Dumped & Divorced

When Closure Never Comes: Choosing Peace After Heartbreak

Natalie & Maressa

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0:00 | 36:35

Some endings don’t come with explanations. We open up about the ache of unfinished goodbyes, the magnetic pull of “one last talk,” and the quiet tyranny of waiting for answers that never arrive. One of us shares the raw details of a called‑off wedding and the silence that followed; the other names the deeper hunger for validation and control that so many of us feel after heartbreak. Together, we challenge the tidy myth of closure and point to a harder, kinder truth: peace is something we create, not something we’re handed.

Across this conversation, we unpack why chasing closure often stalls recovery, how loneliness can evolve into nourishing solitude, and why a final conversation rarely fixes a broken heart. We trade rom‑com fantasies for real tools: journaling that untangles loops, meditation that steadies breath, sweat that clears the mind, and therapy that gives language to pain. We talk boundaries that end the back‑and‑forth, the courage to stop bargaining with “what ifs,” and the moment you realize your worth is not up for debate. There’s laughter, a few pop‑culture nods, and a reminder that acceptance isn’t agreement—it’s the ground where life starts again.

You’ll hear how resilience is built in the gray areas, how control returns in small daily acts, and how choosing new chapters—from career moves to a long‑dreamed relocation—comes from readiness, not reaction. If you’re stuck waiting on an apology, an explanation, or closure that won’t come, this episode offers a path back to yourself. Listen, share with someone who needs it, and if it helps, leave a review, follow the show, and join us on Instagram. Your support helps this community grow—and your story isn’t over; you’re the one holding the pen.

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Welcome Back & Today’s Focus

SPEAKER_03

Aggressive top coming in. Hello. Welcome to Dumped and Divorced. We are two sisters who talk about life after heartbreak. My name is Natalie.

SPEAKER_01

And my name is Marissa, and this is our podcast.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, it is. Welcome back for episode four. What? Four. I can't ever keep count of the episodes.

SPEAKER_01

So um come into play.

The Myth of Closure

SPEAKER_03

Yes. Okay, so this week we are, we have um a fun topic kind of lined up. Last week we talked a little bit about loneliness and solitude and how learning to be alone doesn't necessarily mean that you're lonely. Um but there is another type of loneliness that kind of hits different, and that's when uh you come across something that doesn't necessarily have a completed, a fully closed chapter. Um, you know, it's kind of being in the unknown, the the official goodbye that never happened. So, sis, why don't we why don't you tell them about what we're gonna talk about today?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so today we're gonna talk about closure and the myth of it all, right? How everyone believes that you are required a closure, and sometimes you just have to let it go without all of the answers. And so we're gonna dive into what that means, how it feels like the obsession of getting closure, and how sometimes it's just not gonna happen and being okay with that, and how waiting for said closure could delay your healing. So we're just gonna elaborate and dive a little bit further into the topic of closure itself.

A Wedding Called Off

SPEAKER_03

Yes, yes, because um we kind of have two different spectrums here uh in the relationship, uh just in our past experiences is like you more so this topic kind of talks more about your experience through it. We all kind of have chapters that are, you know, end abruptly or we have to kind of rewrite as we go through it. So this let's kind of dive into the illusion of closure. Why, why do we expect it? Um, whether that's from a partner, a friend, um, you know, why we feel like we need it.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Well, and I think what's crazy is that we're taught to wait for it, right? As if, you know, your healing will start once you like, or it'll it only can happen when somebody explains their reasoning behind a breakup or apologizes or admitting that they hurt you when we know that they hurt you, right? Like it's inevitable. Um, and so kind of holding on to that, you know, waiting for that moment. Sometimes you just have to close that chapter yourself and you have to keep moving. So, you know, I think Natalie mentioned how we both have two different POVs on that, right? Because unfortunately, my closure was very like I had to close that chapter myself in order to move on. Um, I had to sit with those questions, I had to sit in that silence, and sometimes, you know, my own growth, which I can say, you know, now looking back, I'm glad I had that, you know, because had I not kind of figured it out on my own, I wouldn't have been able to move on and heal the way I have since my breakup. So, you know, it's just and it's totally okay to crave that closure. Like the lack of it can keep us stuck in that what if, right? And I know in my case, my wedding was on the table. So for me, it was like, what if we still got married? Or what if we powered through it and you know, pretended like these issues that occurred leading up to the breakup weren't there. So, you know, sometimes the story doesn't end with that clarity you want. Uh, and it just ends with you deciding it's over, that's enough, move on.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But I can't say that it's not easy because it's not.

Validation, Control, and Grief

SPEAKER_03

Well, I think with closure, it gives um it gives you control over the situation, right? So the lack of it, I mean, most of the time if if something ends and you don't have a like if you don't understand why it ends, you feel less in control of the situation, right? Ultimately, you had no like the calling off of your wedding was by no means something that you took part in, that you kind of planned. You were it was an abrupt, I mean you knew it was coming when it was coming, right? Because it was like the weekend leading up, things were off, you felt it, but you thought that your love would kind of persevere that and yeah, totally you know, you wanted you wanted an explanation, you wanted just to make sense of the pain that that sudden life change has caused you. Um and ultimately what it is is it's validation. Like to know that you mattered, um, to know that you to that what you experienced over the amount of time that you were in the relationship wasn't one-sided, um and that the hurt had meaning, right? I mean, like it's hard. I I can't put myself in your situation. I mean, are you getting emotional?

SPEAKER_01

I just got like a wave of like deja vu of like the breakup. Like, you know, like whenever you're watching a movie and sometimes you're having an out-of-body experience, like, or the the the movie you're watching, they're having a flashback and they're seeing it on the other side. I am I'm having like a POV of me in my apartment with my ex calling off my wedding and all of those emotions just coming right back. You telling me I was seeking that validation, like wanting that relationship to not feel one-sided. Oh, whoa, that hit me. Wow. I mean, it just puts into perspective like how much inner healing you one has to do when going through that and not expecting a closure because we want that. We want that, I'm sorry I hurt you, or I fucked up. Like, it would be great to know if he thinks that, but you know, we'll never know.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Which is fine.

SPEAKER_03

You guys don't really talk to to figure that out. But like even yeah, I mean, we just honestly, here's the thing when we think of closures, when we think of like romance and love and all the things, in movies and you know, in shows, there's a cinematic piece to it, right? Like it's it's written out, it's acted, and throughout any sort of like r love movie, love story, rom-com, you're feeling con book, right? You're feeling connected with these characters. So the difference though is real life doesn't have explanations. It doesn't have you know, there's n most of the time there's no mutual, you know, separations, right? It's most of the time one-sided. And you're kind of just left in the dark.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Oh my gosh. And those and those questions just eat you alive. And for me, the what if I yeah. The for me, I was always trying to live up to a standard of my ex. And you've mentioned this, and I've now realized this being a couple years out of the relationship or the breakup, if you want. Yeah. Um, I was always trying to be the standard for him, and I was seeking that validation. I was seeking those things to make me feel like I'm doing okay. And in reality, new thoughts, you do not need a man to seek your own validation. That is something I've learned. I will never stoop to have my happiness be linked to a man's opinion.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

Loneliness, Silence, and Self-Work

SPEAKER_01

Because it will control your thoughts. And it controlled them, like it truly was. I was always seeking that, and I was always wanting the best to be the best of the best for him, or to do these things, or to meet these standards. And it was that validation was something I had to realize I didn't need because I'm my own person. I'm an independent woman, and I'll do whatever the fuck I want. And you just I think that took a moment of clarity for myself because I was literally hanging on to hope for any any and all validation from the why or the give me more details as to you know just being so black or white.

SPEAKER_03

Well, you kind of spoke about it in the sense of you um I don't want to say submissive to him, which I'm not saying it's a bad thing, right? I mean, they're like you're taking it dirty, I'm taking it like in the you know, in the even in the biblical piece that it talks about that, right? So, but you fully devoted yourself and you lost that control. So that's kind of why it took you, um like it like for me, it was I woke up, some you know, I finally was like, okay, I I can't do this anymore. Let's let's be done. And that's ultimately what happened, right? You it was not like that for you. So following up on that, let's talk about what happens after something ends. And like in last week, we talked about loneliness and solitude, how you kind of have to be that feel that lone loneliness to be okay with being in your own solitude. Like it's just a it's just a phase, it's just you know, a cycle. So the silence after an ending without closure kind of gives us lessons to learn about accepting and how to gain back some of that control. Right. And I mean, for you specifically, like that was it. Once he left your apartment, like that was done. After you had those final moments with your coordinator and the other people that you had to do calls with just to kind of finalize things and say, you know what, this is not happening, that was it. Like you have I don't think that to this day you have spoken to him.

SPEAKER_01

No, I haven't. Nor have I seen him. The last time I which also blows my mind, and some people when they like ask me, they think I'm still in some sort of contact with him, and the answer is absolutely not.

unknown

No.

SPEAKER_01

Last time I saw him, he was walking out of my apartment door. Like that was it.

Why “One Last Talk” Doesn’t Heal

SPEAKER_03

He didn't even ask, he didn't even fight you for your dog. Like, I know the dog was yours, but like, you know, I mean, it w it was done. It was Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

You have yeah, he didn't ask for the dog or anything, he just asked for the fucking ring, and I which you're okay. Okay, back yeah, we're not we're not talking about that ever again. We're leaving that.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. So, anyways, but like you had no text, you had no calls. There was no opportunity for you to say I miss you what was left unsaid.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Oh, absolutely not.

SPEAKER_03

No, like it it just had to it just ate at you.

SPEAKER_01

It probably that and I can't uh which is why like the loneliness and the closure topics hit hit something inside my my my like my soul because I felt that to the core. And you know, it it's just one of those things that unfortunately when someone goes through it, you understand it from an outsider. Like if I had somebody that went through a similar situation, I would literally know how they feel. And I would sit in that silence with them because I know there's nothing somebody can say or do to help you get over it or to help you move on in a sense and allow that closure. Yeah, there's nothing and there's nothing that you were able to say or do, or mom was able to say or do. It was something that I had to work on my own. Yeah. But it it it it really does shake you, and you have to really think about how is this going to affect me in the long term, long run, if I can't, if I can't let this go. I have no control over this. And it it could it could make or break you. And I think just leaning in on helping you overcome with those journalings or meditation or finding those hobbies, I think I'm like a broken record when I leaned in on all of that because it was something that helped me overcome that that loneliness.

Creating Your Own Closure

SPEAKER_03

Well, you know, like you said, sitting in that silence naturally is gonna make you ask questions like, what did I do? Was it real? Could I have done anything different? Right? And I don't think that you're able to accept your solitude until you just sit in that grief, sit in that in that phase for a while. Um because if you like I feel that if you jump phases too soon, you're just ultimately putting a band-aid over it, masking the wound. Um and then it's gonna come back with all of this extra, you know emotion and all these other things that kind of had built off of um that grief that you haven't processed uh to make it worse. But like here's the thing even with a closure, even with having that one final conversation, nothing that he could have said would have fixed your broken heart. Right? Like, even if he told you, Maratha, like I know that his reason doesn't make sense to you or to me or to Chad or to anybody really, like it it his reason doesn't make sense, which I think was a band-aid for him to make himself not face the truth of his own like demons and his own inner thoughts because you know I don't know, it's not just a character flaw of you, right? Yeah, I don't know, it's hard sometimes it's hard.

Growth Through Uncertainty

SPEAKER_01

Like well, and I think that's why elaborating on it and saying, like, you know, so that people who may be experiencing something or trying to get that closure, this is us telling you to let it fly away. Because exploring that idea of that of like the what if yeah, it's something that you think will bring you peace, but it won't and healing. Literally will it will not. And you even think that you got the explanation you needed, and it does not help or fix your healing journey. And that's kind of why when I have, I mean, I don't I have a lot of a lot of my girlfriends are in great relationships or married, right? Like I'm one of the last man, women standing on the single train, which is fine, right? Like I actually came across a hilarious meme from someone's Instagram account, and it was like um time knots on repeat, but I'm still in the single scene. Anyway, I feel like that was me. But nonetheless, you know, when I I don't have friends that are going through hard breakups or dealing with man boys where like they're just getting the confusing back and forth, which is why I also don't deal with that shit. Like I can't, I'm not dealing with the back and forth, the playing games, like we're too old for that. But going back to the tease. I'm a I'm a teaser, all right. But and like I'm just in my I'm I'm having fun, like I'm not I'm truly embracing the single life. Like while I have dated around and there was this past like fling I had with somebody that I truly like will always look back on and be grateful for, I'm just enjoying this single time that I'm in. But going back to kind of mentioning how when I have friends that you know that aren't really going through boy drama, I'm just I always try to come to like from a perspective of you do not have to deal with that bullshit. Like you don't have to deal with somebody that's making you feel like you're less or making you question things. And that's kind of where I've realized like getting that closure is never gonna be enough. So let it go. You know, just you know, stop r ruminating on it, stop thinking the guilt, stop asking the questions because it's truly never gonna help. It's just gonna keep you running around in your brain and never understanding that in order to let it go, in order to grow, you have to let it go.

SPEAKER_03

Well, yeah, I mean the silence, right, of not of not knowing, of not having that closure, um, is actually it can be more helpful in the long run because here's why it allows you to start your healing, right? And that through that healing is where you'll finally start to eventually feel like yourself again. And most of the time, especially if it was like a toxic, sort of toxic, not great situation, that you just were blinded by it, you chipped away pieces of yourself that you didn't even know you were chipping away from. Right? So um your cracked self kind of kind of like um you became ice. Let's just use the frozen analogy where Anna turns into ice when she's trying to save Elsa, and then like love on on thaws her, right? Because she healed. The Elsa's heart healed, and everyone else lived happily ever after. But like by by sitting in the silence, by hearing yourself and and focusing on yourself, even though, you know, one day at a time the pain will will not be as severe, and you'll be you'll be yourself again. So this kind of just focuses, leads us to our next kind of topic, which is you know, giving yourself the closure. Yourself. Like not needing closure from the other person, but solely just kind of reflecting on you and then um focus on that healing, on that act of healing. It's taking the power back that you gave somebody and what is it that Taylor Swift said? She's like, think of your your time as energy.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

Acceptance, Resilience, and The Gray

SPEAKER_03

And you're taking back the energy, you're not giving your time to someone who doesn't deserve it. You're not giving someone your love and your energy because they no longer deserve it. So you're kind of taking it all back for yourself. So you know, we talk like in the beginning in season one, we definitely talked a lot about what we did. And what after we sat in the silence for a little bit, after we kind of um my those sauna thoughts. Like that was my silence. Those sauna thoughts were you were running, um was running, reading.

SPEAKER_01

Yours yours was purely sauna thoughts.

SPEAKER_03

Well, I feel like reading doesn't let you kind of sit in the in your like reading is a is an escape. So I think like the reading is also an important piece, but you have to sit in that quiet for a little bit to fully um have that active healing present itself and show up.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Because yeah, I I agree. Reading allowed me my mind to escape and gave me happiness when I mean I stopped watching TV because watching TV was something neat and it was part of my nightly routine. Right? And then um, you know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

Well, and I think it's crazy to think that healing and closure and silence and solitude, all of these things truly go hand in hand because you know, you're working for that inner peace within yourself, and closure is not something we mentioned, it's not something you're gonna wait for. And so, you know, you're just gonna have to pick up the pieces on your own and heal yourself because you have to understand the acceptance of understanding that it's your healing doesn't come from the knowing of the why, it comes from accepting that it happened. And that's kind of when both of our true heal healing journey flourished in a sense, because while our situations were getting different, we both chose that timeline to be able to accept it and move on and create our own closure because we're never gonna get it from that other person.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I found this quote, I'm gonna read it just because it's so applicable. Um, and you actually kind of talked a little bit about it, but closure isn't something you wait for, it's something that you create. You get to choose peace even when they left you in pieces. Ooh. I mean it's so true though. It really is.

SPEAKER_01

Oh my gosh, that hits oof, that's like that like hit the heart.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. I mean, because if you don't like if you're left in a situation where you don't have closure, you can't continue to wait.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Right? Like, life is gonna keep moving on, so you have to create your own peace when you are shattered. When you are broken into a million of pieces.

SPEAKER_01

It sounds like a line in a book, like a romance book.

SPEAKER_00

Like you're just creating A Thousand Boy Kisses, Dak, does that kind of No, because that breakup was it what remind me how did she catch a did she got sick, right?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. I was gonna say I don't think like Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, so that book. Um never I don't think that that's it.

New Chapters and Big Moves

SPEAKER_01

So, anyways, yeah, so that I think that I do want to so sorry, I do want to kind of also mention that acknowledge that growth through the uncertainty because I believe that sometimes that not getting that closure also shows the resilience you have within yourself and to learn to trust your heart more than someone's explanation as to why, because that explanation will never be enough for you, and you just have to, you know, be proud of yourself, be kind to yourself, and know that you're so much stronger than what you thought you were after going through all of that.

SPEAKER_03

And I think um, you know, after the silence, after you've um kind of evolved from being lonely and feeling alone to being okay in your solitude, um, you're accepting the cards that you were given. You're accepting, you know, the heartbreak. You're accepting this unexpected life change, right? Because I'll be honest, when I got married, I didn't think I was gonna get divorced. And I'm pretty sure when you said yes, you didn't think that you weren't even gonna make it down the aisle.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I had my pretty little wedding in a bow. I had it all planned out, and then it came crashing down. Yeah, but hey, at least I could say I've avoided the get married divorce drama. You know, I'm gonna get married to get married.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. You're just, you know, you're waiting for your Travis Kelsey.

SPEAKER_01

Ugh. You know, the more the more I see it, the more I kind of love their love story. I was not a tw Swifty fan, but you've grown me to love her love story with Travis Kelsey.

SPEAKER_03

I love her love story. Like, I love it so much. Which just goes, you know, I mean, I'm standing strong on my on what I've always kind of said, I'm not dating to to like waste time because I don't have the energy at all. And honestly, like, anyways, that that can we can talk about that another day.

SPEAKER_00

Um yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Uh, but yeah, so another thing that through not having closures, what it you know, it teaches you not only to kind of accept, you know, where you are, what happened, and um, but it gives you resilience. And I think that that's something so huge and w I mean it could have sent us both into some serious depression or um just some knocked us off our feet for a lot longer. I mean, I'm not gonna say that it was easy, but now being on the other side, like you're in a hell healthy place in your life. I'm in a healthy place in my life. Um and we've just kind of learned to trust our heart more and be there's a time, you know, I don't really like I I kind of am a black and white person. It's either yes or no, it's either what the book says or what like that's how I am, yes or no, black or white. But over the time period, I had to kind of learn to live in the gray of just I don't know what's happening, I don't know how I'm feeling. I'm very I'm feeling very blah. Like you don't have control over it, no control, and I'm a bit of a control freak. I yeah, I just I like to have control. However, I'm not I'm not gonna lie. I will gladly give up control of the driver and I would be a passenger princess all over again. Um but yeah, that's the only control I'm I'm willing to give up right now.

unknown

Yeah.

Tools, Support, and Mental Health

SPEAKER_01

Well, you you survived it. You learned something and you grew from it. And I think that's what the end, like the end goal of it all, and to kind of almost wrap this episode with a bow, is you know, the next time you catch yourself waiting for that closure, just remind yourself that you don't need their words or their validation. You can just end it with your own piece. And that's what we did.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. It doesn't mean that your story is unfinished, right? It just means that you have more time to write it out. And it's yours to write.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Us us romance girlies love a good a good soap opera ending.

SPEAKER_02

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, I don't even know how long we've been recording.

SPEAKER_01

We've been doing it for a bit. I mean, not like crazy, crazy life, but.

SPEAKER_03

Like, this is a good this it was a good topic. Um I think it's relatable.

SPEAKER_02

Basically, in wraps, when closing doesn't come, you kind of have to make your own and accept. Um anything else that you want to add, sis?

SPEAKER_01

No, just uh I kind of mentioned it before, you know, just your own peace is what matters in the end. And sit in that silence. Be gentle to yourself because you are healing whether or not you feel like it. And there is light at the end of the tunnel, and I promise you, you don't need all the answers to move on. You're doing just fine.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Look at us.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, I mean, you know, look at you. So, like your unanswered questions doesn't define you, right? It doesn't they don't need to be answered for you to be able to move forward. And you're a perfect example of that.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_03

And you know, here's the here's the here's the thing. Like Taylor Swift says, long story short, we survived. You survived it. You learned, you grew, um, you put back together your heart, um, and you guarded it a little bit more. So much that you're well, I'm not gonna say that. That you're moving to Spain. But that you're not you're not moving to Spain because of that. You're moving to Spain because the opportunity is right. I know.

SPEAKER_01

Yes. And and that's the thing. I am truly moving to Spain because it is a lifelong long goal of mine. My heart is in Spain, I've always loved Spain, and I took some time to think about this big move because again, yeah, it wasn't a it wasn't like a impulse kind of thing.

Season Intentions & Sign-Off

SPEAKER_03

Like it wasn't, I'm new, newly singled, my life changed. I'm in like it's been a couple of years now.

SPEAKER_01

So exactly. Well, and it's so funny because I'm actually reading a book right now where, and again, Natalie and I are always gonna bring in books to the mix, um, where this girl, who's 32, relatable, um, she is in the TV industry and something happened. She was dating her boss and no one knew. Something happened. This whole this big like humiliation thing happened, and she literally got up and moved to London. That was not me. I did not get up and move to Spain after my breakup. There has been years that have been passed, but I feel right. This feels right for me. I'm so excited for this new chapter. And, you know, it's one of those things that I allowed myself to heal, to be in that silence, to sit in the loneliness, and to do all of these things for me to feel so ready for a big step in my life. And here I am making that move in a couple of months, which is crazy to think.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah. Well, you know, um, I'm proud of you, I'm proud of us. Um, and if you find yourself in a time where your story shifted, you're at a chapter where you didn't expect coming, it's an alternate ending. Um listen back to oh, listen back to the episode that we did um writing ourselves a story, like a letter, letter to our feet our past selves. Look, you know, spend time in the alone, spend time journaling, meditating, saunaing, running. Find your passion to fill in the in the in the void. But, you know, don't feel intimidated or ashamed to also seek out medical providers too, because mental awareness. Yeah, mental health is very important, and when you're in a vulnerable time like that, it's nothing to take lightly as well. So um, yeah. Any do you have any ending notes?

SPEAKER_01

No, just in two more weeks, we will come back with you with another topic. Um, you know, again, we've mentioned season two is about being intentional with topics, and we are trying to kind of um I don't want to say circling back, but we kind of want all of them to be cohesive in a sense and relatable in what maybe you're going through. So we're gonna try to constantly add another topic that relates to the previous episode, but also, you know, giving our uh points of view as well as what we went through in our process as well. So yeah, again, we will see you in two weeks. Thank you for listening. And if you aren't already following our Instagram or following our podcast, Apple Podcaster Spotify, be sure to like and follow. And we will see you in two weeks.

SPEAKER_03

Yes, that's true. Okay, Toodles, guys, thanks for listening. We love you a lot.

SPEAKER_00

Bye, everyone. Bye.