i left of my own free will in the 70's. i was never d/f. most jw friends stayed friends. my JW parents accepted my decision. 1981 it was announced i was now apostate..because i was having an affair with a married sister . ive heard it called most things--but not apostate. friends vanished--never spoken since. parents stayed close.
my dad said to me he couldnt find it anywhere in the bible that he couldnt see his own son. i hadnt been a jw for years by then. we stayed close. Mum died in 1998. Dad had some kind of falling out with his grand-daughter--my daughter--and she never spoke to him or visited him after that...even though for his last 4 years he lived in a care home less than a mile from her. i was still very close to him--visiting several days a week. visits from elders dwindled and stopped. i think he was a marked man because of our close relationship. he died in 2016---ending the only very loose connection between me and that crazy cult.
for years i lived in hope of some contact with my daughter..and youngest son..both still jw. but in the last few years ive realised thats never going to happen.
today i was in watsapp chat with my older son--he was d/f about 10 years back and has a great life and family. i will have a new grandchild next month!
life goes on --despite the best efforts of the watchtower.