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April 17, 2025 13 mins

The Strawberry Letter for Thursday, April 17th, 2025: "He Said It Was A Break, Not A Breakup"

A woman writes in after finding out that her longtime boyfriend was not faithful while they were on a "break". She confronted him and was upset by his noncommittal attitude. She wants to know if she should stay of leave. Listen to Steve & Shirley's responses! 

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It is time now for today's Strawberry Letter, and if
you need advice on relationships, dating, work, sex, parenting, and more,
please submit your Strawberry Letter to STEVEARBFM dot com and
click submit Strawberry Letter. We could be reading your letter
live on the air, just like we're going to read
this one right here, right now, and you never know,
it could be yours, he.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Could be yours. Buckle up it, hold on time. We
got it for you. Here it is Strawberry Letter.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
All right, nephew, thank you. Subject He said it was
a break not a breakup. Dear Stephen Shirley, I was
in a relationship for seven years with a man that
sent mixed signals. I chose to leave a relationship, and
I don't think that he cares. He told a mutual
friend that we broke up a lot and got back together.
I thought we were taking breaks, not breaking up. He

(00:46):
would tell me that he needed some time to himself,
and I would give him a week or two to
go back to his own home and take care of
his personal affairs without me. He told our mutual friend
about the times you went on vacation without me, and
he meant lots of beautiful ladies overseas. He told our
friend that he considered marrying one of the ladies he
met in Columbia, but she didn't want to move to

(01:07):
the US. When I asked my boyfriend about everything I
had heard, he did not deny any of it and
said he was relieved that everything was out in the open.
He gave me a pep talk about being a sweet
and caring woman and how I deserve someone better than him.
He apologized for wasting my time, and he said he
would do better if I decided to stay with him,

(01:27):
or I could choose myself and leave him for good.
I was stunned by his quote take it or leave
it attitude about our relationship. I gave the best years
of my life to him, and now I'm past the
age of having babies. So if I start over with
someone new, the man would have to accept the fact
that I cannot have children. Part of me wants to
make lemonade out of lemons and stay with this man,

(01:50):
and another part of me is saying I can do better.
But can I really? My single friends say that dating
is harder than it's ever been. This man actually considered
marrying another woman while we were on a break, So
can he be trusted to straighten up and be the
man that I need?

Speaker 3 (02:08):
What should I do here?

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Well, I got to tell you that this is one
of the first letters that I can say right from
the start, leave him, leave him.

Speaker 4 (02:18):
All very first time you said that, Newslash just wanted
to say that.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
First time I've said it this early.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Okay, everything you said is true, and everything you said
is real in this letter. You got to stop trying
to make it into something else it's not. He's never
been for you, and he was only with you when
it was convenient for him. Seven years in this relationship.
You left and he didn't even care. Those weren't mixed
signals he was sending you. It was the truth. You

(02:46):
just chose to ignore all the red flags. He never
once denied anything you accused, hi mob, and he expressed
relief that everything is out in the open now, so.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
It should be crystal clear to.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
You, no more mixed signals now that he doesn't give
a darn.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
He doesn't.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
He apologized for wasting your time and basically said that
you should choose.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
Yourself and not him. So stop right there.

Speaker 1 (03:09):
You cannot make lemons out of this lemonade mess he's
given you. You gave him seven years. That is enough.
Now that you know the real Please don't think that
you can. You know that you can't do better. You
can do better and all of this. Just leave his
trifling button.

Speaker 4 (03:27):
Steve Well, this letter right here is actually mistitled because
the title of the letter is he said it was
a break, not a breakup. No, you said it was
a break he broke up. Yeah, because it says this

(03:47):
all the way through the letter. Now, I want to
point out something. You were in this relationship for seven
years with a man that sent mixed signals for seven years.

Speaker 2 (04:01):
How did it take.

Speaker 4 (04:02):
You seven years of mixed signals before you got the signal?
I don't understand, ma'am. Ladies, if you're getting constantly mixed
signals from a guy, what should that tell you? I mean,
he told a mutual friend that we broke up a

(04:22):
lot and got back together. I thought we were taking breaks.
How many times have I said on this show that
men don't do on and off again relationships?

Speaker 3 (04:32):
A million times?

Speaker 4 (04:33):
Ladies, We do not do on again off again. You can,
but we don't. When you go off and we and
you say we off again, we go get on with
somebody else. Men don't need breaks from sex. We need

(04:55):
break from drama. And when we get to break from drama,
we go fix the drama with some sex.

Speaker 2 (05:05):
I don't know how sex is the healer.

Speaker 3 (05:11):
You've said it a million times, you have.

Speaker 4 (05:13):
It's it's whatever you need. It's it's the advil. It's
the time of all. Listen day quill and not quill.
It's it's suit of fed it's it's it's it's it's
it's ieboop ho forri.

Speaker 3 (05:25):
It's it's just it's everythavorite than a cyling.

Speaker 4 (05:30):
It's your fan, it's pen of cyling. They don't even
have that no more. No, it's all of that. That's
what it is. So we when you're doing talking about
we own again.

Speaker 2 (05:41):
Off again. He off with you so he can be
owned somewhere else.

Speaker 4 (05:46):
He would tell me that he needed some time to himself,
and I would give him a week or two go
back to his own, to his own home and take
care of some personal fans without me.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
What are you talking about? He need to leave you
at home.

Speaker 4 (05:59):
Go down there.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
He signed the shoes papers. He didn't lead on. Go
down there and meet to taccusultant.

Speaker 4 (06:05):
He told a mutual friend about the times he went
on vacation without me and he met lots of beautiful
women overseas. He told our friend that he considered married
one of these ladies he met in Columbia, but she
ain't want to move to the US. And then I
asked him about everything I heard. He didn't deny any
of it and said he was relieved that everything was
out in the open.

Speaker 2 (06:23):
You know why.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
He was relieved that everything was in the open so
you could finally read the mixed.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
Signals that he was sending you.

Speaker 4 (06:32):
He was sending you the mixed signals, and you wasn't
getting the message.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
You thought it was Morris cold.

Speaker 1 (06:39):
Hang on, we'll have part two of your response coming up.
At twenty three minutes after the hour, Steve the Today's
Strawberry Letters subject. He said, it was a break now
a breakup. We'll get back into it right after this.
You're listening Steve Harvey Morning Show.

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Speaker 1 (07:30):
All right, come on, see let's recap today's strawberry letter.
The subject he said it was a break, not a breakup.

Speaker 4 (07:37):
He said it was a break and not a breakup
is the wrong title of this letter, because he told
you you thought it was a break, but for him,
it was on again, off again. And I've told y'all
me and don't do on again off again. We off
with you, but we go we get off with you
and go on with somebody else because we need to sumbody.

Speaker 2 (08:00):
Else to heal us.

Speaker 4 (08:02):
The healing power of eyebu pos, the.

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Healing power of night, quill, day quill, ad.

Speaker 4 (08:10):
Vil, p M, suit of fed and like Shirley said,
my favorite penicilla, Nothing like it because when I was
growing up, pensilic could fix anything. He don't do nothing,
no more nothing. They got stuff. Now you can't even
do it. You ain't hear everybody the whole COVID thing.
Nobody said nothing about no penicilla.

Speaker 2 (08:32):
I was looking for him. Why don't break out the
penicilla because it works for.

Speaker 3 (08:38):
Everything everything else?

Speaker 4 (08:41):
Yeah, we got COVID. Why ain't nobody drinking cast or
what the hell going on?

Speaker 2 (08:46):
Because it didn't elevated. Now he'd have told your mutual friends.

Speaker 4 (08:49):
While he was off, and you thought he needed time
to go back to his hometown and get some business
taken care of him. Don't need no time to go
take care of no business. We got emails. You can
do everything over the phone. Now you doc you signed, and.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
All this help.

Speaker 4 (09:02):
Then he told about the time he went on vacation
without me and met lots of beautiful women overseas. He
told our friends he considered mad one of the ladies
he met in Columbia, but she didn't want to move
to the US. Columbia got some beautiful women. But let
me highly recommend that you don't get no woman from Columbia.
I can't go to Columbia because I never set foot
in Columbia again. After I said the wrong name. They've

(09:24):
been looking for me ever since. So clearly, I don't
care how beautiful any we're not gonna be in Columbia.

Speaker 2 (09:30):
Let's just stop this right here. Don't let that beauty
fool you down there.

Speaker 4 (09:34):
It's extravagant beauty, but don't go down there. And please,
if you go down there, don't mention my name. That's
all I'm saying. When I asked my boyfriend about everything
I heard, he didn't deny any of it, and he
said it was relieved that everything was in the open.
You know why he was relieved because you are finally

(09:55):
getting the message he was sending to you with the
mixed second, Ladies, mixed signals are what we give to
you as hints. Mixed signals is what we give to
you as hints. That part because one day we'll be

(10:18):
able to say I.

Speaker 3 (10:19):
Told you, yeah.

Speaker 2 (10:22):
Or I never told you.

Speaker 4 (10:25):
If he's never told you he wants to get married
to you. If he said to you, I'd like to
one day get married, but he don't say to you,
that's a mixed sickness.

Speaker 3 (10:37):
Okay, got it.

Speaker 4 (10:40):
If he said to you, I want to fall in
love with someone, but he ain't never told you he
in love with you, that's a hint. So all through
this thing, he been dropping my hip. Then he apologized.
Then he said he gave me a pep talk about
being a sweetened can woman and how I deserve somebody
better than him, and he apologized for wasting my time.

Speaker 2 (11:03):
He said he would do.

Speaker 4 (11:04):
Better if I decided to stay with him, or I
could choose myself and leave him for good. Another mixed
signal line, guess what he said?

Speaker 2 (11:12):
He said that he would do.

Speaker 4 (11:15):
Better, but see better better than what see When the
man said I do better better?

Speaker 2 (11:22):
What?

Speaker 4 (11:23):
No, you either gonna straighten up and do right. Don't
give me this. I'm gonna do better. You gonna change
how you don't need to do better? You need a change.
He never gave you that. He said, if you decided
to stay with him or choose myself and leave him
for good. Another mixed signal. I can do what you
areout you do. I was stunned by his taking a

(11:44):
leave of attitude about our relationship. I gave him the
best years of my life to him, and now I'm
past the age of having babies. So if I started
with somebody, knew the man would have to accept that
I cannot have children.

Speaker 1 (11:56):
Okay, oh okay.

Speaker 4 (12:01):
So.

Speaker 2 (12:03):
That can't be your problem. See now you can't.

Speaker 4 (12:06):
Now you're creating a scenario in your head to justify
staying with him, because if I give with somebody else
and you can't have kids with him, so.

Speaker 2 (12:16):
What difference do with me?

Speaker 4 (12:19):
You're nothing to have no more kids. Part of me
wants to make lemonade out of lemons? How Charlie said
it best? How and stay with this man? And another
part of me is saying I can do better? Okay?
But can I really?

Speaker 5 (12:38):
Yep?

Speaker 4 (12:39):
Well, let me ask you a question. Can I really what?
You don't think? This is worse?

Speaker 3 (12:46):
For seven years?

Speaker 2 (12:48):
Can I do better than this?

Speaker 4 (12:50):
Worst mixed signal go nowhere relationship I'm in?

Speaker 2 (12:54):
Can I do better? But?

Speaker 4 (12:56):
Can I really? My single friends say that the dating
is harder than it's ever been. Yeah, it might be
that's true. This man actually considered marrying another woman. Why
we won't break? So can he be trusted to straighten
up and be the man that I need? What should
I do here? He gonna find somebody else too, Because
when he says I'm gonna do better, you know what

(13:16):
he might be telling you I'm gonna do I'm gonna
do better at cheat, all right, Next time I cheat,
I'm not gonna tell no mutual friends, and then they'll
never tell you, and then we'll keep these mixed signals going.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
Girl, leave him smile sho.

Speaker 1 (13:32):
Post your comments on today's Strawberry Letter at Steve BARBFM
on Instagram and Facebook, and check out the Strawberry Letter
podcast on the free iHeartRadio app forre it never sounded
so good.

Speaker 3 (13:42):
You can download it today.

Speaker 1 (13:44):
Coming up in forty six minutes after the hour, we'll
have junior and sports talk.

Speaker 3 (13:48):
Right after this. You're listening to the Steve Harvey Morning Show.
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Host

Shirley Strawberry

Shirley Strawberry

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