My stbx does the same exact thing. I think they just want to believe that we are OK with what is happening. They want to believe everything is great and we can still be special friends with them. I know it's crazy, but so are they! They don't want to feel guilty or want to hurt us intentionally.
They will miss that interaction with you but it takes them time to miss it before they realize they had our total attention at one time.
"It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare." -Mark Twain
