15 Things He Really Does After A Break-Up

Let's face it - no matter who you are, whether you're a guy or a girl, a relationship ending kind of sucks. Sure, it's tougher if you've been together longer, or if you're the one being dumped, but it's kind of awful regardless. Now, women are often the ones portrayed as being super emotional and affected by break-ups but that's just silly - guys have feelings too, and they go through a tough time after a break-up the exact same way women do. It's just that television shows and movies don't tend to portray a guy shovelling in a tub of ice cream and crying over sad movies.

Sure, guys are a little different - they may not be quite as inclined to share their deepest feelings and fears with their bros, but that doesn't mean they don't wallow and mourn a relationship the way that women do. Men have their own way of dealing with that yucky period after a break-up, and there are a few behaviours that you'll find nearly all men doing - it's just what they do.

So, no matter how much a guy claims he's just instantly, magically over a relationship and not impacted by a break-up, these are the 15 things that he's probably actually doing to get him through that process.

15 Become a gym rat

We're not sure exactly what the reasoning is behind this decision, but one thing is for sure - almost every single guy ends up becoming a temporary gym rat after a break-up. For some, it may be the motivation of getting their best ever revenge body. For others, it's just a place to release all that testosterone and anger coursing through their body. For others, it's just a way to fill their schedule in all the times they used to hang out with their partner. Whatever the reason, you'll find guys at the gym quite a bit after a break-up - it's just how they operate. A little extra definition never hurt anyone, and who knows - perhaps they'll find the next love of their life in free weights section, you just never know.

14 Cry in the shower - not where anyone can see him, obviously

The idea that men don't cry is absolutely ridiculous - of course they cry! However, though this is silly, it seems to be far more acceptable in society for women to cry than for men to cry - so while a woman might get a little weepy over coffee with a friend, a guy is going to make sure he only cries where no one can see him. We're talking about the shower or someplace similar. Letting those tears flow can be kind of therapeutic, and an essential part of your break-up recovery process, but guys just don't want to deal with getting teased for their tears. So, if a guy disappears into the shower for way longer than seems necessary after a break-up, chances are he's trying to drown out some of his sorrow in the shower (or, perhaps doing something else, but that's a whole different story).

13 Try to move on ASAP - hellooooo, Tinder!

Whether a guy is the one who does the dumping or is the one who gets dumped, his confidence is likely a bit shaken after a break-up. He either feels totally rejected, or he may question whether he made the right decision or if he made a huge mistake by dumping someone who might have been his perfect partner. So, for many guys, they address this shaken confidence issue by hitting dating apps or even just flirting when you're out running an errand, trying to get a bit of validation that they've still got it. Whether or not a guy actually moves on and gets physical with someone else depends on each particular guy and what they're ready for, but every guy wants to hear that they're still desirable - so they seek out that feel good validation from women wherever they can find them.

12 Look at his ex's social media and wonder about any guy that appears on her feed and whether they're together

To say that social media has made break-ups a lot harder is an understatement. After all, back in the day, once you broke up with someone you could kind of imagine they were at home crying over you too. Unless you happened to get some intel from a friend or spot your ex somewhere in public, you really didn't know what they were up to. With social media, if your ex is active on it, you can see exactly how they're getting over you - and who they're getting over you with. That's why so many guys end up torturing themselves by checking out their ex's social media feed and seeing who she's hanging out with now and how she's spending her time - if she looks happy, or is on the arm of a handsome guy, that's a blow.

11 Hit up the local bars STAT

Dating apps can make it easier to move on from the comfort of your own couch, but most guys will still eventually hit the bar in their break-up process. They'll bring their closest bros and head out in an attempt to 'get back out there' and find another gorgeous woman. The reality is, most guys do this when they're not quite ready to move on and just end up getting a little too smashed with their bros and talking about their ex, but hey - it's the thought that counts. It's just a little way to prove to themselves that they can still have fun and talk to gorgeous women without their ex in their lives (even if they're miserable and not having fun at all and would rather be cuddling at home with their ex than dancing to Top 40 hits).

10 Do all the things he knows his ex hated, just because he can now

When you're in a relationship, you make certain sacrifices for your partner's happiness. This can be something as simple as not putting your feet up on the coffee table if you know it drives your partner crazy, or using a coaster because your partner doesn't like leaving rings on the furniture. They're minor things, but you do them to please your partner. However, when you're broken up? Watch out. Guys will leave their socks on the floor and eat chips straight from the bag and put their feet up everywhere and anywhere - basically, they'll do everything they know their partner didn't like them to do, just because they can. After all, they don't have their partner in their lives anymore - the least they can do is indulge in all that bachelor behavior, right?

9 Look for his ex when he's out, but try not to look like he's looking for her, you know?

This may seem like the plot of a rom com movie, but trust us - it happens more often than you think. Listen, when it comes to a break-up, there's no real 'winners'… but at the same time, everyone kind of wants to be the winner. Guys want to bump into their ex when they're out looking absolutely smoking hot so that the ex knows what she's missing or something along those lines. Very few guys are smooth enough to pull it off, and usually the ex knows very well that you know she always goes to that particular wine bar on Thursday nights for a drink with her girlfriends, so the fact that you suddenly showed up is suspicious, to say the least. It never works, but guys will probably attempt the casual 'bump into her' strategy until the end of time.

8 Come up with some over the top plan to win her back, if he's the one who got dumped

When you're not the one who did the dumping, break-ups are even harder. Sure, sometimes you kind of see it coming, but sometimes it just totally blindsides you - and when it blindsides guys, they often turn to random rom com memories and the wild corners of their imagination to enact the grand gesture. You know what we're talking about - he vaguely remembers scenes where the guy holds a jukebox over his head or stands out in the rain with oversized notecards or does something along those lines, so he decides to craft his own crazy, grand gesture in an attempt to win back his ex. News flash - this will basically never work, unless maybe she dumped you because you never made enough of an effort, and even then it's probably too late.

7 Swear to his bros and to himself that he'll never, ever be in a serious relationship again

Look, we get it - heartbreak is a vulnerable place to be. No one likes the feeling of ending a relationship. However, rather than accepting that things just didn't work out and that they'll find the right woman eventually, most guys respond to that vulnerable post-breakup feeling by telling their bros, and everyone they meet, that they will definitely never, ever be getting into a relationship again. They'll wax poetic about how relationships are for suckers and how they feel so, so much better now that they're single. And they'll keep repeating that to themselves, even when they find their ex's sock buried under the couch and it brings them to tears. Even if the perfect woman waltzed into their lives, they say, they'd turn her down because relationships are for suckers. The gentleman doth protest too much, in these situations.

6 Spend a ton of time with his guy friends

Obviously, guys can still hang out with their friends while they're in a relationship - any relationship that demands 100% of your time and restricts your ability to see your friends is a toxic one. However, there's no denying that when a guy is in a relationship, he balances his time between his girlfriend and his guy friends. When the relationship goes out the window, most guys end up leaning heavily on their guy friends - even if they don't want to admit it. Guys are somehow embarrassed to invite their pals over for a little wallowing session, something that's totally not uncommon for women to do with their BFFs, so they just ask every male they've ever met to grab beers, to play some pick-up basketball, whatever. They just want to be surrounded by testosterone in order to distract themselves while they're healing.

5 Post fake social media shots about how great he's doing

This goes back to the idea of 'winning' and, frankly, putting on a brave face, in a sense. No one wants to flood their social media accounts with stories of how devastated they are after their break-up and how they've been crying on the couch for days, even if that's the honest truth. Instead, they'll snap a shot of the one happy moment they had that week, when their friend dragged them out of their apartment. Guys aren't immune to those social media little while lies - he'll share a carefully curated shot and hope that his ex sees it and rues the day that she decided to dump him, because why would you want to dump someone who is clearly living an awesome life surrounded by fun and excitement? Right? Right?

4 Fight the urge to punch things - or, maybe, actually punch things

Okay, we kind of have to blame the whole testosterone thing for this one. Men can cry, just like women, and women can get angry and aggressive, just like men, but there's no denying biology. Men have a lot of testosterone floating around in their bodies, and at times, that can mean they just want to wail on a punching bag. That's why guys will do things like switch up their gym routine and take a boxing class - they want to feel tough, they want to get out all that aggression, they want to channel their inner turmoil into physical turmoil. You can't solve your problems by raising your fists, sure, but it can be a nice reprieve from all the mental messiness that goes hand in hand with a break-up. Plus, who doesn't want to feel like Rocky?

3 Listen to sad songs he'd be embarrassed to admit to

Everyone has secret playlists, certain songs that you listen to either when you're happy or you're sad that you don't want anyone to know you listen to. Perhaps you like to blast one hit wonders while you clean your apartment because they just make you happy. Or, perhaps you're a guy who typically loves rock music, but for whatever reason you find that boy band ballads are all you want to listen to when you're grieving the end of a relationship. Hey, we're not judging. The fact is, sometimes music is extremely therapeutic, and there are certain songs that just seem to express what you're feeling so perfectly - so you listen to them, even if you would deny it completely if anyone were to ask if you liked the song.

2 Have manly movie marathons

When it comes to preference in movies, everyone is different - some people love horror movies, others love romantic comedies. It's a bit of a stereotype that women turn to romantic comedies, or teary romances, when a relationship ends, but it's also true for many women. After all, what better way to get a little dose of hope than to see a couple love stories that worked out, or just inspiring stories about incredible women who rise to the top of their game. Guys have their own version of that kind of feel-good movie marathon - and it usually involves action flicks or sports movies of some sort. The movies where the good guy kicks major butt and everything ends up working out in the end. Ask any guy, and he'll probably have a list of at least ten that would make the cut.

1 Hit the open road and just drive around

We're not sure what it is about guys and cars, but they just have some sort of a special bond. Sure, driving around can be therapeutic for women too, and sometimes it's nice to just go on a bit of a mindless meander through the city. However, for guys, hopping in the car and going on a bit of a drive is kind of a big deal. There's just something about it that soothes them - so when they're dealing with something like a break-up, sometimes the best thing to do is just hit the open road without a map or destination in mind and just drive for a while. I mean, what's the worst that can happen? A tank of gas is a whole lot cheaper than therapy, that's for sure!