In high school, I met one of my very best friends. He had just transferred to a new school our sophomore year, and we had seen each other a few times in the hallway, but we never really talked to one another. One day, he decided maybe we should just become friends since we see each other all the time anyway (plus, he probably thought I was cute, so he had to slide into my messages). Anyway, he messaged me on Facebook one day and decided to wish me a Merry Christmas. From then on, we became really close.
We talked all the time and hung out as much as we could. We both were in and out of relationships and helped each other with break-ups, when someone needed advice, etc. This went on for about a year before we decided we could possibly be a couple. We both worked well together, and it just seemed right. In June of 2015, we decided to make it official.
By this point, we had just finished our junior year of high school, and everything was great. We spent that summer, our senior year of high school, and almost our entire freshman year of college together. I went away to college while he stayed at a community college. The distance was hard, but we decided we should probably call it quits April of 2017.
Our relationship was starting to fall apart. We couldn't stop arguing, and honestly, I was tired of trying to make our relationship work. I started to give up, and he knew that. We didn't want to jeopardize a friendship that was so important to us, so we remained friends as best as we could. It's hard staying friends with someone you dated for almost two years, but we knew it would hurt worse. Besides, we ended our relationship on good terms.
A few months later, I came home from college for summer vacation. It was a little weird to be around each other again, but we picked things up where we left off with our friendship. We spent that summer like we used to. We hung out all the time, went places, and just acted normal. We were still best friends, and neither one of us wanted that to change.
Two years later, we're still very good friends. I am still in college, and he has since enlisted in the Navy. Before leaving for the Navy, he would come to my house and visit my mother, and even house and dog sit when we weren't home. I'm pretty sure he still has a key to my house. I even went to see him when he swore into the Navy and left for boot camp.
Both of us get asked all the time if it is weird to be around one another, and they seem really confused when we say it's not. Our families don't really understand how we've remained friends, but I do. He and I always acted like friends more than we did a couple. Our friendship often times came before our relationship, and we didn't want to mess that up; it was important to both of us.
So, no, being friends with my ex is not weird, and it isn't for him either.
