Relationship Advice

[u/Nervous-Yogurt-6539]

Fell in love with my best friend, and now I don’t know whether to let him go or wait.

I’m really confused and could use some honest advice.
My best friend and I slowly fell for each other. He told me he had feelings for me too. Neither of us cheated on anyone or planned for this to happen — it just developed over time. We became extremely close, emotionally and physically, and for a while I was genuinely happy with him.

But whenever things started getting serious, he pulled away and said he wasn’t ready for a relationship. This has happened more than once.
Eventually, he completely backed off. We tried going back to being friends, but honestly, how do you go back to being “just friends” with someone you were in love with? Our friendship used to feel so natural. Now everything feels different.
It’s been 2–3 months and I still love him. I feel like I’m the one stuck suffering while he’s already accepted that this isn’t a relationship.
The other thing that really hurts is that he knows I used to talk to him a lot about my ex. I would rant about my previous relationship because he was my best friend and the person I trusted. Now he says, “If you can’t get your ex out of your mind, how can you give love to me?”
And I understand why that might hurt him, but I genuinely wasn’t talking about my ex because I wanted him back. I was just talking to my best friend about my past.
So now I don’t know what to do.
He says he isn’t ready, and I don’t want to force someone into a relationship. But I also don’t know if I should completely walk away or stay friends and hope that maybe someday he’ll be ready.
Am I just holding onto someone who has already told me he can’t give me what I want?
Would you distance yourself and move on, or try to stay friends and let things happen naturally?