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Breaking up is something that never gets easier.

Relationships are an investment. If you find the right one, it can lead to exchanging vows.
But if a relationship fails, the only way we can rationalize it is to accept the fact the person with whom we spent a significant amount of time with were never meant to be a part of our lives.

That kind of thinking, however, does little to keep us from feeling dejected for days on end.

Curious to hear from heartbroken strangers on the internet, Redditor whitecheeks-24 asked:

What's your sad love story?

Death never comes at the right time.

A Difficult Decision

"The love of my life and soulmate who I was married to for 20 years and together for 24 passed away about 8 months ago. I feel alone and empty inside. I have nobody to love or to love me. My life is an empty waste of space now."

"I took her off of life support because I know that's what she wanted and I had to respect her wishes but I sometimes wish I was a little more greedy. I just want my doll face back."


Deep Despair

"I am so sorry. I had to do the same thing with my love, married 40 years. It's been 28 months and I'm sinking deeper into despair. We had so many plans, did everything together, and I am honestly lost without him. I send you warmest regards."


The Shy Admirer

"I was a shy teenager, in love with a cute neighbor. His sister and my mom were friends. He died in a car accident. Nobody knew how I felt about him. I overheard his sister tell my mom that he was in love with me. We never got to share our feelings with each other."


The Illness

"I think a guy I found on died but I have no way of knowing. We had only been dating for 2 or 3 months and we were taking things slow. Then he got sick..tumors in his back and he needed surgery. We still hung out but he was in a lot of pain."

"At the time I was frustrated because I felt he was pushing me away. I just adored him and he was sending mixed messages. Now looking back.. I'm thinking he was just trying to survive. He went in for surgery and I never heard from him again. I didn't know his family and he didn't have social media."

"My mom would check the obituaries in the paper for me and I just always wondered. I hope he didn't know how to end things and just felt this was easier. It's been 5 years and I have a family of my own now but Michael..I hope you're okay."


Perpetual Grief

"I fell in love with my childhood friend, he tragically died when he was 17. I still miss him 13 years later."


It's hard for these Redditors to accept the fact their love was never meant to be.

Long Distance Fizzle

"I had to leave my first boyfriend behind because I moved out of state and didn't even get to say goodbye because I didn't know we were moving when I left. We left to see my aunt who had been traveling and was diagnosis with brain cancer in another state, she was too sick to travel home so they rented a house and stayed there essentially until she passed away."

"My mom liked the area better than my hometown tho so we ended up staying, our stuff was shipped to us so I never got to say goodbye to my boyfriend in person."

"We kept in contact for a couple years but being 16 and 18, it wasn't easy for me to just pack up and head back to move in somewhere with him. We both knew we weren't ready for that so we tried our best to keep the long distance romance going."

"Eventually he messaged me one day and told me that he can't do it anymore and he didn't want to hear from me again because he couldn't handle it."


Unrequited Love

"When I was in my early 20s, I've had a love at first sight experience. It completely broke me. He actually was into me too, but not in love like I was."

"I had never had a boyfriend before and I got so excited, I came in like a wrecking ball to cite a great poet. Long story short, I scared him off, he broke up, I couldn't get him out of my head and couldn't imagine a world without him, so I tried to kill myself."

"Though let me reassure you all, it's been years and I'm over him (as long as I don't see him IRL, I just know that I'd fall back in the spiral), I even had a long-term relationship after him."


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Tough Reality Check

"I got left out of a 5 year relationship. I got injured, lost my job, and had to go take care of my dying mom. I was not in a good way. I come back from the ER and she calls our entire relationship off because I was not 'passionate' any longer. Right."

"My entire life fell apart. Lost the house we had gone in on. Lost the dog we had gotten together. And I lost my girl. She was my bestfriend, my first love."

"Huge reality check but at least I'm only 22. I'm glad I saw her true colors when things went bad. Easy to stand by someone when times are good. Saddest part is I would take her back in an instant. I lost a piece of my soul with her."


Some of the biggest heartbreaks come when someone shows their true colors.


"FOUND OUT MY BOYFRIEND WAS MARRIED WITH KIDS ON THE INTERNET. I was happy and in love for two years. One day while doing my research for a client work, I come across a research paper. The research paper matched what I was looking for, scrolling through it, I realized the owner had some names as my boyfriend."

"But this time he acknowledges his wife and two children for being patient with him as he was busy doing the thesis. I got curious, I took a screenshot and sent him a picture and asked if it's his paper."

"Also, I asked if it's true that he has two kids and a wife and he why didn't tell me. He answered 'DOES IT MATTER '. That was the end of my relationship. Never talked about it, never told any soul what happened."



"I finally got with my best friend and soul mate. He knows more about me then anyone and knows what I've been put thru my whole life. When we first got together he promised he would never do anything to me that others have."

"One year later he cheated, lied and and broke my spirit. Something i never thought was possible with me, yet he accomplished it. It's been a year since i left him and he still tries to get back into my life. The sad part is I know he doesn't love me and I can't stop loving him."



"After four years of supporting my lover through his depression and alcoholism, he announced tonight that he is leaving me. I'm pretty depressed."


A Devious Scheme

"Wife moves our small family across the country for a promotion at her company. When we arrive and settle into our house, she leaves me for her boss."

"The move was a scheme for her boss to leave his wife and kids, and for her to leave me, while being able to be close to all their children. So I unknowingly left my career, family and friends behind to move to a state where I don't know anyone so she could be with her new guy."


Abandoned Mother

"Fell in love, got pregnant and partner left me because I was moody when I was pregnant... Pregnancy was really bad nearly lost the baby. Baby was born early and spent time in the Nicu. And had no emotional support since my pregnancy or now. And he's sleeping in a separate room."


Mental Health Check

"I was diagnosed with ADHD after my Wife left me. She left me due to complications with ADHD. Executive function, emotional dysregulation, time blindness. I always though ADHD was like a mild inconvenience. Now I know it's an actual disability that has ruined every relationship and career I ever had."

"Two years before I met her I decided that once my dog passed away I was going to pass too. I hated my life. Mom was an addict, dad was raising another family. I never felt like I was a part of my family, or close with friends. Always enjoyed my alone time more than anything."

"Then we had our first date and within a week I was in love. She moved in. I felt like myself! I wanted to be social, I wanted to have new experiences, I wanted life."

"8 years later my biggest fear came true. She divorced me. I don't blame her for leaving me, I just wished my partner didn't give up on me."

"I hate the person I had to deal with during a divorce, but ultimately I hate that I helped cause the greatest person I've ever known to turn into that person. It's been 6 months and I still crave her love, but I know that's long gone."

"I have two amazing cats because of her, so there's that. I start a new job on November 1st, and I'm hoping I'll be able to make enough (it's a 1099 job) to finally afford ADHD medication and therapy. It just breaks my heart that she thinks I'm a monster."

"Boys and Girls: The best thing you can do for your significant other is to make sure you're mentally healthy."


Unexpected tragedy will always be, to me, the saddest break up story.

A co-worker of mine used to date a young man who was a patron at the store where we both worked.

Their budding romance was new and exciting and absolutely adorable to watch.

He told me he planned to propose to her before he went away on a family vacation, but sadly, my friend never got the proposal. The guy drowned in a horrible boating accident during his trip.

Although my friend is now happily married with two kids, I wonder if she still thinks about him.


To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at to "know" more?

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