The Exact Moment People Realized Their Significant Other Was Toxic
Reddit user BlackenSphinx asked: 'What did your partner say or do that made you realize that they were a toxic person?'
Content Warning: Toxic Behavior
As much as we might like to hope otherwise, not all relationships are meant to work out.
Not only are some couples not meant to be, but sometimes there are super valid reasons for a relationship to end beyond simply not being compatible, like toxic behaviors.
But a significant other being toxic will not be obvious upon first meeting them or going on a first date with them. Otherwise, we never would have dated them in the first place.
Redditor BlackenSphinx asked:
"What did your partner say or do that made you realize that they were a toxic person?"
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
"When they kept apologizing for the same thing, then doing it anyway, never changing for the past 10 years."
- crunchy_soupp
"My wife got a quote from a teacher that we've tried to instill in our kids:"
"'Saying sorry means not doing it again.'"
"Obviously, accidents aren't included, but yeah when you hurt someone and apologize, don't do that thing again."
- JollySquatter
A New Kind of Arranged Marriage
"Lots of things, but I think probably the worst and most impactful was when she peed on a stick for her friend while she was pregnant."
"Her friend then convinced her boyfriend to marry her. They were divorced several years later, after what I can only assume was an absolutely awful marriage."
- conspirized
Emotional Abuse
"'Nobody as good looking as me will ever love your personality.'"
- MrNobody26501
"Ugh, that's the kind of s**t I'd think about and let eat me away for YEARS."
- SenorDangerw**k
In Sickness and In Health
"I was at a party with my ex-wife and someone brought out a newspaper with headlines about a local official being in an accident and being paralyzed."
"My ex-wife, without hesitation, said, 'If that happened to my husband, I would be out of here.'"
- nobody333254
"My biggest motivator of leaving an ex was that I couldn’t see him taking care of me if something were to happen to me."
- Puzzleheaded_Elk6243
Children Come First
"This one is minor, but I had an ex who wanted to buy her daughter some new shoes. We were at an outlet mall and they had a BOGO (Buy One, Get One Free) sale."
"She found a cute pair for herself but was having trouble finding a pair for her daughter."
"I love being helpful and found a pair that fit her daughter's personality to a T."
"But she wouldn't buy them because they were $5 more expensive than the pair she was getting for herself."
"Both were combined under $50, and she wasn't hurting for cash. She just refused to spend more on her daughter than on herself out of principle."
- Calm-and-worthy
"This one reallyyyyy irritates me. She sounds like the kind of 'parent' who wouldn't give up a meal to make sure their baby ate if it came down to it."
"As someone who has to make that decision nearly every day... my baby eats, even if I don't. Always."
- DakotaTheAtlas
The Silent Treatment
"We weren't living together, but he randomly cut me off for like a full week. He wouldn't answer my texts or anything. We were long-distance (different colleges halfway across the country) so I couldn't, like, go check on him."
"Anyway, he finally comes back and tells me it was a punishment for not being interesting enough. He liked me because I was an intellectual who would have Deep Conversations (tm) with him and I'd been talking too much about things he didn't find interesting."
"I dumped him shortly after and he acted like it came out of nowhere."
- baby_yaga
Overly Critical
"He criticized everybody. He was mean about his family, his friends, and his colleagues. It seemed very small at first, I knew he was depressed and so was naturally more cynical and had a low view of himself, but he'd laugh and joke with friends on the phone or in person for hours and then the minute they were gone... Awful."
"I rationalized it for too long and then realized it would be the same about me. Then convinced myself it wouldn't be because he always hyped me up... Until I heard it."
"He played the victim so, so well. Scary, really."
- Important_Sprinkles9
Ableism at Its Finest
"I had an ex say. 'What could you possibly be depressed about?'"
"I was an id**t and stayed with her for three more years after that."
- WhatIsAJahBone
Not Over Their Ex
"He slept with his ex frequently for six months... in the house that I bought us... in my childhood bed that I took with me from home... all whilst I was at work."
"He was changing over phones from an old school brick type to an iPhone. He went out to work and his old phone kept buzzing. I saw a very familiar name pop up…"
"He told me that she was crazy and they weren’t in contact as she was obsessed with him (Red flag, I know). There are some things I read that I wish I could erase from my memory."
"When everything was out in the open, she began bullying me online about it."
"We were engaged. as well. Lucky I found out before we got married!"
- MissQII
Different Definitions of "Cheating"
"She cheated on me with a Yankees player because I 'cheated on her first.'"
"How did I cheat? By going to her favorite burger spot without her while she was having sushi with her girlfriends."
"I found out she cheated with three other guys too."
- HawaiianSteak
"Somehow the most venom in this story came from 'a Yankee player,' lol (laughing out loud)."
- SoftcoverWand44
"I'm guessing he's either a Mets or Red Sox fan."
- ScorpionX-123
Gone with the Rose-Colored Glasses
"It wasn't so much what he was saying but the action he did about it."
"He used to tell me all the time that I should get contact lenses because he wanted to see what I looked like without glasses."
"I need glasses full time to see because I have an extremely bad prescription and astigmatism. They're both very high and it's impossible to see without glasses. If I take my glasses off, I can't even find them so I have to make sure I know exactly where I set them."
"One day out of town for a large event we had been planning to attend for over a year, he hid my glasses and acted like he couldn't find them."
"I had NEVER had glasses just disappear. It might take me a while to find them, but if I have someone else around me, it's usually somewhere obvious."
"I figured, 'Oh, that's okay, I have prescription sunglasses on me, as well; I'll just wear sunglasses for the event.' I asked him to pull them out of my bag as they were in a zip glass case, I know for a fact they are in there because I switched them out after arriving at the hotel."
"He pulled out the case and tried to tell me they weren't in there and that I must have dropped them somewhere."
"I begged him to help me search the hotel, I called downstairs, I had staff members helping me search, and I was in the lobby on my hands and knees feeling around trying to find them."
"He was busy getting ready upstairs and told me to just go to the event without them; I'll be fine."
"I absolutely refuse to leave without my glasses. I told him to go have a good time but I'm not leaving the hotel room and going into a crowded strange place in a strange city being unable to see."
"Well suddenly, right before we're about to leave, he pretended he found my glasses and they were just sitting on the bathroom counter the whole time. As if I didn't search every single inch and feel around every inch of that vanity."
"After some crying, he admitted that he hid both of my glasses because he just wanted me to see that it's not so bad and that if I just go without them for a little while my eyes will adjust and I'll be able to see fine."
- ConceptAggravating95
Silence to the Extreme
"I had a girlfriend who got mad at me, and I had no idea why. For three days, she would call, say nothing, and if I hung up, she would call back."
"I turned off my phone, and she'd call my parents or show up at my house (in high school still living with my parents). This went on for three days. I basically didn't sleep."
"I was a senior and still in school, and she had graduated the year before. On the third night, she yelled at me for keeping her up, and it was the end of the fight."
"The next day, I asked what I did. She said nothing she was just angry and wanted to fight."
"It took me going to college and her finding some other poor sap to torture to finally get away from her. I was young and naive, and now know I should have involved a court order and police."
"It was h**l. But from it, I ended up with my now wife, and without that h**l, I would not be where I am today, which is something I would never change."
- FineSL
The Most Controlling of the Controlling
"She yelled at me for wanting to talk to my family after she and my dad had a minor argument. She also blocked my old friends, family, and coworkers in my phone while I slept."
- Arcane_booty_Magic
"Throw the whole girl away."
- BlackenSphinx
"I did that a month ago, and this has been the best month I've had in three years."
- Arcane_booty_Magic
These accounts were terribly eye-opening, and they're a great reminder that a toxic relationship may not be identifiable until it's made glaringly obvious to us.
Fortunately, all of these Redditors were talking about exes, which means that they were able to move beyond these tough situations.
We can all agree here that the dating life can be really hard to put up with, but we have to admit that dating also has its moments.
And sometimes those moments are cool enough to lead to a second date.
Redditor EmCWolf13 asked:
"What is a 'green flag' you've experienced on a first date that made you want to have a second date?"
Reliving Memories
"On our third date, we watched a movie at his place. He remembered that on our first date, I ordered a Dr. Pepper with my meal and a chocolate chip cookie for dessert."
"He had Dr. Pepper for me in the fridge and made me homemade chocolate chip cookies."
"He burned them but I married him two years later anyways."
- cassiecas88
A Solid Tipper
"When my girlfriend and I had our first date, her mom sent her with 50 bucks (just in case I made her pay, I guess)."
"Since I paid, she made the waiter cry by tipping him the whole 50 bucks; apparently, he was having a bad day."
- therealandy04
Feeling Celebrated
"We had been dating about six months and she showed up at my apartment with a homemade cake on my birthday."
"It might sound like no big deal to some people, but I had never dated a girl who cared about my birthday. I almost dropped to my knees and cried when I opened the door."
- DuckFan_87
Valuing Someone Else's Time
"She was an hour late. However, the entire time, she was texting me updates and telling me what she was doing to get there. We are going to be celebrating our one-year anniversary on 1/1."
- Rabidleopard
Puppy-Approved
"She came to my door, and my puppy got excited. Without skipping a beat, she scooped up the dog, and asked where the THREE of us were going."
"That was 19 years ago. Puppy is gone but we've stuck together through h*ll and back."
- Civilian216
They Clicked
"Sense of humor and feeling safe."
"I was living in Reno, Nevada at the time and this is my current relationship. The first date we went to downtown Reno to Hot August Nights. We walked through the event, viewing all the hot rod cars, and for dinner, we went to Subway."
"He is easy to talk to, and very funny. We took the bus from downtown to midtown viewing all the hot rods. Walked from midtown to my apartment in south Reno. Was the best night of my life so far. I love him so much."
- SnooCakes6773
The Little Things
"She appreciates all the small things. Biggest green flag."
- Ipalayhir_
Like an Old Friend
"We met up for park beers on our first date. From the get-go, things just felt natural. The conversation flowed, we laughed, and it felt more like meeting with an old friend than a first date. When it got dark, she brought me back to hers to meet her cat (no innuendo, we waited for a few dates to bang, and I just really love cats)."
"We didn't plan to, but we met up the next day. And the next. Took her to a family BBQ two weeks in, and they loved her. That easy, natural feeling never left. And right now her cat (now our cat) is screaming at me for dinner."
- maxhax
A Giving Spirit
"Not the first date, but the moment I knew I was gonna marry this man... We went grocery shopping."
"It was about 9 PM, and we had both just been paid. The young lady in line in front of us had a very young baby and was paying with WIC coupons and a food stamp EBT card."
"Her total came to about $22, and she was holding a $20. She looked dejected and put back the one and only thing that was probably her splurge, a candy bar and an energy drink."
"Other than that, she had baby food, diapers, chicken, rice, bananas, formula, wipes, the bare minimum."
"I turned around to tell my now-husband to hand me my wallet."
"I didn't have to. He already had his out, took out a $50 bill, handed it to her, and told her to keep the change. He changed her week, he changed my life. That was THE moment I knew he was it for me."
- KknhgnInepaOcnB11
An Extended Date
"We met in a nightclub, I took him home for some fun and games. When we woke up and had breakfast, he said, 'What would you like to do today?' instead of just leaving his number and doing the dash."
"We’ve been together for 27 years and married for 15 of them, and we’ve almost never spent a night apart."
- SpeakingOutOfTurn
Comfortable Silences
"First date, she was driving us to a spot to go hiking, about an hour’s drive. We’re talking and talking, but every once in a while we wouldn’t be talking, and it just felt so comfortable and not awkward being silent together."
- kamuelak
Pay It Forward
"First date with my now wife. Had plans to go to a fancy Italian restaurant. I show up a bit early, dressed as nice as my wardrobe allows, a couple of drinks before she gets there."
"But anyway she arrives and we enjoy dinner, drinks, appetizers, and dessert. The works."
"Anyway when it’s time for the check the waitress comes over and says, 'A person who prefers to remain anonymous picked up y'all tab and told me to tell y’all to continue to enjoy the night.'"
"We were both shocked. I wasn’t keeping tabs but this was an expensive meal we just had. I tipped well of course and I thought to myself the only reason anyway would do that is they say an obvious first date unfolding and thought we were cute/happy/genuine or something."
"We both felt pretty special. Been married for three years. Together for 8. We eventually paid it forward to another young couple years later."
"Total boss move by the way. Definitely feel good about yourself."
- _Ryman_
Onward!
"We stayed at the wine bar much longer than planned, and we were trying to race to a restaurant for food before places closed. So, I offered her a piggyback ride to run it, due to her wearing heels. She jumped on, threw her arm forward, and yelled, 'Onward!'"
"We didn't make it to the restaurant in time, but did end up at the nearby diner for a few more hours. Been married just passed 3 years now, and leaving for our honeymoon (FINALLY, thanks to the pandemic), in 10 hours."
- Devlin7
Clear Intentions
"He made it clear it was a date and that he was interested without it ever feeling creepy or like he was pressuring me for anything."
"We talked for hours, went from restaurant to walking up and down the river to my place for a beer, then I offered for him to stay over but on a mattress on the floor (I was in a studio with no couch), not in my bed and he wasn’t pushy about anything more happening."
"The first few weeks he was always sweet and respectful but made it so clear that he was interested in a relationship, no back and forth or second guessing. And now we’re married!"
- pincho_de_tortilla
An Easy Bet
"A two-hour date that felt like five minutes. At the end of it she made some silly bet with me that she said if she lost, she’d go out with me again. And of course, she lost."
"It was about eight green flags."
- coyote-1
All of these stories are sweet and sure to leave a smile on someone's face.
Sometimes dating is really easy, and when it comes to seeing a future with someone, sometimes you just know.
Do you have similar dating experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
People Divulge The Biggest Red Flags Everyone Often Overlooks Early In A Relationship
Warning! Non-stranger danger!
That is a real thing, you know? We tend to not be as self-aware about warning signs and red flags in relationships. Why is that?
Is it love? Is it lust? Is stupidity? The answer is all of the above.
Sometimes we refuse to see what is right in front of us.
Other people see it and try to tell us, and we say they're the crazy ones.
The late, great poet Maya Angelou once said, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time."
The warnings are there, you don't even have to look that hard.
RedditorExpensive-Bad-1111wanted to compare notes on what to look for as a warning when it comes to matters of the heart and humanity, they asked:
"What is a red flag that most people are unable to see early on in a relationship or while dating...?"
I can't tell you how many times I ignored red flags.
LOL (NOT)
Threaten You Want Some Of This GIF by BounceGiphy"The jabs they claim are just jokes." ~ FreeMindRestFollows
I cut him off...
"Keeping the relationship a secret. Actually hiding it from his/her friend to the point no knows. Not private... secret." ~ Verdigris000
"I had a guy do that. We went to high school together. He knew my family, I knew his. A few years after graduation we reconnected. He wanted to keep it a secret. Why? You are not married, I am not married. He wanted to have sex with me, but he didn't want to define our relationship. I cut him off. I am not a booty call." ~ Bris50
Maybe she's perfectly happy?
"Cutting you off from your friends, and not permitting you to socialize without them. Recently lost one of my besties to a new beau who won't let her out of his sight. We'll catch up when it all goes south." ~ Stormallthetime
"This happened to a friend of mine at University. She was 18, was part of my friend group, and literally lived in our room. Anyway, there were some older uni students who ran the hostel we stayed in and the guy who lived in our block would hang out with us quite a bit."
"It turns out he was only hanging out with us because he was interested in her. They ended up going on a few dates, which we thought was 'cute' because he seemed like a nice and funny guy, but then we never really saw her after that. The last thing I remember her telling me is that, he had written a list of 20 rules for their relationship, one of which stated that they must spend at least 2 hours of quality time together everyday."
"Apparently they are still together, but I still feel like we lost a good friend and that he robbed her of just living a full life. He was in his mid 20s and was also her first proper bf… Maybe she's perfectly happy? But if I had a bf for a few weeks that wrote rules for our relationship, it would definitely not be a relationship!" ~ Wooowaaat
Liar
"My ex called herself a pathological liar and told me she would never lie to me, and cried to me multiple times over the phone begging me not to leave when i told her to chill out and I'm not going anywhere. 'I was a bit naive since she had never really hurt me at that point."' ~ KimJongUf_
The Boss
Not Funny No GIFGiphy"When one person always determines when time can be spent together. If it feels like you're always the one compromising to find time together walk away it's not going to go well." ~ AudienceNervous1665
There is a difference between suggestion and control. Learn it. Fast.
Trivial
Go Away GIF by BounceGiphy"Dismissing your feelings as trivial. A person who actually cares about you would consider your feelings about things as well, or at least attempt to understand." ~ Affectionate-Feed538
"forgetting"
"Always having strange reasons to not want to see you, "forgetting" your plans, being defensive or bit of a stand-off."
"Edit: I've seen a few people suggest and tell stories about memory issues or responsibilities that demanded full-time attention, and I just wanted to clarify that the case with my ex doesn't relate to any of these. My ex simply didn't have respect for my time or feelings and was just using me for sex when she was bored." ~ Cyanide_Revolver
Suggestions...
"When everything revolves around what they want to do. Their job, their social life, hobbies, where they want to live, go out to, go on holiday to, until you get to the point where you don't even know what you want to do anymore. It starts small, but builds quickly and you might not realise until it's too late."
"When you make suggestions or organise things it's usually met with negative comments, or the other person acting like a spoilt brat because it's not good enough, never good enough, so you just don't bother anymore." ~ MadamTheadoramoon
Besties
"Trying to take over your best friend (visiting them without you, confiding in them, telling them one sided stuff about your relationship). They are making sure you don't have a support system." ~ trs58
"My ex did this with my mother. Texted and messaged her, suddenly had the same hobbies as her so they hung out sometimes. I told him I didn't like it and he made it seem like she was the one saying hello all the time and inviting him to go fishing or whatever."
"It's hardly noticeable on its own but it is one of the things I can now identify as unsettling when I look back and see it in the context of everything that was going on. Like I swear he was trying to get me pregnant while I was between jobs and to get me to move to his hometown where I knew no one." ~ gagrushenka
Common Themes
Tell Me More Jeff Goldblum GIF by National Geographic ChannelGiphy"If they keep complaining about multiple exes. In those situations, they are the common factor." ~ TheVantal
Walking away can be difficult. But it can also be the smartest thing you ever do.
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