The older I get, and the more I personally grow the more I struggle with absolutes like this. I have an ex girlfriend who I adore, still. Yes, I do love her dearly. I am not still in love with her, but she is one of my closest friends and I wouldn't give that up for anything. But we no longer have sex and we aren't in a romantic relationship. But we still hang out, we have lunch/dinner when we can. And we talk regularly. She just got to a point where her other relationship (with a guy) doesn't accommodate her being poly/open, so what she had with us didn't work for her any longer and we are okay with that.

But I can't imagine not being a part of her life in some way, and she feels the same way. So, we are back to being the friends we were before we became something else.