How to stay friends with someone who rejected you? (10 Best Tips)

By: Naveen B

Rejection stings. It’s tough to find out that someone you love doesn’t have feelings for you. It can leave you feeling confused, hurt, or even angry.

You might wonder if there’s anything you can do, how to stay friends with someone who rejected you, or even if it’s worth trying at all?

Having your heart broken by someone you love can be emotionally devastating, especially if you had always thought the person cared about you in some way.

However, with some genuine effort, you can keep your friendship with that person intact.

But what if that person just wants to go their separate ways and doesn’t want to remain friends? In the end, only they know the answer to that question.

Recommended reading: Can you be friends with someone you love? (Complete guide)

However, you can learn how to respect their decision, without feeling like you’re abandoning them by accepting the rejection.

Even though it’s never easy to deal with rejection from someone you care about, there are steps you can take to avoid unnecessary heartache and hurt feelings in the future while still trying to maintain the friendship.

Keep reading to find out how to stay friends with someone who rejected you and move on if things don’t work out well for you both.

How to stay friends with someone who rejected you?

how to stay friends with a guy who rejected you How to stay friends with someone who rejected you? (10 Best Tips)

How to stay friends with someone who rejected you? It is a very sensitive situation. Staying friends with someone who has rejected you may be one of the hardest things to do in life.

It will require you to be mindful of what you say and do because although your intentions are good, you might end up offending or hurting your friend without meaning to do so.

I suggest that before talking about staying friends, first realize why someone you love rejected you in the first place.

In most cases, it can be because of your behavior or attitude towards them which made them feel uncomfortable and eventually made them stop caring for you.

This is a time for serious reflection and make sure that there are no mistakes on your part.

After clearing up any problems which may have happened, you can try again by apologizing to them or by clarifying the misunderstandings and making an effort to improve on any negative aspects of your relationship if possible.

Also read: How to be friends with someone you love? (17 Tips)

One thing we all should remember when dealing with rejection – Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself. Take things slow and it’s okay to give yourself some time off as well. Just take everything positive as much as possible.

Remember that every relationship needs tender loving care even if they are broken or damaged, so never give up trying. Here are some tips to stay friends with a girl or guy who rejected you.

10 tips to stay friends with someone who rejected you.

how to stay friends with a girl who rejected you How to stay friends with someone who rejected you? (10 Best Tips)

1. Remember that rejection isn’t all bad:

Before you begin to rekindle with someone who rejected you, remind yourself that the fact that somebody has rejected you doesn’t mean that there is something wrong with you.

Instead, simply reflect upon why they no longer care for you and work hard at improving yourself based on those findings – Practice gratitude every day to help you find new ways to bounce back after getting rejected. 

2. Never talk about the past and behave as a casual friend:

When one rejects another, they would not want to be reminded of any incidents regarding their friendship or relationship.

As such, trying to bring up old memories or topics may just end up making things worse for you especially if your goal is staying friends with them in the future.

Psychological studies show that it can take weeks, months, or even years before someone forgets about an unpleasant experience.

Hence when dealing with rejection from someone whom you wish to remain friends with, avoid bringing up bad memories and instead act casually whenever possible – Remember that being too nosy and prying into their lives can often drive people away.

Also read: How to stop loving someone but stay friends? (10 Steps)

3. Try doing small favors for them:

Even though you might feel hurt by rejection from someone you have feelings for, try not taking out all that anger on yourself.

It helps to realize that most times people do reject us because they do not know how else to react under emotionally charged situations which can make decision-making difficult.

Just like what we face every day in our workplaces. That said, do not get overly aggressive or belligerent towards them, but instead, keep calm and focus on improving yourself as much as possible.

The next time you meet up with them (hopefully) there will be less chance of their rejecting you again since you’ve taken steps to correct whatever mistakes happened previously.

Also read: How to get over someone you love deeply?

4. Avoid saying anything negative or flirting while hanging out:

If they say something unfriendly, ignore it and move on to a topic more suitable for conversation.

Do not allow anyone’s words to dominate your own self-esteem so don’t let other people determine how worthy you are of love and respect.

Instead, choose better ways to interact with others and improve upon your social skills.

After all, we live in a world where everyone is different, but that doesn’t mean you should use someone else’s differences against them.

5. Be mature enough and respect their decisions:

Understand that there are certain cases where it might be hard for both parties involved to continue keeping a friendship due to some unforeseen circumstances, but in most cases, it is often a difficult situation that can only be resolved after time has passed.

So do not expect immediate results, especially if they have already given you a clear rejection initially.

There’s nothing you can do to change their mind at that moment; it is important for you to accept and acknowledge your status as a rejected person.

You are not being controlled or influenced by them, nobody holds you hostage – Everyone is responsible for their own happiness and success, not anyone else’s.

So it does not matter who did or didn’t give you a second chance in life.

You still have a choice to improve yourself and fulfill your dreams no matter what happens – Take charge of your life and never become a victim of your circumstance.

6. Sometimes it’s impossible to be friends with someone who rejected you:

Some people are completely unreachable and impossible to befriend.

They might have experienced a traumatic event that has left them with severe mental health issues and can result in extremely hostile behaviors.

Show how you value their friendship by remembering them in your daily life, no matter what. At least a simple hi or good morning can do wonders for them and it doesn’t cost you anything. 

Keeping a long distance from someone who rejected you is hard and it takes time to be comfortable with not seeing them again.

Realize that we can no longer be friends with someone that has broken our trust but if they are willing to rebuild it, we shouldn’t stop ourselves from being happy once again.

Also read: 21 Psychological tricks to get someone to like you.

7. Be rational and understanding:

Don’t get attached to them emotionally. But rather respect each other’s space and set firm boundaries in order to not get yourself hurt again and again.

The key is understanding what makes your relationship work and making sure both parties feel loved, respected, and supported throughout it all. With lots of patience and a lot of effort, you’ll get there for sure.

When Relationships are not easy but they are worth fighting for, Never lose hope. Never underestimate yourself and Never Underestimate the power of love. When people hurt you, it is because they are hurting inside.

Don’t take them for granted, forgive them, and hold onto your hope that one day they might find their own peace within. Remain hopeful and optimistic about your relationship with them knowing that every ending begins a new beginning.

8. Focus on developing new relationships if things don’t work out:

Building deeper connections between family members, close friends, and significant others is vital to creating strong relationships based on trust and love.

However, sometimes relationships start to falter no matter how hard you work at them.

And sometimes those challenges are due to unbalanced dynamics among certain members causing conflicts between each other within that group or individual relationships because everyone has a different way of reacting to situations in life.

9. Seek professional help:

In extreme cases, sometimes getting advice from professionals is beneficial. Because some advice offered by psychologists seems counterintuitive at first glance.

But after thinking about it carefully and applying these strategies for a while actually works very well in keeping your relationships positive, happy, and healthy despite previous rejections or breakups.

This could include changing your attitude towards life or determining whether certain psychological problems exist – For example excessive shyness due to lack of confidence and deep down-fear of being abandoned despite how many times you were already abandoned.

10. Learn to forgive or respect yourself and move on:

Even if you try your best to be friends with someone who rejected you. It’s better to reevaluate your situation.

Another main source of disappointment people feels after rejection occurs is when they blame themselves for it, thinking they could have somehow handled things differently or done better had they chosen otherwise.

Hope you can finally resolve things in a positive way.

Just remember that when someone who is close to you rejects you and hurts you continuously have no intention of being with you or treats you in a disrespectful manner, it’s time to stop talking to them and leave that friendship behind.

It’s time to move on and learn from your mistakes so it doesn’t happen again.

When it comes down to losing respect for someone and growing apart from them, it’s not hard but sometimes it is easier said than done.

Recommended reading:

How to make someone fall in love with you? (According to psychology and science)

How to get someone to like you? (complete guide)

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Experienced Psychology and philosophy Writer, self-help and relationship Coach and thought influencer. He has 7 years of experience in Personal development industry. His expertise as a self-help and relationship Coach has been highlighted through his articles in medium and substack to name a few. To be updated with his latest work, connect with him by following his social media accounts.

2 thoughts on “How to stay friends with someone who rejected you? (10 Best Tips)”

  1. I was rejected by a guy I tried being his friend but he wasn’t really a good friend he wasn’t always honest he said he was in class when he was with his girlfriend he wasn’t reliable either so not really a good thing for a friendship I had to end the friendship it ended kinda badly I regret that but I have no regrets about ending the friendship at all he just wasn’t the kind of friend I needed usually I never stay friends with any guy that rejects me

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  2. No man should accept being put in the Friendzone a. Because you have to watch her hook-up with other guys and b. You’re Betraying yourself. Let’s say you and said girl just so happened to be walking alone at night and get “attacked,” You’re then expected to lay your life on the line for her, possibly ending your life, legacy and bloodline, so she can go back to her apartment and have sex with somebody else. You’re better than that. Just say “No” to the Friendzone.

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