Apologizing via Text
You have the benefit of being able to get all of the wording exactly right. In addition, they don’t have the pressure to accept your apology on the spot and can take as much time they need to process what you had to say. But, waiting on their reply can be hard, right?
Here are some ideas to get you started . . .
“I am an idiot. A really, really, really sorry idiot. You were right. Please forgive me.”
“I messed up. When you’re ready, can we please talk face to face? I owe you about a hundred apologies.”
“I should never have [fill in the blank]. I’m so sorry I hurt you, and I promise I will not be so thoughtless again. Please forgive me.”
“I’ve had some time to cool down and I realized I what I said/did was wrong. I acted so poorly and I am so sorry. I hear what you said and I am ready to make the changes you need. Forgive me?”
Three things every apology needs . . .
1.) Humility. There’s no room for pride in an apology.
2.) Validation. You hurt your partner, so let them know you see it and knowledge their feelings.
3.) Concrete promises of changed future behavior. Apologies are just empty words if there aren’t actual behavioral changes to back them up.