14 Men Thought They Found Love, Then Things Got Dark

Love doesn’t always go as planned—and for these 14 men, it took a turn they never saw coming. From sudden ghosting to shocking betrayals, each story reveals how quickly romance can slip into something far more complicated.

• We went to the biggest coffee place in Munich, Marienplatz. It was too crowded. She looked good and all, but we talked for like 3 hours—it was all great—up until she went down on her knees, proposing to me... creepy? Everyone was staring at us.
  At first, they looked disappointed and angry at me for obviously saying no. She rushed out in tears. I had to explain to the 100+ people around me that IT WAS OUR FIRST DATE. © Cengiz** / Reddit

• I got catfished. She was heavily editing her photos using Facetune or something similar.
  During the date, we were talking, and she just pulled out her phone and started mindlessly scrolling through social media. At that point, I just stopped talking, and she said, “Yeah, yeah, you keep talking. I can hear you.”
  The worst part is that I went to another city to meet her. © momsdirtysecret / Reddit

• Matched with this woman on a dating app. She seemed cool, funny, had a great smile. We talked
  and made plans to meet for a romantic dinner by ourselves. I get to the place, and she shows up with a 4-year-old. Okay, no big deal. She hadn’t mentioned she had a kid, but I figured, whatever, I’ll roll with it.
  Ten minutes in, a guy walks up to our table and sits down. She goes, “Oh, this is my husband. He wanted to meet you too.”
  Turns out they were in a open relationship and thought I’d just be cool with it.
  I paid for my drink and left.

• Got catfished by the same dude twice lol , very dark period in my life. © Unknown Author / Reddit

• I matched with a woman who was fairly local. Somehow, during one of our conversations, I mentioned my neighbors by name (I had recently bought my house and was in the process of moving in). We hadn’t met face to face yet, but it was becoming a possibility.
  One day, I was outside changing the lock on my front door when I noticed a car slowly driving by. It seemed odd, but I didn’t think much of it at the time.
  Later, I got a text from her. It was a picture of me with my back turned to the road while I was working on my front door. I didn’t date for a few years after that interaction. © Sh***yCommentor / Reddit

• I am widowed and dating again. It’s difficult to use a dating app as I came from a time before when I did very well, and there were no apps. I met a woman, and we decided to meet at Starbucks in the Barnes & Noble bookstore, which is attached to a mall.
  The conversation was going well. We walked into the mall, and she bumped into her ex. They started arguing and started fist fighting. A crowd gathered, and security showed up. I ducked into the crowd and made a beeline to my car.
  She texted me later to apologize but commented on why I didn’t step in to defend her. I just said I wasn’t interested and blocked her. © nomaxxallowed / Reddit

• I had a great first date with a girl from a dating app. She was super happy to set up a second date for later that week and was sending me memes and chatting until the night before. On the day of, she decided to stand me up in below-freezing weather without any warning. I was texting her, asking where she was, and I could see her come online just to ignore me. © Rambo7112 / Reddit

• I caught my girlfriend on there talking to my neighbor once and had a serious talk with him and with her about why she would even be on a dating site. © Unknown author / Reddit

• This happened to a friend of mine. He matched with a girl, and not too long after, they agreed to meet up and have coffee.
  He meets her at this café, and she pulls out a tablet pretty much right after they sit down and order. She starts a presentation about some dodgy pyramid scheme.
  My poor mate was too polite to say anything. He sat through the whole thing, politely declined, and even paid the bill. Never heard from her again. © siewmai / Reddit

• I went on a date with a girl, but when I got there, her friend was also there. She told me it was because she wanted me to date her friend, but I told her no—that I had talked to her, and I came to have a date with her. I told her I was going to leave, so she asked me to stay. After a while of us actually talking, she decided she wanted me to date her and not her friend.
  I stayed and talked to both, then left and never talked to them again... so weird. © solar-jutsu / Reddit

• I matched with someone and agreed to go out after I got off work. She was an hour late, texting me updates like “running late... doing my hair... be there soon,” etc. Stuff happens, I can wait. Then she sent me a picture from outside the bar with my back turned, saying she was outside. I went to where the picture was taken, and she wasn’t there.
  I decided I was tired of being messed with and told her I was leaving. She seemed disappointed. I told her I’d be down to try again, but nothing ever happened. © ercdude / Reddit

• Agreed on a bowling date, and she asked if we could include friends. I said sure, but it would probably just be me on my end.
  I showed up at the bowling alley and waited for her out front. She arrived with four or so girlfriends. Okay, no problem—this should be fun.
  We all walked in, got our shoes, and ordered some drinks and a food package. The cashier said, “It’ll be three hundred and some change.” They all looked at me and said, “Thank you.”
  I said, “No.” (I would have covered her cost, but not after that.) I put my shoes back on the counter and left. © O**seBMI33 / Reddit

• Newly single after moving 500 miles for a girl and being ghosted immediately after—this was like 6–7 years ago. I downloaded the old Tinder and matched with a girl who wanted to go out for a movie and get some food. Cool, except she wanted her parents to come along, and we were in our 20s. Noped out of that so fast.
  A week or two later, I felt like I did her dirty and reached back out, apologizing. Somewhere in the mix, it slipped where I was employed when we talked about meeting up somewhere. Imagine my surprise when she showed up at work, and security intercepted her as she was about to cause a scene. Crisis averted, and multiple lessons learned that day. © Ilaikmudkipz / Reddit

• Eva and I met on a dating app. We did long distance. I was all in. Two months later, my brother passed away. I wanted to get away, so I went to see Eva. She was nowhere to be found. An old man lived in her address, never knew any Eva. Later, I found out the truth: Eva never existed. My brother had created her from scratch. He knew me better than anyone—what I liked, who I was drawn to, what I needed to hear when I was down. The girl I’d been video calling? A friend of his from a photography class. He’d convinced her to help as part of what was supposed to be “one last epic prank.”
  But he passed away before he ever told me.
  When I went to his place, I found a folder on his computer labeled "Eva"—full of saved Instagram photos, fake text drafts, meal pics, and location screenshots. He had built her completely.
  Now I’m stuck mourning someone who never existed... and the one person who would’ve helped me through it.

Here’s another compilation of stories from men who faced unfortunate twists in their love lives. Dive in and explore their experiences here.