When you leave a relationship, your top priority is not etiquette.It’s not closure.It’s not being polite.And it’s certainly not obeying the so-calle
from Ideogram.com
When you leave a relationship, your top priority is not etiquette.
It’s not closure.
It’s not being polite.
And it’s certainly not obeying the so-called laws of “ghosting.”
Something made you decide that you no longer want to be in that relationship.
Honor that voice.
Not the voice of “proper” behavior.
Not the one that tells you to explain, to soften the exit, to meet one last time.
Too many people agreed to that “final talk,” opened the door for “one last goodbye”—
and were never seen alive again.
You don’t owe anyone a performance.
You don’t owe your former dating partner a script, a hug, or a farewell tour.
You do owe yourself peace.
You do owe yourself safety.
You can NEVER predict how someone will receive what you are telling them.
There is only one you.
And you only get one life.
On that note….Let me just say. The classic and phenomenal film Fatal Attraction terrified so many of us so bad that the word “ghosting” would never had stood a snowball’s chance in hell of making it mainstream.
I’m including two clips. Now granted, this relationship is an affair and Glenn Close (standing ovation for this performance) was not well.
That said, we know that some people who seem well do not process rejection in reasonable and healthy ways.
After their affair, Dan (Michael Douglas) tries to end it. He expects it to be simple. She knew what it was. She knew he was married with a young child.
But Alex (Glenn Close)—whose reaction to rejection is far from safe—spirals:
She refuses to be dismissed quietly.
She stalks him, follows his family, and eventually commits acts of emotional and physical violence.
One of the most unforgettable scenes?
“I’m not gonna be ignored, Dan.”
That one line captures how some people don’t handle rejection with dignity—but with domination.
You can’t predict how someone will respond to rejection.
What feels like a calm, respectful boundary to you can become a perceived threat to them.
And their reaction can move from manipulative to violent in an instant.
That’s why for Survivors, teens, and women, the first priority isn’t etiquette—it’s safety.
I join you in being thankful when things end safely because that is not always the case. Final conversation or no final conversation.
Famous Line: “I’m Not Gonna Be Ignored” Glenn Close! When she delivered this line. We (the audience) ….knew he was in trouble. This is legendary. People responded verbally in some way because you just knew that this was a turning point in the film. She was through playing with him and he was still pit pitting along several steps behind. Not getting it.
