20/10/2026
You can know a relationship needed to end and still wish it hadn't.
Sometimes, the hardest part of leaving an abusive relationship isn't the leaving itself. Sometimes, it's coming to terms with the fact that the relationship you hoped for, the future you imagined, and the person you loved are not what you wanted them to be.
You can miss someone who hurt you.
You can grieve a relationship that wasn't healthy.
You can wish things had been different.
You can find yourself wondering what might have been if only things had changed.
And none of that means you made the wrong decision.
Because leaving doesn't automatically switch off the love, the memories, the hope or the attachment. You don't simply walk away and stop feeling everything you felt before.
Sometimes, you grieve the good times. Sometimes, you grieve the person you thought they were. And sometimes, you grieve the future you desperately wanted to build together.
You might even find yourself wishing you'd never had to leave at all.
And that's okay. ❤️
You can regret that the relationship didn't work out without wishing to go back to what was hurting you.
You can accept that it has ended without being happy about it.
You can love someone and recognise that the relationship wasn't safe or healthy for you.
And you can take your time making peace with all of it.
Healing isn't about pretending it didn't matter, forgetting the person or convincing yourself you never loved them.
It's about learning to hold the whole story; the love, the pain, the hope, the disappointment and the reality, without allowing it to keep you trapped in the past.
Be gentle with yourself if you're in this place right now.
You don't have to have all the answers today. You don't have to feel strong every day. And you don't have to be completely over it to begin moving forward.
You are allowed to grieve what you lost, even when leaving was what you needed to do.
One day at a time. One step at a time. One little piece of healing at a time.
You haven't failed because you still feel something.
You're human and you're healing. ❤️🩹