How Long It Takes to Get Over Someone After a Breakup?

Breakups are one of life’s inevitable forces. And although they have been around since time immemorial, we still have questions about them.

Including, how long does it take to get over someone after a breakup?

Here are the answers of 7 experts.

Kevin Darné

Founder, Love Alert 911 | Author, My Cat Won’t Bark! (A Relationship Epiphany)

It varies from person to person along with one’s level of emotional investment in the relationship

Some key factors which determine how long it takes to move on depends on who ended the relationship and why, how long they were together, and the emotional investment made. Another major factor which cannot be overlooked is one’s experience with past failed relationships.

One’s “first love” is usually the most difficult to get over. Some people will tell you they never ever really got over their first heartache.

This is because most likely the person was all in from the beginning and never went through the “what if” scenarios one does to guard against heartache.

Unfortunately for most of us, our first love takes place during our teenage years or in our early 20s when we tend to be naïve and have unrealistic expectations.

The truth of the matter is when it comes to love and relationships most of us fail our way to success.

Very few people hit a home run their first, second, third, or fourth time up at bat. If this were not true we would all be married to our high school sweethearts!

The grieving period

Some people believe it takes from one third to one half of the time a couple spent together in order to move on and be ready to date again. This would mean a relationship which lasted for a year would typically require anywhere from four to six months to adequately move on.

Others have been known to say the best way to get over one person is to get under another person. However, in reality, all they are doing is distracting themselves for what essentially works out to be the same amount of time before emotionally moving on.

Read related article: 16 Best Books to Read After a Breakup

Thus the common warning for their new prospective mate is avoiding being a “rebound person”. You’re essentially distracting the hurt person over the time it takes for them to heal much like cold medicine relieves symptoms while the body heals itself.

It’s also possible for an individual to simply jump into one relationship after another as a pattern of life without ever taking any time to grieve.

Their fear of being alone dictates they avoid any lengthy alone time for introspective thinking. Some people treat relationships like jobs. They won’t leave one unless they have another one lined up.

There are three basic reasons why couples split up:

1. They chose the wrong mate. (They’re too incompatible.)
2. A “deal breaker” was committed in the eyes of another.
3. They fell out of love/stopped wanting the same things over time.

Incompatibility

Naturally, if a couple has had countless arguments and fights over just about everything moving on probably will take less time.

It may be a case whereby when they met sparks ignited and chemistry was undeniable. Those first few months were a whirlwind of romance and passion. However, once an emotional investment was made their differences took center stage.

The challenge for such couples is walking away from the highs they’ve experienced when the bulk of their time is spent coping with the lows. Anyone who chooses to wear rose-tinted glasses is likely to find it difficult to put the relationship as a whole in perspective.

They may even agree with the romantic notion that they fight like cats and dogs when they are together but are miserable when they are apart.

It’s not uncommon for people to romanticize obstacles in an effort to hold onto a toxic relationship by any means.

Some people are actually motivated by challenges in relationships and believe drama and breakups/makeups are a part of the journey towards happily ever after. In order to move on one must want to let go.

As long as a person on some level hopes for reconciliation they will never allow themselves to truly move on. They persist in the belief their ex was their “soulmate”.

In order for your ex to have been “the one” he or she would have had to see you as being “the one” At the very least a “soulmate” is someone who actually wants to be with you! (And vice versa)

Getting over an ex may take a few months or one may never really move on. Ultimately it all begins with one’s own desire to let go and move on.

Some exes evolve into friends with benefits arrangement and never completely let go even while they are in other relationships or marriages. The only thing that forces them to cease getting together is if one of them falls madly in love with someone else and refuses to continue to see the other.

Deal Breakers

Whenever a couple splits due to one of them committing a “deal breaker” such as cheating, the hurt or betrayed person is caught off guard. Even when the hurt or betrayed person has chosen to end their relationship under such conditions it may still be difficult to move on emotionally.

Oftentimes they are angry with themselves for being so trusting/gullible, ignoring “red flags”, or they begin to doubt their ability to choose someone worthy of their love. Some people actually make a decision to never fully trust anyone again.

They carry the “emotional baggage” of their pain with them in all future relationships. Therefore ending the relationship does not necessarily mean a person has actually moved on. They build a wall of defense around their heart.

The slate is never wiped clean for a new person to enter into their life without having to pay the price of overcoming the damage their ex committed.

It’s not uncommon for some hurt individuals to routinely bring up their exes and the pain they caused them with their new dating prospects.

Depending on the type of “deal breaker” and the depth of love one had for their ex, it may take an extraordinary patient person to break through and earn her or his trust. Rarely does someone move on quickly after having their heart broken.

Several months or even years of grappling with the pain one suffered is not uncommon.

It’s a long process for them to reach the point of forgiveness whereby they no longer dwell on the actions of their ex when considering new dating opportunities. Just because someone has begun dating again does not mean they have actually emotionally moved on.

Grew Apart

When it comes to love and relationships over the long haul we’re either growing together or growing apart. There is no neutral.

Relationships which end due to no egregious acts by either party are usually the result of self-introspection and lengthy contemplation by one or both individuals. In such instances, couples may have simply been going through the motions until one of them decided to bring things out into the open.

Sometimes one person may actually be content with things as they are the other wants more and realizes their mate is incapable of being who they need. The contented person isn’t so much madly in love as much as they are comfortable with the companionship established or status quo.

They hate the idea of having to start over by finding someone new in order to get back to a similar place of comfort.

Some people view the length of time they were in the relationship as being a total waste when it doesn’t have happily ever after ending.

Initially, they may delude themselves into believing they had the “perfect relationship” and out of the blue, their mate decided they no longer were in love.

However, in retrospect, they too may realize it was the comfort and stability of being in the relationship or marriage they loved and not the individual.

It’s been said human beings are creatures of habit. Whether it’s the loss of a long-term relationship or a long-held job one grieves as if there was a death.

The importance of taking the time to heal

Not only is it important to take the time to heal it’s very important to learn the lessons of a failed relationship.

It’s very easy to get caught up in playing the “blame game” which essentially makes one powerless.

Each of us chooses our own friends, lovers, and spouse.

Each of us has our mate selection/screening process and must-haves list.

Each of us has our own boundaries and “deal breakers”.

Without taking time out to heal and learn the person is likely to find them self repeating the same scenario over and over again.

If you find yourself having one bad relationship after another it’s probably time to reexamine your mate selection process. The only thing all of your failed relationships have in common, is you. Thankfully we have the capacity to learn from our mistakes.

“Some people come into our lives as blessings. Some people come into our lives as lessons.” – Mother Teresa

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn.” – Helen Keller

Know yourself, Love Yourself, Trust yourself. Every ending is a new beginning!

Caleb Backe

Health and Wellness Expert, Maple Holistics

You’re not over your breakup is if you still envision them in your future

Before getting back into the dating scene, it’s important to make sure you have completely moved on from your previous partner.

It’s childish and futile to respond spitefully or rashly to a breakup by transitioning too fast. You need to take the proper time to digest your previous relationship so that you are properly prepared to handle what comes next.

That being the case, one of the tell-tale signs that you are not over your breakup is if you still envision your ex in your future.

The past is valuable because it has shaped who you are today, so there’s nothing alarming about thinking about your past with your ex. However, if you find yourself fixated on the potential future you could have had with your ex, you are likely not over them yet.

Caitlin Fisher

Author

There’s no timeline on love

There’s no timeline on love, whether you’re falling into it or getting over a breakup. Breakups affect people in different ways, and there is a grieving process involved. It really depends on the breakup and the people involved!

You will feel a lot of different emotions after a breakup, ranging from sadness and anger and pain to relief and even joy and freedom, depending on what your relationship was like. You may need to grieve the plan, more than the relationship itself.

If you planned to spend your life with someone, or planned to have a child with someone, or planned to travel together on a really cool trip next year, you need to process the loss of those plans.

For me, leaving an abusive ex was an up-and-down roller coaster of emotions. I was so relieved and proud of myself for getting out of there, but I questioned if I would ever want to marry again or ever have the child I had longed to have with my husband. That whole path of my life was just gone overnight, and it was hard to process.

Then, when I started dating someone new, I panicked that it was happening too fast. My sister had to remind me that there’s no timeline and that it was safe to move on if I felt good about doing so.

You will also move on in your own time.

Reach out to friends, a trusted therapist, an inspirational book, or a pint of ice cream if you need to. Take the time to not have any expectations about your life.

Understand that your value does not come from what you do for other people, or whether you are partnered with someone.

Read that again: You are not valuable based on what you do for a partner. You are valuable all by yourself. Take your time, don’t rush it, and do what makes you feel comfortable.

Dr. Diana Kirschner

Psychologist | Owner, Love in 90 Days

Recovery from a breakup can take anywhere from several months to several years or longer, depending on the length of the love relationship and its intensity of emotional connection, as well as the person’s willingness to let go.

Willingness to let go and heal is the key component.

If there is no will, it is possible for a person to not recover for decades, as we see in divorced people who continue to be bitter and resentful for many years after the dissolution of the relationship.

Related: How to Move on After Divorce

Briana Hollis, MSSA, LSW, CDCA

Licensed Social Worker | Founder, Learning to be Free

It is an incredibly personal process

It’s common to say that it takes about the same amount of time to get over someone as someone was in the relationship (1-year relationship, 1 year to get over someone.

However, getting over a break up is an incredibly personal process and many factors can go into it.

For example, the connection that was built between the people in the relationship, the mental health status of the individuals, and the types of support that the individuals have access to, all have some weight on how long it will take them to get over the relationship.

I went through a break up where I was devastated and though we had only dated very briefly, I felt extremely connected with him. Months later when I thought I was over him, I wasn’t and still felt butterflies in my stomach when I saw him. Healing isn’t linear and takes time, and that’s perfectly okay.

Roland Hinds

Producer | Host | Author, Are You The Right One For Me? Whose Choice Is It Anyway?

Everyone recovers from a breakup differently

As the old saying goes, the longer someone is in a relationship, it takes half of the time to recover from the relationship. The reality is everyone recovers from a breakup differently because of the healing process.

There are three phases mourning, accepting and confronting the loss of a relationship.

It’s just like grieving the loss of a death, however, the other person is still alive and may longer be part of your life.

Depending on the formed emotions and time spent together, it can take additional time to release some of those feelings shared together from the individuals perspective. There is also the path the person takes to heal by reinventing themselves by exercising and finding new routines to get past the breakup.

If there is a severe emotional disturbance, it might be beneficial for the person to seek out a support group to cope with the loss. Being proactive about the break can help reduce the amount of time it takes to get over a significant other.

Olyvia DuSold

Founder | Owner, Align Mii

The longer the relationship the shorter the time to get over them

Depending on the side of the breakup you are on, a few days or a few years. Interestingly enough for me the longer the relationship the shorter the time it is for me to get over them.

I had two relationships that were both more than 2 years. I can honestly say that by the time they were both done it took me all of about 24 hours to be emotionally done with them. I was, obviously, the one who did the breaking up.

When I was young, 5 years old, my parents got a divorce. When I got older I wanted to know their take on the divorce. I asked my Mom why she didn’t stay. Her answer was simple. She told me “I wasn’t happy and I always told you and your sister to choose happiness. I felt like I was setting a bad example for you.”

Fair enough, but a few moments later, she added to it. “If you try everything, and I mean everything, to make a relationship work you gotta throw everything at it. Therapy, reading books, new things in the bed room, talking, dates, religion, whatever.

If you can honestly tell yourself that you tried everything that was in your power and not something damning, then you can walk away feeling good about your decision.”

This was the advice I took into both relationships. Once I saw them taking a nose dive I did everything. I mean with one guy we moved to another house, I put up money for him to buy another car, and we even got a dog.

The other boyfriend I helped get out of debt. Listen, I tried everything. Once it was finally clear that they were not the people for me, that they were not going to be there person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with and that I did not have in my ability to change them, I was done and the healing process was easy.

In both relationships, I essentially was healing from the breakup before it even happened.

With that said there have been off the cuff romances that have taken me years to get over. I think it is usually because I saw potential. These romances would end before I got out of the rose-tinted everything phase. I was still in that swoon love.

I wasn’t yet aware that these people were people. I still had them up on a pedestal and they could do no wrong. It was because of this that it took so long for me to pick up all the pieces of my heart. I was in love with a dream and I woke up before I could even see how it unfolded.

Source: How Long It Takes to Get Over Someone After a Breakup?