40-year-old Man ‘demotes’ woman from ‘girlfriend status’ to ‘lover status’, and she is left wondering what to do: ‘I currently can’t find the right words. I didn’t fully know what I was hoping for – but what ever it was it – it’s not realistic now’ – FAIL Blog

Of course, I don’t know if this ex-girlfriend  misinterpreted some things, but what I do know is that he is not thinking about her well-being and is only thinking about what’s in it for him, and that comes off as rather perverse to me. Some people truly think others can accommodate their feelings and do whatever they ask from them. If you’re dealing with someone like this, you should run, of course; but of course it’s not that easy when your self-esteem is low, and you think that’s what you deserve. My advice would be to cut contact and work on her self-esteem. If she decides to have a casual relationship with him later on, it should be from a place of enjoyment or knowing her worth, but never from a place of accepting something less than what we want. That’s a terrible place to be in, and it goes nowhere. Of course, not everything is her responsibility. I think he is not acting right, but to walk away in a timely manner is the only thing she can control.