Romantic relationships aren’t just about giving money and other material gifts or looking into each other’s eyes and professing love.
It involves care and reciprocity.
Care must be given and also received.
When you care for someone who cares for you, it fills you up, and you feel complete.
On the other hand, when you give attention and care and you receive nothing in return, it makes you feel used, drained, and exhausted.
If you are a woman who values care and genuine attention over gifts, money, and other material stuff, you start to wonder if you are the problem and if relationships are for you.
How do you know the one you care for never cared about you?
These signs can help you:
8 Telltale Signs He Never Cared For You
1. He never prioritized communication.
Communication is the key ingredient of a healthy relationship.
It is about using spoken words and body language to let your partner into your life and world.
A man who cares for you shares himself with you.
He talks about his day, tells you the struggle he faces, and lets you into his life.
He listens when you want to talk and doesn’t shut you up, guilt trip, or shame you for opening up to him.
A man who never cared about you wouldn’t do this.
You’d notice his silence during the day, and you’d notice his absence in your life and in your day.
He wouldn’t share himself with you, and even if you wanted to talk to him, he’d make you feel like you are a nuisance and you are choking him with your presence.
If your partner wouldn’t communicate with you and you notice you feel afraid to open up to him because of the way he might respond to you or make you feel, it’s a sure sign you’ve been dealing with a man who never cared about you.
2. He never supported you.
This isn’t about giving you money and footing your bills.
It’s about the emotional support you feel when you know your partner is solidly behind you.
A partner who cares about you supports you, not just with money but his physical presence.
He encourages you that you can do it when you are preparing for an important presentation at work, and he shows up at your family functions just because he wants to let you know you have his support.
He encourages you to reach your career or academic goals.
In your difficult and challenging moments, a partner who cares for you will be there.
He might not do much to help you get through the challenge, but you’ll be sure of his unwavering support.
If you have a partner who never offered emotional support or who failed to show up and be there for you during difficult times, it’s a sign of a lack of care in your relationship.
3. He never showed interest in your life.
We all have that one hobby our partners find amusing or even childish.
A man who cared for you would show interest in those hobbies and activities of yours.
He might not understand them, and he might even find them childish, but it wouldn’t stop him from showing interest in them and letting you engage in them because they make you feel alive and happy.
On the contrary, a man who never cared for you wouldn’t show interest in your life, not hobbies or anything thing about
you.
He’s all about himself. He might not stop you from engaging in your hobbies and activities, but he’d make you feel less of yourself and miserable for trying to feel alive.
If your partner never showed interest in your goals, hobbies, and activities, it’s probably because he never cared about you.
4. He never made effort.
A man who cares for you and the relationship you share with him not only lets you know he loves and cares for you.
He makes an effort and shows you how much he loves you by paying attention to the little things, like planning date nights, weekend hangouts, and trips, and generally creating time for you.
A man who never cared, on the other hand, would make no effort because, to him, there’s simply no reason to do so.
If you’ve never felt any effort from your partner and he has never made any effort to let you know he loves you, it’s probably because he never cared about you.
5. He never respected your boundaries.
In every relationship, especially romantic relationships, boundaries are important.
Yes, you are together and in each other’s lives, but there should be private moments.
There are times you still need to retreat and find yourself, and such times are important because you won’t be able to give the best of yourself if you haven’t created time to nurture yourself.
Now, have you ever told him you needed some time to focus on one or two private things that need your attention?
How did he respond?
Did he respect your wish and keep off, or did he encroach, disturb, and even guilt-trip you for wanting some time for yourself without him?
Have you ever told him about certain limits you placed?
Did he respect those limits or boundaries?
If he cared about you, he’d respect your boundaries, and if there was any need to re-adjust so as to accommodate him, he’d let you know without shaming and guilt-tripping you.
Pay attention to the way he responded to the boundaries you’ve set for yourself and communicated to him.
If he reacted violently, gave you the silent treatment, guilt-tripped and shamed you, it’s most likely because all he cared about was himself and whatever he stood to gain from you.
It was never about you.
6. He never cared about your feelings.
If your man trivialized and dismissed your feelings, it is most likely because he never cared about you and your emotional well-being.
If you are with a man who flirts with other ladies in your presence or takes decisions alone without seeking your view and opinion, you are most likely with a man who has no care for you and the way his actions or omissions may affect you.
7. You were never his priority.
No matter what a man says to you, if you are not a priority in his life, you’ll know.
A man who cared for you right from the word “go” would show you and leave you in no doubt about your place in his life, while a man who never cared about you would give himself his time and affection to everyone and everything else but you.
8. Your instincts tell you he never cared about you.
If you have learned to trust your instincts, then you can also trust it in this situation.
You might not understand the way you feel and the reason you feel the way you feel, but I tell you, your body picks negative vibes even before your brain processes and interprets them.
Truth is, if you are in a relationship where you haven’t received as much care as you have given, you’d know, and you’d feel it.
However way you choose to interpret and respond to what you feel is a different thing, and it’s entirely up to you.
You can either pay attention to what you feel and address it or ignore it. It’s your choice, but I suggest that you pay attention whenever you notice any one or more of these signs.