: : can ex-lovers be friends? : :

can somebody give me a straight forward answer to this very common question of all time?

what's a friend?
* A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
* A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
* A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
* One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement:

what's a lover?
* One who loves another... platonic or otherwise
* lovers - A couple in love with each other.
and an ex-lover would be one that is obviously none of the above mentioned...

by defining the two words and pointing out what they are in the most simplest context, is it really possible to equate them as one?
ex-lover = friend
how?

an ex-lover is an acquaintance... so you know your ex-lover... or at least you though you knew that person... after such realisation (for most of us), the liking and the loving eventually stops. and it follows that trust disintegrate and collapses...
betrayal comes in. where does camaradarie come in?
so for one to be a friend, you have to at least like him a bit right? or trust him a bit?
so how then?
tell me.
Just How?