The end of a relationship is significant for a lot of people, especially if you’ve been with that particular person for several years. Whatever the length of time you were dating and whatever the circumstances, people are always left with plenty of questions to ask themselves when they’ve come to the end of the relationship.

You might be feeling like it shouldn’t have ended. You may want to get your ex back more than anything in the world at the moment. For a lot of people, it’s difficult to know whether your ex feels the same as you.

If you’re wondering whether your ex is still into you, one of the easiest signs to read is if he sends you a text. By sending a text, he’s almost saying, “I’m still into you and want to get in touch with you again.” Contrary to what others may tell you, your ex does want you to reply! If he didn’t want you to reply, why would he even bother to send a text in the first place? Of course, there is one exception to this. If your ex sends you a very angry text having a rant about all your faults and the problems of the relationship, he probably doesn’t want you to text him back, unless he’s looking to have an argument. He may be thinking about the relationship and everything that went wrong, and suddenly feels that you were to blame. These type of texts will usually be sent just days after the relationship, and you shouldn’t expect to get texts like these when you’ve been separated for months.

If you’ve received a text from your ex a couple of months after you’ve split up, and it seems to be a “friendly” text, you may like to reply if you want to contact him. Thinking about what to reply is the most difficult thing to do. If your ex texts you and you’re with somebody else and want to move on, you might want to ignore the text. However, if it’s playing on your mind and you feel like you want to reply out of courtesy, you could send a text saying that you hope he’s alright and possibly mentioning briefly something that you’re doing in your life now. Avoid texting him back saying, “I’ve got a new boyfriend now!” or anything to that effect unless you want to hurt and offend him. If you want to stay friends on good terms, it’s best to avoid mentioning a new partner, especially in the first text.

It goes without saying that if you want to ignore your ex and move on without having anything to do with him, the best thing to do is ignore the text. While you may think this is a harsh thing to do, it’s better than pretending to be friendly when really you can’t stand him. It’s also better than sending him a text pretending to be his friend when you’re with somebody else now.