I (28f) slept with my childhood friend (30m) and I feel confused.

Darren and I grew up together since childhood. We both eventually moved away but have always stayed in contact. I remember as young as 8 when I was in the third grade that I wanted to marry him. We’ve always had these subtle feelings for each other but once we grew to adulthood we were either both in relationships or one was and one wasn’t. Darren recently sent me a message asking to get together. I hadn’t hung out with him in 10 years. Turns out he’s recently single and I’ve been single for over a year. I invited him over to watch a movie. He unleashed a bunch of feelings he’s had for me for years like he was broken hearted when he found out I was pregnant with my first child. He said he’s always had feelings for me, so one thing led to another. He’s been messaging me A LOT since then and I think he wants a relationship. I don’t know that I’m ready or even willing to do that. First of all, I know he’s still in love with his ex girlfriend. Also, I’ve been really content being single and just doing the mom thing. And I don’t want this to ruin our friendship. However, I do have feelings for him and always have. I just don’t know how to approach this situation. He’s wanting to hang out all the time but I’m not willing to have him around my kids right now as a potential partner. How should I handle this situation?

TL;DR Childhood friend and I have feelings for each other but I’m not sure we’re ready or compatible.

Submitted September 20, 2019 at 11:30PM

Darren and I grew up together since childhood. We both eventually moved away but have always stayed in contact. I remember as young as 8 when I was in the third grade that I wanted to marry him. We’ve always had these subtle feelings for each other but once we grew to adulthood we were either both in relationships or one was and one wasn’t. Darren recently sent me a message asking to get together. I hadn’t hung out with him in 10 years. Turns out he’s recently single and I’ve been single for over a year. I invited him over to watch a movie. He unleashed a bunch of feelings he’s had for me for years like he was broken hearted when he found out I was pregnant with my first child. He said he’s always had feelings for me, so one thing led to another. He’s been messaging me A LOT since then and I think he wants a relationship. I don’t know that I’m ready or even willing to do that. First of all, I know he’s still in love with his ex girlfriend. Also, I’ve been really content being single and just doing the mom thing. And I don’t want this to ruin our friendship. However, I do have feelings for him and always have. I just don’t know how to approach this situation. He’s wanting to hang out all the time but I’m not willing to have him around my kids right now as a potential partner. How should I handle this situation?TL;DR Childhood friend and I have feelings for each other but I’m not sure we’re ready or compatible.