My boyfriend dumped me by slamming the taxi door in my face
Sarah*, then 22, was enjoying a fun night out with friends until suddenly her boyfriend turned on her...
I met Joel* through mutual friends in my early 20s. He was best friends with Mike*, who was dating Valentina*, my best friend at the time. Joel and I hit things off the moment we met – he was exactly my type: tall, athletic and absolutely hilarious. In theory it was the perfect set-up. Not only did I fancy Joel, but the fact that he was best friends with my best friend’s boyfriend meant that double dates and couple trips worked perfectly.
We’d all go for dinners together, spend long weekends away and we all shared the same group of friends. Joel was kind and had an understated humour. I liked the fact he always knew the best places to go and what was going on in the city. The four of us were inseparable.
Five months into dating, we went out to celebrate a good friend’s birthday. Joel made a few jokes at my expense throughout the evening, but I brushed them off thinking that he was just having a bad day. He was usually quiet and fairly patient. I’d seen his snarky side a few times before, but never towards me.
He was watching my every move that night. 'Do you really need another drink?' he’d snicker, just loud enough so only I could hear.
An unexpected scene
He was watching my every move that night. "Do you really need another drink?" he’d snicker, just loud enough so only I could hear. I felt like I was being babysat, but didn’t want to argue in front of all our friends. What started off as a fun celebration ended up being one of the worst nights of my life.
The four of us split a taxi on the way to the bar. I felt like it was the only chance I’d have to say something about the way Joel was acting. "What’s going on with you tonight? Why are you on my case about everything?!" I said. And that’s when things took a turn for the worse.
Pure humiliation
Joel went off at me in front of our closest friends, telling me I was being loud, obnoxious and making a fool of myself. I was utterly humiliated. The next thing I knew, he was asking the cab driver to stop. "Could you pull over please? I need to get out." Then he turned around to me, saying, "I’m not doing this any more." And that was it. He slammed the cab door in my face and ran off.
I instantly broke down in tears and whilst I was embarrassed that this all happened in front of my best friend, I was so thankful to have her by my side. Mike jumped out and ran after Joel to try and calm him down, and Valentina and I turned around and headed back home. I just wanted the night to be over.
The next thing I knew, Joel* was asking the cab driver to stop. 'Could you pull over please? I need to get out.'
The next morning, I thought I’d wake up to an apology from Joel – that it was just a bad night for both of us but we’d make up and move on from it. I was wrong. I tried calling him that evening but it went straight to voicemail.
A few minutes later, I got a text. 'Hey, I’m sorry how everything played out last night but I meant it when I said that it’s over. We’re obviously going to see each other around and I don’t want things to be uncomfortable. I’ll give your stuff to Val the next time I see her.' It was yet another blow. Everything was so final.
Moving on
Joel was right, though. We shared the same group of friends, and eventually were going to run into each other no matter how hard we tried to avoid it. For the next month, I refused to go anywhere I thought I’d bump into him. But life moved on and so did we. We finally saw each other a few months later at another friend’s birthday. We shared a wave and a smile from across the room and that was it – no hate, no love, just indifference.
We shared the same group of friends and eventually were going to run into each other no matter how hard we tried to avoid it.
A decade later, I know that Joel and I were never meant to be together. With hindsight, while we had some fun times, my favourite parts of our relationship were when we were also spending time with Mike and Valentina – never when it was just the two of us.
My now husband and I have been together for nearly seven years – married for just over 18 months – and our relationship is completely different. Of course I love the fact he gets on with my friends, but we rarely go on double dates and I cherish the intimacy of our time alone together.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
Read more: All of Yahoo UK's How I was dumped stories.
