Ok, here's my take on it.
About Christmas last year, I started going out with a long-term friend of mine. He was having a hard time at uni and eventually starting working full-time instead, and I was frantic about getting the grades I needed for Manchester. What with me being at boarding school and him working full-time we never saw each other, were both stressed-out and miserable and we split up after a couple of months.
I went off to uni in September and we stayed friends although we didn't talk much. However, I met up with him over the Christmas holidays and it suddenly crashed home for both of us how much we'd missed each other. We've decided to give it another try - we're both much more settled, know what we want from the relationship this time.
Things are going better than they ever did last time round, and we're happy in the knowledge that we know we need to solve problems rather than just ignore them and hope they go away.
I think relationships with exes can work but you have to remember not just that they WERE your ex, but WHY they were your ex. If you can tackle the reason that made you split up in the first place you'll be able to start afresh with no demons.