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My friend is heartbroken . Help

He's 24. He met this girl at his workplace as she was a regular face there. He was attracted to her eyes at first and felt she had really pretty eyes. Then gradually, he saw her full face without the mask and got really enchanted as he felt she was stunning. He was really attracted to her by then and began talking, flirting casually. She would also talk and had noticed him staring etc.
Things gradually progressed as he ended up asking her out and she agreed. My friend is not British and he is not very fluent hence he had issues expressing himself to her, resulting in him being overtly physical with her to show how much he liked her.
He's not rich and does part time, strenuous jobs to support himself yet he brought her gifts, cards, flowers etc etc. Tbh, they were quite an odd couple who didn't have much in common but it was on I guess.

However, the blow came to him until he found out that this girl had a HUGE emotional baggage, concerning a guy she was actually in love with. They weren't together and he had disappeared from her life, leaving her in his memories which she never came out from.
He found his photos in her phone and confronted her to which she told him the entire story, having a complete emotional breakdown. She told me friend that she loved him and he made her feel happy for the first time in several years but could not love him the way she loved the other guy.

My friend was shattered hearing this. He didn't want to leave her as he really wanted her. They tried to continue the relationship but the other guy unexpectedly showed up in her life (she met him at the uni she went to , he's an alumnus there). She did tell my friend about it and he decided to break up. She cried a lot for him and said she will always have a special place in her heart for him.

It's been a month now and my friend quit his job there and now works chat the same chain of store near his accommodation. He is a very lively and cheerful person but now he's always solemn and looks so sad. We went out for a walk yesterday and he barely talked, looking lost in his thoughts. I also noticed he still has her photos, their couple pics saved and they are still friends on Fb, following each other on IG. She had also sent him messages on Whatsapp asking how he was and where he was etc to which he had replied to. The only thing he told me was what hurt him the most was that the extent of intimacy was extremely frequent and intense which he can't seem to get over.

What do I do for him? He's my best friend and seeing him so sad hurts me.

Reply 1

L0uiss

It's a difficult situation, and he is emotionally broken now. You can't help him feel completely happy, but you can try to distract his mind from thinking of that girl. Also, try to convince him not to keep in touch with that girl anymore. In this way, he always remembers her and still has small hope in his heart. He needs time to forget her. As a friend, you could try to spend as much time as you can with him. He will find another girl one day who will make him cheerful and motivational.