Hey everyone, this is my first Reddit post. I've been reading a lot of relationship posts here and found the comments genuinely helpful, so I thought I'd share my story and hopefully get some perspectives from INTPs.
I'm an INFJ (33F), and he's an INTP (39M). We met through work about a year ago and used to see each other once or twice a month. At the time, I was married with a daughter, although my over the decade relationship was already falling apart.
Initially, I found him cute but shy, and honestly a little frustrating to work with. Things changed after we spent an afternoon working together. I discovered he was kind, helpful, intelligent, and adorably socially awkward.
I started initiating coffee catch-ups and learned that he was single, wanted a serious relationship, and wasn't interested in having children or being in an open relationship. He knew about my family situation, including my complicated marriage.
Over time, he started reciprocating and even initiated lunch himself. We developed a connection that surprised both of us. Neither of us is good at small talk, but we could talk for hours about politics, religion, people, and life. There was constant teasing and laughter. Even his coworker commented that he'd never seen him talk and laugh like that.
We're actually quite different. I'm decisive, proactive, and assertive, while he's more laid-back and takes things as they come. We don't share many hobbies or interests, but somehow we just clicked. We remembered little things about each other, and I loved how his usually reserved personality turned playful around me.
Meanwhile, my marriage was deteriorating. I'd started discussing divorce with my husband, which led to some very difficult confrontations.
Things escalated during my last week at my previous job. We worked together every day, and he was incredibly supportive. He was also the only person I'd shared my career transition with, from interviews to receiving my offer.
Before leaving, I confessed that I was attracted to him, although I wasn't sure what those feelings meant. He admitted he liked me too. But because he didn't want children, I suggested we remain friends.
What followed was an overwhelming rush of emotions, as if all the restraint we'd held onto had suddenly disappeared. On what I thought would be our final meeting, he asked, "Are we not going to see each other anymore?" That made me believe he might actually want something more.
Then came the misunderstanding that changed everything.
My husband and I had decided to remain legally married for co-parenting reasons, as divorce involving three countries and a child would be extremely complicated. We were already living in separate rooms, and I intended to stay for my daughter.
When I explained this to him, he seemed surprised. He'd apparently believed I was already separated. Looking back, I think saying I was "going through a divorce" gave him the wrong impression, although I'd always referred to my husband as my husband and explained our living arrangements.
He told me we should leave it there for a while and keep our relationship strictly professional.
I asked whether we could continue seeing each other until he found someone, or at least remain friends. His responses were vague: "I don't know" and "maybe." Eventually, when I pushed for an explanation, he admitted things had already gone too deep, and he was afraid of getting hurt.
We hugged goodbye. I told him I still liked him and would miss him. That was when I realised how seriously he'd taken our connection.
Afterwards, I was devastated. I couldn't stop crying and felt like there was a glass wall between me and the rest of the world.
But the experience also forced me to confront my marriage. I realised staying in an unhappy relationship, with constant arguments in front of our daughter, wasn't healthy for either of us. I finally found the courage to move out and separate.
It's been over a month since our last personal conversation. We've remained friendly and professional at work, which gave me the confidence to reach out again.
I explained my situation and clarified that while I don't believe love necessarily lasts forever, if it was with him, I wanted to date him exclusively and explore a future together. However, my circumstances hadn't allowed me to do so at the time.
I ended the message with "I still do."
He told me I'd made the best decision for myself and my daughter, acknowledged that we'd shared some good times, but ended with, "I think I want to leave it at that."
Strangely, my first reaction was relief. For a moment, I felt like he didn't deserve the love I'd been willing to give him, and I was finally free to move on, even open to something casual rather than another serious commitment.
But I couldn't stop wondering why. Was it because he no longer had feelings for me? Because of my complicated marriage? Or because he'd already decided that we were fundamentally incompatible?
So I pushed for an explanation, even though I knew I probably should've respected his answer and left things there. But he didn't reply...
I guess that's where our story ends.
Part of me feels relieved, but another part is heartbroken that two people who genuinely liked each other couldn't make it work. Sometimes I wonder if it was simply the wrong timing.
I don't believe love lasts forever just because you put a label on it. But I know my feelings were genuine. After a over decade relationship, I was even willing to reconsider marriage for someone who made me feel this way.
I don't regret meeting him, or even the pain that came with it. This experience changed my life in ways I never expected.
So, INTPs, I'd really appreciate your perspective:
Could things ever be different in the future? I know I need to respect his decision and let him go for now, and I'm not holding out much hope. Do INTPs ever reconsider someone they've walked away from, especially when there were genuine feelings but the timing and circumstances were wrong?
Was the incompatibility obvious from the beginning? He knew I had a child, which was supposedly a dealbreaker. I initially thought we both understood the limitations, but he seemed to become emotionally invested too.
What do you think was going through his mind when he said "I think I want to leave it at that"? Does it sound like he'd completely moved on emotionally, or that he'd made a rational decision not to pursue something he still had feelings for?
Can we ever be friends again? I'm also trying to understand whether cultural differences play a role here. Half of my sadness comes from losing someone I genuinely valued as a friend, whose perspective and advice meant a lot to me.
Any advice for me? Please don't sugarcoat it. I'm open to hearing uncomfortable truths.
Thanks for reading. I know this is still long, but writing it down has helped me process everything.