10 Guys Who Failed to Impress Girls but Mastered Self-Acceptance

Winning someone’s heart isn’t always as easy as it looks in the movies, and these guys learned that the hard way. In this article, 10 men share their stories of rejection, missteps, and awkward moments. But instead of dwelling on the fails, they walked away with a solid dose of self-acceptance. Because sometimes, the real win is just owning who you are!

1.

I was 7, and I had a crush on a girl. It was Valentine's Day and I wanted to impress her, so I tried to smell good. I didn't own cologne, so I used baby powder. Like head to toe underneath my clothes was covered in baby powder.

I also made a Valentine's Day card that had this picture of me and her holding hands. Everyone mocked me, and I was so nervous I vomited on her. Upon realizing my mistake, I blurted out, "I'm so sorry, I love you!" as I was trying to clean the vomit off of her with my bare hands. Safe to say, she didn't feel the same way.

Unknown author / Reddit

2.

A girl was leading me on, but also being obvious about it. I believed I could get her to date me. She'd revealed she always wanted a giant teddy bear.

For Valentine's Day, I bought a giant bear costume and 90 roses. She called me the night before and screamed mean things at me. I broke down and told myself she was always terrible to me and I let myself think I could change that because I was desperate to not be alone.

I created a sign that said, "Free bear hugs and roses for Valentine's" and wore the bear suit onto our college campus to give away all the roses. It made so many people happy that it was one of the best things I've ever done. So many hugs and girls were crying because they didn't have to feel so alone.

milkandcookies21 / Reddit

3.

I was talking to a girl and her friend in a nightclub, and it was going well, so I figured I'd whip out the old iPhone 3G to ask for her number. I was far too enthusiastic, and it went flying out of my hand and landed on the floor and reset, so it displayed the Apple logo.

I just picked it up and said, "Never mind" and walked away with my shame. Little did I know the girl who's now the mother of my child watched it happen and was laughing from afar.

blazingwhale / Reddit

4.

I was a not-so tactical kid, so I put a piece of candy on a doorknob, approached the girl I liked and told her there was something for her "in that direction" and walked away before I could even see a result.

angry_snek / Reddit

5.

I liked this girl named Sydney, and I was like, "You know, Sydney and pretty rhyme for a reason," and she was like, "Sydney and pretty don't rhyme though". It was the biggest L of my entire life.

TwainZ__ / Reddit

6.

When I was 20, I was dating a girl and was absolutely in love with her. For Valentine's Day, I brought home a large sheet of cardboard from work and cut it into a giant heart. I bought a red sweatshirt and some paints, and made my most embarrassing outfit.

I painted the giant heart red and cut out an oval in the middle. I wrote on the heart 'Will You Be My', then wrote 'Valentine?' on the shirt. I painted my face red, stuck it through the hole in the cardboard, and then showed up at her job to surprise her. Fortunately, she thought it was cute.

palad / Reddit

7.

In high school, this girl who I was close friends with (but also had a crush on) told me once how she really loved those huge 7 foot tall teddy bears, so I told her one day I'd buy her one and she laughed, writing it off as a joke.

3 years later, we're going to the same local college and reconnected after slowly drifting apart after high school. She tells me that she's sick, so I do the only logical thing.

Drop 200 bucks on that huge teddy bear, stuff it into the backseat of my tiny car, drive incredibly dangerously since the bear is taking up my entire rear window, then show up at her front door. She says it feels too weird and romantic given our past, so I do the whole drive back and return the bear.

Toddpole- / Reddit

8.

I fell in love with a girl from another state. We had a long distance relationship. She'd lost her job, so I sent her money and drove to see her. I found out she was using me and cheated on me. I was at work when I found out and just… left. I drove to her house to confront her.

The next day, I went back to my job to see if I could get my last pay check. My boss took me into his office and laid into me about being irresponsible and failing the company. All I could think about was how stupid I was, and suddenly, I started crying. I mean torrents of tears, ugly cry. I must have bawled for a good 10 minutes.

My boss silently waited for me to get control of myself. Then, in a very sympathetic tone, he said, “It’s ok. I was in love like that once. We all do stupid things in the name of love. Try to learn from this. It may seem like the world is ending, but it’s not. You’ll be ok.” Then he sent me back to work stating that we never have to talk about it again.

Spellsl**er / Reddit

9.

Messaged a girl on Facebook when I was about 14, "You're really cute." She messaged me back, "You're really not, bye." 14-year-old me was heartbroken.

***plumber / Reddit

10.

I was so completely obsessed with a girl that I disregarded my own well-being. We dated for 4 years while we were in school for Architecture. Towards the end of our degrees, she started having trouble with her thesis project and asked for help.

I decided to stop working on my own projects and focus entirely on her thesis. I did everything for her. Her presentation went flawlessly, and she had the top grades in her class. As a result of repeatedly delaying my own work, I failed most of my classes and dropped out of school.

She begged me to help her work on her master’s degree as well. I got her straight A's and a brand-new diploma to add to her collection. She dumped me on graduation day and immediately began a relationship with someone who understood the importance of self-respect. Cost me about 8 years of my life playing catch-up.

auruno / Reddit

Life has a way of turning the unexpected into comedy gold, with twists and turns that could rival any sitcom. In this article, these 10 stories remind us that the funniest moments often aren’t planned, they just happen. They prove that reality can outshine fiction, giving us all a reason to laugh and find the humor in life’s little surprises.