Sooner or later, there comes a time in a relationship when you must ask yourself, “Now what?”
A woman who goes online by the whimsical nickname Burritowrap had progressed with her boyfriend to the point where the next logical step seemed to be meeting his buddies.
However, as she explained on the lifestyle and parenting forum Mumsnet, he wasn’t ready for it.
What’s more, after being pressed to explain why, the guy spit out a hurtful barrage that made the woman question why they were together at all.
This woman told her long-term boyfriend she wanted to meet his buddies, but he said no
Image credits: Mikhail Nilov / pexels (not the actual photo)
And his explanation as to why only made things worse
Image credits: Edmond Dantès / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Burritowrap
We place huge value on being liked by our partner’s friends
In some circles, the term for the guy’s behavior is called pocketing.
As psychologist and life coach Ana Jovanovic explained to NBC News, “Pocketing is a situation where a person you’re dating avoids or hesitates to introduce you to their friends, family, or other people they know, in-person or on social media, even though you’ve been going out for a while. Your relationship seems non-existent to the public eye.”
There can be multiple reasons why somebody does this, but in our case, it may have been that the guy hadn’t been entirely truthful to the woman and was keeping her away in an attempt to protect the image he had created.
“Once the person they are dating meets the friends and family, the facade they worked hard to build will collapse and leave the other person disappointed,” said Jovanovic. “By not introducing the person they’re dating to others, they are protecting the fragile image of themselves that attracted the person in the first place.”
When someone is very particular about not making your presence known, there’s also a chance they might be hiding you from someone else — whether it’s an ex, another person they’re seeing, or a friend they hope to date at some point. “Information tends to travel fast, so they’d rather not risk sharing it with anyone,” Jovanovic added.
Even though the experience was awful, at least the author of the post learned that she and the guy are after different things in life.
Judging from her words, it was him, and not her, so hopefully the woman can move forward knowing she deserves someone who values and respects her presence.
Image credits: Eko Agalarov / pexels (not the actual photo)
As the woman’s story went viral, she provided more information on their relationship
Most people suggested she run as far away from him as she can
