Dr. Laura Blog

Relationship red flags are usually obvious, but many women ignore them because they want to avoid the pain of a broken heart. They think to themselves:

• “Maybe this is just happening this one time.”

• “Maybe this is just a quirk.”

• “He is a nice guy. I should just let this slide - it will get better.”

Stop being so foolish and living in denial because you are the one who ultimately pays the price (or if you get pregnant, an innocent kid is the one who pays the price).

Here is my list of red flags that if you see, you should immediately jump ship.

1. He lies. It doesn’t matter what he lies about. One lie, that’s it - hit the eject button.

2. He doesn’t respect your wishes. You could say, “I don’t want that picture on Facebook,” and he puts it up anyway, or, “I’m really upset that you shared this information with your buddies,” and he continues to do so. If he keeps pushing you for anything you aren’t comfortable with, he’s gone.

3. He starts fights. Whether he picks fights with you or anyone else, it’s a bad sign that he’s constantly agitated or annoyed.

4. Your family and friends don’t like him. If your parents and close friends agree that something isn’t kosher, it probably isn’t.

5. He is too busy for you. If he is too busy for you, he probably has another girlfriend, or he doesn’t see you as important enough to take time out of his busy life. In this age of technology, it takes 2 seconds to text, and if you aren’t worth that, you aren’t worth anything to him.

6. He makes you feel bad. If you feel bad after interacting with him, something is seriously wrong. Courtship is not supposed to be misery.