Seattleites share their breakup stories and advice

Seattle Dating Scene features readers’ thoughts and stories about what it’s like to date in Seattle. For our next feature, follow this prompt: Describe the best, worst or most interesting date you’ve ever been on.

By Thursday, May 6, please email your submissions to dating@seattletimes.com or submit them via Instagram direct message to @dating_in_seattle, and they may be published in a future edition of The Mix.

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Dating Question of the Month

What are the most memorable or unusual breakups or rejections you’ve dealt with in the past? And do you have advice for others on how to get over them?

Answers have been edited for spelling and clarity.

“I was dating a guy in college in ancient times (pre-internet). My university had a groundbreaking chat system that only those in the know could get access to. One evening, I was waiting for my boyfriend (who was working in a computer lab) to get off work. With nothing better to do, I went online and was chatting with friends. At one point, he looked over my shoulder, saw that some of the folks I was chatting with were guys, and told me, ‘You can’t do that. I OWN that part of you.’ I broke up with him as soon as he got off work.

My advice would be to stick with your gut and don’t wait to end things if a red flag pops up. No amount of explaining helped this guy understand why I was breaking up with him. I’m sure he was right for someone, just not me.”

— Lynnette

“She broke up with me over email. We lived together another six weeks and still shared a bed.”

— Mark

“Broke up with a guy, and he got mad at me for doing it because he introduced me to his friends. Then he wrote me a letter telling me he loved me. It was the weirdest and most confusing breakup.”

— Anonymous

“On a plane ride to Thailand, my fiancée wakes me up crying, and tells me she can’t be committed to me.”

— Anonymous

“I once broke up with a guy by phone, because I was afraid of how he’d react if I did it in person. He tried convincing me not to do it, and I had to literally say, ‘Why do you want to stay with someone you’d have to persuade?’ On a side note: I had recently bought a Glossier facial cleanser and loved it, but I left it at his place on accident and there was no way I’d be able to get it back, which was devastating. I messaged Glossier and gave them the spiel that I just broke up with a guy, left my cleanser there, was sadder about the cleanser than the guy, etc. They sent me a new one!”

— Anonymous

“He told me he loved me, but broke up with me the day before Valentine’s Day and then started dating a new girl the day after that.”

— Krystal

“You have to just find tons of new things to do to fill your time immediately after a breakup. Definitely the hardest part about getting out of a relationship is the fact that you have so much new time on your hands that you’re not spending with your girlfriend/boyfriend. So pick up a new hobby, make new friends, work on yourself, like going to the gym or learning something new. This is definitely a lot harder to do during the pandemic, but it’s probably the fastest way to get over a breakup.”

— Tim

“He took me on a breakup tour. We went to the place we made it official, the place we said, ‘I love you’ first, where we had our favorite date.”

— Elizabeth

“My worst breakup: Her saying, ‘I wanna marry you,’ and then cheating on me two days later.”

— W

“We both left for separate vacations, and my boyfriend didn’t speak to me the whole time. Then he came back with a new girlfriend.”

— Gina

“A lot of people will tell you to find a rebound after a breakup. Do not do that. It’s almost never worth it. Or maybe it is for some people, but just be careful and remember that you’re probably not in a great head space.”

— Anonymous

Here’s the monthly “Seattle Dating Scene” lineup:

• First week: “Dating Question of the Month” — Readers respond to a dating-related question we’ve posed.
• Second week: “How We Met” — Have the perfect meet-cute story? Or a great first date? In under 500 words, tell us how you met your significant other, and send in your story and a photo.
• Third week: “Best Date/Worst Date” — In under 250 words, tell us an anecdote from the best or worst date you’ve been on.
• Fourth week: “Ask Marina” — Marina Resto, who runs the lively @Dating_in_Seattle Instagram account, answers reader questions about dating — or finds a special guest to answer the ones she can’t!