Be honest

“Honesty goes a long way when you are trying to rebuild a relationship,” says Jennifer Boon, Life Coach and author of Survive & Thrive: Dating and being single (www.booncoaching.com). Using ‘I’ instead of ‘you’ statements can help reduce the emotional charge and feelings of blame.

“You may both decide upon a zero-tolerance policy on all lying,” says Jennifer. “This means both people must be honest about even those small day-to-day things. If we can’t trust our friend or partner to tell the truth about something trivial, how can we trust them on more serious issues? This must be met with appreciation and understanding to really work. If it’s met with anger, blame or criticism then we’re teaching the other person that it’s safer and easier to lie.”