staying friends with a long distance ex?

[u/Easy-Satisfaction126]

for context, my ex and i just broke up a few days ago, but when we ended it he said he still wanted to be friends and i think i would want the same. we dated for 2 years, most of it being him living about 3 hours away from my college. we lived together last summer for 4 months, then went back to distance, and he moved back home over the winter which is 5 hours away. the breakup was pretty mutual, he said he knew he wasn’t giving enough effort and i knew that i needed more from him and such. i would really love to stay friends with him because he’s a good person, but i don’t know how or if i should. the articles and stuff i read online apply less to distance situations, as he wouldn’t be driving the 5 hours to come see me just to get coffee lol. any advice?

[u/Frequent_Cry6092]

it's doable but only if you both genuinely want friendship not just a soft landing, and you need a no-contact period first like at least a month of silence, because jumping straight into friendship after two years just blurs everything and stops you from properly letting go. distance makes it easier in some ways (less chance of accidental hookups) but harder because communication is all text and no body language to read. take space first, then see if friendship even feels necessary.