Narcissists have a habit of quickly moving between relationships: courting, manipulating, and then discarding their prey. It is natural for those who have suffered discard to wonder if a narcissist ever regrets their decision to throw us away.
Narcissists typically do not regret their discard of previous friends or lovers. When a narcissist loses interest, you cease to be of value to them, and they don’t feel empathy for other people’s hurt. Occasionally a narcissist will act like they regret leaving if they were unable to find anyone better than you.
Still confused. Here is everything you need to know about what a narcissist discards you and how they feel about you after.
Why Narcissists Don’t Regret Leaving You
For a narcissist, every relationship they are in is a type of business transaction for them. They want something out of you (narcissistic supply) whether it be the status of being seen with you, money, influence, or just drama and excitement.
Once these rewards fade for them, or you prove to be a poor target for their manipulation techniques making you an inconsistent source of narcissistic supply, they will move on without a second thought.
Even when they are in a relationship that seems strong to you, the narcissist will continuously be looking for ways to trade up. Cheating and juggling multiple lovers is common among narcissists:
Why a Narcissist Would Pretend to Miss You
Sometimes, a narcissist’s plan to trade up doesn’t work out the way they hoped. Eventually, they realize that you were the better option for them or the open door they once had closed.
In these cases, a narcissist will pull out all the stops and overwhelm you with love bombs to get you back. Make no mistake that these “feelings.” are entirely theater to manipulate you back into their lives.
Even if a narcissist professes profound regret, you must not believe them. They will have no trouble discarding you again in the future, should another attractive replacement show their head.
Related Questions
Do narcs ever regret a discard?
It is rare for a narcissist to regret discarding someone, although they may come back expressing regret if they couldn’t find anyone better to latch on to. Genuine remorse is difficult for a narcissist to feel because of their lack of emotional development, but they are experts at acting as if they feel it.
What happens when you ignore the narcissist after the discard?
Typically, a narcissist will not care if you ignore them after they discarded you, because they have moved on to new prey. In some cases, they may not have entirely discarded you, and are just playing hot and cold, in which case ignoring them will likely lead them to attempt to “hoover” you back on to the relationship.
Does the narcissist think about you after discard?
Narcissists don’t think about other people much and typically only care about themselves. After discard, when you are no longer in their lives, a narcissist is not likely to think about you or miss you. At most, they might compare their current situation with you in the past to be confident they are getting a better deal.
