Love is a tricky thing. It’s often easy to fall in love, but falling out of it requires the harsh revelation that you’re just not on the same page anymore. People fall out of love for plenty of reasons. If things are changing between you and your boyfriend, here are a few signs that the passion is no longer there and likely won’t ever return.
- You don’t look forward to dates. They used to be fun, but now when they actually come up, they feel more like obligations. Everyone needs some alone time every once in a while, but if you start wishing you could just spend time alone or visit the restaurant with a friend instead of your boyfriend, something is damaged in your relationship. Not every date will be a winner, but they shouldn’t be something you dread.
- His jokes aren’t funny anymore. He used to make you crack up but these days he just seems to be reciting memes he saw on Facebook. When you started dating, he tried everything he could to impress you. Now that he has you, his true colors are coming out. Maybe his sense of humor has always been on the stale side.
- You can no longer see a future with him. Back in the day, you could easily imagine the two of you settling down and having kids. Now, you just can’t even envision what he’d be like as a father and you’ve doubled down on your birth control since having kids with him would only make your relationship more difficult to manage. If you still want kids but not with him, it’s time to move on and find someone else that you have a little more faith in.
- Your eyes have started to wander. It’s natural to find other guys attractive—it’s just something you don’t act on in a healthy relationship. Still, you’ve noticed yourself fantasizing about starting up an affair or dating someone new recently. Again, it’s harmless if you keep it in your imagination, but if these thoughts stick around, you may be growing tired of your boyfriend.
- He never seems to do anything right. For some reason, you’ve started to become overly critical of him. It’s like every task he gets, he manages to screw up. When a relationship hits this level, it’s almost like you’re setting him up to fail. Healthy partners should always be optimistic about each other, and when it reaches a level of contempt like this, it’s obvious that the love is no longer there.
- You’ve stopped listening to him. Everyone deserves to be listened to, but if his conversations with you just seem like one-sided rambles, you may be falling out of love with him. There are going to be days where you tune someone out, especially if you’re under a lot of stress at the time, but when you stop listening altogether and it becomes habitual, it proves you’re just no longer compatible.
- You’re not physically attracted to him anymore. Oftentimes, men become more physically attractive when they have an attractive personality. If nothing has openly changed, but you’re just not into him anymore, it’s a sign that your feelings have fled. Yes, looks come and go. But if you love him, you’ll always think he’s sexy.
- Fights have increased. It seems like everything turns into a fight. Even simple things, like where to grab dinner. It’s normal to fight sometimes in a healthy relationship, but when you’re scared to even bring something up since you know a fight will happen, that’s how you know the love is gone. When you love someone, you try to work as a team.
- You can’t look back fondly on the good memories. The two of you used to have fun together. Looking back on photos of once-happy vacations together just makes you feel a little sad on the inside since the bad has overpowered the good. If you start questioning if you were ever happy and in love, the relationship has run its course.
- It’s hard to dedicate time to him. Every relationship has moments where it’s hard to find time to go out on dates. But eventually, things recover, right? Maybe not if you’ve fallen out of love in the meantime. Even if you’re balancing two jobs and school, you probably still have time to grab drinks with your boyfriend. Using your other priorities as an excuse to avoid him means you’re just not that into him anymore.