Talk to your friend about what is happening.

Let your friend know that you are talking to her ex-boyfriend.

When this is a close friend, the last thing you want is to blindside her by suddenly showing up somewhere arm in arm with her ex-boyfriend.

This would be a shock to your friend and isn’t fair on her.

It’s different when you tell your friend that you are talking to her ex-boyfriend.

By letting her in on this, you get to gauge how she feels about it.

It is better for your friend to know early on that you are talking to her ex-boyfriend than to keep her in the dark.

At this stage, it is early.

You don’t know whether romance is imminent.

But at least, you have made your friend aware that you are talking to her ex-boyfriend.

This being said, be sensitive to how your friend reacts to this news.

When a breakup is fresh, it takes a while to get over the emotional repercussions.

When a breakup is old, there are better odds that she is over the emotional repercussions.

How long has it been since she broke up with her ex-boyfriend?

It’s wise to take it slow if the breakup has been recent and your friend is grappling with the emotional repercussions of it.

Ask yourself about what relationship you prioritize.

Is your relationship with your friend more valuable to you than the prospect of dating her ex-boyfriend?

If it is, and your friend reacts negatively to the knowledge you are talking to her ex-boyfriend, don’t be too quick to start dating him.

True, in doing this, you risk losing out on dating him in the event he is impatient in wanting to date you sooner, but that is a price you have to pay.

In choosing to date your friend’s ex-boyfriend while she is wrapped up in emotional turmoil from a recent breakup with him, you put a strain on your relationship with your friend.

A strain that is liable to end the friendship.

To reiterate, if your relationship with your friend is more valuable to you than the prospect of dating her ex-boyfriend, it’s best to wait on dating her ex-boyfriend.

As of now, inform her that you are talking to him, but there hasn’t been an official date.

In time, the hope is that your friend meets someone new and moves on emotionally, or that she moves on emotionally on her own.

Until she gets here emotionally, it isn’t worth it to date her ex-boyfriend.

Don’t mislead yourself into thinking that you can eat your cake and have it too.

As long as you are dating her ex-boyfriend, she is going to be affected whenever you show up with him arm in arm.

The sight of this makes her reluctant to keep hanging out with you, out of the fear that he so happens to be there or that you mention him, which triggers hurtful memories.

On top of this, it feels like betrayal.

All of this is predicated on a scenario where she isn’t over her ex-boyfriend emotionally.

In a scenario where you tell your friend that you are talking to her ex-boyfriend, and she has since gotten over the breakup emotionally, there is no time limit on how long you are supposed to wait until it’s okay to date her ex-boyfriend.

You are free to do it whenever that moment arrives.