Missing out on dating?

I think that a lot of people don't spend as much time with their friends as they would like to when they are in a serious relationship. For some reason a lot of people think that you are supposed to 'give up' that aspect of your life, in defference to your partner. So I'd be more than happy to have my SO hang with friends, and go out have a good time etc. It's good for everyone involved.

The missing out on dating other people is a different story entirely. You are right, they are trying to find someone else, and if/when that doesn't work out, you'll be 'good enough'. I have never seen this work out for people I've known so far. And I'd not be one to entertain the idea.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I think the real harm that happens in these situations is when the person that was left pines and waits for her/his lover to come back. It's just a bad time followed by a very unhealthy relationship if they (temporaily) get back together. Things just don't go well when one person has been walked all over, and the other doesn't much care that they walk all over their partner.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

Do you think that the hypothetical couple you just talked about would be a good couple in the first place?

Absolutely not. It's over. The only choice that can be made at that point is how your let things play out after that. If you allow yourself to believe the whole he/she will come back and all will be well stuff, then you are doing yourself a great diservice.

How ya doing, buddy?

It still can go on. If the person comes back, and this does often happen.* The person who is stepped on will continue to forgive, at least on the surface, while being stepped on all the more. It's a situation that lends itself to abuse or at the very least a very uneven relationship.

*The person that leaves gets lonely, and decides to settle for the person that they can manipulate.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?