Vituko Mitaani

Just as the summer heat comes on strong in June then dwindles by Labor Day, so too can summer romances. Though many summer breakups are laden with heartache, others will have a slightly less dramatic (and sometimes, even a surprisingly happy) ending. If you think all breakups require purchasing a case of Kleenex to get through, consider these seven true stories of summer love that ended on a high note:

He started out seeing one sister, but married the other
“About five years ago, I met Sara at a Memorial Day barbecue and we began going out. We had fun together — I wasn’t sure it was anything that was heading us towards marriage, but I had a good time with her, regardless. She must have felt the same way too, because a few weeks into our dating, she said, ‘You know, you’re a great guy, and at the risk of sounding totally weird, I think you would really hit it off with my sister, Kathy.’ Even though the rejection stung a little, I said I was up for meeting her sister. Good thing I did — Sara was the maid of honor when Kathy and I got married.”
– Jeremy Barnes, Youngstown, OH


Her “shoulder to cry on” turned into The One
“A few summers ago, I broke up with my boyfriend because he got a job in another state and was moving away. I was so sad, and I turned to my friend Adam for a shoulder to cry on. Adam listened and never made any sort of move on me; he really was just being a good friend. During the aftermath of the breakup, I kept wishing that my next boyfriend would be more like Adam. After thinking that he was too good to go to waste, I set Adam up with a friend of mine and we went on a double date together. At the end of the night, my friend said that it was obvious that the two people having the most fun were Adam and me. We began dating soon after that, and then got married a few years ago — and now we have a kid together!”

Their post-graduation split spawned a lifelong friendship
“My law school boyfriend and I had a really nice relationship, but there was not much passion there. More than anything, we were best friends. I think we both realized it, and we broke up during the summer after graduation. It was harder than I thought; I missed him so much, even though I knew it was the right thing to do. A couple of nights after we broke up, he called and said: ‘I just broke up with my girlfriend and I am feeling so sad. I wanted to call and speak with my best friend about it.’ I told him that I just broke up with my boyfriend, too, and would love to talk to my best friend about it as well. We spent the next few hours on the phone talking about both of our breakups, but it really was as if we were best friends helping each other out. We are both married to other people now, but are still really good friends to this very day.”
– Jane Kirkland, Fairfax, VA

Ending their office romance pushed him higher up the corporate ladder
“I know everyone tells you to never do this, but one summer, I became romantically involved with my boss. I think I was a little more into her than she was into me, but we had a good relationship, despite the fact that we could never really tell anyone at work. I guess her feelings about me coupled with the stress of being deceitful to everyone at work became too much for her, because she eventually broke up with me. To ease the pain, she gave me a pretty significant promotion that nearly doubled my salary. My friends still tease me about it, because it ended up working out just fine for me in the end!”
- Erik Reese, Plano, TX

Getting dumped by her boyfriend helped introduce her to a best friend
“My boyfriend, Steve, broke up with me one night over dinner. I was so upset that I excused myself to go to the bathroom because I was such a crying mess. I guess I was locked in there for some time, because a waitress from the restaurant eventually knocked on the door to make sure I was OK. I ended up spilling my guts to this poor woman who was sweetly bringing me tissues and listening to my story when she probably should have been working. After I cleaned myself up, she asked me for my number so she could call me the next day and check on me... and sure enough, she did. We started hanging out after that and have been great friends ever since. Our friendship was worth all of those tears!”
– Beth Mays, Nashville, TN

He stayed tuned in to her frequency, despite their initial distance
“One summer when I was in grad school, I interned at a radio station in New York and began dating someone who worked there. When the summer was over, we broke up because we decided the long-distance thing just wouldn’t work for us. It was so sad, because neither of us wanted it to end — it just sort of had to, but we vowed to keep in close touch with each other and remain friends. About three months into the fall semester, someone knocked on my front door. It was my ex; he had accepted a job at a different station in San Francisco. We resumed our relationship that day, and have been together ever since.”
– Heather Delgado, San Francisco, CA

Leaving after his betrayal was a piece of cake — literally
“My ex, Daniel, was a pastry chef at a restaurant that is internationally known for its unbelievably amazing chocolate cake. Tons of people — including myself — have tried to get the recipe for years unsuccessfully, because it is a closely guarded secret. We ended up breaking up because I discovered that he had cheated on me with a (now former) friend of mine. Of course, I was totally upset... but I decided to leverage his guilt in order to make him give me that coveted cake recipe. My relationship may be over, but I have since made and enjoyed that cake for years, which has been worth the loss of a boyfriend and so-called friend at the same time!”
– Jeannie Robertson, Dover, DE