15 Signs You SHOULD Take Him Back (Or Else You're A Fool)

You've heard all about how you shouldn't give in to your ex and take them back. They say that the first time you get hurt is their fault, but the second time is yours, and shame on you if they fool you twice, and all that jazz. Getting sucked back into a toxic ex's grip is one of the worst things you can do for your emotional health, not to mention your reputation.

But not all exes are toxic. Sometimes, getting back together is the best thing for everyone in the picture, and can be the key to your true happiness. So when your ex comes knocking, how do you know whether to answer the door or run for the hills?

Every relationship is different, but there are a number of ways you can tell whether resurrecting your relationship is a good idea. If more than a few of the following points are true for you, it could be time to let your guard down and give your ex another shot. If you can't relate to any of them, you might want to ask yourself whether getting back together is really a good idea after all!

Read on to find out which signs mean your relationship deserves another chance!

15 The Guy Has Just About Traveled To The End Of The Earth To Win You Back

If you broke up with someone because of a reason that's at least semi-serious, you want them to go to a little effort to win you back. One of the conditions under which you take them back should be showing you that they're sorry for hurting you and they appreciate you now. So if your ex is doing everything except moving mountains to get you to notice them and accept them, it could be a good sign.

However, don't get sucked in by this. Sometimes, exes can go to lots of effort to butter you up in order to hide the fact that they don't actually deserve you and can't win you back with logic. We're not saying you should definitely get back with someone if they try really hard to win you over-it's just a sign that you should take note of, in case some of the other signs on this list are true for you too!

14 You Sort Of Maybe Never Should Have Dumped Him In The First Place

If you dumped an ex unfairly and they still want you back, you could have yourself a soulmate! People like that don't come around very often, and when they do, it's pretty special. Basically, someone who wants you back and pursues you after being humiliated, hurt and rejected loves you very much, and that's the kind of love you should appreciate.

Think hard about the reason you dumped him, and if it turns out that you were out of line and they have still come back, we would say go ahead and take them back if that's what you want. That said, if you're not really in love with them and were looking for an excuse to dump them in the first place, don't take them back just for fun. Don't play with their heart like that, and instead be honest about your feelings and tell them that you appreciate them anyway.

13 You've Forgiven Him For The Awful Thing He Did And You've Both Moved On

Even the most horrible mistakes can be forgiven. If you love somebody enough, it's possible to get over things that you thought you'd never get over, and if you can manage to forgive your ex for something they did to you, then that pain is no longer there and you might be ready to resume your relationship as you were before.

We would recommend making sure that you've truly forgiven them before you make any drastic commitments. That means being fine with never bringing up the incident again. You should also make sure that they deserve your forgiveness! Forgiving someone doesn't mean that you think what they did was okay and they're free to do it again-it means that you can see they made a mistake and won't hold it against them. Before you've totally absolved your ex for their mistakes, make sure you're confident that they won't do it again.

12 Though You Were Hurt The Last Time Around, You Don't Regret A Thing

We would advise against getting back with any ex that you regret now, or have regretted in the past. Beyond fleeting moments of anger, if you felt like you wished the whole relationship had never happened before they wanted you back, it's probably not a good idea that you start things up again.

By the same token, if you're hurting and devastated in the post-breakup phase, but still don't want to take any of it back and are glad that it happened, you might want to think about saying yes. If you wish you could relive the good times you had together all over again, even if the bad times at the end really left you with a scar, it probably means that your ex's good qualities outweigh their bad qualities. Nobody is perfect, so sometimes that's the formula you need when choosing a person to end up with!

11 Your Friends Know You Should Be With Him And Tell You So

Friends usually know best. Unless you've got some shocking gal pals, they want the very best for you and should advise you to do whatever is going to make you happy in the long run. So if they believe that taking your ex back is the best thing for you, they should tell you so, and you should think hard about listening to them.

Not only do friends usually have the best intentions for you, and give you advice without anything to gain for themselves, but they usually also have knowledge that you don't have. A lot of the time, they'll know your ex as well as they know you, so their opinions are usually well-informed. In addition to that, they also have the advantage of not being blinded by love and emotions like you are, so they can tell you subjectively what the best thing to do is.

10 There's Still Nobody On This Planet You'd Rather Be With Than Him

Not being interested in anybody else could be a sign that you should just cut your losses and get back together with your ex. This could mean that your heart still belongs to that person, and it just might be one of those situations where your heart will always belong to them. In other words, it could mean that they are your soulmate, and you'll be happiest if you just accept them, flaws and all.

Of course, there are conditions to this. Many people feel like they're not interested in anyone else when they're pining for somebody or heartbroken, so make sure you give it enough time before you decide you're never getting over them. Sometimes, it can even take years! Also, you want to make sure that the flaws you're accepting aren't anything so serious that your happiness or wellbeing is in danger. Real soulmates aren't perfect, but they still don't compromise each other's safety.

9 You Didn't Really Want To Dump Him But You Felt Pressured, And Now You Know Better

This is a pretty easy sign that you should take them back when they come knocking! If you didn't want to break up with them in the first place, but felt pressured to, their return could be a second chance that you're really lucky to have!

People break up all the time for reasons that their heart doesn't believe in; things like pressure from family or work can often get the better of us. If you succumbed to that pressure and have spent every day since miserable because of it, you should jump at the chance to take your ex back! A lot of people don't get that chance. On the other hand, if your decision to break up with them was necessary and has turned out to be a good thing, even if you didn't want to make it at the time, you should be cautious about rekindling the flames.

8 Both Of You Have Had Enough Time To Cool Off (And Are Ready To Heat It Up Again)

Whatever you do, don't get back together with your ex without thinking about it long and hard. Although you might think it's just an ex, and you can't possibly get any more hurt than you already have been, breakups can be even more devastating the second time around. Trust us!

Even if everything is pointing towards you starting things up again, still take the time to think about it carefully. You might have forgiven them, they might prove that they've changed, and you might know in your heart that this will make you happy, which is the most important thing. Fine, but still think about it! Feelings do change over time, and sometimes it takes a while to really see something from the perspective that you need to. If you really are meant to be together, waiting enough time for you to consider everything won't change that, so don't worry!

7 You've Changed So Much That You Don't Even Remember Why You Dumped Him

As mentioned, feelings and perspectives change over time. We've all made decisions that we look back on and cringe at, trying desperately to understand how we could have done or thought that in the past. You might find that the reason you broke up with your ex is the same-now that you look back on it with your newfound wisdom from the lessons that life has taught you since, you might not get it at all.

If that's the case and you totally don't understand why you broke up with them in the first place, it's a pretty clear sign that you should take them back. If you know why you did it but don't feel like that anymore because you and your situation have changed, or because you have more tolerance and understanding, or because you have a totally different attitude now, think seriously about taking them back!

6 Your Mom (Who Is Like Your Bodyguard) Tells You That You Should Go Back To Him

Your friends usually know what's up when it comes to your love life, and so does your mom. More often than not, moms want their children to be happy more than anything else in the world, so we would say to take whatever your mom says pretty seriously-whether she thinks you should get back with your ex, or not.

Yes, everyone's mom is different, so this one might not apply to you. If your mom is like Allie's in The Notebook and wants to sacrifice your happiness for money, or just generally has no idea, then you obviously don't want to take her advice to heart. But if that's the case, there's probably someone else in your life who acts like a mother and wants the best for you no matter what-a sibling, a dad, a grandparent, an aunt or cousin, perhaps. The same applies with them-listen to what they have to say, since they want you to be happy and aren't blinded by emotion like you.

5 He Still Has Flaws, But They Seem Like Nothing Next To His Beautiful Qualities

After breaking up and having a long, serious think about it, you might realize that although your ex definitely has flaws, they actually have a lot of good qualities that you totally forgot about. And on second thought, those good qualities actually outnumber and outweigh the bad ones. If that's the case, you might want to think about getting back together with them when they come asking.

Obviously, some flaws are so bad that a million nice ones can't change them. If you broke up because of something like an affair, abuse or some other betrayal, we're not saying you should think about getting back together with them just because they were a good kisser, had a nice house and could make you laugh. But within reason, if you think that you jumped the gun a little and you should have remembered all the wonderful things about your partner before you called it quits, rekindling things with them might actually make you really happy.

4 You've Fixed Whatever Broke You Up And It's Clear Skies Ahead

There's no point in getting back into a relationship if the problem that ruined it for you is still there. Even if you really want to get back together with an ex, it's not a good idea if the issue that broke you up in the first place hasn't been fixed. Then you'd just be going around in circles!

But if your ex has gone to some effort to solve that particular problem, it's worth thinking about getting together again. Sometimes, everything was going right except one dark cloud which destroyed everything-if you can get rid of that dark cloud, the relationship is worth saving. The fact that he's already addressing the problem (whether it's the presence of another person, one of his hobbies or even a geographical issue) shows that he's not just wasting your time and understands how your mind works. It's a very good sign!

3 You Can Trust Him With All Of Your Heart Like You Once Did

No healthy relationship can work without trust, so if you can trust your ex, it might be a sign that you're ready to take him back. Trust can mean a lot of different things, but here we're specifically talking about trusting them to be a good partner this time around. That means trusting them not to repeat the things they did that hurt you, and trusting that they're going to put every effort in to making sure that the relationship works. Getting in and out of the same relationship over and over again can be exhausting and seriously mess with your emotional health, so you want to avoid getting back with anyone that you think you could break up with again! Don't relearn lessons you've already learned.

Real trust is something that you don't build with everyone, so if your trust in them hasn't shattered despite everything you've been through, they might just be a keeper after all.

2 You're Hopelessly In Love With Him And You Always Will Be

At the risk of sounding overly sentimental, you should seriously consider taking your ex back if despite everything, you're deeply in love with them and always will be. Every day, love overrides logic, heartbreak, pride, convenience and every other thing that leads couples to break up. You might truly be in love with your ex if you still miss them all the time, you can't move on no matter what you do, you can't get over the pain of losing them, even after a considerable amount of time, and you can't picture them with anybody else. If you're sure that you still love them, and not the idea of being with them, then you might want to consider taking them back.

You should also take into account whether they actually deserve your love, whether your love will be returned and whether it will be strong enough to make the relationship work this time.

1 Your Gut Tells You That You Should Take Him Back

Some of the most clichéd (and best) advice when it comes to love is as follows: follow your instincts. Often, there might be a million logical reasons why you shouldn't get back together with your ex. Without totally disregarding your brain, if your gut feeling still nags at you to get back together with them, we don't think you should ignore it!

Your intuition just knows things that nobody else can tell you, and sometimes, it's very right when it comes to exes. Even though all the signs say that you shouldn't get back with them, it still might be a good idea if it just feels right. Of course, you don't want to put yourself in a situation that's obviously bad for you. Still keep your brain on, but let it work together with your gut to try to work out whether your ex deserves to have you back or not.