I am always rather wary of one relationship starting too soon after another one, especially if that relationship was cemented in the commitment of marriage. However well balanced individuals are I suspect they always carry some emotional baggage with them from the earlier relationship and I think it does need some time to think through the issues that caused the split and work out in your own mind how you can prevent repeating mistakes of the past. I also think it's important to rediscover yourself as a single individual and simply have some "thinking time" before getting emotionally wrapped up with another person. Possibly 8 months is long enough for your boyfriend to have gone through this process if he's a well adjusted individual but I would want to be certain that it's not just a case of "Off with old, on with the new" simply because he doesn't like being on his own and feels he has to have a human attachment to support him in his new life and environment. By all means keep up the friendship, but if you're worried about being hurt, take more time to get to know him, even through a long distance relationship, to be sure that you really are suitable for each other and he's not just using you as an emotional safety net.