The ex-files: Carol and John

HER STORY Carol Deeney, 23, is from Aberdeen. She works in advertising and is currently single. I think there are still feelings between John and I even though we haven't been together for years. I can't imagine anything happening now though. I don't even know if he has a girlfriend. I remember when it was still hard to hear he was dating other people. We got together in our first year at uni in Glasgow. John was Mr Popular, and I was really attracted to that. I'd been in a relationship before my degree and that hadn't ended well. John and I knew all the same people, but didn't shut our friends out of our relationship. After all, they were new and important to both of us. We spent time alone together like all couples, but you have to be careful when you're from the same friendship group. I got a job, which, on top of my studies, took up a lot of my time. Much of the spare time I had I spent with John, but I wasn't prepared to give up all my time to him. Both of us became aware there was a problem and started behaving weirdly with each other. It was me who eventually ended things. John's recently moved to London, where I now live, and I'm so glad we've salvaged a friendship after all the post break-up awkwardness. HIS STORY John McNeill, 25, is single and from Belfast. He is studying for an MSc in crime science. I don't think there are feelings between Carol and me. It seems impossible considering the amount of time that's passed. When we broke up, I tried to avoid her because there were reasons for us to still see each other. We were friends with the same people. There's no awkwardness now, though. We got together during a crazy time in our lives, very early on in our degrees. Carol was my first serious relationship, but it wasn't anything like a Hollywood romance. I can't really remember us saying "I love you" to each other. Could that be because we didn't? I think I probably did love her, but let's just say we weren't each other's everything. Suddenly, we were all over the place and it dawned on me that we had argued solidly for a whole month. We didn't want to waste our time like this and decided to call it a day. I spent my final year in Moscow while Carol did hers in Toronto. I didn't meet anyone there, but I didn't think about Carol much either. I've moved to London and saw Carol and our friends on Friday. We get on fine, but I didn't spend more time talking to her rather than them. If you'd like to appear in this column, email [email protected]