I respect your privacy and only subscribe you to what you've specifically requested. Unsubscribe at any time. If you have boundaries, values, awareness about red flags and a reasonable level of self-esteem, a warning statement like this will make you very uncomfortable. It will bring you back down to earth with a bump. And it is a warning statement. This man already knows his capacity or what he is prepared to give. A decent guy in this situation will not only tell you this but will opt out and move on with his life.
A guy who wants to enjoy the fringe benefits of the relationship while managing down your expectations will hang about. He has thinking that works like this:. Again, a decent guy will not only tell you this but opt out and move on. In fact, if you were to persist in trying to be with him, he may even have to do No Contact on you. If you still want to be with me in spite of this, I know you want the illusion more than you want self-respect and a real relationship.
When people show you who they are through their actions or tell you who they are, you need to be listening and watching, not denying or deciding that you know better, or playing Dan Brown looking to break a code.
Add context to the situation and you really get a sense of what they mean:. Heed the warning signs. Thanks again Natalie for an amazingly insightful post.
Having just walked away from a relationship where these exact words were uttered and dealing with letting go of someone I loved, you have once again managed to bring me back to reality and see things for how they were. I thank you!
