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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Help me understand why I can't find a girlfriend?

99 replies

Dan89 · 26/09/2018 19:47

Maybe a bit self-pitying, but hear we go:

Five years single. Not a sniff of anything in that time. One relationship that lasted 7 years (probably went on 2 years longer than it should have). Not a sniff before that, either.

In the past 5 years I have been concentrating on building my career, but I have been in female-dominated environments all that time. A lot of the women I meet have been in relationships. I have been through uni, gone to evening classes, sports classes and had a reasonably active social life in that time. I have made many female friends, can make a lot of women laugh, but if I try to ask anyone out, they look at me like I've just run over their cat.

In the past few months I've tried OLD for the first time. I hate having my picture taken, but the ones I've put up are even in my opinion, pretty decent and show me off in a good light. I have had one conversation on Bumble in two months. I have had about 3-4 matches on Tinder, but zero conversations. The matches I do get tend to be women several years older than me and not what I am looking for at all. On POF, I managed to get talking to a few girls, but I don't think I have gone beyond 3 messages with anyone.

Are some people just not meant for relationships?

OP posts:
MrsPawsitive · 27/09/2018 02:28

I see the cat picture as a plus, actually. But then, I'm biased since my lovely DH is a cat guy, for example. Cat guys rule! Don't try to be somebody you're not, just be confident in yourself.

AcrossthePond55 · 27/09/2018 03:29

I'm married (for decades) but I've seen two of my DH's friends and my own DS2 venture into OLD with little success. In all three situations they were being a bit, well, overly 'restrictive' in the physical type of woman they wanted to date. So just be sure you aren't rejecting potential dates because of their age, face, or figure. Be realistic about yourself and open to women who may not be the usual 'type'.

Movablefeast · 27/09/2018 04:18

It sounds very cheesy but walking/rambling clubs are always nice to join and be part of. They are often very casual but it gives you the chance to really chat to people. I have been part of groups where there were people with a wide age range and were planned so we always stopped for a pub lunch. I know people who met their significant others in these settings. Just generally searching online will help you find local groups.

I think interests where you meet regularly and have a chance to really chat and socialize are great. Running and tennis were good suggestions it might sound cringe but ballroom dancing or other dance forms are usually begging for male partners.

FlowerpotFairyHouse · 27/09/2018 05:54

My guess is that there are going to be some key phrases or buzzwords in your profile that are signals to women that you are someone to avoid.

That doesn't mean you are but it's worth reviewing that.

Think about the image that is being created in the minds of those reading it.

E.g. are you looking to settle down with someone but are cultivating a 'party boy' impression of yourself? Are you intending to flatter the women reading it by criticising exes/putting down other women? Are you dropping stereotypical remarks/assumptions about what women like/find romantic?

I know those were all instant 'click off profile' for me.

WesternMeadowlark · 27/09/2018 07:15

I don't disbelieve anything you've written OP, so this is just general advice:

A good exercise to do to check how reasonable your standards are is to imagine what you would be like if you were a woman. And be brutally honest. Don't add in any assumptions about how you'd behave/dress/groom differently if you were female.

This works a lot better than "Would I date me" looking at yourself as a man, because that leads to you comparing yourself to male standards. Find all the things you think make you less attractive to partners and ask yourself if you genuinely can find a woman with those same things attractive.

A purely illustrative example: I'm autistic and actively prefer autistic men. But a lot of autistic people are carrying internalised prejudice and won't date any other autistic people. Because they've got it into their heads that we are what unattractive looks like. They might get "lucky" dating allistic people, but if they don't, I don't think they have much right to complain, really.

And that applies to anything and everything. You have every right to get a bit despondent, as long as you genuinely would think a woman exactly like you was dateable - whether you actually would fancy her or not; I'll come back to that in a moment - and would be happy to be with her and be seen with her.

It's highly unlikely to come up, of course, because the pluses and minuses will be different, but thinking about it fully should help you calibrate your standards.

Once you've done that, then you can tweak your ideas to account for aesthetic preferences, or personality traits that you know complement, rather than matching, yours. In the knowledge that they may need to be balanced out in other ways.

This is all only a thought exercise; I know dating doesn't work quite this logically in real life. I think injecting an added dose of logic might help some people, though, given the aspirational, trophy-seeking approach many seem to have to it.

I also second the advice upthread to take another look at what you write. It's surprisingly easy to come across badly on online dating.

I rejected a guy who'd written something like "Looks aren't important to me. It's not that I'd complain if you looked like [name of conventionally attractive film star], but I think there's more to a relationship than that".

He probably meant that he'd find me every bit as attractive because it's personality that makes the difference between someone being hot and not.

But I wasn't willing to gamble that I wouldn't be being constantly compared to his real fantasy. I want to be his fantasy, I want him to find me that hot. Because I only date people I find as hot as I've ever found anyone before. And I'm not willing to knowingly settle for less. If he meant what I hope he meant, he should have said something like "Looking for a real connection" and kept the rest to himself.

And that's not a gender thing; we can all mess up in similar ways.

Think what you would find offputting, then if you need to, twist it around to find its equivalent. TBC

WesternMeadowlark · 27/09/2018 07:17

Contd:

But I do realise that that can be a difficult thing to work out. There might be places you could post your profile for honest review; I'd suggest doing that here, except you wouldn't be able to delete it without asking the mods.

Having said all of that, bad luck and other people not being ready for a healthy relationship are both things that happen. It is possible to do everything right and still not get anywhere, because we don't live in a just world. So by all means keep examining yourself and your behaviour, but don't get down on yourself more than is helpful.

GraceMarks · 27/09/2018 07:17

You seem to be avoiding the questions about what sort/age of women you're approaching but I hope you've taken the comments about that on board too.

IThinkILoveAI · 27/09/2018 07:20

I’m not sure if I’ve missed it but did you answer the question by several PPs about what type of woman you are searching for?

If you’re limited to women aged 29 and between 5’5-5’7 with brown hair then this will significantly limit the number of available potential partners.

explodingkitten · 27/09/2018 07:35

It is very relevant what you are looking for. If your dreamgirl is 19, punkrock type who is allergic to cats you have a problem with your profile (and your cat).

Fredathetortoise · 27/09/2018 07:40

To be brutally honest, when I read your post title, I thought, "Say please". Whilst your OP doesn't come across as nearly so demanding and rude as other men we have had here asking why they can't find a partner, it does still lack something for me, even if it was a sentence along the lines of, "I'd be really grateful for any suggestions or advice anyone could give me".

Perhaps your OLD profile is also a bit demanding?

Artofpretending · 27/09/2018 07:49

I wouldn’t do tinder as it is totally appearance based and you say you hardly get any matches anyway.

Not really sure what the problem is from what you say but I am on pof and there are so many men that I tend to only respond to those who stand out. I wouldn’t bother responding to hey how’s u? Or just hi. If someone says something short and sweet and funny, that helps as that is rare.

How are you at chatting once you have made contact? Sometimes I start chatting to someone and the messages dry up within a couple of minutes and it feels like hard work. I like someone upbeat and sparky and that is more important than looks to me. You would be amazed how many men come across as shallow, boring or with nothing to say. Confidence is attractive.

Having said that, you can’t always tell until you meet up. If you get to that stage give people a chance. Be open minded.

FlowerpotFairyHouse · 27/09/2018 08:01

I rejected a guy who'd written something like "Looks aren't important to me. It's not that I'd complain if you looked like [name of conventionally attractive film star], but I think there's more to a relationship than that".

This is exactly the type of comment I was thinking of.

EvaHarknessRose · 27/09/2018 08:04

Have you joined any groups on Meetup? I think I agree with a pp though, forget about actively meeting someone and focus on making a satisfying single life. Do you travel?

KennDodd · 27/09/2018 08:26

I'd focus on rl if I were you rather than old. Do you have any good female friends? If you do ask them if they know anybody they can fix you up with.

Also, what do you want out of dating? Is it marrage and children? I wonder if this is the case if adding it to any ol profile would help? Can you tell me about the age thing, how old is too old? Maybe rethink this if it's limiting you too much.

Snowymountainsalways · 27/09/2018 08:36

My guess is that you are approaching women that are too young and pretty. Have you ruled out women that have children? Or are divorced? Have you only been looking for younger women? How old are you?

Ask your friends to involve you in dinners/lunches etc with all their single friends. Be open with your friends and get them to help you.

I would also consider going a long to some of the dates that you have dismissed, they may be amazing in real life in a way that was not obvious on line. Open up a little, take a chance and keep asking for dates when you meet someone you like. It can be as casual as anything like a quick coffee or a visit to a museum. Don't feel you have to do things in a certain way, and don't be persuaded to stop asking just because you have had the odd knock back.

How old are you?

GraceMarks · 27/09/2018 08:52

It might seem a bit like pp are haranguing you about the age thing, but it could be the missing piece of the jigsaw in all this. You have said you're 34 and you don't think you're particularly good-looking (you might be more attractive than you think, but I'll take you at your word for the purposes of making my point). So if you're only messaging pretty women in their early 20s, who could probably pick any man they want, then what are you offering that would make them pick you and not, say, an equally buff man their own age?

Look, I do sympathise. OLD gives you such a false sense of choice and availability, it's all too easy to have a quick glance at Tinder and think that the world is full of hot young things who are there for the choosing. And by the time you've realised that the hot young things are more interested in each other than they are in you (generic you, not specifically you, OP) you've already rejected the people who you might have realistically had a chance with. General rule of thumb - if you wouldn't even think of approaching someone if you saw them IRL in a bar, the chances are you won't have any success online either...

Mabelface · 27/09/2018 09:00

Don't dismiss women a few years older. I met my partner on POF and he's 10 years younger than me. We're really happy and have loads in common.

Rhiannon13 · 27/09/2018 09:08

I don't think any dating sites are great. How can judging people firstly by appearance be the way forward when there's so much more to us than that? I'd abandon the internet completely because you're so much more likely to find your perfect match in 'real life', doing the things you enjoy.

Top tip: if you're looking for love, stop looking! Fill your life with fun and interesting things and guess what? You become fun and interesting Wink. Tried it and it works, big time. Good luck!

Rhiannon13 · 27/09/2018 09:14

Not saying you're not fun and interesting already! I just mean it sometimes helps to take a step back from 'looking'.

eddielizzard · 27/09/2018 09:45

When I reflect on some of my single friends, who are really lovely, but haven't had luck finding someone I can see one thing that they have in common:

An absolutely inflexibility / immovability / intolerance on some point. For example one friend is deeply religious and will not consider anyone who isn't as deeply religious as her. Another likes gaming / programming and spends all his spare time doing this, sometimes through the night on weekends.

This might not apply to you tho, and doesn't apply to all my single friends either.

Dan89 · 27/09/2018 09:56

Thanks everyone for the replies. I do appreciate them all. Maybe not the one about turning gay.

On the age thing, I turned 34 last week. When I started OLD (well, the OL part anyway, the D part hasn't happened yet), I set me age criteria to 26-35. I'm reluctant to go too much older. My last girlfriend was older than me. As that wasn't working, I expanded a bit to 24-39. Ideally, I think I'd have most in common with a woman between 28-35.

I don't think I really have a type. People are attractive for different reasons. I tend not to swipe right on women whose profile consists of selfies, or every picture is them in a cocktail dress and high heels, because I don't think we'd have much in common. Likewise, I don't really swipe on girls where every picture is them on a bike, because I don't really want to be doing long distance cycles every weekend. As non-descriptive as the term is, I think I'm looking for a "girl next door" type, but every time I meet one of those in person, they are taken, and they don't match me or respond on OLD.

When my last/only relationship fell apart almost 5 years ago, I did the whole ''journey of discovery'' thing. This led to joining the clubs, taking up piano, the volunteering, and ultimately the going back to uni for 2 years to retrain and get a job I felt passionate about, one that I have a professional qualification in. I also really started to pay attention to the way I dress, and I joined a gym. I'm quite slim, and people always think I am younger than I am (people have guessed between the ages of 21-30). I don't dress young, I like to think that I have a good sense of style now. It doesn't seem to make much difference, though. I have never felt the vibe of a woman taking interest in me. On the one or two occasions I thought I did, I turned out to be very wrong.

OP posts:
Musti · 27/09/2018 10:03

Eddielizard - 2 of my best friends are beautiful, intelligent, great company etc but they struggle settling down either because they never go out of their comfort zone (e.g. neither will OLD) or because they go after unsuitable guys who don't love them Just use them. I'm late 40s and am OLD. I don't take it seriously but I've had a few dates and met some friends and I have lots of guys messaging me. They would find it a lot easier because they don't have kids etc but they don't try.

OLD- I don't go on looks in real life but on OLD it does influence me. What I look for is nice smiling pic, a nice or fun description and something that stands out. And when messaging me, if it's not engaging after the first few messages I don't bother. So basically make sure your personality comes across

eddielizzard · 27/09/2018 10:11

I think you're assuming way too much from just photos tbh. The girls in cocktail dresses might hardly ever do that sort of stuff, but since that's the only time they dress up and get photos taken, they use those. Doesn't mean they dress up to the nines every weekend. Likewise the girls on bikes might use those because they think they'll attract sporty men. Doesn't mean they're bike mad and want to cycle every weekend.

Who knows?

Point is, message them without making so many write-off assumptions.

GraceMarks · 27/09/2018 10:14

It seems rather strange to say that you would only have things in common with women within a certain age range. Surely shared interests aren't specific to people's ages, but to their life experiences? If what you actually mean is that you don't fancy women who are older than you are, just be honest about it! My advice is still the same, but if you're prepared to accept that you are limiting your options and that it might take longer to match with someone, then that's really up to you.

I think you're making a mistake by ruling out women who look dressy in their profile pictures too. Just like you, women on OLD want to present themselves in the most favourable way possible, and that usually means posting pictures of themselves looking nice. It might be from when they were at a wedding and they usually dress quite casually. Why would you look at someone negatively because they had made an effort, or think that you wouldn't have anything in common with them? It seems a rather shallow reason for rejecting someone out of hand tbh.

explodingkitten · 27/09/2018 10:27

Well I've spotted at least one problem:

. Main one is a new one of me in a restaurant in smart/casual attire. Second is me in a blazer and white polo celebrating the end of my course (I am the only one in the pic)

You have dressed up photo's of yourself on your profile but refuse women who have dressed up photo's of themselves.

You say you are looking for the girl next door, but are you the guy next door? Is it a realistic fit?