Your Relationship Isn’t What You Think It Is

What is dating you really like for them?

Sayde Scarlett
4 min readMay 1, 2022
Shutterstock © David Prado Perucha

Do you know what it’s like to be in a relationship with you? Have you ever even thought about it? Do you have any idea what dating you is like for the other person? None of us can read minds, of course, but do you know — in your heart of hearts — what dating you is like for the other person?

On 14th February 2020, my then-boyfriend ruined yet another meal. It was Valentine’s Day and since I was employed and he was not, I had offered to pay the bill — a treat on me. Half-way through one of the loveliest meals I’ve ever had in my life, out-of-nowhere he started berating me for sending him an article he disagreed with earlier in the week.

For ten minutes, I endured this mean-spirited tirade even though I couldn’t remember which article it was. He failed to produce it on his phone when I requested it and even he couldn’t remember exactly what it said. All he knew was, he had objected to me sending it to him.

It was then I knew our six month relationship was over. I realised in that moment that I would never be able to safely have a meal with this person again. I would always be a moment away from yet another one of his bad faith, unhinged rants about something I failed to do or something I had failed to be. I had paid around £250…

--

--

Sayde Scarlett

Author and poet by day; artist by night. Loves to tell stories and create art; loves to talk about stories and creating art.