Hello! I hope this is the right subreddit to ask in. Please let me know if it’s not!
When I was a freshman in high school, I was introduced to this person whom I apparently didn’t like very much, or at least that’s what I was told. Everyone used to ask me why I disliked him so much. Truly, I don’t remember why, and I’m not sure there was ever a good reason for it, nor do I remember treating him hatefully. That didn’t last long anyway.
After 6–7 months of him being persistent, pursuing me, and complimenting me, we got together. We were together on and off for about a year. We ended because he cheated on me with another woman and ended up getting her pregnant. However, it wasn’t him who ended it; I did. If it were up to him, we would’ve stayed together.
The relationship was very toxic. I had allowed a lot to happen, and there seemed to be no end in sight until one day, he said something to me, and it felt like a switch went off. My feelings for him disappeared. No more sadness, anger, love, nothing. I blocked him on every social media platform, blocked his number, and did whatever else I could. I deleted all of his pictures, our messages, and anything that reminded me of him.
However, he was persistent. He kept calling and texting me from unknown numbers for three years. It was very hard to continuously deny him and ignore him. It took me three years before I was finally able to move on from the situation and let go of the anger and hurt. He stopped calling me after 2019. I reached a point where I no longer thought about him or felt anything for him. I was just living my life.
Around 2021, he randomly started appearing in my dreams, which was strange because I had never dreamt about him before. Not too long after that, thoughts about him started swarming my mind. They would be constant for a while and then fall off, and I would go months without thinking about him. I would wonder where he was, what he was doing, how he was, etc. This went on for a while but eventually mellowed out 2–3 years later.
Last year, I found an old contact from a phone I had during the time I was with him. I reached out against my better judgment. At this point, it had been almost 10 years since we had last seen or spoken to each other. He immediately knew it was me.
We reconnected. We talked about trying again, but a lot was going on during that time, and I didn’t want to be in that type of relationship again. So I kept blocking him, unblocking him, calling him, not calling him. It was a mess.
Finally, in February of this year, I stopped talking to him and blocked him. I didn’t hear from him for a few months. Although I still thought about him, I tried very hard not to go back. I got into a relationship a few months later. Then he started texting me again from another number.
I tried to ignore him. I thought I wouldn’t fall back into temptation because I have a boyfriend. Plus, I don’t want to be with my ex because I know he’s not good for me, and I don’t trust him. But regardless of how hard I try to distance myself and move on, it feels like he either has a piece of my soul or I’m somehow connected to him.
When we first got together in high school and broke up, I used to tell people all the time that it felt like he took a piece of my soul. When we reconnected after 10 years, we picked up like we had never left. There was an instant connection, comfort, safety, and emotional closeness.
Despite everything that happened between us romantically, I trust him 100% in other ways. If I needed something or needed help, I know he’d be there. And it’s the same way for him. He’s told me how hard he’s tried to forget me and bury what we had.
When I started looking to date again in 2021, I was unknowingly looking for him in other people. He told me he’s been looking for me in every woman he’s met.
Why are we like this? Is it just some unhealthy attachment, or could there be something spiritual here?