I'm giving him space, will it help?

The man I've been seeing for 3 years now has left his wife and gladly he did it to be true to himself and not because of me. He came to me the first night and we talked and cuddled. He was with her for 25 years but left as he says he fell out of love with her about 10 years ago but has been bottling it up. We have always got on brilliantly and speak every day, morning noon and night and try to get together regularly as we have shared hobbies too. He never talks feelings. He is cut up about leaving his kids. His wife also knows about us but he said currently we are just friends. A couple of days after he left her he said he needed some time to himself. So I phoned him to tell him that I would not contact him for a coup,e of weeks, he said he appreciates that and that he was trying to get a things sorted out ie financially, and a place for his wife and kids to live closer to her family but that every time he went to see his kids shed start asking if he'd been talking to me texting etc, not talking to him is killing me but I have to do it. He said for now we have to be just friends which I agree with as he has to straighten his head out. I found it difficult to talk to him without getting upset so I cut the call short and before I hung up I said that I missed him, he said he missed me too, he has never said that to me before. Will this space work for us?