First off, let me say that I'm sorry. Relationship probelms are never easy, and right now is a terrible time of year to have them. Second, I understand the pain as well. New years eve will be the one year aniversary of my ex leaving me and going back to Califorina. Prior to that, we'd been together for 3 years, and had planned on spending the rest of our lives together.

The pain is real, and its something that must be beared. Look into what happend, and ask yourself, what can be learned from it. In every unfortunate situation, there's something that can be learned. If you want to save the relationship, I wish you the best in doing so. If thats not possible, I recomend that you take some time for yourself. Take care of you. Be good to yourself. Spend time with other freinds and family. Time does heal most wounds, if you let it. Most importantly, just be yourself, even if that means taking some time to discover yourself.

Some folks get angry at a break up. Others get sad. Chances are, you'll experience a whole range of emotions, and there's nothign wrong with that. What really helped me in the end was getting involved more in the local furry community, and I started seeing a therapist as well.

If you ever need somone to talk to, or just hang out with, dont heitate to send me a message on AIM/Yahoo, or you can text me. My number should be on the meetup site, but if not, just PM me for it.

wait.... what? I'm sorry! Like RNF said, these things do tend to happen, I've had it happen to me twice before, but not under these circumstances (both times I had either moved or my other moved away). But don't let it seem all negative, think of it as a learning experience.

I'm going to be honest, the pain will stick around for a while, but do NOT let it hold you back! Time heals all wounds, so don't get stuck in the past, just keep on going with your life and do not let this drag you behind! You don't want to derail the gravy train, just keep it movin' along!

If you ever need to chat, drop me an IM on AIM, or drop me a call, my number's on the meetup site, or if none of those are options, drop me a PM here. You've talked to me before at the coffee shop and you know I'm more than willing to help you out!

Thirding what everyone has already said: don't give into despair! You will be hurting for a while (I went through almost the same thing myself...'except she didn't even want to be friends), and I still feel dreadful about it from time to time even two years later. Just keep your head held high and keep going. Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times when one only remembers to turn on the light. And never forget:

"Oft hope is born when all is forlorn".

Does he have a case of cold feet?

Honestly, being friends is impossible especially after being proposed to. You can't jerk around someone's heart like a yo yo, break it, and expect things to be 'the same but different'. It doesn't work. If it's not this person being scared of commitment and just him finding interest in other people, the best thing for you to do to heal is completely separate.

In my personal experience when a guy says "Let's be friends", especially after a long relationship that went marriage material, it means "Let's stay on good terms so if I find out I fucked up later I can go back to fucking you".

Also, he doesn't get to 'decide' if you can go back to being friends. Only you get that decision. I suggest finding yourself again without him, and get back on your feet. Only when you are able to stand up, see other people, and smile again, should you see him as a friend if you chose to. You may find that you are better off without him-- and it's his loss. Go out and have yourself some fun, you deserve it.

Everything happens for a reason-- it may not make sense now but eventually it will.

I've had that happen before, though probably not exactly like that. I was with someone I'd been with a long time and loved very much, and everything had been fine about fifteen minutes before, then all of the sudden they decided they didn't want to be with me anymore. It was a very unpleasant break-up with a very unpleasant grief period. I'll just say I hadn't seen this person for almost a year, and I presumed them dead (even went so far as to check obituaries daily, I was that afraid) and I was convinced that it was all my fault. Then seven months later, as I think I'm getting back on my feet and getting over it, they come back and want to be friends again like nothing ever happened. I may have been stupid to have said yes, but I did, and I struggled with my feelings for this person for another six months, even though I was in a different relationship. It's been more than a year in my new relationship, and I'm finally getting over all that happened, more than two years after it did. It may take a while, but I did it. I hope it works out better for you in the ehd, no matter how it goes.