So, I met a man 18 months ago on an online friendship site. He was nice enough and he emailed me last year wanting to see me again but it never happened as I was too busy doing other things. I would have seen him again, but it just didn't happen.
He emails me again at start of April this year asking whether he could take me out on a date.
Then two weeks later, he emails again apologising if his last email was unwanted. He knew it was out of the blue. I replied this time and said I was confused because I thought since meeting me he had since started another relationship. He said he did but his situation has changed. I didn't reply.
He then emails again and said he still wanted to see me. He then gives me his full name which is quite distinct. He tells me to look him up on Facebook as he is who he says he is. That is what swayed me a bit, he trusted me enough with that info.
He persisted and persisted until I eventually called his bluff. 'If you want to come and see me, fine. I'm free tonight.'
So he did. He was the perfect gentleman. Nicer than how I remembered. We just talked and I really enjoyed his company. He put absolutely no pressure on me at all. He mirrored my body language completely, so I did feel like he genuinely liked me.
I see him again 48 hours later. He tells me more about himself. I initiated a kiss and a cuddle. I could tell he was trying to hold himself back. We didn't have sex as he said he would have to leave shortly afterwards and it wouldn't be right. He had to get home to feed his dog.
He said he's had an awful few months and is selling his house to escape the memories. He text me throughout last weekend and on Sunday he told me he had a wobble and still has upsetting days. I replied saying I hoped he was okay.
On Monday his house was due to go up on the market. He text to say he was up at 4am getting everything ready before he went back to work. I replied and then nothing.
On Tuesday I text him to say I hope everything went okay yesterday and that it was a better day for him than on Sunday. Within an hour he replies and says he's going to go for a while. He doesn't want to speak to anyone as he's just hit rock bottom and he doesn't know what to do.
He seemed genuine but because of how we met online I feel played. I'm probably never going to hear from him again. I know a lot of men struggle with their mental health and this is probably why he reached out to me in the first place on some sort of rebound. I have no idea whether he did put his house up for sale.
I feel like I've been ghosted but technically I know I haven't because of his last message. If he ghosted me, I'd still be waiting for a reply and would be thinking that he's well and truly had me over.
I need to listen to myself more initially and not ignore the red flags.
Does anyone think he's genuine?