It’s been almost 2 years since the divorce was finalized. Thinking back, I realized that I was codependent on my wife. Had 100% trust in her. Since the divorce I’ve become extremely independent. I’m not sure if it’s a trauma response to being caught off guard by the divorce but I have found that I cannot connect long term with the women I’ve dated. I’ve exclusively used dating apps and have had a lot of success with dates- I’m 32, no kids, in decent shape, and I have a good job. At the end of the day I’m left unfulfilled.

I just don’t know that I could ever love or trust another woman like my ex wife. Part of me thinks that I’m not over the way things ended. I’ve read countless posts on this page and know it could’ve ended a lot worse- I really feel for all the men on here. We had no kids, marital debt or assets so we just did a simplified divorce. Maybe it’s because I never got closure- I don’t know… but my approach has been out of sight out of mind. I told myself after the divorce I’ll be damned if I ever get caught off guard again.

After all that rambling, my question is, has anyone experienced similar feelings post divorce with the lack of trust and inability to let your guard down? If so, how have you dealt with it?