Londoners Share Their Break-Up Stories

Harry Rosehill
By Harry Rosehill Last edited 81 months ago
Londoners Share Their Break-Up Stories
Broken dreams. Photo: Bart Booms

For every beautiful romantic moment at the blossom of a relationship just remember there's likely to be an equally awful break-up at the end. We asked our readers to send in their London break-up stories and here are some of our favourites:

Leave right now

Eli had a little help from a B-list pop star with his break up. "Back during the 2012 Olympics, they had a concert every night in Hyde Park. Just outside the fence separating the concert area from the rest of the park, I had a conversation with a girl where I told her that I didn't want to continue seeing her. Will Young was performing that night and this conversation, completely coincidentally, was happening while he was singing Leave Right Now. She was (understandably) upset and got up and slowly walked away right as the second chorus started."

An innocent mistake to be sure, but it's got us pumping out some Will Young at Londonist towers Eli, so thank you.

Dangers of subletting

Jasmine says she "had been dating a Northern Irish guy for over four years. I also had a German friend who was planning to move to London to study media (like my partner). I suggested they chat and she could stay in the flat while she sorted accommodation out."

"One month later I got dumped and replaced by said German friend. Quite a bitter pill to swallow, never been able to visit some areas of London afterwards, it all got a bit awkward."

A tough one to take for sure, but please don't let these two traitors put you off any parts of London. That's letting them win.

The masterstroke

"So I walked my girlfriend to Kingsbury tube and as the doors were closing I chucked a note on board saying we're done. Didn't hear from her again!"

That gem is from Danny. We're actually quite annoyed we've never thought of this ourselves, though we did once recommend something quite similar. It's incredible to think that there's a romantic movie that heavily relies on tube doors shutting — Sliding Doors — and this doesn't happen in it.

Ahh sliding tube doors. The perfect London break-up spot. Photo: chutney bannister

Just taking care of some last minute business before I go

Tony's ex left him in a non-confrontational but nevertheless determined style. "My girlfriend drove all the way from Earls Court to Slough at 4am to stick a post-it note on my front door telling me I was dumped because she was moving back to New York. And leaving on the 7am flight. I didn't get up until 8..."

Well clearly she didn't want to put either of you off any London locales by doing the deed in the city, which as we've seen above, can happen. She had no qualms with putting you off Slough however, which come to think of it, might not be the worst move in the world.

Play it off as laugh

"I got dumped at a restaurant in Covent Garden at our two year anniversary meal... half way through main course. I thought he was joking. He wasn't. We didn't have dessert."

That's seriously cold from Natalie's partner. However, not cold enough for ice cream as he's not a dessert guy.

Hammersmith's 'Spoons, The William Morris. Photo: SteHLiverpool

The tearjerker

Susan's one brought a tear to our eye. "I got dumped by my partner of 2.5 yrs who I thought I was going to marry. This happened while I was having treatment for cancer, two days after I'd been in hospital again. He lied about the fact he was seeing someone else; younger model obviously, who wasn't chemo-bald like me. And where did he choose to do this? Wetherspoons in Hammersmith. Classy."

Definitely an awful situation and we sincerely hope you're doing better Susan.

Prying ears

Elysse tells us: "Once I was in Abney Park Cemetery and overheard a couple going through a breakup. Not sure if that was the perfect location or if it just made things worse."

Thanks for keeping an ear out and sending in that one Elysse. Little known fact about Abney Park Cemetery is that it's where Amy Winehouse's Back to Black video was shot. Which, is a song about a break-up. Coincidence? We think not.

Melancholic museum

Dawn, "studied abroad in London from the US in the mid '90s. A day or two before Valentine's Day, I got a breakup letter from my boyfriend in the States. I was devastated. The next day our class went on a field trip to the British Museum. I remember being amazed at the collection but overwhelmed by sadness. Recently had the chance to revisit the museum with my husband (not the '90s boyfriend) and had a wonderful experience."

That's what we like to hear. Don't let anyone put you off the British Museum, it's just got so much great stuff.

Photo: Steve Barnet

Dodgy barnet

"I once went on a date with a guy whilst living in London. He had a bright red mohawk and it wasn't the eighties. No second date. We bid adieu at Charing Cross. Still one of my favourite stations despite the unfortunate hair."

Rachael's date's transgression might've been forgiven were he catching the Central line, but as it is that's truly disgraceful. We're with you Rachael.

If you've got any more London break-up stories, we'd love to hear them in the comments beneath.

See also: Where to break-up with someone in London

Last Updated 29 June 2017