Relationships are all about communication, but let’s face it, that’s often easier said than done. The result is that in many, failed relationships, there are a decent amount of things that ended up left unsaid.
Someone asked people to share “the one thing you never told your ex?” and netizens spilled their guts. From heartbreaking revelations to funny tit-bits, get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments section below.
#1
That sometimes, while I was asleep, I'd wake to her petting my hair and telling me that she loved me. She said it in such a loving, quiet voice, it felt almost secret. In those moments, I had never felt so loved. I'd pretend to still be asleep while fading back into it so she wouldn't get embarrassed. We broke up later but I still cherish those moments.
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261points
#2
The day I left was the best day of my life. Not the wedding, not when the kiddo finished kindergarten or high school. When I finally had enough and realized what was happening was abuse and it happens to men, too.
253points
#3
That he's gay. I remember the party in college where I walked in on him kissing our friend Daniel. We just never talked about it again. And once I announced the divorce, everyone mentioned that he was gay. They thought it was some big secret we were all agreeing not to discuss.
I just wish he'd get on with it and live his life openly now. But I realize there must be tremendous pain keeping him from that. So I'll keep loving him as a friend and family member, raising our daughter as coparents.
I'm happy and remarried. I hope he finds what he needs someday. He's an amazing dad.
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215points
It can be very hard to tell a person a hard truth, even, in fact particulate, if you love them. The truth hurts is an old adage for a reason and most of us don’t actually want to hurt the people who are important to us. It’s even worse when one is dealing with something that happened between them and an ex or really any important figure from the past.
While, in the moment, it might be easier to stay silent, psychologists believe that it still helps with closure. After all, the folks in this article still felt the need to share the words left unsaid with someone, even if it was random people on the internet.
#4
She wanted to improve her own fitness, so she wanted to work out with me. Every time we ran together I would run at half speed, breath heavily and pretend like I was exhausted. It helped her feel encouraged, that she was able to keep up, and that she was improving.
When we’d go out to Asian restaurants she’d insist on using chopsticks. She was terrible, so I always tried to out-do any blunders she made. If she struggled to pick something up, I’d pretend the chopsticks slipped out of my hand, or resort to stabbing food in an exaggerated way. I’m Asian… I’ve been using chopsticks longer than I’ve been using spoons and forks. She’d always gleefully laugh at me and never caught on to the fact that everytime she was done eating my chopstick errors significantly dropped.
Lastly, she loved falling asleep next to me but kicked and spasmed in her sleep. She was a heavy sleeper and I wasn’t so this sleeping arrangement didn’t really work out but she was always so happy to go to sleep and wake up next to me. A lot of times if she kicked me awake I’d sleep on the floor, get up slightly before her alarm, and scoot back next to her like nothing happened so she wouldn’t feel bad.
I got burned by that relationship pretty badly but I have every intention of continuing to do those little things for my future partners. Just waiting for the right person to do them for.
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207points
#5
I know she faked an "emergency" phone call and left my apartment in a hurry one night because she had sh*rted herself. Unbeknownst to her there was some trace evidence left where she was sitting on the couch. I cleaned the spot, flipped the cushion, and I never let on that I knew what had really happened.
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163points
#6
The heartfelt letter she wrote to her dying bff was returned bc she put the wrong address. He passed away while the letter was en-route back to her. I threw it in the trash.
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162points
Let’s face it, in many cases, it is best to discuss and divulge things early to not let them build up for later. Fortunately, many of the examples are a tad more lighthearted. It seems unlikely that someone is truly dying to tell their ex that, actually, they simply let them win at every board game.
#7
The real reason I broke up with her was because I caught myself going through her phone on a regular basis. The last time I did it, it hit me like a bag of bricks. I knew it was me and not her. I developed trust issues from past relationships.
I was so in love with her, I didn't feel she deserved to be with someone not in a healthy place.
I tried my hardest to trust her but couldn't. I still haven't gotten past her and it's been 6 years.
That behavior scared me so much, I haven't been in a relationship since and have focused on me. I think I scared myself so badly, I am avoiding relationships out of the fear I'll have the desire to do that again.
Now she's engaged and here I am... On Reddit. Confessing my crazy behavior.
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151points
#8
That his dog was seeking him out in her dying moments.
He had rescued a little girl from a dog fighting puppy mill, and raised her by himself until we met. I instantly loved her and for a year into our relationship I got to watch the two of them build trust and train and play everyday. She was his whole life as when he saved her, he had no one else regarding family or friends, in a very depressed state.
Around our 1 year anniversary she got sick. I woke up one day with a very bad feeling, only to look around and find her sitting in a pool of blood and p**s. Without hesitation we took her to the vet non stop and payed for any and every test we could. She was young still, 2 and a half.
They all came back negative, and she was a fully vaccinated dog. One Sunday, after 5 days of fighting with antibiotics and getting her to eat, cleaning up blood and p**s and taking out any savings we both had to pay off doctors, she passed.
They were both a sleep on the couch (we took turns sleeping) and I was dozing off from the exhaustion.
I saw her around 5am wake up, she tried moving around trying to get to her dad but she was too weak and he was too tired. I didn't realize what was happening, why she suddenly wanted to be with him so much.
I sat with her, telling her that it would be okay and the minute the vet was available we would head over for painkillers. We would find what was hurting her and that she wasn't alone. I covered her with a blanket and fell asleep on the floor before I realized it. 9 am same day she had joined the other angels.
To this day, I have some of her ashes and I just keep thinking I should of woken him up, or helped her. For the longest time he blamed himself for not being with her in her final moments.
We never found what killed her, autopsy wasn't an option.
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125points
After all, it’s no surprise that most gags in your average sitcom, inevitably, come from some characters miscommunicating or leaving something out. It’s a pretty common human experience at this point. So like with many things in life, it’s important to not beat yourself up too much and just use your best judgment.
#10
My ex's parents were separated, so we often found ourselves at her mom's place. Her mom, a high-powered CEO in New York, rarely engaged in casual conversation. However, one night, amidst her job stress, she surprised us by joining in for a laid-back evening. Nestled in her fantastic Manhattan loft, we relished the opportunity to escape our sweltering college dorms during the summer. On this particular night, as my ex and I stayed over, her mom seemed a touch envious of our city escapade and decided to join us for a nostalgic early 2000s movie and a nightcap. As the evening unfolded, my ex dozed off, and I couldn't help but notice her mom consuming the lion's share of the wine. She became unusually chatty, delving into personal questions and fixing me with a lingering gaze. When the movie ended, I suggested that i’d probably leave my ex on the couch and that i would probably just take the floor. However, her mom unexpectedly proposed sharing her bedroom. Politely, I declined, and it's a secret I've kept from my ex ever since.
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120points
#11
We should’ve broken up after that first fight 6 weeks in instead of 3 and a half years later. You’re my biggest regret.
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117points
#12
I exposed her for stealing at work. Yahtzeeee.
Was stealing tips from a tip pool. So from all her coworkers.
113points
#13
That I knew the last time she tried to talk me into having sex, she was trying to pin her pregnancy from her trip to Florida on me.
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113points
#14
That it isn’t normal for him (18) and his sister (23) to shower together on a regular basis…. And no it was not to preserve water because they were loaded af.
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107points
#15
Oooooh had to hop on the alt account for this one! When I was 22, I had a baby with my ex and we gave them up for adoption. I should have gotten an abortion, but I got scared so I ended up carrying to full term and letting a great family adopt them. Less than 5 people know about this. It's my biggest skeleton in my closet.
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107points
#16
She had a lovebird. it managed to get out the door, we spent weeks walking the neighbour's hood, putting up posters and scouring lost and found ads. unfortunately, within an a few hours of the first round of lost posters being distributed, I got a call (on her phone, she was in shower) from a woman who witnessed poor Lovebird being predated by crows. I went out to 'buy cigarettes', but actually went to the area where this was observed. I found a lot of little blue feathers. she was already heartbroken at the loss. I felt this news, this soon into the search would have crushed her.
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98points
#17
It sounds harsh, but I would have loved to have talked with my ex about how neither of us really loved the other, but were both in love with the idea of each other, and that really f****d our relationship up, from day 1, and honestly I should have never tried to rely on her to fix my own pre-existing issues. I'm genuinely sorry I put her through that.
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92points
#18
We broke it off on good terms, but I wish I could’ve told him how much of a narcissist and an a*****e he was to me. He drunkenly asked me when I stopped loving him one night after we broke up… I stopped loving you 6 months into our relationship and stayed for 3 years bc I couldn’t afford to leave and be on my own and I became so used to the abuse that it was just normal at that point. I stopped loving you the first time you screamed “f**k you” into my face. You made so many excuses for your behavior and half of those were just blaming me when I did nothing wrong. You were explosive and short-tempered but everything was still my fault. You couldn’t care less about the things I wanted to do or the interests that I had, just you you you you you. He even left me with the dog I got him (whom I love very much and he is spoiled). Every weekend he’d be gone doing the things that I wish I could be doing with him, but I wasn’t invited or couldn’t afford it. AND THE LIES. I’d be surprised if he was ever telling me the truth. Deceit was the boys middle name, but I saw through it. Even when you didn’t think I did. I did.
I wish I could’ve said all of that but I left off on good terms because i’m wayyyyy too nice of a person. You live and you learn I guess. What a joke.
Thanks for the vent haha.
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84points
#19
Several things to each one of them
1- Im sorry that I fumbled breaking up with you but I needed a more active gf than just watching movies endlessly
2- i really wanted to spend my life with you but your decision that “you wanted to open our relationship” ended all attraction to you at that exact moment. I should have just walked away right there than demand it ‘stay closed’ and drag out the inevitable a few more months. You ended up leaving me anyways so w/e
3- your anger is why everyone youve dated dumped you, and why im dumping you too. Its not that we “are afraid of a smart woman” its you become petty and mean when you dont get your way. (Shes still single to this day)
4- i knew you cheated but you thought you were too slick.
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83points
#20
He made me reallyyyy uncomfortable with how often he "accidentally" s**t himself.
Accidents are accidents but there's a point where it's no longer an accident.
Accidents are accidents but there's a point where it's no longer an accident.
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78points