The Art of the Dating Break-Up

When the Dating Break-Up becomes an art.

We’ve all been there – heartbreak (or heartache).  Things are going along great then BOOM! Disaster strikes, leaving you dumbfounded and perhaps eating a tub of Ben & Jerry’s (hey, no judgment from me!)  Break-ups work from both sides – either you are being dumped, or you are doing the dumping.  Over the course of my *experience* (as well as listening to friends’ experiences) here are a 6 ways to perfect The Art of the (Dating) Break-Up:

1. The Mutual Fade Away – This is where both parties slowly and albeit nicely, drift apart into the “huh, haven’t heard from him/her in a few months…”
2. Ignore – Easy to do, hard on any normal person’s conscience.  One party just flat out ignores.  It goes from one day of constant texting to fall-off into oblivion.
3. Become ‘unattractive’ on purpose – I’ve deployed this tactic before on a date where I was NOT interested so I dropped every ‘unattractive’ bomb I could think of such as “I hate kids” and “I don’t want to get married” and “Oh yeah I go out EVERY weekend partying!”  Basically, I sounded like I was 10 years younger.
4. Lie – This has endless (and potentially fun) options.  From creating a fake boyfriend/fiance to claiming to ‘bat for the other team’ to saying you are moving to 15 Yemen Road, Yemen.
5. Honesty and truth – At a certain age, the above tactics just aren’t going to cut it.  This is where honesty and truthfulness can benefit both parties.  It’s a tad scary the first few times I did it, but now, if the guy is decent and just not feeling it, I tell him that he’s great but I’m not interested and don’t see it developing any further.
6. Don’t let it get to that point – Say hello to my defense mechanism!  Fun fact about me: I’ve never had a long-term serious relationship.  Therefore, my heart has been protected from all official break-ups…but that doesn’t mean I haven’t experienced my fair share of heart-aches (collectively, let me hear you ‘aaww’).  In due time I’m sure I will be buying stock in Ben & Jerry’s.

Share your break-up or heart-ache tactics and stories with us!