We asked members of the BuzzFeed Community who have successfully gotten back with an ex and lived happily ever after to share their stories. Here's what people revealed: 1. "We met in church youth group in 1986 and started dating the next year.
He was my first boyfriend and my first kiss. We dated off and on for about six years but couldn't really figure out how to make it work, so we eventually drifted apart. I met someone else and got married a few years later, and then we divorced in 2020.
After the pandemic, I was looking for someone to hang out with. I knew my first love was still single, so I slid into his best friend's DMs and left him my number. He called a couple of weeks later, and we were back together within a month.
That was three years ago, and things just keep getting better." "That wild, reckless boy who wouldn't settle down with me in our early 20s grew into the most thoughtful, supportive, generous, hardworking man I've ever known. We're both in our mid-50s now and having a blast making up for lost time!" — absepa 2.
"My wife and I separated for a little over a year after about four years of marriage. She stayed in California, and I moved back to Maine (where I was living when I met her on a work assignment in CA). We both saw other people at that time, and the divorce proceedings began.
But when it came time for me to sign the final papers, my hand started shaking, and I realized that the divorce would be the biggest regret of my life. I called off the divorce, we reconciled, and we have been married for over 20 years. We still went through some ups and downs after we reconciled, but we're in a great place now, and I thank my lucky stars that I did NOT sign the papers that day.
I would have regretted the divorce for the rest of my life." —Anonymous 3. "My husband and I have been together since 2003.
He is the other half of my heart. He is my home, and I knew it the moment I met him. I even had trouble remembering how to say my name when we were introduced.
He proposed in 2006, but life is not a rom-com. Because of a brief, disastrous, and young first marriage, I was a commitment-phobe. I told him we were committed to each other and didn't need a piece of paper to declare it, yada yada yada.
I also had issues related to an alcohol-abusing and absent father, and I was terrified to end up as a miserable cliché or statistic." "Long story short, he drank, and I didn't. His drinking progressed over the years, and I told him many times that I could love him just as easily from afar as I could up close and personal.
I told him I would not watch him destroy himself, us, or myself with his drinking. He was welcome to do it on his own, but I wouldn't stick around and watch. I probably waited too long, but I had my baggage and did my best.
We broke up in May 2010, and it took him six weeks to start getting himself clean after I left. It was a battle for him, and I supported him in every way and always will. We reconciled in January 2011, finally got hitched in July 2012, and have not had an issue with his drinking (or really anything else) ever since.
I love him still more than anything in the world, but I loved myself more and knew that if I didn't walk away, my worst fears would come true. He told me that had I not left him, he might not have ever stopped drinking on his own. I'm just glad neither of us has to wonder what if.
" —Anonymous 4. "We met when we were 16. He was my trainer at a fast food restaurant where I was hired.
We had a big group of mutual friends, so we saw each other outside of work. He was a great guy and funny. I liked him immediately.
We started dating a few months after we met, but he broke it off because he was moving to a different province. After a year, he moved back to the city where we met, and we dated again for a couple of months. He broke it off again because we were young, and he wasn't ready to be serious with anyone.
My strong feelings were too much for him. I removed myself from any occasion that would mean we would run into each other, but I saw him at a funeral, and all the feelings came back." "I refused to allow myself to see him as more than just a friend.
I was on the brink of dating someone else (also a friend from a separate group) when my work friends organized a night out for my 20th birthday. He asked if it would be okay if he came out with us. I said yes, certain that we were destined to be just friends.
We were standing close together a couple of hours into the night, and he made me laugh really hard. He wished me a happy birthday and kissed me. We just celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary.
" — bluehero265 5. "When I was 20, I needed a place to live and ended up moving into a house my friend was renting. I (female) moved into a house with three guys.
I ended up dating one of my roommates for the duration of the lease. I was 20, he was 23. He wanted marriage, kids, the whole deal, for life.
I really wasn't ready. I was in college and knew I had so much life to live before settling down. He was heartbroken and moved states away.
When I was 22, I met the most incredible man, and we ended up having the most incredible, adventurous, polyamorous relationship for the next 10 years. We got married in Vegas by 'Elvis' and eventually had one kid together." "Last year, our love became buried under life stress.
We loved each other so profoundly, but we decided to separate. After 12 years of no contact, I contacted that former roommate/boyfriend. We instantly connected again.
Within a month, he moved back to the state I was in, and we've been living together. We had an incredibly intense, loving, and amazing relationship and picked up right where we left off over a decade prior. The kicker? We agree that we love each other and have absolutely no regrets, but he is about to move back out of state and do amazing things with his life.
As for me? Having time apart to unbury our love from life, my husband and I learned how much we really appreciated each other and are back together, stronger than ever. We have absolutely no regrets. Each journey, each relationship, and each period was an incredible experience and equally as important.
It's amazing where love can take you." — rollerskates 6. "We first got together when I was 20 and he was 21.
We were both in community college and knew we wanted to marry after we graduated and had steady jobs. I transferred to a four-year university in another city within a year, but he visited often, and we made it work. I was about to graduate with my undergrad at 23 when he was approved to transfer to a four-year university several hours away.
We toured the campus and looked at apartments, agreeing we would move in together since the timing worked out perfectly. He got cold feet about it and broke up with me. He began thinking about how we'd both be poor for a while and spiraled into thinking our struggles would last forever and that we'd never be happy, so we might as well end it.
He worried we couldn't afford to start a family (he was studying education) and knew how much I wanted to be a mom." "I was devastated. I had no clue what to do with my life and was beyond heartbroken.
A month later, he contacted me and explained why he panicked. He said he realized that he had given up before we even started. We sat down at a cafe and had a long talk.
He begged for my forgiveness and promised to marry me and start a family as we had initially planned. We decided to get back together and moved in together a month later. It took a good year to forgive him truly, but we were able to move past it.
Living together did have its ups and downs financially. I was a breadwinner and often the only one working full-time while he was in school. It was hard at times but well worth it.
We're in our 30s and have been together for a decade, seven of those years after we got back together. He has a great teaching position and is projected to earn six figures in a few years, after which we will start trying for a baby. He recently proposed, and we will be getting married next year.
I'm so happy we decided to get back together. A lot of my family members were hesitant, seeing how hurt I was when we separated, but they have since come around. At the end of the day, you must choose each other, even when life throws you curveballs.
Love and hard work can overcome fear and uncertainty." —Anonymous 7. "I was with my ex (same age) from 17 to 24.
We split mostly because he was an immature 24, and I wanted to be doing grown-up things. We parted amicably. Within two years, he got married and had a kid.
We lost touch. I met a new guy at 26 and had a kid of my own. The new guy turned out to be even less grown.
Go figure, lol. Apparently, I had a type, so I decided to get off that track, stay single, and put my best into raising my boy. Fast forward to 48.
My original ex, who I hadn't spoken to in 24 years, sent me a message on Instagram. We chatted briefly, but I got tired of typing, so I gave him my number and asked him to call. We talked all night.
We haven't gone 24 hours without speaking or messaging since then. He was divorced, and I wasn't seeing anyone. He's still fun to be around but also a responsible adult.
I couldn't say no to that! We got married 18 months later and are celebrating our fifth anniversary soon." —Anonymous 8. "My husband and I dated when we were in high school.
At the time, our thoughts/values on marriage didn't align, and we ended up breaking up when we got to college. We stayed friends for years; he was one of my best friends. We both ended up in serious relationships for six years.
We decided to stop speaking to each other because we felt it wasn't fair to our current partners and went silent for about a year. Within the course of that year, both relationships ended. We ran into each other a few months later, and we've been together ever since.
Over a decade and two beautiful kids later." —Anonymous 9. "I came out late in life and dated someone eight years younger who started as a good friend.
After about a year, we broke up and dated other people, but we both knew we wanted to be together. After another year of growth for both of us and an absence that made our hearts grow fonder, we reconnected. This year is our fifth wedding anniversary.
Sometimes, you must break up to remember why you should be together." — booklover32685 10. "My husband and I met over 20 years ago on our first day of college.
We worked in the same office for our scholarship job. We instantly hit it off, became best friends, dated off and on, and were really into each other. Being in our late teens and early 20s, we had a lot of growing, learning, and self-exploration ahead of us, so we remained friends but romantically drifted apart.
He and I eventually married other people, and both of those relationships met swift ends. Several years later, while living in different cities, we reconnected and haven't looked back. We're 11 years strong, have a lovely child and a wonderful life, and are just as in love with each other as we were 23 years ago.
I love our story almost as much as I love him." —Anonymous 11. "We met and started dating in 2010.
I had never met anyone like him, and we clicked right away. Unfortunately, I was still in the 'must be married and have kids before 30' mindset, which was *terrible* for my mental health. He wasn't thinking about marriage yet.
Needless to say, we weren't on the same page and broke up. We call that small stint 'the dark time.' We dated other people, went about our lives, and decided we were both miserable.
When we got back together, my expectations for my life were completely different. Timeline didn't matter as long as he was the person I got to be with." "We got back together around (Canadian) Thanksgiving and were engaged by New Year's.
We got married in 2013 on the third anniversary of our first date. Our oldest was born in 2014. We've been married for 11 years, together for 14, and had another baby nearly three years ago.
" — rakishrogue 12. And: "We dated for about two years, on and off, while he was depressed and dealing with an alcohol addiction and severe BPD. He dumped me on New Year's Eve because I was crying since he promised not to drink but did anyway and promised to watch a movie with me, but he didn't.
Somehow, four months later, he changed. He got cleaned up, went to therapy, started meds, and took responsibility for everything. Obviously, I wasn't so easily convinced, but that was about three years ago, and we've been married for six months.
He's the same sweet, kind, thoughtful person he was when we started dating, but without all the a-hole and douchey qualities." "I don't know what happened. Maybe his frontal lobe developed? I don't like talking about it because I don't want girls staying with douchebags hoping they'll change.
Of my whole family and all my friends, my partner is the only one that did change. The moral of the story: Sometimes, a breakup is the only way to fix things. Either they'll change, and you'll be okay, or they won't, and you'll be better off without them.
It will be OKAY!" —Anonymous Have you ever gotten back together with an ex? Did things work out the second time? Tell us your story in the comments or share anonymously using this form . Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity..
