--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why are old lovers able to become…" description: "\"Why are old lovers able to become friends? Two reasons. They never truly loved each other, or they love each other still\" — Whitney Otto" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6af/whitney-otto-16621_exes_why-are-old-lovers-able-to-become-friend_901348.jpg" --- # Why are old lovers able to become friends? Two reasons… ![“Why are old lovers able to become friends? Two reasons. They never truly loved each other, or they love each other still” quote by Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6af/whitney-otto-16621_exes_why-are-old-lovers-able-to-become-friend_901348.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6af/whitney-otto-16621_exes_why-are-old-lovers-able-to-become-friend_901348.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6af/whitney-otto-16621_exes_why-are-old-lovers-able-to-become-friend_901348.jpg) > “Why are old lovers able to become friends? Two reasons. They never truly loved each other, or they love each other still” [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Old lovers can stay friends if love was never true or if love persists beyond romance. **In simple terms:** Friends after love if love was false or still present. Key Takeaway Accept evolving relationships. Themes relationships friendship love Mood thoughtful nostalgic Type relationship philosophical When to use this quote - post‑breakup - long‑term friendships Key Concepts emotional maturity boundaries Questions to Reflect On - Can true love become platonic? - How do you navigate lingering feelings? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exes/) [Friends Reasons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends-reasons-1244447/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Lovers Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers-able-1244446/) [Old Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-lovers-1244445/) [Truly love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-love/) ## Related quotes > [“You describe her as an Eden. This rare, unknowable place. Distant. And you tell me to wear her skin but I refuse. I shift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkem-ezinne-orjiako/you-describe-her-as-an-eden-this-rare-unknowable-place-distant-and/) [Nkem Ezinne Orjiako](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkem-ezinne-orjiako/) > [“If we cannot persuade our friends by reasons we must be content "and not bring a mercenary army to our aid" (He meant passions.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/if-we-cannot-persuade-our-friends-by-reasons-we-must-be-content-and/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Fake Friends- Never Ask for food Real Friends are the reasons why you dont have food. Ect...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fake-friends-never-ask-for-food-real-friends-are-the-reasons-why-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“dear old friends, dear old lovers, do you realize that when you voted for Trump, you voted against me—against the memory of the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/dear-old-friends-dear-old-lovers-do-you-realize-that-when-you-voted/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [Is not old wine wholesomest, old pippins toothsomest, old wood burns brightest, old linen wash whitest? Old soldiers, sweetheart, are surest, and old lovers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/is-not-old-wine-wholesomest-old-pippins-toothsomest-old-wood-burns/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [“Safe Sex If he and she do not know each other, and feel confident they will not meet again; if he avoids affectionate words;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-hall/safe-sex-if-he-and-she-do-not-know-each-other-and-feel-confident-they/) [Donald Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-hall/) > [“And I thought to myself how those fast little articles forget everything, everything, while we, old lovers, treasure every inch of their nymphancy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-i-thought-to-myself-how-those-fast-little-articles-forget/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Old lovers go the way of old photographs, bleaching out gradually as in a slow bath of acid: first the moles and pimples, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/old-lovers-go-the-way-of-old-photographs-bleaching-out-gradually-as/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“What is love but a nostalgia for someones history? Their boyhood haunts and sullen adolescence, their teenage trips cross-country and fights with their fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darcey-steinke/what-is-love-but-a-nostalgia-for-someones-history-their-boyhood/) [Darcey Steinke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darcey-steinke/) > [That's the thing about letting old lovers go. You don't stop loving some of them. There are a couple you love no less than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/that-s-the-thing-about-letting-old-lovers-go-you-don-t-stop-loving/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [The thing about aging is all your old lovers, pretty much if they were really friends, become your family. It's great. You have those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-thing-about-aging-is-all-your-old-lovers-pretty-much-if-they-were/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Is not old wine wholesomest, old pippins toothsomest, old wood burn brightest, old linen wash whitest? Old soldiers, sweethearts, are surest, and old lovers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-webster/is-not-old-wine-wholesomest-old-pippins-toothsomest-old-wood-burn/) [John Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-webster/) > [Jacques Brel's 'Song Of Old Lovers' - 'La Chanson Des Vieux Amants' - to me it's the greatest love song ever. It's untouchable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-savoretti/jacques-brel-s-song-of-old-lovers-la-chanson-des-vieux-amants-to-me/) [Jack Savoretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-savoretti/) > [The great renunciation of old age as it prepared for death, wraps itself up in its chrysalis, which may be observed at the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-great-renunciation-of-old-age-as-it-prepared-for-death-wraps/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“The process which had begun in her - and in he a little earlier only than it must come to all of us -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-process-which-had-begun-in-her-and-in-he-a-little-earlier-only/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) ## More by Whitney Otto > [“But any picture could deal with the problem of light. The problem with this picture is greater than that of reflective surfaces - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-any-picture-could-deal-with-the-problem-of-light-the-problem-with/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“S\_\_\_ likes being around other people; she just isn't particularly comfortable talking to them. She supposes that she is some variety of voyeur, enjoying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/s-likes-being-around-other-people-she-just-isn-t-particularly/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“You have to choose your combinations careful. The right choices will enhance your quilt. The wrong choices will dull the colors and hide their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/you-have-to-choose-your-combinations-careful-the-right-choices-will/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“If I photograph you in the shadows, you become mysterious, perhaps unknowable. If I light you from above, so your eyelashes throw shadows on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/if-i-photograph-you-in-the-shadows-you-become-mysterious-perhaps/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“I have an affection for those transitional seasons, the way they take the edge off the intense cold of winter, or heat of summer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/i-have-an-affection-for-those-transitional-seasons-the-way-they-take/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“…that would be too much like running away, and that, she would not do. She does not run—they cannot make her—she walks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/that-would-be-too-much-like-running-away-and-that-she-would-not-do/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“Julius explained that the palace rooms where they stood were called Wunderkammers, or wonder rooms. Souvenirs of nature, of travels across continents and seas;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/julius-explained-that-the-palace-rooms-where-they-stood-were-called/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“If the photographer isn't going to pay attention to the picture he is making, that if he thinks the camera is just a machine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/if-the-photographer-isn-t-going-to-pay-attention-to-the-picture-he-is/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“She remembered her fingers threaded through his hair and his kisses in places that made her long for him years later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/she-remembered-her-fingers-threaded-through-his-hair-and-his-kisses/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“No one knows how another person feels in private.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/no-one-knows-how-another-person-feels-in-private/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“No one fights dirtier or more brutally than blood; only family knows it’s own weaknesses, the exact placement of the heart. The tragedy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/no-one-fights-dirtier-or-more-brutally-than-blood-only-family-knows/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“She believed, as others did, that a camera was good for more than recording the world. A photograph wasn't a response to something; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/she-believed-as-others-did-that-a-camera-was-good-for-more-than/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“...but she never knew what it was like to walk away from the thing she had most wanted. Years later she would say, "Photography…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/but-she-never-knew-what-it-was-like-to-walk-away-from-the-thing-she/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“Money buys things that people with money never even realize they’ve bought, like time and freedom. -- Whitney Otto”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/money-buys-things-that-people-with-money-never-even-realize-they-ve/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) > [“That is the true challenge--to work within a narrow confine. To accept what you cannot have; that from which you cannot deviate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-otto/that-is-the-true-challenge-to-work-within-a-narrow-confine-to-accept/) [Whitney Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) [Explore all 39 Whitney Otto quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-otto/) ## More Exes quotes > [“There are exes with whom it is too dangerous to allow even a moment’s eye contact. These are not exes at all, and never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-wagner/there-are-exes-with-whom-it-is-too-dangerous-to-allow-even-a-moment-s/) [Josh Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-wagner/) > [There was a man named Robert Dear who in court said he was a warrior for the babies, whose ex-wife talked about his Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/there-was-a-man-named-robert-dear-who-in-court-said-he-was-a-warrior/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [Some of my best sources are ex-policemen, just to get a feeling of what it's like to be one. And it's quite different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/some-of-my-best-sources-are-ex-policemen-just-to-get-a-feeling-of/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Ex-Professor Moriarty of mathematical celebrity... is the Napoleon of crime, Watson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/ex-professor-moriarty-of-mathematical-celebrity-is-the-napoleon-of/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [“When you enter your next relationship, you become the person you split up with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-barreca/when-you-enter-your-next-relationship-you-become-the-person-you-split/) [Gina Barreca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-barreca/) > [ I remember having some problems with \[the Deus Ex theme\] when I first heard it and I was trying to figure out how to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-spector/i-remember-having-some-problems-with-the-deus-ex-theme-when-i-first/) [Warren Spector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-spector/) > [My ex-wife was trying to be nice once, so she took me to a concert in Los Angeles. I went with her to Symphony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-b-king/my-ex-wife-was-trying-to-be-nice-once-so-she-took-me-to-a-concert-in/) [B. B. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-b-king/) > [I hate when exes say, I'm here if you need me. Bitch, Where the fuck were you when we were together? Fuck outta here!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-when-exes-say-i-m-here-if-you-need-me-bitch-where-the-fuck/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The drink? Yes, I've had tough times in my life, especially the last year, regarding my ex-wife, my kids, I nearly broke my neck,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gascoigne/the-drink-yes-i-ve-had-tough-times-in-my-life-especially-the-last/) [Paul Gascoigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gascoigne/) > [Former lefties can make a good living in the media by attacking their ex-comrades - I'd do it myself if the price was right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cohen/former-lefties-can-make-a-good-living-in-the-media-by-attacking-their/) [Nick Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cohen/) > [There's this whole post-modern, nuevo beatnik, retro-bohemian thing going on, you know what I mean? 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