This twenty-two-year-old man has been dating his girlfriend, Liz, for four months now. And while their relationship is still relatively fresh, everything was going really well for a while. They reportedly communicated a lot and the whole pairing just felt healthy.
But that was until he and Liz recently had a discussion about their past exes, and he revealed how he only had one other girlfriend before her when he was fifteen.
Liz was beyond intrigued by that and wanted to know how everything played out with his ex. So, he was honest, and it is nearly costing him his current relationship.
“To preface, I understand what I did was absolutely horrible, and I still regret being so stupid to this day,” he said as a disclaimer. Oh boy.
Apparently, when he was fifteen and in secondary school, he was introduced to a girl named Jenna via a mutual friend.
Then, after they got to know each other, Jenna actually made the first move and asked him to be her boyfriend.
He was ecstatic and accepted the relationship, and claims that, for the most part, they were like most cringy and super lovey-dovey teens.
However, he admitted to being super immature at the time, and it came out during his conversation with Liz that he constantly body-shamed Jenna.
In fact, he shared how he would consistently make jokes about Jenna’s chest size– something she was very insecure about.
Manuel – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“Looking back, it makes me cringe because I had a mentality like I was an anime protagonist and said so much stupid stuff,” he recalled.
And after about five months of that, Jenna eventually broke up with him– for good reason. Once he lost his ex, though, he claims the whole thing was a wake-up call.
At first, he explained how he was pretty bewildered by the whole split. Then, the weight of his words really sunk in, and he just felt horrible.
He could not imagine how Jenna must have felt during their relationship, and the realization that he was a constant bully actually made him feel too ashamed to speak to any other girls afterward.
Eventually, though, he did run into Jenna again about three years later at a mutual friend’s party. And while there, he finally got the chance to speak to his ex and apologize for everything he did.
According to him, Jenna was shocked by the apology but also really appreciative. She also reportedly forgave him, caught up about life with him afterward, and they connected on social media.
So, ever since then, he has felt like he and Jenna left off on good terms. While he was talking to his current girlfriend, Liz, though, he could not help but share how he treated his ex in the past because he has never really gotten over the guilt.
“The whole thing is still on my mind to this day, and I haven’t forgiven myself for it. It’s really affected how I act around other people. I constantly feel guilt and anxiety for what I did,” he explained.
“I have some friends who have consistently told me that I have been too hard on myself over the years, and I have changed since I was fifteen, but I don’t think I can make that judgment on myself.”
Once he opened up about everything to Liz, though, she apparently did not see how badly he felt about his past behavior. Instead, she became silent and actually just went home following the conversation.
He later tried to talk to her about the situation again, but it was at that point that Liz claimed she just could not believe he would do something so horrible. She also said she could not see him that way.
Plus, he recently found out from the same mutual friend that introduced him and Liz that she is now considering breaking up with him over how he treated Jenna.
So obviously, he became really upset after hearing that and felt heartbroken. At the same time, though, he cannot help but wonder if Liz calling off their relationship is just the karma he deserved for mistreating Jenna.
Anyway, now he has been left wondering about a few major questions. First, he is not sure if he should leave Liz alone or try to salvage their romance.
Second, he has also started to question whether or not he should disclose what happened with his ex to people in the future or not.
Do you think he should still be beating himself up over what he did to Jenna, or does it seem like he learned his lesson and can move on? Why do you think he told Liz about his past behavior, and do you think being honest about it was the right move? Do you believe he should leave Liz alone now or try to fix their relationship? And moving forward, should he tell future potential partners about what happened with Jenna or not?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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