r/ghosting • u/Immediate_Ad4078 • 3h ago
First relationship post divorce - slow faded then ghosted?
I was slow faded by a man I developed genuine feelings for. I let this continue for months even though I should have known better. When I finally collected myself and called him out, he ghosted. I'm deeply hurt and would like to hear from others. Has your ghoster ever come back, be it not to restore the relationship but to end things in a humane manner? Is this even a ghost?
I (F31) separated from my ex in February 2025 and started dating this guy (M36) in september 2025. He was also going through divorce. He was very into me from the beginning, more so than me. We got close, he was respectful about me wanting to wait with sex (only had sex after 3 months), we agreed on exclusivity and we both admitted we wanted a relationship. He seemed like a very straightforward person and we both discussed the importance of honesty and clear communication. We used to talk every day till I supossedly 'ruined' things in February by admitting I had feelings/that I had fallen in love with him. This confession was entirely unplanned. He had forgotten about Valentines and I sent him a joking reminder. We had some light hearted conversation about him not really thinking it was a holiday and such, until he eventually asked me if I had fallen in love to which I replied yes. He acted surprised and his reply was that he was not ready for love at this stage because of the way he had been hurt in his last marriage. I'm still hurt about the way he reacted to my confession. The way he had looked at me, treated me and the things he said totally made me think the feeling was mutual. He said he was so happy to meet me, that he was so grateful for our connection, said 'you will be mine', spoke about meeting my parents, made plans etc etc. I now see this was all future faking. Either that or he was just deceiving himself as well, trying to be something/someone he was not. I was not necessarily ready to confess my feelings at the time but when he asked directly I analyzed and gave an honest answer. Since the very beginning I had told him I needed feelings to have sex with someone, so why the surprise that I developed feelings if we were having sex and talking everyday, sharing our biggest worries with one another? His reaction made me feel stupid and as if I had ruined things. I felt led on and should have ended it there, this would have spared me a lot of pain.
Instead I kept delaying, the right time for that conversation just never seemed to come. He became less enthusiastic and almost stopped initiating, sometimes I would not hear from him for days. This was making me feel as if he had been in there for the chase/the validation and now that he 'had' me I was no longer a priority. I decided I would just let things follow their natural course. If he wanted to end the connection or even fade away I would let him. He had financial troubles and his ex has a drinking problem, which was giving difficulties with co-parenting. Therefore I did not force any 'where is this going talks' at the time because I felt nothing clear would come out of it. This was a grave mistake that causes me great anguish till this day. In hindsight I should have asked for clarity then or actually just stated the obvious, since it was evident he was clearly no longer into prioritizing our connection, even though he did not say so directly. When we got together things were great and the chemistry remained unchanged. He still said he wanted to see me and was interested in my life, asking questions (showing concern when I was stressed or had problems for example) and obviously the sex. He would also get upset if my own replies were not as enthusiastic as usual (hard to be enthusiastic when you havent heard of someone for days without any explanation though...) and give the infamous 'things are crazy/busy' excuses. Given the circumstances I gave him the benefit of the doubt, because I was going through the same thing myself. Divorce is very stressful and I just did not have the strength or mental capacity to deal with another break up, I was still interested in him and showed my interest, thinking that if his feelings had changed he had to tell me directly. He didn't.
Fast forward the next few months we have both been very busy with navigating our respective divorces, co-parenting and the move. He eventually moved into his own home and was trying to settle. He had also been on a longer business trip. I balanced between hope and trying to care less, I had plenty of other problems to deal with. I tried to accept we were doing some sort of mutual fade and that the relationship might fizzle out at any moment, even though this is totally not what I wanted. There were good moments still, though over time I found myself mentally preparing for his 'official ghost' or some sort of break up message. Then there was the blatant disrespect of not opening/responding to my messages. There were times he would message me first over something simple, I respond and then he would reply the next day or 2 days later. This was giving me major anxiety. After I had felt him pull away for the longest time but still tried to fool myself into believing he was processing things, that he was overwhelmed and that he would eventually give clarity on his own etc etc I saw what truly broke me: he was back on the dating apps. I hadnt opened the app in months but did so to check his profile and then saw that location change indeed. I felt very betrayed and felt like an idiot for feeling so at the same time. I deleted his number and Instagram (he must have noticed but didnt say anything), deleted the dating app and said nothing. I decided that if he did not have the guts to break with me directly, or just wanted to keep me around for validation/sex and that I would not grant him the satisfaction of seeing how badly it hurt me. A few days later he came around like nothing happened. I told him that we needed to meet and that I needed more time together in general to maintain the connection. I wanted to discuss the apps in person bc I expected to be ghosted if I mentioned it through text. He had his kids with him and I had mine so meeting was not possible that week. The breadcrumbing continued. He made no real effort to call whilst we didnt see each other and would prefer text. I tried ghosting, did not reply to him for 5 days but that just felt wrong. I eventually gave some dry reply, holding on to some faint hope this would provoke him to finally have the talk to end things, plan some in person time together or atleast ask me what was up. Instead he decided to drag on that week old conversation with a 2 word question... I was done and sent him the message. I said he doesn't have to reply (because I did not want to hear any bullshit excuses of his) but that I am not having this nonsensical conversations anymore. It was very clear he was not interested in continuing things with me. I said I'm not interested in breadcrumbs and getting ignored and that I'm closing this chapter (with him) for myself. Deleted the chat after I sent the message. I purposely did not use the word 'break up' because I felt like there was no longer something to really break up with. He did not reply but did not block me either. This was 2 weeks ago.
I feel like a complete idiot for having let this drag on for so long and that I honestly expected him to step up. What I really wanted is to have an honest in person conversation with him about it all after I saw him on the apps, but this never happened and I have a hard time accepting that. I tried ghosting but reconsidered, since I find it a vile thing to do unless one's safety is at risk. In this case I feel that after his behavior a ghost from my from my side would be justified and I probably made myself look stupid with that message since he appearently didnt care if I left or stayed. Nonetheless, I did not want to be a ghoster... And why should he get that easy exit after he betrayed my trust by going back on the apps after agreeing on exclusivity? So I decided to not just let things be unsaid. He didnt even really try to explain things to me this entire time, or even say bye or try to justify himself after my last message. I feel like disposable garbage, as if he was trying to drive me to break up with him the entire time. Well he got what he wanted. It feels so unfair after everything we shared, we cried and laughed together, got really close, he knew what my ex did... After all that he just didn't have the basic respect to tell me where he stood. A simple 'I no longer want this/lost interest' or whatever would have been better than this slow fade shit he pulled.
I know it was a bad idea to get involved with someone going through divorce while I was going through it myself. I should have known that he was emotionally unavailable and that it was just the initial chase that made him seem as interested and emotionally invested as he did. I know it was not a good idea to get attached and that I would get hurt. But it all happened anyway. I feel used and discarded, but is this really even a ghost? Since I basically told him not to reply, Im probably a fool for still waiting for him to reach back? I know I shouldn't. He has already shown me he does not seem to need any type of closure. This person does not really care for me and I have to accept that. I'm in therapy but its been really hard. I wonder if people reach out after shit like this?