She took me to Al-Anon, a meeting for the adult children of alcoholics, for a date.

—Aaron

Aftermath: That was the best part of the evening, even after she took off her clothes.

He cried during the last “Lord of the Rings” movie.

—Kelly

Aftermath: He cried when I broke up with him, too.

It was her turn to pick where we ate, but after 45 minutes of passing restaurant after restaurant, I finally looked over and asked her, “Really, where do you want to go?” She looked at me through teary eyes and said, “I don’t know!”

—Bill

Aftermath: We ate salty food at T.G.I. Friday’s. She paid. We broke up the next day.

Less than year into our relationship I asked her why she didn’t seem to want to be around me in any way. No sex, no contact of any kind. She told me, “That’s what couples do: They stop having sex.”

—Aaron

Aftermath: She ended the conversation by summoning her dog to once again sleep in bed between us. I got jealous of that dog. Later, she cried when I tried to break up, then broke up with me when she found another boyfriend to share the rent.

She was rubbing my shoulders. My shirt was off, allowing me to feel the warm exhale of her belch before I nosed the cloud of cheeseburger and Clamato gas that engulfed me. She said nothing and kept humming as if nothing had happened.

—William

Aftermath: It was long distance already, making it easy enough to just quit.