The Ex-it Strategy

Planning a breakup? Here are 9 simple ways to make the end of a relationship as clean and Painless as possible.

- Tracy Johnson

Break-ups are often a one-sided affair. But while being dumped is horrible, sometimes being the person who pulls the plug on a relationship can be just as tough.

Reports suggest Sienna Miller ended her relationship with Jude Law after it ran into problems at the beginning of the year, shattering his dreams of making things work a second time around. Likewise, Katie Price recently thought Alex Reid was ‘the only person in the country’ who believed they could work things out following their split.

Whatever the reasons for their break-ups, we feel pretty sorry for the people involved, but things must be difficult for Sienna and Katie too. When it comes to ending a failed relationship, you need to make sure you don’t end up plagued with guilt or feeling like you’ve wrecked your man’s life. We asked relationship expert Andrew G Marshall, author of Heal And Move On Seven Steps To Recovering From A Break-up, to tell us how to devise an exit strategy to make a split as painless as possible for both of you.

1 BE STRAIGHT WITH HIM

There’s nothing harder than trying to find the words you know will break your man’s heart. But blowing hot and cold, sending out mixed messages, or turning into a superb*tch in the hope that he dumps you first will only make things worse.

‘If you’re already having doubts about the relationship, but are too nervous to end it, the last thing you want to do is skirt around the issue and give him a hard time,’ advises Andrew. ‘Don’t act

childish or snappy. If you’re unhappy, be honest and ask him straight if he thinks your relationship has a future.’

2 TIMING IS EVERYTHING