Why do I keep attracting men who get scared and run away despite liking me?
These are guys who have been in relationships before, so it’s not like they’re incapable of it. But I keep going through this pattern:
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I start seeing a guy, we REALLY hit it off.
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Things escalate in some way (not even sex usually)
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They pull back out of nowhere and either ask to be friends or ghost me.
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They act extremely weird around me for weeks/months before it eventually comes out that they freaked out and didn’t know what to do.
I’ve heard “you are so beautiful I just can’t bring myself to try anything, I don’t want to ruin everything”
“I don’t know why I just self-sabotaged, I overthink and screw things up so I can’t be happy “
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you so much but I thought you wouldn’t want anything to do with me”
Mind you I am not mean or judgmental. I’m pretty universally known as a nice, easy-going person. Someone recently told me that she loves when I show up to events because I “instantly make every room a little brighter.” I’M A SWEETIE PIE GOD DAMN IT lmao
I don’t love bomb or treat guys like my soulmate after one date, so it’s not like I’m trying to speedrun a relationship and they’re justified in freaking out. Yet they always do. I don’t know what I could be doing to scare people off or the signs to look out for…
Posted Feb 21, 2026, 5:37 PM UTC