With a mature social media post that was less an announcement than an ode to friendship, Sushmita Sen proved that relationships that run their course don’t have to do it on a bitter note. Amicable break-ups are real and possible. The 46-year-old actor posted a selfie on Instagram with former handsome Rohman Shawl on Thursday after reports surfaced about the two separating.

“We started as friends, we remain friends !! The relationship was long over… the love remains !! Sen wrote, with hashtags “more speculation” and “cherished memories”.

Sen’s post was rather unexpected and wonderful, as it’s rare for an actor as important as her to step into the limelight and confirm or deny the buzz around something as personal as their romantic life. But Sen, a longtime inspiration to women around the world, has always taken a path outside the mainstream. She embraced motherhood through adoption in her twenties, has dared to overturn the “age rule” in relationships by dating a younger man, and is an icon for living on her own terms.

So it’s no surprise, when you think about it, that she went public with her breakup in the most dignified way.

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As first reported by ETimes, citing a source, Sen and Shawl had ended their three-year relationship, which prompted Shawl to leave Sen’s house where he lived with her and her two daughters, Renee and Alisah. Rumors of their split had already surfaced in February, but the couple had, it was believed, appeared to confirm that they were still together after being spotted in Mumbai.

When you think of breakups, first thoughts are never about friendship. For years we have heard and seen couples breaking away from hostility. It seems like the only natural and plausible option when the relationship breaks down for hurtful reasons; when a partner cheats, for example. It is futile to lecture that breakups in such cases should be friendly because really, can they ever be? Is there room to make accommodations when one partner breaks another’s trust?

This is subjective and has no right or wrong answer.

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But that doesn’t mean that all the dividers are painted with the same brush. Even without neglecting the wounds that fester, many people in relationships today choose to remain calm and witty as they take stock of the status they find themselves in. “Okay, where do we go from here?” Lucid decision-making, while difficult, becomes imperative at times like these when the goal is to alleviate additional grief as much as possible.

And then there are couples who opt for mutual partings, transcending the general perception that two former partners cannot continue to be friends long after the ship of romance has left the ship. Does this make the circumstances of love simpler? May be. Is everyone equipped to take this great road? Absolutely not.

Modern relationships, however, attempt to break the mold. Love is a happy place and accepts variations – casual encounters, long-term relationships, marriage, celibacy, passionate crushes. The experiences are unlimited and not limiting. The end of a route does not mean that the journey is over. It just means that another thrilling adventure awaits you around the corner.

The opinions expressed are those of the author.