Guilt of passing herpes to Ex

[SD1990]

Hello everyone,

I have a question for those of you who did the transmitting. I was diagnosed with genital HSV1 about a year ago, after my girlfriend at the time became symptomatic. She was incredible gracious, and the diagnosis really drew us together. It was hard to be diagnosed, but it helped in a lot of ways because we had each other for support and we didn't have to worry about telling other people. We use to joke about it a lot, and we really relied on each other. I really care about her, but I just didn't feel like the relationship was working out. We broke up about 2 months ago, and to be honest I've kind of been having a hard time moving on. I think this is due in large part to the fact that I gave her HSV1. I know its not a big deal with respect to our health, but I feel really guilty and sad whenever I think about her having to tell a guy, or imagine her being rejected for having it. She really is a beautiful, amazing person, and guys love her, but I can't imagine this not taking a huge toll on her romantic life. It like this rope that will always connect us. She will always have to deal with this stigma, and we will both have to live with knowing that I was the one who gave her this stigma. That fact alone makes it seem like we will never have a clean break. My question, is how have others gotten beyond the guilt of infecting someone? Thanks for the responses.

[Ohhey143]

I hope the guy that gave it to me feels this way, that’s really beautifully written! Hope you are able to move on and grow so you can start dating again.