What to Expect When Parting Ways With a Spouse Who’s Narcissistic

Breaking up is always hard to do, but it can be even more emotionally challenging when your ex has a narcissistic personality.

You will almost certainly have a fight on your hands to break the ties that kept you together while the relationship was working and it could be a smart move to search for family lawyers Melbourne, for example, so that you can get the sort of professional guidance you will need give the circumstances.

You will already know that it can be very challenging and mentally exhausting to be romantically entangled with someone who is a narcissist, so what can you expect when you decide to call it a day and break up.

A dramatic change of attitude

A classic response from a true narcissist when you break up is to display a very dramatic and brutal change of attitude towards you.

It is not uncommon to go from feeling like you are the center of their universe to someone who they are seemingly prepared to cast aside without a second thought about your feelings.

Don’t expect any remorse or even apologies for what has gone on between you to cause the split.

Alternatively, you might find that they react in the polar opposite way. A narcissist might decide that they will not accept your decision to leave the relationship if you are the one that initiated the move.

In that scenario, it could well be that your spouse will resort to every trick in the book to persuade you to come back into the relationship. Mainly because they can’t accept you leaving when they feel that they are not done with you yet.

You may have to cut off all contact to get the message across

The fundamental point about being with a narcissist is that you will know that it is all about control and they will often refuse to accept that it is all over if it is not their own actions that have led to the split.

That sort of emotional response requires a very disciplined response from you.

It may well be that you will have to avoid all forms of contact with your spouse. No contact whatsoever is what is required in this sort of situation. That means blocking their number, not responding to any emails or messages, and avoiding any interaction via social media channels.

Invariably, a narcissist will raise the stakes in trying to contact you if you cut them out of your life completely. You will usually have to stand firm if you don’t want to leave even the smallest opportunity for your ex to get to you and try to manipulate your feelings.

You can never be totally sure how a narcissistic person will react to the ending of a relationship. One thing is for sure, both scenarios and responses could prove hurtful and emotionally draining, but if you have decided that such a toxic relationship is no longer something you can cope with, you will need to be prepared to deal with the fallout when you call it a day.