r/dating_advice•
nopears1

Wanting to ask for a second chance, but feel its wrong to do

31M here and feeling very silly and stupid about this, haven't been like this since i was probably 18.

I do well on the apps, but this year i have been really focusing on trying to find the one selective, honest and intentional. I met a woman on Hinge, she was on vacation, so we had a couple weeks of texting. I'm intentionally dating, so i paused the apps and focused on her. We met up, had 4 dates in 2 weeks, had sex, things felt really nice, we were into the same things, felt like we shared similar values, enjoyed similar activities, similar background, she was always texting me quickly and asking me stuff, available to see me, i was really excited about her. Any of the little quirks/beige flags just didnt seem to be an issue to me.

Then the third week came in and the energy felt like it had changed on her end. Less available, would go some evenings without texting me back from like afternoon until the next morning. I decided that she wasn't reciprocating the energy for whatever reason and reluctantly I unpaused Hinge. (this honestly felt like i was cheating on her...i know stupid).

We hung out one more time at the end of that week, she showed up and hour and a half late and I just knew deep down it was time to move on. However the evening was fun, i cooked her dinner, we had sex etc. Then she kind of switched, wanted to leave. Couple days later she ended things. Bit of a cold message, essentially a "thanks for everything, but i dont see this going further." Even though i knew this was coming, whether it was from my end or hers, it deeply hurt and i felt so stupid for going all in.

Moving forward I had like 2 weeks of confusion, deep anxiety and depression. Loss of appetite and sleep. I discussed this with my therapist and we came up with the idea of following up for a bit of clarity. Essentially sent her (a therapist approved) text along the lines of, "first couple weeks were incredible, third week everything changed, what happened? Respect your decision, not trying to change your mind etc."

She kindly responded, had no obligation to, and it was basically just a "you're great, had fun, felt comfortable, just no romantic feeling developing."

This clarity helped, it made me understand i did nothing to hurt or push her away. But now i'm like i want to a second chance to see how things might go with better communication about needs etc. I feel i should wait a few more weeks to be in clearer mind. I've been on a few dates since and i just find my mind drifting to her. I'm trying to channel this energy in healthy outlets like exercise, socializing etc, but i just cannot move on. She checked every box of what i am looking for (yes i have a list lol)

Posted Jun 8, 2026, 4:43 PM UTC

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