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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Pamela Stephenson Connolly

My ex-girlfriend used me for sex. How do I move on from the betrayal?

Man lying in bed looking sad and clutching his pillow.
‘I feel I have been duped and manipulated.’ Composite: Guardian Design/Marcos Calvo/Getty Images (Posed by model)

My last relationship felt like the best sexual relationship I’d ever had. After my marriage ended, exploring intimacy with a new partner with a well-matched libido felt liberating and life-affirming. After a brief split last summer, she reappeared and said she wanted to have sex again but not to resume as a couple. I declined, explaining that intimacy worked for me only in the context of a relationship. She then said she wanted to get back together, so our relationship briefly resumed.

Two weeks later she said she wanted out again, leaving me feeling I had been duped and manipulated. The destruction of trust has eroded much of the confidence I had gained. I have found it impossible to consider starting a new relationship. How do I move on from this feeling and untangle the damage?

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