I'm 29F. My boyfriend and I have been together since the age of 21. We were both each other's firsts. For 6 years, we were good together. We never really talked about the future, marriage etc, just enjoyed our time together. After 6 years, we broke up because I didn't know if I was ready to get married. Also because I had no relationship experience and I felt like he wasn't emotionally expressive enough, and I need affection in ways that he couldn't provide (words of affirmation, cuddles, kisses etc). I should say that we were and still are best friends. He's a nice person, no matter what he's been my rock, he's basically been the one constant person in my life ever since we've met.
Anyway, we broke up amicably due to these reasons. I started dating another guy for 5 months. This new guy was everything that I thought I needed, he was sensitive, expressed emotion, we had a lot of common interests etc. I fell hard, got attached and then he pulled away big time. We had an argument about this, and he broke up with me very callously saying he's still in love with his ex.
I was heartbroken. I obviously went back to my previous bf (he hadn't dated anyone seriously in the time). I told him about everything and he was very understanding. I realized how I was just throwing away everything and how rare it is to be with someone who just loves you for who you are. I _know_ I love him, but I feel like we've become roommates/best friends instead of partners. The spark is gone, we don't have sex anymore. I still have feelings for that other guy who dumped me. I know for a fact that I would not want to reconcile with him, I feel like if time had progressed I would have done the same to him since I do love my boyfriend and I did miss him the time we were broken up, that it was just the honeymoon phase and we were not a good match anyway. My boyfriend is aware of my feelings and we both want it to work.
I'm not sure what to do here. I don't want another relationship, I just want what my boyfriend and I used to have before we broke up. Breaking up was a mistake because now I have caught feelings for another person, but if we hadn't broken up I would not have realised what true love means. Relationships take work and I gave up on him. How do I get the feelings back? We are both trying to work on things we felt were lacking before. He's trying to be more vocal about emotions, more affectionate, and I'm trying not to take it so hard if he doesn't because everyone's love languages are different. I certainly cannot imagine life with anyone else, we make each other laugh everyday, have 2 cats together and it's everything a relationship should have - love, respect, etc. I don't want to have feelings for that other person who dumped me like that. I know it's because of "rejection", you want the things you can't have. If he were to come begging back I wouldn't even talk to him.
Help me, please.
I see my friends struggling through abusive relationships, and I can't believe I threw it all away.