A lot of the time people think that being in a relationship is easy, it’s all smooth sailing from here, but oh how wrong they are. Early days of a relationship are like a minefield of awkward situations. There’s so much that can go wrong. So let’s talk about some of the awkward things that happen in relationships and how to deal with them.
1. Saying I Love You
Let’s just start with the most obvious one. Saying I love you too early can be very awkward. And it’s great if you get one in return, but that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes you just get a thank you or an awkward silence. This doesn’t necessarily mean the person you just opened up doesn’t have feelings for you, but maybe they’re just not ready to put them into words. It’s always good to be patient in these situations and not to have any grand expectations.
2. Buying A Toothbrush For Their Place
In the early days of a relationship you spend a lot of time in each other’s homes, but it’s hard to figure out when is it appropriate to leave some stuff behind. It’s one thing to bring a toothbrush with you, because you know you’re staying over for a night, but choosing to leave it in their bathroom, so you always have it there – is a whole other thing. The best case scenario is to casually offer to buy a toothbrush for your partner when you’re in a shop and not to make a big deal out of it.
3. Running Into Family Members
When you’re out and about with the person you’re seeing and it’s the early stages of a relationship running into family members can be really awkward. What will they think? What will they say? What if they embarrass you? How do you even introduce them? Do you even talk to them or do you pretend you didn’t see them? The best thing is to stay away from labels. It might be too early to introduce the person you’re seeing as your girlfriend or boyfriend, so just introduce them by their name and be in control of the conversation.
4. Running Into Your Ex
What can be even more awkward is running into your ex when you’re out on a date. This can create a lot of tension and just make you feel uncomfortable and awkward. The best thing to do is to just be honest. Don’t lie or say “oh that was an old friend” or smth. Say it’s your ex. And if you’re uncomfortable around them – just tell your date “hey, that’s my ex and I don’t really want to see them, can we go somewhere else?” It’s that easy.
5. Accidentally Offending Them
You don’t really know everything there is to know about the person at the beginning of a relationship, so it’s easy to say something wrong without realizing and accidentally offending them. I mean, the best way to fix that is to just apologize, but in general it’s better to stray away from ranting about things you haven’t really discussed before. Because you never know how a person will react. If you feel the need to discuss something controversial, start with a question and see from there.
6. Social Media
Just a couple of years ago we wouldn’t even have this problem, but these days not only do you have to worry about when is it appropriate to mention your relationship to your family or if it’s ok to invite them over for Christmas, but even posting a picture with them on Facebook or Instagram is a huge deal too. It’s kind of let’s the world know about you two. And then there’s the whole problem with your relationship status on Facebook. Tread carefully. Don’t post lovey dovey pictures right away. You don’t know how they’ll react. Maybe just post some photos of you hanging out with them in a group of friends, of if it’s just you two – make it casual.
