasons a guy may stay in touch with his ex, and they
aren’t necessarily all bad, unless they broke up for a very very long
time and seriously are JUST FRIENDS. I believe if one is dating someone
new, you should stop contacting your ex and RESPECT your other half.
5. He obsesses over the remnants of the relationship.
If
he’s always checking her Facebook profile or you catch him poring over
old pictures, you could also have a problem. “He’s not finished, he
hasn’t done his grieving,” You have to understand that if you stay in a
relationship with him, you’re going to be part of that grieving process.
When you’re in a relationship you talk about just about everything.
Whether it’s work, friends or family, there’s always something to
discuss over dinner, and past relationships should be no different .
If your guy
hasn’t completely let go of his ex, proceed with caution – but know that
your relationship isn’t necessarily a lost cause. He may want to be
with you, but needs just a bit more time to deal with his breakup. The
key to making it work is both of you being willing to talk openly about
his old relationship and his feelings about his ex. And if, when all is
said and done, he just can’t let go, you may have to be the one who
moves on.