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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

Dating Thread 218: The one where we're respectfully selfish

983 replies

WeWantTheFinestWines · 18/11/2021 23:09

The Rules:

  1. The first rule about the dating thread is don't talk about it with people you're dating.
  2. Develop a thick skin.
  3. Do not invest emotionally too soon.
  4. It's all BS until it actually happens.
  5. Trust your gut instinct.
  6. People vanishing, lying & being generally weird is not your fault.
  7. Know your worth.
  8. If it's not fun, stop.
  9. Loo update is mandatory.
10. No dating the thread. 11. Treat others as you'd like to be treated 12. Any relationship you have that could get ruined by having a conversation about your feelings, standards and/or expectations wasn't really stable enough to begin with 13. The things you choose to ignore/ tolerate now are the reasons you will break up in the future 14. OLD can get very time consuming. Keep doing other activities you enjoy.

Optional: Please give your irons (potential dates you are talking to) nicknames like Mr Scottish. Initials are allowed (Mr S) when you are an item

OP posts:
Thread gallery
20
Shayelle2009 · 24/11/2021 07:46

@ibelieveinmirrorballs it sounds really sweet with your iron! 😄

Shayelle2009 · 24/11/2021 07:47

I love this 🤣
“ With my iron, we actually managed to talk ourselves out of meeting at all, so over-analytical were we at the start. Trying to ascertain if we both ticked ALL the boxes for the 437 steps required leading to a fulfilling healthy relationship. That lasted a couple of days before we agreed our monastic hair shirts were a bit itchy and perhaps we should meet first before deciding there was even anything there to dissect in the first place 🙄”

ibelieveinmirrorballs · 24/11/2021 07:50

I think you did the right thing in that case @BelladiMamma as you knew there was an end point approaching in terms of proximity to each other. In any case, the pressure to have resolution can be overwhelming; I certainly feel it sometimes. @Shayelle2009 I agree re face to face time, also in focusing on actions rather than words - a friend of mine always warns against getting too “lost in the sauce” - it’s very easy to while away hours sending perfectly composed messages but this doesn’t amount to any commitment to meet or be anything in each other’s actual life.

Shayelle2009 · 24/11/2021 07:53

Getting lost in the sauce.. bloody amazing analogy I need to remember that one! If I ever bother trying to date again! 😬

Shayelle2009 · 24/11/2021 07:55

@ibelieveinmirrorballs you say your iron is an academic.. do you mind me asking if you are? I like those kind of guys but I’m not hugely educated, never sure if those kind of guys would match with me.

BelladiMamma · 24/11/2021 07:56

On that note, I'm going to bring a few chats to an end.

Can someone remind me, 'things have changed this end so I don't want to waste your time. It's been nice chatting and good luck with everything.'

That's ok isn't it? Just realised I've got a few chats which have got to the 3/4 week mark and I know I'm not going to do anything about them.

BelladiMamma · 24/11/2021 08:05

Am now hugely paranoid I might be putting all eggs in one Beau basket.

BelladiMamma · 24/11/2021 08:06

[quote Shayelle2009]@ibelieveinmirrorballs you say your iron is an academic.. do you mind me asking if you are? I like those kind of guys but I’m not hugely educated, never sure if those kind of guys would match with me.[/quote]
I think so, they're just like any other type of bloke really. To be fair, I've come across some who are just as prone to all the usual human behaviours good and bad!

Isitreallyme177 · 24/11/2021 08:16

@Shayelle2009 I work with academics, which is probably why I'm not arracted to them. They're just like you and me, they have the same interests as you and me and the same hang ups. I just couldn't date one as I have enough of them at work.

ibelieveinmirrorballs · 24/11/2021 08:19

I think they often come with their own set of issues - god complex for example 😝 - @Shayelle2009 no I’m not; I’m just your common-or-garden neurotic over-thinker 😬

Speaking of which, despite having spoken and chatted every day Weds-Mon, we had no contact yesterday and although frankly I’ve got nothing to say and don’t want to get into ‘must communicate at all times’ mode, it’s at this point I start to hear the voice of anxiety piping up. It’s bloody exhausting.

ibelieveinmirrorballs · 24/11/2021 08:23

@BelladiMamma

On that note, I'm going to bring a few chats to an end.

Can someone remind me, 'things have changed this end so I don't want to waste your time. It's been nice chatting and good luck with everything.'

That's ok isn't it? Just realised I've got a few chats which have got to the 3/4 week mark and I know I'm not going to do anything about them.

I think it’s thoroughly decent of you to bother to do that. I can never keep chats going that long without meeting and very rarely bother to close them out - if it’s drifting along not doing much I just let it fade naturally.
BelladiMamma · 24/11/2021 08:26

Thanks @ibelieveinmirrorballs there's just a couple where I know if I hadn't been ill, they were angling for meets. Anyone who hasn't asked for a meet doesn't get the closure chat.

Shayelle2009 · 24/11/2021 08:26

This is why I’m not dating at the minute. Can’t be arsed with the stress of it! It’s lovely to hear people having luck and success and fun though. Living vicariously through all you lovelies 💛

Shayelle2009 · 24/11/2021 08:28

@Isitreallyme177 I also work with a few and they’re down to earth, normal, nice and kind. Much less jumped up than the funny little arrogant middle managers.

ibelieveinmirrorballs · 24/11/2021 08:38

@BelladiMamma

Thanks *@ibelieveinmirrorballs* there's just a couple where I know if I hadn't been ill, they were angling for meets. Anyone who hasn't asked for a meet doesn't get the closure chat.
That’s the decent thing then. Are you feeling on the mend?
JustThisLastLittleBit · 24/11/2021 08:43

I like working with academics but wouldn’t date one - I find they’re not team-players as they are in their heads/watching out for the stab in the back! Mr GN is an utterly unambitious pusher of paper, which suits me fine as his headspace is just full of fluff so there’s lots of room for me in there 😊

InABetterPlaceNow · 24/11/2021 09:07

@BelladiMamma

Just marking here that I know why I'm into MrBeau. Yes threadies, he's my catnip of sad alpha male who I can cheer up. (Thanks Dad and bro for that particularly deep rooted attraction to that type!!). Think the face of Brad Pitt with a great job and artistic leanings with a side helping of being half French like me plus an extra order of deep childhood wound (loss of a parent) with buff body and soulful eyes and .... OH GOD NOT AGAIN. Expect me to resurface in a few months
Hah, I relate to this so much! Different combo but it's irresistible, isn't it!
InABetterPlaceNow · 24/11/2021 09:23

[quote Eesha]@ibelieveinmirrorballs what you said about putting things under a microscope early on really resonated with me. I think it's a control thing as well as the unknown can be very daunting.

@InABetterPlaceNow I think try and pull back on these chats plus 'getting jealous ' as feels early in my opinion for those things. He's just being matter of fact I think and some are more blunt than others.

My iron has called me every night now for a natter before our date zero on Friday. I have let him lead because I want to avoid sharing too much too soon and I want to enjoy things whereas I think he's very much oversharing about life (he's quite deep). It feels quite good to have someone not know every minute detail of me just yet. If at least one thing comes from this, it's that new approach to chat. I'm genuinely excited to meet him though.[/quote]
Yup analysing things for me is definitely a control thing.

I agree it’s far to early for “getting jealous” and I’m glad he called me on it. I just got a “twang” when I read the text and labelled it as such automatically. Diving into it deeper last night it’s not even just feeling like I have “competition” (because lord knows I’d have to dial back on some of my own “friends” if I got into anything serious) - him saying he’d told them “no” made me feel worse.

What’s actually going on is ex issues. Ex cheated on me with multiple women and I was well aware of it. But would tell me I’m his everything, and I was the only person etc etc. I was already aware that Mr Tux has many female friends but had made out it was all platonic. So knowing that’s not the case (while it’s good to know) activates that fear for if we were to get serious. He’s indicated that they aren’t just going to “go away”.

I think had it been just “I’ve been sleeping around and trying new things” it would have felt different. It’s knowing they are “friends” that makes me uncomfortable. I.e he has a close female friend he took to the cinema and had dinner with at the weekend - now I’m wondering if she’s one of the “friends” in which case he’s either lying about saying “no” or IMO he’s leading her on. Before this convo, I was fine with it. Now I’ve been out off quite a bit!

However, I don’t feel like explaining all this to him right now so we’ll be in the crap position of me looking like a needy idiot (as I’ll back off the texts and it will probably look like it’s because of the previous experiences) when it’s more complicated than that.

If he decides not to continue I guess it’s all good learning for the next one!

I think your approach is the right one! I’m going to do that in future…

InABetterPlaceNow · 24/11/2021 09:27

@ibelieveinmirrorballs

That’s a great update *@Eesha*. It feels good I think to be in the early stages and recognising that you’re doing things a bit differently. I enjoy observing my behaviour when I can see it’s healthier than before… feels like progress. What are you doing on your date?

With my iron, we actually managed to talk ourselves out of meeting at all, so over-analytical were we at the start. Trying to ascertain if we both ticked ALL the boxes for the 437 steps required leading to a fulfilling healthy relationship. That lasted a couple of days before we agreed our monastic hair shirts were a bit itchy and perhaps we should meet first before deciding there was even anything there to dissect in the first place 🙄

Trying very hard to keep it in the ‘now’ which is great chat, loads of common interests, physical chemistry, and fun adventures in the offing hopefully. My urge to dissect and have someone tell me exactly what this is and how they see it developing is strong however…

@InABetterPlaceNow I have had similar over-sharing to deal with - new iron announced his old FWB is staying over this weekend although he said nothing would happen - which prompted a second round of “this is too soon to be talking about this” chats as he wanted us to discuss fidelity - at this point we’d met once. I said I can’t tell him what to do, we haven’t got to the stage of having the exclusive chat yet… I wished he hadn’t told me but he was doing it to be frank/honest… but it was all TMI!

I wish I had gone your route now Blush I’m hoping the same was true of Mr Tux’s sharing… just being honest. He is very blunt. Rather than it being a power play Confused
Eesha · 24/11/2021 09:28

@ibelieveinmirrorballs We are actually going for dinner as our first date.

I guess the red flags are that he's very much about the man making sure the woman is fine, taking a bit of a lead. I feel almost embarrassed to say that out aloud but I've been so used to taking the lead with everything in my life plus dating that I'm not used to just coming along for the ride initially.

FabulousMrFifty · 24/11/2021 09:28

@BelladiMamma
I think I’m in the same place with Ms W as you are / were with Mr A really, it’s great when we are together, but our home towns are over 150 miles and the Severn crossing apart, plus she seems to work ever changing shifts patterns, so I’m quite used to getting emails from her at 2 or 3 in the morning, I was supposed to going over this weekend, but she has to work now, next weekend I’m working, so looks like the weekend after now, so to answer your question, she is still there, but it’s tricky, not sure how much further it will go.

@Shayelle2009
Thanks, I’m bit a of willow, I tend to bend to fit in with others, she’s more like an oak - no movement, her way or the highway, I had to put my Alpha male pants on and end it, still feel a bit shit really, so I’m probably going to have put my Omega pants for a bit , with maybe by Beta pants on underneath just for reassurance…

InABetterPlaceNow · 24/11/2021 09:30

@Shayelle2009

Some brilliant posts here over the last two pages a few of which really resonate with me.. about oversharing and backing off and it all being a really delicate balance. I think it’s so important to go by the face to face time and try not to get carried away in messaging. Think I’d be wary *@InABetterPlaceNow* about your iron telling you that he’s saying to others he’s not doing anything as he wants to see how it goes with you. Seems unnecessary to do that and puts slight pressure on you and a feeling of ‘competition’ somehow. There was no need to say that to you. But same time you could take it with a pinch of salt, it’s not something I would forget about though. Good luck!
Yup this is exactly what clicked in head last night (see above post). It’s going on my “be mindful” list. More F2F time is definitely needed rather than all this messaging, I hardly know the guy! Just the things he’s told me.

Meeting with an experienced dater friend after work to chat things through and get sage advice Grin

InABetterPlaceNow · 24/11/2021 09:33

@BelladiMamma

On that note, I'm going to bring a few chats to an end.

Can someone remind me, 'things have changed this end so I don't want to waste your time. It's been nice chatting and good luck with everything.'

That's ok isn't it? Just realised I've got a few chats which have got to the 3/4 week mark and I know I'm not going to do anything about them.

I think that’s kinda fine! Means it could be anything, and seems like a fair thing to do.
InABetterPlaceNow · 24/11/2021 09:36

Ah, Mr Tux just sent a message saying good morning and that he’s going to send me a full update on how his hobby last night (as I’ve been enjoying the run down Grin). So, I’ve not scared him off just yet and we don’t seem to have to talk about it anymore. Phew!

Going to keep the messages light and life related and see what happens at the weekend! You guys and my other friends can hear all my overthinking instead Blush

Stayingstrongish · 24/11/2021 09:37

@Shayelle2009 my current iron (Mr Beard) is an academic, the first I’ve dated. He seems like a regular guy to me, just likes talking about films, music, coffee, cake! We do have some chats about the pressures of his work, which seems quite full on as he manages a department. However he does take most evenings off and it hasn’t interfered with us being able to spend time together.