It’s happened to the best of us. You are dating that guy who is, quite possibly, the world’s nicest guy. He treats you like gold, your family loves him, he is a complete gentleman, and pretty much says and does all the right things.
And you are beyond bored with him.
What happens when Mr. Perfect isn’t quite Mr. Right? How do you let down someone who has never really done anything wrong? And how do you do it in the nicest way possible? Read on¦
Do it in person
In a generation where it might be tempting to simply change your Facebook status to single and hope he gets the point, one of the most honourable things you can do for him is to break it off in person. And no, not via text message or over the phone¦actually face-to-face. Ask him to meet you for coffee or a drink, sit him down, and then spill.
Be honest
Make sure you know exactly why you want to break up with him in the first place. Don’t go in there and make up excuses (ie. I’m just not ready for a relationship right now). Nice guys deserve better than this and, in all honestly, most guys see right through it anyway. The best thing you can give this guy is an explanation of where things went wrong so that he won’t make the same mistakes with the next girl he dates.
Be kind
The goal here is to give some of the most unpleasant kind of news in the nicest way possible. Best way to start is to take a page from him book and imagine how you think he, Mr. Nice Guy himself, would break up with you and the words he would use. This isn’t meant to be sugar-coated, it is simply just to be kind. You’d want him to respect your feelings if the roles were reversed so at least give him that.
Answer all of his questions
Nice guys are rarely the ones who will storm off in an ego-bruised huff after you cut the cord. Make sure you take the time to sit with him and hear him out. Answer his questions (honestly!) and help him make sense of the situation. Remember that you might be over the situation but he might have been madly in love.
Discuss friendship
It might seem like the sweet thing to do to tell him that you want to stay friends with him because he is such a great guy, but if you cannot honestly see yourself being friends with him ever again then don’t even bring it up. You’ll hurt him more with the empty promise then by breaking his heart in the first place.
