When ‘The One That Got Away’ Turns Out To Be A Dodged Bullet: 13 People Share Their Stories

When you think you’ve finally found your person, only for things to crash and burn, it can be devastating. Thinking about “the one that got away” can seriously eat away at you, but sometimes we’re not with people because it’s meant to be. Over on Reddit, people are sharing their stories about how the one that got away actually turned out to be a dodged bullet. Some of these are pretty wild!

  1. She wasn’t all that into men after all. As u/grumpy_hedgehog shared, his high school girlfriend ended up going in a completely different direction after their split. “Was always curious what became of my high school ‘girlfriend,’ aka that girl that tolerated my presence in high school and made out with me a couple of times, so I stalked her a bit on Facebook. Turns out she’s happily married to some lady, with a house in the country and like a billion dogs,” he wrote. “So, clearly this would not have worked out, as I’m allergic to dogs.”
  2. He was engaged to someone else… and killed her. Well, things turned dark pretty quickly for u/sarcastic_monkies! “I was engaged to this guy who was apparently engaged to this other girl too. I dumped him of course and they got married. He strangled her to death,” she admitted. Talk about scary stuff! She clearly dodged a bullet with this one.
  3. She joined a throuple. As u/PM_ME_LADY_SHOULDERS shared, his high school girlfriend left him for someone else and ended up marrying the new guy. That all went well until she ended up falling for the husband’s best friend. “One summer, ex-girlfriend, hubby and housemate all decided to go on a 3-week road trip together. Partway through, hubby gets called back to work and has to fly home. Ex and housemate finish the trip and return home. Upon returning, ex and housemate announced they had discovered their undying love for each other on the trip, and would henceforth be an item. Hubby, understandably crushed,” he wrote. “Here’s the kicker, not only did the three of them live together, so hubby had to listen to them f–king every night, but hubby and housemate worked together in the same company, in the same cubicle, directly opposite each other.” Yikes!
  4. She went down a very dark path. u/Jimi204’s ex-girlfriend “tried to stab the next guy she wound up with and did a little jail time. Came out an addict and proceeded to destroy herself.” He added that she’s doing better now, but that he still crosses the street when he sees her in public. I would too, to be fair!
  5. She became a domestic terrorist. It’s not often that you break up with someone who’s later arrested on terror charges, but that’s what happened to u/Ashley_LgbT. “Talked to a girl over text for a while that I was attracted to but it never really went anywhere. Couple years later see a news article that she was arrested for domestic terrorism for conspiring to plant bombs at her workplace. They found “fan art” of her favorite serial killer at her home and discovered that she had been sending mail to him in jail through a full-on undercover FBI investigation,” she wrote.
  6. He clearly had a violent side. This is a dodged bullet if ever there was one. U/Nice_Rise6702 dated a guy who seemed like the perfect boyfriend. While they didn’t say why the relationship ended, it’s clearly a good thing that it did. “I was dating a guy a few months ago that was the sweetest person ever. 10/10 in every single way. He just got arrested for murdering two people,” they wrote.
  7. He was a closet bigot. u/CourtClarkMusic recalled dating a guy who dumped him for his appearance, only to reveal an even uglier side of himself later on. “Dated a guy in 2012 who I thought was super hot, smart, and successful. He dumped me after 9 months because I wasn’t ‘hot enough’ (dodged that shallow bullet),” he shared. “Cut to this year and I saw his face with the collection of mugshots as part of the white supremacy group who were arrested before invading a Pride celebration in Idaho (it made national news). Plot twist, we are both gay men.”
  8. He REALLY couldn’t handle a breakup. Sometimes you just get a gut feeling that things aren’t right, and that was definitely the case for u/LadyKittenCuddler. She dated a guy for a few months and liked him but something just felt off. “face. He then said things like he hoped I would commit suicide, but never straight to me. To my best friend, who had introduced us. In fact, I never heard or saw from him again,” she wrote. “Until a while after. Apparently he had stabbed the girl he started dating when she told him she wanted to break up. He then injured her in other ways, ran from the cops and even attacked a cop before being arrested in a neighboring country.” Talk about a dodged bullet.
  9. She had a double life. u/ThinkIGotHacked believed they dodged a bullet with the one that got away, only to find out they’d been shot anyway. He had a crush on one of his brother’s friends in high school and she always hung out with him. Twelve years later, they saw each other again, hooked up, and got together. “Eventually we moved in together, got married despite my brother, her sister, her mom and her friends privately warning me to watch out, that she’s a ‘sneak,'” he shared. “Turns out she was a functional alcoholic and hid the actual amount she drank, and she cheated on me multiple times. She was very, very good at lying and living two lives at once. I never even suspected anything for 5 years. I should have seen that gigantic bullet coming, everyone else did, instead, I took that one straight in the heart.”
  10. He was seriously obsessed with his mom. Back in college, u/anon110202 dated and was “madly, madly in love” with a guy she thought she’d be with forever. There was just one problem. “His Mom didn’t like me and eventually convinced him to break up with me. I was heartbroken, devastated, etc… I emailed him a couple times over the course of 6 months or so after the breakup, just to say hello, and the last time I did I got an email FROM HIS MOM telling me to stop emailing him,” she wrote. “20 years later, his LinkedIn profile was suggested to me, so out of curiosity, I clicked on it. I shit you not, in his linked in profile, he talks about his MOM more than a little bit…” This may not be a total dodged bullet, but it does seem pretty problematic!
  11. He had a lot of anger issues. u/magicrowantree dodged a bullet after dating a guy who was a terrible flirt and displayed some troubling behaviors. “I ignored some red flags pointing at some mental illness and anger problems, but they became much more apparent after we started dating. He really needed some therapy or some form of help for his depression. His anger was really scary in hindsight. He was obsessed with an ex and did a lot of online stalking, complaining about her, and wishing harm or death on her,” she recalled. “We dated for 2 weeks before he dumped me for a chance with his ex. That didn’t last long and he came running back, but I refused to get back together. He would beg, demand, or bug me nonstop any time we would run into each other or talk over text/social media. I got sick of it and blocked him. I stupidly unblocked after a few years, thinking he wouldn’t bother me anymore. He eventually realized he could message me again and was very quick to pick up where he left off. I blocked him again, this time for good. I’m sure he talks about me the same way he talked about his other ex despite it being years since we last spoke, but I hope he got some help. He had a lot of potential to be abusive as hell.”
  12. He was a cheater and a deadbeat. U/ohheyhihellothere25 recalled “really vibing” with a guy and talking to him every day. It was only ever casual and he was clearly talking to someone else at the same time, but once she went on vacation, the other girl took his attention. “Well, she becomes pregnant with twins and he had to drop out of high school to support them,” she wrote. “He then left the 3 of them shortly after due to a developing drug problem that later turns into a full-blown drug problem that eventually lands him in jail for a year. He’s now out, works odd jobs for cash, evades child support, and quickly got another girl pregnant… Who we also left.”
  13. She’s a total creep. Sexting can be fun, but when u/JediBoJediPrime29 tried to take things further with a girl they were texting with, that’s when things went south. “We wanted to take it further and be together until she dumped me because ‘there was too much masculinity in my life’ (to be clear I’m more feminine than masculine),” they shared. “Turns out she films the partners she sleeps with w/o consent to ‘work on her game’ and then would, in turn, share the films with others to help them ‘improve their skills.’ Tbh looking back it looks like a weird-ass sex cult. So f–king glad I got dumped.” This isn’t just a dodged bullet, this is a blessing!
Bolde has been a source of dating and relationship advice for single women around the world since 2014. We combine scientific data, experiential wisdom, and personal anecdotes to provide help and encouragement to those frustrated by the journey to find love. Follow us on Instagram @bolde_media or on Facebook @BoldeMedia
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