What to do when you partner is prideful..

*asking for a friend* My friend and his girl have been together for a long time & they’ve both fucked up over the course of time. She lost trust & built up a wall. At the time they’re not together. She tells him to not feel like she needs him but she texts me saying other things. She’s afraid to get hurt & doesn’t want to seem vulnerable. Especially since they’re not together atm. He feels discouraged by what she says & he too builds an emotional barrier & doesn’t fully express himself because he feels that she doesn’t care but we both know she does because she’s texted me while crying or after a fight or she comes to me at school telling me what happened & how she feels about it. What should they do? They obviously don’t know how to communicate but how do they tear these walls down & open up? It’s hard especially after getting hurt and fearing getting hurt but they both love each other a lot and do not want to lose each other. They just don’t know how to work through things.