So you’re not officially dating, but you’re not sure if your relationship is more than just a fling.
Are you dating?
Are you friends with benefits?
Are you in the early stages of a committed relationship?
You two aren’t exclusive, but there isn’t anyone else allowed.
What does your current relationship status mean?
It’s hard to tell.
I’m going to help you figure that out by giving you some signs you are unofficially dating whoever you are dating.
12 Signs You Are Unofficially Dating
1. They’ve met your friends and family, and you’ve met theirs
Introducing someone to the people in your life signals that you’re starting to get serious about them, as these are the people whose opinions you deeply care about.
Meeting parents, for example, is a huge deal.
It’s saying you trust the person, and it’s an important step in building a relationship that could last forever.
Friends might not be blood relatives, but they’re still extremely important to us.
Sometimes, we even say our best friends are our family.
So, if you’ve met their friends and family, and they’ve met yours, and both sides know you are close to each other, it’s an unofficial sign that you and your ‘friend’ are unofficially dating even though you’ve not defined your relationship.
2. You have inside jokes
You have your own thing together.
Your friends may not get it, but it doesn’t matter because as long as the two of you get it, then it’s all good.
You refer to episodes from your past and reference things that happened between you that no one else would understand because they weren’t there.
You’ve built a rapport if you have inside jokes with your date.
When you share laughter, it lightens the mood and connects you.
Even if you’re only on the phone or via text, when a joke comes out of nowhere and you both laugh, it’s more than just humor; it’s a connection.
3. You get jealous of their other relationships
It should be no surprise that one of the clearest signs you’re unofficially dating someone is that you feel jealous when they’re with other people.
If you find yourself eager to know what they were up to on their nights out, if you hate the idea of them being in someone else’s arms, or if you don’t want anyone to be a priority over you, these are all definitive signs that your feelings for them are not simply platonic.
It’s quite simple: jealousy is the number one indicator of attraction when it comes down to it.
4. You spend lots of time with them, even when you don’t have to
If you spend a lot of time with someone, they’re not just important to you, but also enjoyable.
Spending time together is a solid indicator that things are progressing in the right direction.
After all, if you weren’t having fun while hanging out together, you’d probably find more ways to avoid each other.
5. They’ve seen you without makeup on and still like you
Makeup is a mask that we wear to the world, and it’s important that you can let your guard down.
Whether you’re in your sweats or looking like a million bucks, the person you’re with should love you for who you are, not just how well you apply bronzer.
If they seem interested in getting to know even the makeup-free version of yourself, you guys might be dating unofficially.
6. You’d rather be around them than your friends
Do you find yourself not making plans with your friends because of the possibility that this person may ask to hang out?
Do you feel weird answering calls from your friends when they’re around?
Does spending time with them make you happier than hanging out with your friends and family?
If the answer is yes, it’s pretty safe to say that you are unofficially in a relationship.
7. You feel like you can be yourself around them
You don’t have to pretend to like anything you don’t actually like, and you don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not.
You can be chill, open, and honest.
You feel like they understand you deeper than anyone else ever has, even if you’ve never mentioned any of this to them.
They don’t even need to know what you struggle with in life, but they do somehow.
And they accept those things about you and hold your hand through them anyway.
8. They’ve seen you at your worst, and vice versa
It’s one thing to catch a glimpse of someone’s vulnerable side on purpose, but it’s quite another to have it forced upon you when they’re sick or having a bad day.
If you’ve caught them looking, feeling, and acting terrible, and you haven’t run for the hills, if they’ve seen you in awful situations and still want to stick around, there must be something there.
If any of these hit home, you are in a relationship, although undefined.
9. You don’t talk about your relationship with others
When you’re in a real relationship with someone, there’s no hiding it from people.
When you haven’t made things official yet, you hide whatever is going on with you and the person you’re dating, especially if there’s a lack of definition or clarity around what the two of you are doing together.
If your friends have no idea that this person exists or are unaware of how much time and energy you spend with them, that’s because it is not yet official.
10. You’ve never used labels to describe your relationship status together or separately
If one person or both of you in the relationship describe yourself/yourselves as single, but you are spending so much time with each other without pursuing any other opportunities for romance, you are unofficially dating.
You don’t address each other as boyfriend or girlfriend, yet people who know both of you ask why the two of you aren’t an item yet.
Others can see all the signs pointing toward a potential romantic pairing between you, but you haven’t made it official.
You guys are dating each other without even realizing it.
11. You see each other regularly
You call each other most days of the week.
You schedule a time to hang out at least once a week.
Neither of you is seeing anyone else.
You may have gone on a few dates with other people, but never anything serious.
You’re not just hanging out when it’s convenient or when you need a person to vent to.
The two of you have things planned out weeks in advance, and you know for sure that you’ll be spending the weekend together.
They often invite you over to their place and vice versa.
You regularly spend some one-on-one time with each other.
You have no problem mentioning each other in tweets, posting photos together on Instagram, or including each other in Facebook status updates.
Whether it’s a group setting or just the two of you, you go on regular dates with them.
What other definition of dating do you need?
12. You text throughout the day
You talk to them throughout the day, every day, and you don’t just text them when you’re bored or for special moments alone,
They are the first person you call when something happens, and they are definitely in your group of go-to people who are always there for you.
These are some signs that you’re unofficially dating.
Unofficial dating can be awkward initially because you don’t know where you stand with the other person.
Unofficially dating is also a step before being in an exclusive relationship.
It’s when you and the person you’re seeing aren’t official, but it’s not casual either.
The signs of an unofficial relationship are pretty obvious once you know what to look for.
Keep in mind that it is wise to be upfront with what you want and always ask for what you need.
It’s easy to get carried away, but remember what you want and stay true to yourself.
Otherwise, you’ll keep ending up in situationships and getting hurt.