These are the 25 Subtle Ways He’s Hinting It’s Over

It can be difficult to tell when a romantic partner has reached their limits, especially if they’re bad at communicating, but what about relationships that seem just fine? There are tons of examples of couples who break up suddenly, sending shock waves through their social circles, and sometimes it even comes as a surprise to one of the people involved.

To be more specific, how can a person tell when their boyfriend is thinking about breaking up with them? When a man is ready to call it quits on a relationship, he usually starts displaying several signs. Sometimes his partner will pick up what he’s putting down, but more often than not, his partner is completely surprised when he finally decides to break things off.

Breakups can be hard enough to handle on their own, but to add insult to the pain, it can hurt a million times worse when a person isn’t expecting it at all. Don’t get caught unaware; here are twenty-five ways he’s hinting it’s over:

25“Something’s Suddenly Come Up”… Again

If you’ve ever been in a relationship where the other person was constantly making then breaking plans with you, then you understand the pain of being stood up and knowing that the other person isn’t going to change.

It’s one thing to have someone cancel on you once or twice, but if it’s habitual then he’s saying, “I don’t care about you or your feelings so I’m going to make separate plans and do my own thing, even if I know you’re depending on me.” He’s hardly hinting at this point; it’s over.

24His Partner Is The Last One To Hear His Good News

When a man is in love, he can’t wait to tell his partner about his day—especially if something amazing happened. When she’s the last one to hear his good news, it’s a clear indication that he wasn’t excited to talk to her.

Even if he doesn’t do this consciously, he’s already starting to separate himself from the relationship. While he may not be aware of it himself, he’s dropping an important hint to signify the conclusion of the relationship, even if his love doesn’t see it that way at first.

23Suddenly All He Wants To Do Is Stay In

When a normally social guy suddenly wants to stick around the house all the time, he may be dealing with some serious emotions. He knows he doesn’t want to go out with the person he might not be in love with anymore and going out with others just isn’t appealing.

He might be aware of the impending termination of his romantic relationship and the best way he knows how to deal with it is to stay at home, stewing in his feelings, until he finally takes action and breaks things off.

22He Doesn’t Argue As Much

He isn’t arguing anymore because he doesn’t see the point. While his partner might take this as a sign of him learning to be more amicable, they have to be careful; he might just have already checked out of caring.

Why argue about something he doesn’t want to invest feelings into anymore? He’ll agree with whatever his partner wants and will move on with his life—not too dissimilar to what he’ll be doing with the relationship itself. After a time, he’ll just tell his partner whatever he thinks they want to hear before parting ways—permanently.

21He Escalates Arguments For Seemingly No Reason

When a man is preparing to call it quits, he can sometimes become more angry than usual. He’s got an attitude problem and is ready to fight at every turn. When his partner comes to him about something small, he’s quick to blow it out of proportion. This is often due to his sensitivity to anything negative in the relationship and the knowledge that everything is going downhill fast.

When your man is acting out for no apparent reason, it’s usually either because something personal is bothering him, or he’s preparing to say goodbye.

20Closeness Isn’t The Same, And Hasn’t Been For A While

When a man starts to disappear on an intimate level, there could be several reasons, but if he never comes back, it’s a clear sign that he’s intentionally creating distance in the relationship.

He’s trying to say that he isn’t feeling the emotions or physical desires he once did. Talking about it might help if it means he is able to determine the root of his issues, but if not, then he’s just looking at the relationship as a ship dead in the water.

19Nothing His Partner Says Sticks

He used to be so attentive and now he’s forgetting everything that comes out of his partner’s mouth. No, he isn’t just distracted, because it’s been going on for a while and things are only getting worse.

If he doesn’t care enough to listen to his partner, then odds are he’s losing interest in the relationship as well. He’s being subtle about it but what he’s basically saying is, “I don’t care enough about you, your feelings or this relationship to remember anything you tell me.”

18He Gets A Gym Membership And Is Overly-Focused On His Appearance

Sometimes guys really do just want to be healthier and look their best—but if he’s starting to become ridiculously vain and the relationship is hurting for it, then he might be trying to make himself look good for future relationship opportunities.

It’s especially bad if he doesn’t say anything about it to his partner and just suddenly becomes a gym rat. What he’s doing is telling his partner he’s prioritizing himself over the relationship as a whole and things are probably not going to work out.

17He Becomes Withdrawn

It’s easy to confuse someone struggling with a bad day or mental issues with someone who is just withdrawing from the relationship. People truly dealing with stress or fatigue will pull away from everyone, but a man who is trying to drop hints about a doomed relationship will only pull away from his partner.

Keep a close eye out and pay attention to who is and who isn’t earning his attention. If you’re his partner and he’s suddenly withdrawn only when you’re alone, we’ve got some bad news for you.

16There Are No Updates On His Social Media All Of A Sudden

The world thrives on social media these days. No one wants to be left out of the loop, so they create all kinds of social media accounts that they play with and update for hours each day. Your boyfriend is probably no different, always posting funny memes and “liking” other peoples’ posts.

But suddenly he drops off the face of the internet—where is he? What’s he doing? Probably things he can’t share—so don’t assume the relationship will work out; odds are it won’t.

15Silences Aren’t As Comfortable As They Used To Be

You’re used to hanging out with him, and when you’re both doing your own things everything seems fine. Really, you’re both just glad to be physically near one another, even if you’re not interacting. Well, if hanging out suddenly has a different air about it, he’s probably hinting the relationship is coming to a close.

You’ll know things are off when he’s squirming a lot or making excuses not to hang out just doing nothing anymore. He might even initiate a small argument so neither of you is comfortable in the other’s presence for a little while.

14He’s Lost Interest In The Things He And His Partner Used To Love Doing Together

Once upon a time, he loved trying new restaurants with you. Suddenly, he’s not really wanting to go out and explore your city’s new eateries. One night he’s got a stomachache, the next he’s decided he just wants to stay in, but once you finally get him to go out to a new place with you, all the fun is sucked out because he’s obviously not into it.

He’s not chatting about the menu anymore and he’s constantly looking at his phone or watch. Sorry, but if he’s withdrawing from shared interests, he’s really trying to say he’s withdrawing from you.

13The Excuses Are Piling Up

You know he’s dropping hints when he’s suddenly got an excuse for everything. You planned a huge dinner date three weeks ago and now something’s suddenly come up? Yup, he’s avoiding you. It’s Valentine’s Day and he meant to get you something but work was too tough and he’s been stressed? He didn’t even try.

Don’t let his endless list of excuses fool you! If he’s always “trying” but never “doing,” he’s dropping hints that the relationship is pretty much over.

12He Doesn’t Talk About Himself Anymore

Once upon a time, he shared his thoughts with you and he’d bring up hypothetical situations you could discuss together. Now, whenever you’re together, he’s aloof. He might respond when you talk about yourself but he no longer offers anything that’s going on with him in his life.

Sure, maybe he’ll answer specific questions, but they’re mostly general answers and his heart isn’t in the conversation. Well, the truth is his heart isn’t in the relationship either, or he’d be happy to share his life with you.

11There Are No More Compliments Or Sweet Gestures

Offering compliments are one of the basics when it comes to relationships. Compliments help uplift the other person and give them a sense of pride in a job well done.

If he’s stopped with the compliments and doesn’t even bother to offer a few kind gestures here and there (think doing more chores around the house or going out of his way to make you more comfortable or happy), then he’s pulling back and passively saying it’s over between you two.

10He Refuses To Acknowledge Anything Is Wrong, Even When He’s Been Standoffish

He hasn’t been coming around and he won’t call or text unless you initiate it, but then when you finally see him in person and confront him, he insists everything is fine. He’s either in a state of denial or he’s seriously hoping this is all just a little funk on his end.

If he wanted the relationship to work out, he’d take the time to talk to you, not just brush off your concerns. We’re sorry to say it, but if he’s refusing to acknowledge the relationship’s issues, then he may have already checked out.

9When He Goes Out With His Partner, He Seems Bored

New experiences are great for date days, but going someplace fun and familiar can be just as exciting. If you take your man out for a fun date and he’s being a Debbie Downer, it’s probably because he’s wishing he wasn’t there… with you.

It’s hard to pretend you’re having fun when you’d rather be anywhere else or with someone else. Don’t mistake his boredom with the date with his boredom with the location—if he wasn’t trying to hint that it was over, he would enjoy the date no matter where it was.

8He Doesn’t Let His Partner Play With His Phone Anymore

Earlier in the relationship, he wasn’t hiding anything, so if you wanted to play a game on his phone or scroll through is pictures, he’d hand his phone over without second thoughts. Now, if you get too close to his phone he’s suddenly needing to use it, putting it away, or trying to initiate anything that will keep you from his device.

Does this mean he’s being unfaithful? Absolutely not, but it could mean he might have spoken to someone about his relationship woes and he isn’t ready to talk about it yet.

7He’s Calling His Partner Out On Their Mistakes Or Bad Habits More Often

Sometimes he’ll tell you he’s got a problem with the way you never clean up after yourself, or maybe he dislikes the way you’re always procrastinating. It’s normal for couples to have a few pet peeves, but if he’s calling you out on every little mistake you make or if it seems like you can’t do anything right when you’re in his presence, he’s telling you things are over.

A man in love wouldn’t try to make his partner perfect. In this situation, what he’s trying to do is give himself enough reasons you’re “not good enough” so he can end things. If he’s acting this way, he’s not worth your time!

6His Friends Stop Coming Around

A guy is always honest with his friends, so when he’s thinking about ending a relationship, his friends will stop coming over. They don’t want to hang out with a couple who’s in a relationship that’s on the verge of collapse. They’d rather not be involved at all.

Another reason they’ll stop coming around is that your man will stop inviting them. He won’t want them to hang out with you there at all so he’ll tell them to back off until he can figure out how to end things.

5He’s Staying Late At Work All The Time

A man in love can’t wait to get home to his partner. He wants to spend every waking moment with them and if that means finding a way to leave work early from time to time, then dangit, he’s going to do it! But when a man starts staying for overtime after normal business hours, he’s trying to say he’s not interested in hanging out as often.

Yes, he might legitimately be busy with actual work, but more often than not, it’s an excuse to not come home until you’re already getting ready for bed. It’s the first step of him backing away from the relationship.

4He Doesn’t Talk About The Future Anymore

You know you’re in love when you can’t stop making plans to see him. Well, he was the same way, always planning the next date, inviting you to his grandma’s birthday, asking if you’d like to go to Vegas for New Year’s. But suddenly he’s not talking about the next anything.

You bring up a possible hiking trip and he doesn’t seem interested, or you’re both invited to go for a beach trip with some friends and he’s not really committing to anything. It’s not that he isn’t interested in the trips; it’s just that he’s not interested in the trips with you.

3Calls Go Straight To Voicemail

It’s not uncommon for him to keep his phone on silent when he’s at work, in a meeting, in class or busy with family, but for calls to go straight to voicemail? That’s weird. What’s even more strange is if it happens again and again over a period of days and he hasn’t bothered to check in with you.

Interestingly, when your friends message him, he responds within a reasonable amount of time. It’s unfortunate, but you’ve got to admit he’s ghosting you.

2He’s Hanging Out With “The Guys” More Often — Without His Partner

Guys need their time with other guys. Sometimes they all want to hang out as a group with their significant others and sometimes it’s just a man night, but your guy has been going out with his friends more and more frequently, all without offering you an invite.

When he does this, he’s basically saying he’d rather hang out with the guys than hang out with you. It’s one of the most classic hints a guy can give when he wants his partner to know things are coming to a close.

1Suddenly He’s Being Less Considerate Of His Partner’s Feelings

It’s one thing to date a rude guy who never considered your feelings (seriously, if you’re in that kind of toxic relationship, just get out now! You’re worth more than that!), but when an otherwise considerate guy suddenly starts speaking his mind in a hurtful way, he’s hinting it’s over.

He’s likely the kind of guy who would rather act like a meanie so his partner will leave him, thus allowing him to play the victim. If he’s walking all over your feelings, it’s over.