<human>: I was originally going to title this something like "How do I fall out of love?" but I could already sense the sad assurances that nothing can help with that, which would be right.

Basically, 3 years ago, I was in a relationship with a man that ended very abruptly and badly. Long story short, the entirety of our relationship was hidden from a girl who had in fact been seeing him first. I told her, we both broke it off. But although he and I broke up, neither of us has made any secret of the fact that we are still in love with each other, and it has made us stay almost as close as we were in a relationship for fear of losing each other.

I do know that this isn't healthy. I'm now in a relationship with a wonderful man who is everything I could ever ask for, and I can tell that this closeness of mine with my ex makes him uncomfortable, though he'll vehemently deny it.

I have wanted for a very long time to distance myself from this ex because I'm so aware both personally and through what other people say of how ludicrous and unhealthy my attachment to him still is. But love sucks.. I'm still in love with him despite my awareness that he's a manipulative douche.

I just wanted some advice on how I can make the process of pushing him away to a more distant, appropriate level easier. I've tried before and I just end up losing all will and just letting him stay as close.

I love my boyfriend and I just desperately want to do what's right for his sake, as well as help with my own emotions in respect to this ex.

Provide a brief overview of the text.
<bot>: I want to distance myself from my ex, but have so far been too weak to do so. Any help would be much appreciated.