The latest phenomenon in modern dating is ‘love bombing’: the act of showering a new partner with extreme amounts of affection in order to win them over, then withdrawing said affection and showing one’s true colors. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered with this list of seven signs you may be a victim of love-bombing:
- They say “I love you” right away. A mature partner will understand that real love takes time to develop.
- Their love is expressed in extremes. Not only will they be quick out of the gate when it comes to saying the L-word, they’ll also be over-the-top when expressing their love for you.
- They always tell you what you want to hear. A love bomber always knows exactly the right thing to say in any scenario, because they’re attuned to your insecurities and can use all that sweet-talk to manipulate you later.
- They compliment you constantly. They’ll shower you with compliments that feel shallow or inauthentic simply to butter you up.
- It feels too good to be true. If you have an overwhelming feeling that a new partner is too perfect to be true, it doesn’t hurt to take a step back and try to view your partner more objectively.
- They make grand romantic gestures. There’s nothing wrong with making a romantic gesture in a relationship, but if someone is taking you on hot air balloon rides when you’ve just started dating, that might be a clue that their love bombs aren’t all that sincere.
- They want to move very fast. If you’ve started seeing someone who wants to take major relationship milestones–like moving in together or meeting the family–super quickly, that’s a red flag.