50 Shades of Dating

The stages between meeting someone to them actually becoming your partner is very complex. There are so many different stages you have to pass through before you’ve got them hook, line and sinker as your partner.

And if you’re anything under the age of 35, you will be well familiar with having to explain to your parents/grandparents why the person you’re dating isn’t your partner yet; You’re just not at that ‘stage’ yet.

Quite reasonably they still don’t get it, “Well if you like each other, why don’t you stop wasting time and just bloody get together already? I don’t get you kids nowadays”.

Neither do I Grandad, but this is just how it goes.

So if you, like my Grandad, are still a little confused by the different stages and what they mean, I have very kindly explained them for you. This is what I like to call the ‘50 Shades of Dating’ (for all the amount of stages there are, not for anything naughty. Cheeky ;)... )

Texting: Don’t really know each other very well yet, you’re just texting and trying to suss each other out. 0 level of commitment, the phrase “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” comes to mind when I think of this stage.

Talking/Chatting: You’ve got to know a bit more about each other by now and you like what you’re hearing. You like each others company, and this is the first sign that things are heading for a relationship BUT there isn’t one anywhere in sight yet. You’re probably still entertaining other people, because hey, why not?

Seeing/Dating: Now this is where things start to heat up, proper saucy stage. Generally, this is normally a few months down the line. You think the other person is F-A-B and you think “hey you know what I might like to be with this person, for real”, but you just aren’t ready to commit to the relationship yet. You’re going on dates with this person and you start to bin other potential people you are ‘talking/chatting’ to.

Exclusive: NOW THIS IS A CRUCIAL STAGE! Oops, sorry for yelling... But it is very important lol. This is where you basically trial what it would be like to be with said person. You ditch your roster of other potential partners and start to come to terms with being in a relationship. Basically in a nutshell, you’re together but without the label - not much else to it lol.

Now once you’ve gone on an emotional rollercoaster, you’re finally ready for the end stage...

Relationship! (Don’t think you need me to explain this part to you lol)

Now as someone who is reading all of this for the first time, I can imagine you’re thinking “what the actual fu-”... But, it makes sense. Well to our generation anyway...

The whole dating/relationship scene has changed so much in the last 100 years. Our Grandparents used to ‘court’ each other, then before you could blink they were married. Then our parents generation near enough all met when they were in school or uni, which if you ask me is far too young. Divorce stats speak for themselves... sorry not sorry.

So maybe just MAYBE, our generation is on to something here. Like the saying goes; you should always TRY before you BUY ;) ...

Apr 8, 2022
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