u/Street_Bat348

Hey everyone,

I’m posting this tonight because I’m sitting in an empty apartment and I need some brutal honesty and advice from people who have been through something llike this.

My ex and I were together for nearly 8 years, basically all my 20s. To be 100% transparent, I was far from a perfect partner for a long time. Back around 2023-2024, I was in a really bad place emotionally and mentally. Was lost, trapped inside gaming, not earning money, and barely contributing. We didnt spend time together, at the evenings, she would just be alone in the other room, while i tried to make some money working from home. No dates, nothing, for years. She had to step up, work multiple jobs, and cover our living expenses for months to keep us afloat while I was down.

I carried a crushing amount of guilt for that, i just know i was guilty. Over the last couple of years, I’ve been desperately trying to fix myself and make up for it, getting my apartment,grinding from scratch, working out, and trying to become the man I should have been back then.

September 2025 we started to live apart as we couldnt afford the apartment anymore, she was living with her sibling, myself, very close by. She told me, when couple's start living apart, they start to miss each other more, want to do stuff more, go on those dates, just like first months of real love. We talked, everything was okay (i think?), she said, like, with time, you will get a job, get yourself together, we'll go on dates like all those years ago and everything will be okay. March 2026, i get the job, new apartment, i'm trying to get her to go out, but answer is always, i'm tired, i can't, i'm with my parents, etc. I started to notice something's off. I feel like i was manipulated, because when i was questioning things, she every day told me, "i love you, stop thinking bs, look how hard i was trying (financially). And i completely understood it, as she probably was tired.

But the relationship dynamic never recovered. I became trapped in a "debtor" mindset, feeling like I owed her forever. Over the past 8 months, she completely distanced herself , hid her social media stories, deleted our pictures together, turned off her location, lied about it and kept me hidden from everything. Whenever I tried to bring up how excluded I felt, she pulled the "I'm just exhausted from 12hour shifts" stuff, and I ate the guilt, accepted what she said because of my past mistakes. But she had time for other things, and that's why i was confused.

Long story short, my instinct was right. She was cheating (i think it started exactly around when i moved in my new apartment).

As soon as I confirmed it, I cut everything completely. Deleted all our data, photos, chats, all of it. But the reality of an 8-year chapter ending like this is hitting me like a ton of bricks for the last 2 months.

I don't really have a local support system, family, or close friends to talk through this with, and I don't really have hobbies to fill the time yet. Sitting in this quiet space, my brain keeps looping through the guilt of my past mistakes, while simultaneously trying to digest the betrayal.

For anyone who has gone through something like this:

• How to get over this? People say time, time, but this is swallowing me.
• How do you forgive yourself for your past mistakes in a relationship when it ends in betrayal anyway?
• How did you handle the initial withdrawal and silence when starting over from absolute zero with no social circle?

Please, ask questions, if something is unclear.

Thanks in advance.

Hey guys,
I’m currently hovering in Gold, close to plat, running a ~91/92 OVR squad. Skill wise I feel like I can hang with most players for the majority of the game, but I’ve hit a massive ceiling lately. almost every single matchup is against a 97+ god squad.

Helpless situations like loose pucks, rebounds, and pure straight-line speed. My 92s just get cooked every single time no matter how well I position them. Im not rushing to boards, just guarding the slot but red quick release from all kinds of angles seems like gg. Not gonna mention red truculence.

With how the current salary cap system is made, feels like there aren't enough viable combos for casual average players like me (NMS) to bridge the gap unless you use the credit card method, which I’m not doing but i'm not against players who do so no need to flame me.

Am I just cooked until we get more salary cap combos coming? Or is there a specific team building meta I’m missing out to make a higher OVR squad actually competitive?

Thanks in advance!!