Thanks for the replies! I should point out that after I got divorced, we still had mutual friends, hangouts, etc.
I saw her a lot post divorce. That bugged me i guess, and I ended up moving out of state. Not just because of her, I had a great job offer, but I probably would have moved anyway.
Yeah, copout I know, but I just don’t think I could have handled seeing her at small town things forever…
I am not sure I should be posting, what with the “no children” clause in the OP - but in some ways I think it’s more interesting to hear how people cope with divorce when they DO have kids, so I’ll share. Dated for 4 years, married for 3, one son - divorced for 3 years now. My ex and I live across the park from each other and are better friends now than we ever were when we were together. I think that if we had not had our son, we would not have kept in contact at all, but as it is now, I think we would both agree that we are fortunate to have each other in this context. FTR, he just got remarried on New Years to a wonderful woman who is very supportive of our friendship - which is a blessing, because it makes the “kid stuff” that much easier to deal with.
Not that my way is the “right” way, it’s just what worked for me/us.
Interesting replies, all - this place is wonderful!
AR