I’m the queen of texting faux pas. I’ve doubled and even triple texted, texted people with sensitive information that was TMI, and once I even sent a text meant for my bestie to my ex… and it was all about him. Ugh! Here’s what happened.
- I needed a friend. My ex broke up with me and I was single for about three months. I wasn’t dealing too well and needed to vent and reach out to my friend for support. I knew that reaching out to my best friend of 11 years would be the best course of action. She was always patient with me, even when I went on and on about my ex until she probably wanted to tear her hair out.
- I should have asked to meet up in person. They always say it’s best to talk to people face-to-face when the topic is of a sensitive nature and I wish I’d followed that advice. Unfortunately, I was way too busy with work to meet my bestie for pizza and beer, so I decided to talk her via text. Big mistake.
- I sent her pages and pages of text. I could have written an essay on how much I missed my ex, that’s how long the text was. I told her that I was still madly in love with him but I didn’t have the guts to tell him. I mean, how pathetic would I feel if I poured my heart out to him and he just ignored me? That would make it even harder to move on from him.
- I hit “send” and forgot about it. I was busy that day with work so I totally forgot about my text to my friend. I figured she’d get back to me when she had a chance. When I heard my phone beep with a new message, I assumed it was her.
- The number wasn’t my friend’s. My ex’s name flashed on my screen. It was a message from him. My heart was racing like crazy in my chest, so loud I could hear it. I touched the message preview to open the message.
- I wanted to die. His message started with, “Hey… I didn’t realize all this…” and as I read those words, I immediately knew what I’d done. I sent him the message meant for my friend, the very same message in which I basically told her how madly in love I still was with him. Ugh!
- He apologized, which made it worse. I know he must’ve been taken aback by the message, but I would’ve preferred it if he’d never got in touch with me about it. Couldn’t he just ignore it? Worse than expressing his surprise at how much I missed and loved him was the fact that he apologized for dumping me—the horror!
- What an insult! Did this guy feel sorry for me? Did he pity me? Thinking that this was indeed the case made me feel like crap. I thought back to when we were together and how he was quite arrogant at times, thriving on situations in which he was in control and others were clamoring for his attention. To think of his smug smile now ate me up and made me think I had to do something. I had to deal with the shame and embarrassment I felt.
- An idea hit me. I re-read the message I’d accidentally sent him and realized that I hadn’t mentioned his name in it. I had said things like “I miss him,” knowing that my friend would know who I was talking about. I also hadn’t written too many details about our relationship. I realized that since I was single for the last three months, that was more than enough time in which I could’ve dated someone else.
- I texted my ex back. I played it super-cool, saying, “Sorry, wrong person! Ha, it seems I’m unlucky in love but thank goodness I never sent that to the man for whom it was intended. Hope you’re well. Ciao. x” There. Now he’d think that the message was about someone else who’d swooped in after our breakup and had made me fall madly in love with him.
- Did it work? I don’t know. My ex did reply with, “Oh! Funny story!” and that was it. He might’ve believed me or thought I was lying. TBH, I don’t care. I just felt like I’d saved a bit of face and that was enough for me. I desperately wanted to move on.
