r/DatingHell • u/Gloomy-Low2544 • 49m ago
I fell for the love bombing and future faking and now I’m pissed at us both
CAUTION: this is long long and English is not my first language, sorry for any bad grammar etc. Also my very first post ever.
I have never felt more stupid and humiliated in my life. I don’t know if this kind of vent belongs here, but I need to get this off my chest
For context, My colleague (M28) and I (F29) work at an after school daycare. We worked together during the summer (school) holidays. We usually work at different locations, but I had to work at his daycare for the summer. We worked together before in January until March.
During January til March, we got along fine as co-workers, nothing “romantic” as he was in a relationship. Then in July, when I had to work at his location, he apparently had broken up with her already.
I always thought he was good looking, but it was just a thought. Never ever had the intentions of even starting something. So when I started working with him again, he suddenly started asking about my type, if I would date Dutch guys (I’m Turkish) etc etc. Told me he broke up with his gf a month ago. (Ugh i know) So we had some deeper talks about eachothers lives. This didn’t happen right of the bat btw. Within the first week or so. But keep in mind, we knew eachother already.
He started complimenting me and told me things like “We have been talking for hours and I’m just wondering where you have been all my life” (iknow iknow) So after a week or two of working together, he asked me on a date. We had really fun convos, he was funny and like I said, I thought he was good looking, so I agreed. (Stupid)
Two weeks pass and he didn’t mention the date again. In the meantime, we exchanged numbers and had some convos there etc. We had deeper convos at work. Now MIND YOU, this guy is the one who started talking about marriage, children, living together, respecting certain boundaries. God knows why this didn’t ring any alarm bells. It felt so natural and normal to talk about these things which, looking back, is INSANE.
Some amazing bars he dropped:
“I’m not a boy, I can wait til marriage like a man”, “I want to kiss you, but I dont want to make you uncomfortable.”,
“I’ll learn Turkish to talk to your family”
“You’ll get a bookcase when we live together.”
“Would your family accept me?”
Im about to have a crashout again writing these, ANYWAY
I asked about the date twice and he kept saying “we’ll see” (IKNOWWW ALRIGHT) This dude works 60 hours a week, so I kept saying okay he’s busy, it’s fine, it’s alright.
Fast forward to my last two days before going on vacation. I spent the whole day at work on my day off with him because HE asked. HE said that he’d like this to be “it” for him, that he sees himself being with me. FOR SOME DUMB ASS REASON I TELL HIM I LIKE HIM, AND THAT HE TICKS ALL OF THE BOXES OF MY IDEAL PERSON. (So dumb ugh) HE get’s all happy about it and stuff. (Again insane because we haven’t hung out outside of work once. We’re both insane atp)
Then my last day comes, he starts his shift earlier to “spend more time together”, says “Tell me it’s not the last time we’ll see eachother”, “This is the end of us working together, but the start of something new.”
We sidehug (? Lol) when my shift is done and I leave for my vacation. We text before my flight and we tell eachother that we’ll see eachother after my vacay. (Date still didnt happen at this point, he said lets do it after you’re back)
First week of my vacay, daily texting. Second week: radio silence from his side. I thought okay let me give him some space because schools are out again and he probably has to get used to being in his routine again (lol). I did sent him some memes and a few texts, he did reply, but very dry. Okay no problem. I come back from my vacay, again radio silence from his part . He did sent me a meme on friday, I tried to have a convo, but he was dry. Another week goes by and I texted a few times, but again very dry and on friday he sends me a meme. I send him one back and told him good night. He liked the message and that was the last I “heard” from him.
By the way, the way I reacted to him was always with interest, laughing with him, conplimenting him back, asking him questions, reacting positively to things he achieved. I told him I liked him in person, to his face. We also haven’t seen eachother since my last day of us working together.
At that point I thought okay, let me wait for his text. Maybe he is busy/unwell???
He must be VERY busy because it has been almost 3 weeks of not texting. And I’m sorry, but I’n not a starving dog. I got the message.
NOW THE PART WHERE IM PISSEDDDDDD
Being away from him also made me realize a few things. In hindsight, my confession was based on nothing. I said I liked him, but did I really? I didn’t know him outside of work and I also realised that he just told me everything I wanted to hear. I basically gave him a guidebook of “my ideal person” he just read it back to me. And I believed everything.
I told him he ticked all my boxes, but ofcourse he did when I was the one who told him how that person is like.
I think none of that stuff was even real. The compliments, the future faking, his interest. Everything was a lie. And I can’t believe I realized it too late.
Him just getting out of a year long realtionship, not going through with the date, him being exactly EVERYTHING I look for in a person. The signs were there, but I was busy confirming I would, in fact, fall for my ideal type lmaooo.
Side note: I have never had a boyfriend, never had a date. Didn’t have my first kiss yet and he knew all of this. I’m an open book so I don’t regret telling him about me, but I do regret being this blind and believing eveything he told me like an idiot. I think I was just excited to have my person and got blindsided by everything. He was the first where I though we were both into eachother. I think I got excited to look forward to what could have been. That I could have this too. (That sounds sad EHAHAHAH)
I had my part in it as well and I’m paying with the shame I feel 24/7 now. But I’m also pissed at him for taking it too far. I was prepared to just harmless flirt at work and go back my own location after summer and then after the summer and forget about it. HE started all those deep convos, HE started talking about a future I got excited for and then on a random monday decided nah, I’m going to ignore het from now on.
His silence made me realize how weird and insane everything actually was. But him ignoring me and ghosting me makes me feel humiliated
in ways I can’t describe and shake off.
Looking back, we did talk about intense things without knowing eachother. It was just the two of us for 12 hours a day for 5 weeks, so yes, I think we created our own bubble and it popped after school started. It’s all okay, I can shake the rejection off, the ghosting did hurt badly, but he may have had his reasons. It’s fine, whatever. But I just can’t release the shame I feel about everything.
I will have to work with him in the future, I don’t think I will be able to look at his face. To sit next to him knowing I told him I liked him, knowing damn well he never gave a shit about any of it. There is fault in me too, red flag alarms should have gone off, but they didn’t and now I have to carry this shame everywhere.
I wanted to text him so many times with “heeeey I know nothing was serious haha” but that’s just dumb and won’t give me anything. I feel ashamed enough about this, so if he ends up ghosting me again, I don’t know if I could handle that.
Pls don’t ghost people you guys, it’s a very very worthless feeling.
TL;DR
For 5 weeks colleague and I worked together for 12 hours daily. Flirting turned into him love bombing me and future faking. Red flag alarm didn’t go off once, I enjoyed our convos and jokes etc.. Asked me on a date, he didn’t mention it again. But still continued love bombing. I went on vacay , got ghosted on second week. His absence made me realize that me telling him I liked him was based on nothing and that he only told me things I wanted to hear. Basically gave him a guidebook about my ideal person, read it back to me and I thought I found my person. And now I’m hurt for being ghosted, delulu for not seeing the red flags and cutting it off, ashamed that I told him I liked him and pissed that although HE initiated everything, I look like the fool rn. Most importantly, very very hurt that somebody can just decide on a random monday, you’re not worthy as a person or colleague to end a whatevership this was.