DREWspective

"I don’t think my boyfriend would approve."

"My fiancée thinks so too."

"I’ll have to see what my man is doing."

"My husband likes that as well."

Ever had this happen to you in a conversation?

You could be being as sincere as possible, engaging in a conversation on equal terms with someone else, having been single for years (and having people rub it in your face). Then, out of nowhere, they felt the urge to subtly brag about their relationship(s).

This happens anywhere you go, but it’s a growing trend online. After all, nobody has to look you in the eye when they do it, as they hide behind the safety of their computer screen. But I ask, why do people do it?

I actually talked about this once with an old work colleague during a lunch break. They said something deep and very profound back then:

People who brag about anything don’t feel they deserve it.

Till this day, I haven’t seen one example where that hasn’t been true, whether you’re talking about common people or those in the media.

We live in an artificially-generated culture, where - in the words of Dave Ramsey, author of Financial Peace - if we can’t get rich, we have to look rich. Somehow we got the idea that we have to look, act, speak, eat, do, wear, dance, drink, talk, see, shit, pee, breathe, walk, laugh, think, sleep, work, be like everyone else. Or at least, we’re driven to live up to some ideal someone created out of thin air. If you don’t, you’re labelled a freak.

This especially applies to relationships; there’s a lot of pressure to be in a relationship these days, with singles branded as lazy and unattractive, who don’t "get out there and meet people". And it pisses people like me off.

There are some people who claim to be "happy being single"; these are the kind of people who get into relationships like they’d buy groceries. So don’t listen to their bullshit.

It’s as if literally everybody is in a loving relationship these days, particularly if you’re not. And they all seem to be long-term, too. Yet, you often hear about people trading their so-called "forever lovers" for "better" models, people cheating on each other, and generally treating their partners like shit.

When you take a step back, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are people in relationships just so they can say they’re in one, or to spite someone else.

Anyway, whether you’d want to continue any form of contact with someone who throws having a partner in your face, is up to you. What you make of it is up to you. But in my book, the same thing can be said of these kinds of people as thieves, cheats and liars.