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You don't give us much to go on, aside from financial difficulties, but if they had too many dependents, physical or psychological issues, and extreme financial hardships, then I certainly can understand why it may not have worked out, whether together in everyday real-time or not.
Last edited by glenninindy; 06-29-2019 at 02:11 PM..
A real relationship? Depends on what you are defining. Friendship, maybe, but casual at best.
Talking on the phone and face-timing is no replacement for personal contact. People have a way of sanitizing who they are when the other person is distanced. You don't get to see how a person interacts with the world. Relationships are formed and strengthened through shared experiences, of which, long-distance relationships have few or none. The other person may share intimate details, but how do you know they are truthful? I'm not implying that one or the other lies, but being around the other person is what shows you who they really are.
It depends on your personal views of what a relationship is. And how the people in question feel about it.
To me a relationship is any type of association between two people. So yes it was a real relationship, especially to them. I was in a similar situation several years ago with someone. He and I had never met face to face, but the feelings that I had definitely FELT real. The sorrow I felt when it ended FELT real. And sometimes that's all it takes. Just because you're not all over each other or in each other's faces everyday does not mean it's not legitimate. Even if/when it ends (like majority of relationships do), it doesn't make it any less real than anyone else's.
Are all long-distance relationships today just pen pals?
It's a matter of degree. Did they have a developed mature relationship BEFORE moving apart? Doesn't have to be necessarily 'yes' but it helps. How often do they meet IRL - weekly, monthly - less often? Do they ever spend more than a weekend at a time together to get past that "honeymoon" phase? Etc., etc.
It was a real phone relationship. It became a physical relationship that one or both didn't want to pursue.
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