text: what should i do about my friend who i like very much but can't be with because his close friend is my ex? i have this friend who i met not too long ago. we decided to be friends first because we didn't want to rush into anything too soon. he's a really sweet man who i have grown to care about. although we wanted to take things slow, we started to like eachother as more than friends. later on in our friendship, i mentioned to him about my ex, who happens to be one of his close friends that he also works with. once he found out about our former relationship all of a sudden he started making every attempt to avoid me. i can't make him be with me, but i wonder if he really stopped liking me because of his friendship, or did he stop because he wanted to? i don't want his friendship to end, but my feelings are real and it's hard for me to ignore them. it sounds like he made a choice, and he chose his friend over you. since he is avoiding you he probably does have feelings for you, and the only way to control them is to stay away. don't try to make him lose respect for himself. move on with your life as soon as you can. or at least wait until he comes back to you.