Boy oh boy did you both just hit the nail squarely on the head. I just had this discussion with my friend last night at dinner. They do still love us but their pride is in their way. In some weird way, it is almost as if looking like a fool is easier than accepting that they made a mistake.
I once asked ex if he loved me why he kept up his current ways. Amazingly he said that he did not know. Could have been a lie but I was inclined to believe him based on the vacant look in his eyes.
A harsher reality is that we may never know why exactly things got so out of hand.
