Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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

Really confused by someone’s behaviour?

107 replies

SolBrillo · 07/11/2023 16:19

Hi all,

Will keep this as short as I can.

I met a guy on a dating site a number of months ago. I was instantly super attracted to him as he is extremely good looking. On paper, pretty much everything I want in a man.

We had a first date, went out for dimmer. Then I’ll be honest, we kind of jumped into just having fun after that. He still lives at home so we’d meet up in quiet places to have fun, forests at night etc. It was exciting and fun, but I was falling for him. He knew it too. After meeting a few times he told me that he didn’t think we would work out in a relationship and said he thought I was great, beautiful, personality etc but he just didn’t have any feelings for me. He said we were friends and always would be and I accepted this and although upset for a time, I moved on and dated other people.

Fast forward over 3 months and I get a message on Facebook from him asking how things are. I said fine, asked him the same. He asked if I had settled down yet to which I said no. He said he had been thinking about the forest, and us being together. I said I’d be lying if I didn’t think about it too, because I do, a lot.

He said maybe we should do it again for ‘old times sake’. I took this as him just booty calling me and if I’m honest, being single, lonely and horny makes you do stupid things, so I agreed to meet him. We went back to the same place, had sex in his car, more fun etc. It was freezing cold so I jokingly said ‘maybe next time we should just go to my house!’. As soon as I said it I told him that didn’t mean I was expecting there would be a next time as I knew where he stood about not wanting a relationship with me/not having feelings for me. He then shocked me by saying ‘I didn’t say that’. To which I told him he did, and I promise he did.

he said ‘I do like you, I just don’t want to break your heart’. ‘Don’t push things, just play it cool’. To which I responded saying I hadn’t spoken to him for months since he told me he didn’t want me. I don’t know how much cooler I could have played it to be honest.

Anyway, when I left him I asked him if I would see him again. To which he just said ‘just play it cool’. Throughout the night he had made a few references to ‘oh we should do this one day’ or ‘I want to do this with you’ etc etc. I know it could’ve just been conversation fillers but I’m now really confused.

I thought he was done with me months ago. I didn’t expect him to reappear and want to sleep with me again to be honest. But what confuses me more is why he denied saying he didn’t want anything more with me. He could’ve just said something like ‘yea I said that, and I still mean it but I thought we could still have some fun’. Because he knows I am really into him, he says quite Often ‘I know you really like me’ so he knows I would’ve still said yes regardless. He messaged the next day saying have a good day at work etc and ‘ttys’. It feels like im back to where I was a few months ago with him.

he told me he had dated someone since me and had slept with her but commented that it wasn’t like it was with me. I don’t really take this as a compliment to be honest, I think it was just blowing smoke up my backside. But given how good looking he is, and knowing he was in dating apps, I know he could easily hook up with anyone other than me whenever he wanted. He said he had deleted the apps, after I said I was off them too. He said ‘yes so am I’.

my confusion is that he knows I have feelings for him, so why would he come back purely for sex when he could pretty much get that anywhere? He’d already shut me down months ago and I had left him to it so he will know fine well that reaching out again and sleeping with me will have reopened the expectation in my mind that he is interested in me. I’m just really confused?

OP posts:
SolBrillo · 07/11/2023 19:34

Because I would’ve thought given he shut me down months ago and told me we were done and wouldn’t work out, that he wouldn’t reopen that door knowing full well how much I like him.

OP posts:
Opentooffers · 07/11/2023 19:34

Because you have already shown him that because you like him you are only too willing to sake any scraps and be picked up and dropped wherever and still respond and have sex with someone who says they have no feelings for you. He now knows you don't respect yourself - which tbh, he's right. If you take scraps, scraps are what you get. You are trying too had to make this into something that isn't going to happen.

SolBrillo · 07/11/2023 19:35

But why does everyone assume I would be the last resort?

and like I said, he said he’s off the dating sites

OP posts:
Bobbotgegrinch · 07/11/2023 19:36

SolBrillo · 07/11/2023 19:35

But why does everyone assume I would be the last resort?

and like I said, he said he’s off the dating sites

Why do you believe him?

SamW98 · 07/11/2023 19:37

You know what, I’m starting to think this is a troll thread as no one can seriously be that deep in denial despite the fact that he’s shown you in big flashing lights exactly what he is.
But you’ve shown him you’re up for sex when he snaps his fingers so it’s a win win for him

Bunnyhair · 07/11/2023 19:41

OP, you’re assuming he has some sort of code of honour where he wouldn’t mess you around if you wanted more than he is offering. He knows you have feelings for him, which means you’re guaranteed to give him a shag any time he feels like it. He doesn’t give a shit about your feelings.

SolBrillo · 07/11/2023 19:48

Trying too hard how? I don’t contact him or ask for more.

OP posts:
ImCamembertTheBigCheese · 07/11/2023 19:49

SolBrillo · 07/11/2023 19:35

But why does everyone assume I would be the last resort?

and like I said, he said he’s off the dating sites

You're not the last resort.

You were falling for him big time and he shut you down before it went any further. But, you're still a useful bit of nooky when he feels like it. It's just sex for him and maybe a few laughs.

It is just for as hook up. Sorry OP Flowers

SolBrillo · 07/11/2023 19:54

I promise I’m not a troll. Clearly I’m just very naive and hoping there is something in this when there isn’t. I’m 27, he’s 37. I’m young but not that young. I really do like this guy, I fell hard for him very quickly. It was hard to hear months ago that he didn’t have feelings for me but I picked myself up and tried to move on and I had actually been doing ok to be honest. I guess I just thought seeing as he ran from a relationship with me months ago that he would do anything to not contact me again, in case I asked if he had changed his mind etc. I just assumed he’d sleep with anyone apart from me to avoid speaking to me again in case I ask for more.

Im trying to find something in this that says because he came back knowing how I feel, he took a risk knowing I’d be back wanting more from him after he’d successfully previously shut it down. But clearly I am the only person who possibly sees it that way. I just wanted there to be more than sex wanted with his reappearance but everyone is saying that is not the case. I’m now back to wondering when or if I’ll next hear from
him like I was months ago. I feel like now he’s reopened that door of being physical he either needs to follow through with it again or shut me down like he did previously. I’m just back to feeling like it’s open ended. When he finished it previously I felt like I had closure. I now feel the opposite to that again. It is hard for me to separate sex and feelings, but I appreciate men can obviously do that. I just know I wouldn’t want to be physical with someone I didn’t have feelings for, hence my confusion.

OP posts:
MolkosTeenageAngst · 07/11/2023 19:56

Sounds like the sex with you is good, and like you’re willing to have sex in his car/ the forest etc which he presumably finds exciting. It sounds like sex with other women may have not lived up to that.

But it also sounds like all he wants is no strings attached sex. It doesn’t sound like he wants a relationship. It also sounds like he doesn’t think you’re compatible out of sex. By the sounds of it you are high on his list for a quick shag but low for anything else.

CheekyHobson · 07/11/2023 19:59

But what I don’t understand is why he would reopen that door knowing I was falling for him big time? Because he knows I will now be back to expecting to hear from him/expecting more.

Because he doesn't care about your feelings and whether they end up getting hurt (which they will).

The only way that your feelings are relevant to him is that they keep you nice and available to him whenever he wants to dip in and out of your backseat.

He has already primed you to not ask for more even though you want more, by telling you to just "play it cool". He's leading you to think there might be more coming if you keep your expectations incredibly low and put zero pressure on him. Newsflash: more isn't coming. This is what you'll continue to get until you get fed up of being an occasional booty call and tell him goodbye.

Even then he probably won't completely go away, as you've already made it clear to him that if he shows up months later with a enough sweet talk, you'll be right back in the backseat with him even though the only 'evidence' you have that more might be coming is that he makes vague suggestions around it.

Donotshushme · 07/11/2023 20:02

He lives at home with his parents and his idea of a date is basically dogging. Your can do better than this.

Hiddenvoice · 07/11/2023 20:04

Op I could have written this post just like this not too long ago.

The guy said all the exact same things that yours did. When he got back in touch, he was honest and said he dated others but missed what we had. I let him back into my life and fell for him again. He was saying everything j wanted to hear and more. When I talked about progressing things he then became distant and weird. I pulled him up on it to which he said that he’d previously told me what he wanted- fun, nothing serious and to just spend time with me, he didn’t want a full on relationship. Many friends said he was probably married and I kept saying he wasn’t.

I felt really stupid for going through it all again, he made it feel like we were dating and that he wanted more.
I later found out that no he wasn’t married but he did live at home, with his child and his partner and that’s why we never went back to his.

Before you fully let him back into your life, ask him
straight up what he wants! He might not be using your as a last resort but he might just be using you and it’s unfair to get yourself hurt again.
If he replies by saying “see how things go, play it cool,
have fun” etc then he’s not wanting a relationship and just wants to mess around.
If he was serious about you then he wouldn’t be meeting up in cars and woods, there would be no problem about taking you back to his home.

CheekyHobson · 07/11/2023 20:05

I’m 27, he’s 37.

You are very naive, honey. There's nothing wrong with that, maybe you just haven't encountered someone like this before (although my guess is that you weren't brought up to have high self-esteem and standards and boundaries, as the fact that you're tolerating his behaviour shows that something has gone wrong somewhere).

And he is way way way too old to be pulling this shit. I don't care if he is absolutely gorgeous, that is the only thing he has going for him and it is very clearly only skin deep. This man is an absolute sea of red flags.

Get your closure back by ghosting and blocking on every possible platform, and get yourself into some therapy. Invest in yourself, not this absolute waster.

jolies1 · 07/11/2023 20:06

SolBrillo · 07/11/2023 19:21

But what I don’t understand is why he would reopen that door knowing I was falling for him big time? Because he knows I will now be back to expecting to hear from him/expecting more.

Because he doesn’t give one single toss about your feelings, OP. Just wanting to keep you on the hook without any effort so he can count on you for car sex when he’s going through a dry spell. Sorry to be blunt.

Whatsthesafeword · 07/11/2023 20:18

Girl this is because you might just have a lot more to offer. He might want to continue being single and living the free life, which is common with men as women typically mature faster in the settling down sense.
Trust me, I've been with plenty of narcissistic people. I had an ex that used to just cheat on me whenever he had the chance, he would tell me he hadn't said things when he had, then when I was at breaking point he would reel me back in.
If you want just sex, go get it where you don't have feelings attached. I know it's difficult as women because we like to have established a bond to a certain extent but if you have feelings for this guy and he just wants sex no strings attached, you might end up getting hurt. I say take the compliment he's given you, he might be hot but like he said he's come back to you because you were better in lots of ways, so realize you can do better than just good looking, get you a man that is kind and looks at you like a princess and makes sure you know it. There are nice guys worth your time, stay away from this guy he sounds like he's just in it for his needs only xxxx if you do decide you just want the fun side of it, you have to always remember no one has to cheat on you for you to break up with them, being unhappy is simply reason enough to leave. Know when to get out because some people will always try to manipulate you if their smoke blowing works once believe me they will try again xxxxxx best of luck to you girlie I hope you figure stuff out and hope a different perspective helped! X

BigMandsTattooPortfolio · 07/11/2023 20:19

Invest in yourself, not this absolute waster.

This OP. It does sound like you don’t have a huge amount of self-worth. When you work on yourself and develop confidence, boundaries and better self esteem, when you learn more about who you really are and how to love, respect and value yourself more, you’ll no longer want to be used in this way.

One rule for life I’ve found is that unless you truly respect yourself, no one else will.

SamW98 · 07/11/2023 20:19

He’s 37, lives with his parents and his idea of a romantic liaison is a shag in the car with someone a decade his junior?

Seriously in what way is this creep a good catch?

And I’m sorry I do agree with other PP’s, he’s attached looking for a no strings sexual thrill that he’s not getting at home and he knows you will be up for it because of your feelings for him. He’s cruel and a user - please block him, cry your tears and move forward with a bit more self worth

ChiefWiggumsBoy · 07/11/2023 22:59

I really do like this guy, I fell hard for him very quickly

Please please please, get some self-respect and dump this dickhead. He. Is. Using. You. He doesn't give a shit about you, and he won't ever. He loves that he throws you a bone and you're instantly available, it's an ego boost for him.

You're worth so much more than a man who has made himself categorically clear - he doesn't want a relationship with you.

MsDogLady · 07/11/2023 23:17

…he took a risk knowing I’d be back wanting more from him…

It’s not a risk to him, though. He believes that you’ll come running whenever he calls, and that he can manage you and your expectations with his cavalier ‘Just be cool’ manipulation.

Come on, @SolBrillo. Don’t diminish yourself by being ‘on call’ for this Loser.

Find a decent guy who wants to date you and actually get to know you outside of sex. Invest in a mutually respectful relationship where you are valued for more than a being a random body in a back seat, and likely one of many.

xanadu123 · 07/11/2023 23:31

He's doing what he is because he's an unpleasant person who doesn't respect you. There aren't many women who will agree to only have sex in public/cars (never at home) - it's demeaning. But not only are you allowing him to treat you like this, you've actually fallen for him ignoring every red flag. It makes you the perfect candidate for kinky shag. And he isn't interested in a relationship because he sees you as just a kinky shag.

You're 37, if you don't develop your self esteem and boundaries, you will attract loads of creeps who prey on your naïveté. If you're lonely and horny, find a hook up who at least takes you home to have sex with you and doesn't gaslight and treat you so poorly.

Didimum · 08/11/2023 07:37

People aren’t saying you’re the last resort to put you down. They are saying it because he does not respect you, wants sex and knows you’re an easy target. He doesn’t want to have to put much effort in.

I feel like you want replies telling you that deep down he has feelings for you but can’t own up to them or some BS like that. But the truth is that you’re low effort and he’s a fuckboy.

Block and move on. He’s not the one you’re looking for.

SolBrillo · 08/11/2023 07:59

Am I likely to hear from him again? He did say ‘ttys’ at the end of the message I got after so I’m not sure. I feel like he either needs to return asking for more or shut it down again like he did previously. But deep down I’m unsure if I will even hear from him again.

OP posts:
KatBurglar · 08/11/2023 08:04

For the love of god, listen to everyone in both of your threads.

He doesn’t care about your feelings. He doesn’t have feelings for you. He fancied a shag and said just enough for you to be agreeable.

There is nothing more to this. Block him and go find a sense of self worth.

Hiddenvoice · 08/11/2023 08:04

I think you will hear from him again but not as soon as you’d like/ expect. It might be months before you hear from him and he might just message you out of the blue and check in with you. He’ll most likely be friendly and flirty and then straight to the point ask to meet up. It will probably be later on in the day/ night too.

Sorry op but from my experience this guy is using you as a booty call type of thing. He knows the sex is good, he knows you’re interested but he also knows he’s previously told you what he wants so he doesn’t need to worry about breaking your heart when he’s explained already that he doesn’t want a relationship.

If you start messaging him and wanting more then he will become more distant, probably ghost you and then maybe block until he’s interested in talking to you. It’s not nice, especially when you have feelings but protect yourself here, he wants to play it cool which means he’s not wanting to actually be with you.