Casual dating is often referred to as a “friend with benefits” or “no strings attached” relationship, but what happens when you start falling in love with the other person?
When you’re in a casual relationship or casually dating someone, both of you decide not to exclusively date each other and not to expect or demand any extra commitments commonly found in serious relationships.
Certainly, you’re not supposed to fall in love and be emotionally involved!
Have you been wondering to yourself, “Do I like him? Am I in love?”
Getting serious with a casual date isn’t new. There is a huge chance that your casual relationship will blossom into a serious relationship.
But how would you know if you are developing deeper emotional connections with your casual date? How do you know if you’re in love or if you like someone?
Here are 5 signs you’re falling in love with the person you’re casually dating and things are getting serious.
1. You feel jealous when they are seeing someone else.
When you are casually dating, one of the boundaries you need to discuss is whether you can date other people. But if you find yourself always checking the social media accounts of your casual date to see if they are also dating somebody else, you should question it.
If it bothers you, and you feel jealous knowing that he is flirting with somebody else, then you are getting serious with your casual fling.
2. You miss them when they are away.
Do you get so excited to see your casual date when you were apart for a few days? Do you always think about them because you miss them and you are tempted to send them random messages? Do you feel the need to fill the emptiness you are feeling because you have not seen them for a long time?
When you are too emotionally attached or emotionally invested in your casual date, you start to think about them often and miss them when you are not together. This means that you are falling for them, and the line between your casual relationship and your emotional connection is thinning.
3. You talk to them a lot.
I’m not saying that your casual relationship is getting serious when you talk to them a lot when you are together. There’s nothing wrong with that.
But when you are not together and you notice that you send him messages or call him almost every day, just to chat, your casual relationship is getting more serious. Most casual relationships only talk when they are apart if they need to make plans.
4. You use ‘we’ statements.
This “we” word can scare your casual date away. The word “we” implies that you are a team and it sounds like it involves more obligation with the other person. Also, this word is usually used when planning for the future.
In a casual relationship, making plans is usually spontaneous and not planned ahead of time, like a month before or so. If you make advanced plans with your casual date, then you probably want them to stick around longer.
5. You don’t mind them meeting your family and friends.
Your friends and family are the most important people in your life. Even if you are casually dating for a while, it should not be a big deal if you introduce him to your family or not.
It is because both of you should have no plans of sticking around in each other’s lives.
When you want your date to meet your family and friends, it shows that they are also important in your life, and you want them to stay longer.
Esther Bilbao is a mentor to women so they can have better relationships, health, and personal development.
