Member-only story
The awful, awful dating advice women give to each other: all of this is real
I was horrified to discover what my friend had been told
One of my friends has got a crush on a nice, gentle, shy man at her fitness club. She thinks he’s gorgeous and they clearly get on like a house on fire. It is very obvious to me that he likes her back, but is anxious not to look creepy or get rejected. To her delight, they spent all evening together chatting at a bar, right up until closing time, and he bought her several drinks. I have convinced her just to bite the bullet and ask him if he fancies a coffee. But, lurking in the shadows, was another female friend who, if she wasn’t married (how?), I would assume was trying to sabotage my poor friend’s chances. Get ready for the worst dating advice you’ve ever heard.
This gremlin has told her that tomorrow, she needs to flirt with other men in front of him to make him jealous. She needs to ignore him and act cold. She even went as far as to tell my friend off for acting like she liked him. I sat there with my lower jaw on the floor. No, my friend was to act, this woman advised, like she was not really into him. Now, I don’t need to tell you, but all this behaviour is staggeringly unattractive and unappealing to men.
