The pain of a budding romance ending is not just about what it was, but what it could have been, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith
I divorced from my husband over a year ago (we had been living separately for a couple of years before that). He was the absolute love of my life – we were together for 26 years until his one-off infidelity with my half-sister. It was a horrific time. I have lost both of them, but live happily now with my teenage children in my own home. I have a great job, lovely friends, I’m independent and am told I am attractive.
I have since subscribed to a couple of online dating sites and realise I am almost addicted to the validation I get from them – the likes, smiles, swipes etc. This has led to a very intense but short-term online interaction with a guy that I absolutely fell for. I might have even said I felt like I was in love. He met someone else and stopped communicating with me, and I was devastated. It took weeks to get over.