Bowe Bergdahl, 28, was captured whilst serving in Afghanistan in 2009, but has now been released in exchange for several Taliban prisoners from Guantamano Bay.
His former girlfriend, Monica Lee, apparently asked: 'What do I do now?' after hearing news of his release - as she has moved on in the five years he was in captivity.
'She was told to go on with her life but she waited a long time. Emotionally it was very trying for her.'
After receiving a message from Bowe shortly after his capture, in which he told her not to wait for him, the 25-year-old tried to move on with her life.
It was not until 2012 that she began dating again.
'She still cares for him,' said her mother Allison Lee. 'She was told to go on with her life but she waited a long time. Emotionally it was very trying for her.'
Bergadahl is currently awaiting debriefing in Germany before making his trip back to the United States, where his family and friends eagerly await his return.
But questions have been raised about the nature of Bowe's capture - with some believing he willingly walked away from his base in Afghanistan because he wanted to desert the army.
However in radio transmissions released by Wikileaks, it suggest Bowe was taken whilst using a makeshift latrine - with the Taliban quickly making a video of their captive so they could negotiate with the Americans.
Fellow soldiers on Facebook group Bowe Bergadahl is NOT a hero have come forward to say that their comrade was deserting the army, and also listed the number of men who died in the effort to rescue him.