grave dressing phase

• What does the phase after a relationship breakdown describe?

  How ex-partners begin their post-relationship lives
• Why do ex-partners publicize their accounts of the relationship breakdown?

  To avoid hindering future relationship chances
• How do ex-partners represent the failed relationship?

  In a way that avoids disreputable terms
• What happens to traits once found attractive in ex-partners?

  They are reinterpreted in negative terms
• Why do individuals justify their actions after a breakup?

  To appear trustworthy and loyal to others
• What are key attributes individuals want to portray for future relationships?

  Trustworthy and loyal
• What alternative story might some ex-partners tell about their relationship?

  That they were not compatible from the beginning
• What does the threshold 'It’s now inevitable' signify?

  Acceptance of the relationship's end