Five Signs You're In a One-Sided Relationship

Should you really be picking him up from the airport? I think the eff not.

By Taylor Andrews, Cosmopolitan

Love can be… well, complicated. Sometimes, you’re so enamored with the new shiny toy in your hands, you forget to recharge (or even think about) your own batteries. And then you get cast to the side as the toy no one's playing with.

This can happen when you're in a one-sided relationship, which means you’re giving 80 percent of yourself to your partner, but only receiving 20 percent of them in return. “You are consistently investing more time, energy, and effort than what your partner is reciprocating,” says dating and relationship expert Lesley Edwards.

That said though, how can you really tell that you're not getting all of the attention you fully deserve in a relationship?

Well, consider the below “Am I In This By Myself?” checklist. If you can check off two or more of these as something that's currently happening in your own love life, then girl, that sitch is officially one-sided, and it may be worth reevaluating this fuck boi…

He doesn’t include you in future plans

When you’re thinking down the road, you think in terms of “we” and “us.” But when your guy (or girl... this applies to any LGBTQ+ couple!) envisions himself, he always uses the terms “me” and “I.” If he hasn’t brought up his cousin’s wedding next summer, it’s possible he just may not know if you’ll still be a part of his life by then.

Forget how much you want a future with him, and instead, pay attention to how much he actually includes you in his.

You cancel for him

Girl’s night, your sister’s birthday, a coworker’s going away party... whatever the event might be, you end up ghosting for a dick appointment. “This most often occurs because you don’t know when the next opportunity he’ll talk to you again will be, so you feel like you have to capitalize on the offer right now,” says Edwards.

You can be all about seizing the moment, but not if it’s only consistently on his sched and when he decides he has time for you. Carpe-that-diem, girl.

You sacrifice what matters the most to you...

... so you can be more accommodating to him. Sure, it may not be a dude’s favorite thing to go to brunch with your mom and sisters when they’re in town. But Lord knows you don’t love entertaining his creepy friend Jason while ya’ll are playing Fortnite, either. It's called compromise!

If it’s important to you and you want him there, he should be understanding... and show the eff up.

You consider his needs before your own

To a certain extent, this is inevitable in every relationship. Every couple goes through rough patches-a death in the family, a lay-off, depression funk, etc.- which may leave one partner leaning more on the other. But if you are consistently coddling his ego every time, all while he half-listens to your emotional vent sessions and never fully supports you, he ain’t worth it.

You’re DTRing while he’s DTFing

It’s easy to get caught up in the euphoric feelings of lust, love, and all that those two encompass when you’re catching feels. But make sure your guy is operating at the same speed as you.

“Ask yourself if they’ve earned your level of commitment,” advises Edwards. In other words, if you’re solely monogamous with him, and yet you're catching other girls popping up on his Snapchat (who are most definitely not his sisters or friends), he may not be seeing you as his one and only. In which case, should you really be picking him up from the airport? I think the eff not.