15 Bad Relationship Tips You Should Absolutely Ignore

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Bad relationship advice. It's over there, and if you've been in the dating game for more than a millisecond, chances are you've heard some stuff!

Some bad relationship advice is a result of outdated social norms and a throwback to the days when gender roles were expected and strictly enforced, and some bad relationship advice is originally well-intentioned , but also... still not good!

If you've been dating regularly, you've probably been given some pretty dodgy dating advice, but we think these are the 15 best bad relationship tips you should totally ignore!

Table of Contents

There's a lot of bad relationship advice out there, don't let it weigh you down.

Never go to bed angry

That's classic, cliched bad relationship 101 advice, and it's also advice that just doesn't make much logical sense. You don't go to bed angry? Why, because humans are known to become more reasonable, calm, and compassionate the more they sleep deprived?

Yes, no. Sometimes the best thing a couple can do is decide to put off a problem or an argument until they've had a chance to calm down a bit, and what better way to calm a person down than a good night's sleep?

Play hard to get

This is another one of those classic relationship tips that are really based on very old-fashioned ideals. Typically aimed at women, this bad dating advice is basically telling us that men like to chase, or “hunt,” and that we are the prey.

Let's just skip all those silly dating games, because healthy adults can be interested in each other without having to make it some kind of ploy to attract someone. In fact, it's nicely mature when people are able to be honest and upfront about who they are and what they're looking for in a relationship.

If you need some ideas, check out these ways to tell someone you love them for grown adults. Maturity rocks.

love conquers all

Isn't that such a good idea? The idea that if two people are "made to be", then nothing can stand in their way?

Well, that's nice but not really honest. Life is not a Hallmark movie and there are so many situations in life that two people who might truly love each other can't make it work. This can be a classic right person, wrong time situation, or a situation where someone has a lot of personal growth to go through before they are ready to present themselves as a healthy good partner. .

And who knows? Life is long with many twists and turns. Maybe that person who isn't working now could find their way back into your life decades later. Don't rearrange your life waiting for them, but you can accept that if it's truly "meant to be", you will find yourself.

Never take the first step

This is bad dating advice for so many reasons! What if the person you are interested in is very shy and may never make the first move? And if you keep waiting...