There’s honestly nothing scarier than a first date. Sure, sometimes the anxiety is all in our heads and we end up having an awesome time, but more often than not, the person sitting across from us is not our type at best and truly awful at worst. Here are 10 times when it’s totally OK to walk out of that miserable date:
- He insults you. No, you don’t have to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. If he shows you who he is, believe him. If a guy ever insults you or tells you your opinion is wrong, you’re 100 percent allowed to leave. You don’t deserve that and he doesn’t deserve you. There are so many more important things you could be doing (and yes, lying horizontal on your couch staring at Netflix counts).
- He couldn’t care less. You don’t know why he asked you out in the first place because he’s acting like he’d rather be at the dentist than talk to you. He doesn’t ask you any questions and gives you one-word answers. He stares at the table/his feet/his pint of beer like it’ll tell him what he’s doing there. Give this guy an honest try – but if half an hour pass and nothing changes, feel free to put a $20 down on the table and get the hell out of there.
- You’re uncomfortable and/or feel unsafe. You can leave even one minute after the date starts if you don’t feel safe. No one has the right to make you feel uncomfortable, ever. It doesn’t matter if the guy calls you a rude name or swears at you – that just proved you were right about him, anyway.
- He goes on a rant. This is pretty popular these days, unfortunately. Rants are so unfair because they’re totally one-sided and he’s assuming that you actually give a crap. Newsflash: you don’t. You’re just trying to figure out if you two have anything in common and if he’s actually a nice person.
- He mentions how many girls he dates on Tinder. Nothing is more awkward/annoying when you both know you met on a dating app/site but he keeps bringing it up. If he keeps trying to prove to you that he just loves Tinder and he meets so many people because of it, he’s clearly not interested in anything other than hooking up. Moving on.
- He straight up asks you for sex. This isn’t a great strategy and will not make you feel all warm and fuzzy, which you have to assume is his intent (and which is what he needs if he actually wants to end up in bed with you eventually). Of course, if you’re just looking for something casual, it’s your choice. But otherwise, if you don’t feel like staying any longer, that’s totally cool.
- It’s not actually a date. I don’t mean that this guy thinks you’re “just hanging out” (although that counts too). If you turn up with romance in mind and he just wants to talk business or about another one of your friends, you must have mistunderstood him and there’s nothing wrong with calling it a day (or a night) quickly.
- He’s moving way too fast. A dream date would be when the guy actually tells you he’s having a good time and wants to see you again. But if he’s approaching stalker territory and the appetizers haven’t even arrived, you don’t need another reason to high-tail it out of there.
- He’s too good to be true. If someone lies on their online dating profile, you don’t have to simply sit back and accept it. This goes for fake photos, lying about his job (it’s amazing how many people want you to believe they can be a CEO at 25), etc.
- You get a bad vibe. Maybe you don’t really believe that anything horrible is going to happen to you tonight, but you just know something feels off. If that’s the case, never worry about what the guy will think if you say you have a work deadline or are meeting a friend or just have to go. It doesn’t matter what he says. You’re looking after yourself, and that sense of self-worth will do more for you than another hour spent drinking with some stranger you never want to see again.
