I've given up on love, should I open up again? :(
I'm 22 (male) and live in Spain (I'm very privileged to live freely), however, I've had very bad luck in love
When I was 19 I started feeling interest in guys (never had I ever felt a thing for a woman) and so I started dating a guy from tinder. He was cool but since it was my first time I guess I made it kind of awkward at times for him. We lasted 5 months but it wasn't really that nice, towards the last month he would act very interested just to get me in bed after a date and then he would literally not talk to me and give me 5 minutes to leave his house. Obviously, wrong guy.
After a couple months, I started dating this dude I don't even want to mention who after a month going out together, raped me and tried to suffocate me. I survived but got PTSD and fell into a depression so bad I failed a whole year at college bc of the med I was given. Thankfully, a year after that I recovered, got back to uni, quit meds and started a part-time job in retail and have been working ever since while I finish uni.
After a good almost 2 years without touching a man, a friend of mine introduced me to this incredibely handsome, disney prince looking rich guy who was hopelessly and platonically in love with me. I decided to give him a chance and we had a good month together in which we had lots of fun and connected a lot. Even though he sounds very cool, he was very toxic at times; very jealous of me for no reason, used to lovebomb me (like saying he loved me or that he wanted to have children with me), enjoyed trying to make me jealous saying he was going to make out with this friend of his (turns out it was his ex but he lied) and I caught him on the stories of the most famous gay club in my city making out with another guy. I decided to end things on good terms and not argue.
A couple months later I got the ick and decided to give tinder a go, matched with this guy and went on a date. Just as funny as life is, it turned out to be the last guy's close friend (not the ex). We got past that, never spoke much about it and had a very beautiful relationship for 6 months. I met his parents, would always go with his friends, visited his grandma all by myself bc she needed to be taken care of and he couldn't go and spent every single weekend together in his house. However, he had an avoidant attachement and said that he needed more time to be ready for a relationship which heavily confused me bc we acted so much as a couple even his friends were confused. In out last month together in may of this year, I got surgery on my back and in the time I was in the hospital he caught gonorreha. Not only that but at the end of the month he casually told me during breakfast after 3 whole days together that he had matched with his ex on tinder and was trying to contact him. I didn't go crazy on the outside but I really loved him and this was my last straw, also broke up with him on good terms but he's been chasing me eversince. I moved cities for a temporary job and started a new chapter in my life in which I'd say that I've found true happiness and I'm content with my future, my present and myself, family and friends. However, he couldn't stop reaching out to me and since I once loved him I answered out of pitty bc I know he misses me and I don't. Last month we agreed to meet up in person to leave things on good terms once and for all but he stood me up and as dumb as I am I forgave him, which was stupid bc he's been reaching out relentlessly eversince and I've had to put my foot down and block him everywhere (which I know hurts him and I didn't want to do).
I'd like to know if anyone in the gay community is experiencing a similar situation in love and specially if you think I should let people in my life again. In this last 7 months I haven't even touched another guy, hookups have never been for me and I'm as happy as I've ever been, but I reject guys that show interest in me as soon as I see a red flag. I know if I don't open up I'll never find a healthy relationship but I'm sooo happy rn, college is going great, just bought a car, got a new part-time job in marketing and life is getting good after so much sadness!!! I don't want to be miserable again, disrespected, cheated on or sad about a man ever again :( Older gays you know way more about life than I do, what do you think I should do?
Posted Dec 3, 2025, 1:32 AM UTC