You’ve got that sinking feeling in your gut. As much as you want to trust his sweet words and grand gestures, something feels off.
He says all the right things, but his actions don’t match up.
I know how demoralizing it is to suspect the man you love may not be telling the truth.
You desperately analyze his every move, searching for proof that his feelings are real – yet keep coming up empty.
With my guidance, you’ll be able to discern if he’s truly invested or only pretending in order to string you along.
Why stay stuck in a sham relationship that will never make you feel secure?
I want you to know real love – the kind where actions speak louder than empty words. You have the power to see through false professions of love and demand the authentic connection your spirit craves.
The right man is out there, and I’ll help you spot the fakes. You’ve got this!
13 Signs He Is Pretending To Love You
1. He Never Prioritize You
In the beginning, he was head over heels and you were at the top of his priority list.
He made sure to spend quality time together, put effort into dates, and cleared his schedule to be together.
But these days, you feel like an afterthought rather than a priority. He shows up late, cancels plans last minute, and doesn’t make you feel special anymore.
This is a major red flag.
When a man is truly in love, his partner is his number one priority – no exceptions. Her needs come first, and he makes sure she knows and feels that through his actions, not just empty words.
If you are no longer top of mind for him, it’s likely the spark of devotion has faded and he is only pretending to love you
2. His Body Language Doesn’t Match What He Says
Sure, he can say “I love you,” but pay attention to his nonverbal signals.
Non-verbal communication (body language) is as important than verbal communication. In other words, you can tell how a man feels about you by looking at how he behaves, as opposed to listening to what he says.
If his body language is cold, distant, or disconnected, that reveals more than any verbal declarations of love.
For instance, an insincere, fake smile that doesn’t reach his eyes is a giveaway. Authentic joy produces crinkling at the corners of the eyes – the “Duchenne smile.”
Also note his eye contact. Does he gaze into your eyes with interest or avoid focusing on you?
Consistent eye contact signals rapport and connection, while evasiveness may suggest his disinterest or detachment.
Observe how he physically positions himself in relation to you as well. If his feet and torso face you, this demonstrates engagement and attentiveness. But if he orients away, it can reveal emotional distance and unwillingness to be present.
3. He Doesn’t Want to Make Relationship Official
A player always wants a secret relationship. He will come up with a bunch of excuses as to why you should wait until you tell all your friends and family.
While this is okay at first (it’s not really okay), it becomes unacceptable as the weeks and months pass. Eventually, a relationship must become official.
Otherwise, is it really a relationship? Probably not.
If your man constantly puts off making you guys official, it demonstrates that he’s scared of commitment. Either that or he isn’t convinced you’re the right one for him.
As a result, he’ll do all he can to avoid making the relationship official, including coming up with a bunch of lousy excuses.
4. He Rarely Shows Any Affection
If your man loves you, there will be some affection.
Even if he claims “I’m not the affectionate type,” it doesn’t matter – he’ll still show affection, even if he doesn’t even realize he’s showing it.
Either he’ll hug you, kiss you and caress you tenderly when you’re feeling down or he’ll raise your spirits through his words, telling you he loves you, cares for you and will always be there for you.
These are sweet things to say to a girl to show the love he has for you.
But if he is noticeably absent in your relationship, it’s a telltale sign that he is pretending to love you.
And even when he does tell you he loves you, you can tell there’s no meaning or affection behind his words. They feel empty to you, as though he’s only saying these things because you said them first.
5. He Is Emotionally Closed Off With You
When you love a man, it’s natural that you want him to open up to you.
You want to be the first person he comes to when he has a problem, and you want to know everything about him.
If he’s ever going to display vulnerability, you want to be sure that it’s you he’s vulnerable with.
And yet if his friends know more about him than you do and if he literally never opens up to you, it’s a bad sign.
It means that, despite what he might have said to you, he still hasn’t established an emotional connection with you.
He’s distant from you because he probably still doesn’t trust you completely and has no reason to open up to you.
6. He Doesn’t Listen To You
It’s infuriating when a man doesn’t listen to you. You tell him things, you confide in him and open up to you … but he’s taken nothing in.
And when you ask him what he thinks of what you just said to him, he hasn’t got a clue.
“Sorry, I wasn’t listening.”
Men who love their women are so devoted to them that they hang on their every word. Moreover, they respect them – and this means they always listen to them.
So if your man always zones out when you talk and seems distracted, it’s another sign that he’s only pretending to love you.
7. The ‘We’ Is Missing From His Conversations
You might use the “we” a lot in your conversations with him. For example, maybe you’ll say something like “we should go there sometime.”
It’s normal – you’re a couple, you love him and so naturally you use the “we.”
He, on the other hand, prefers to focus on “I.” Instead of “we should go there,” it’s “I’d love to go there.”
While you might think this is just a slip of the tongue, it demonstrates that you’re not a key part of his thoughts. If he thought about you more and if he truly loved you, he wouldn’t forget to turn more “I’s” into “we’s.”
8. He Doesn’t Seem Too Excited To Meet You
Whenever you meet, what is his mood like?
- Is he super excited?
- Or does he always seem morose and bored?
While it’s totally okay to sometimes be in a low mood, it’s kinda weird if a man is always unexcited to see the girl he claims to love.
He could be feeling low – but even if he is, this is something you should talk about with him.
On the contrary, if your man barely looks happy whenever he meets you, it’s a sign that he’s going through the motions.
While he might tell you that he loves you, his energy speaks otherwise.
9. He Doesn’t Talk About The Future And Make Any Plans
Some people prefer not to talk about the future, even with their partners.
But while that’s okay at first, it’s not okay later down the line if you’re with the person you claim to love.
After all, when two people love each other it’s normal that they plan their life together.
This then ensures that they’re both on the same page and know where each other stands.
So if he’s evasive about his future plans and never asks you about yours, it’s a sign that he is not serious about you – at least yet.
And this means that he doesn’t love you the way he says he does.
10. He Only Seems Excited or Interested When It’s About Sex
Sex is, of course, a natural part of any relationship. A relationship isn’t a healthy one if there’s no physical intimacy.
At the same time, a healthy relationship is one that’s built on much more than just sex. It’s one that allows you the freedom to express yourself in different ways and learn new things about your partner.
But how can you learn more about them if all they want to do is have sex each time they see you?
He might claim that you’re “really hot” and that he can’t help himself. But it isn’t enough.
If a man only seems interested in meeting up for physical intimacy, it shows that he is attracted to you – but what else is in this relationship for him?
Until he figures that out, he might be confusing his feelings of love for lust.
11. You’ve Noticed Inconsistencies In His Stories
Honesty is the bedrock of all successful relationships. The moment he tells you he loves you is the moment you expect him to be upfront with you about everything.
After all, it’s the least you can expect. Why would a man lie to the woman he loves?
If, however, you’ve noticed that his stories aren’t adding up sometimes – in other words, there are holes and inconsistencies when he tells you where he was the previous week before he accidentally corrected himself – it’s a strong sign that he’s telling lies.
This not only means he doesn’t respect you, it also means he’s not 100% committed to the relationship.
And if he isn’t 100% committed, it could be because he’s only pretending to love you. If he’s lied about other things, he can for sure lie about his true feelings.
Also, his lies might only seem trivial to the point where you’re thinking “why lie about such a thing?”
But if a man is capable of telling small lies about anything and everything, including what movie he watched last night with a buddy, it suggests he’s capable of telling bigger lies.
12. He Doesn’t Remember Special Dates and Moments
You remember special dates and moments. Not because you’re a “woman” – you remember them because you love him and treasure your time together.
If he loves you, it’s only normal to expect him to remember them, too. He can’t use the fact that he’s a “guy” to excuse himself from this one.
Both men and women who love each other remember things like the first time they met, the first time they kissed and what they did on their first date.
They also make it a point to remember each other’s birthdays and achievements.
If he literally makes zero effort to remember anything – and yet can remember his first-ever football match! – it’s another clear sign that he’s faking his love.
13. He Shows No Concern For Your Interactions With Other Men
While no one wants to date a truly jealous man, it’s kinda nice when your man is a tiny bit jealous. It makes you feel wanted and loved when he asks “who that guy was.”
So it’s all the more galling when your man simply doesn’t care about your interactions with other men. He sees you talking to them and maybe he even sees you innocently flirting with them – but he doesn’t care.
Why? Is it because he hasn’t a single jealous bone in his body?
Possible. But even the most trusting men show some concern for the way their woman talks to other men.
So if he couldn’t care less who you talk to, it could mean he isn’t jealous because he doesn’t love you.
Why Would He Pretend To Love You?
He has options but he is not sure. It might be the case that he really does like you. But because he has other options that he’s still keeping around, he can’t make his mind up about what to do.
He doesn’t want to hurt your feelings. He might not realize it but by keeping you hanging on like this, he’s only going to hurt your feelings even more when you call him out on the fact that he doesn’t really love you. For now, he can’t bring himself to tell you to your face – and he possibly wants you to figure it out for yourself.
He wants to impress others. Especially if all his friends think you’re a really nice, attractive girl, it’s possible that he wants to keep dating you to bolster his own masculinity and ego.
He’s just looking to meet his own needs. If he’s getting a lot out of this relationship physically and even emotionally, he’ll keep seeing you just to keep satisfying his own needs – even though he has no real intentions of settling down with you.
He’s emotionally unavailable. Lastly, there’s a chance that he hasn’t matured or grown up enough yet to even realize what true love is.
Takeaway
After reading this article, you might be a bit clearer about how he truly feels about you. In other words, whether he actually does love you – or whether he’s faking it.
At this point, the next best thing to do is to speak to him about your concerns and find out how he really feels about you. This will help to put your mind at rest and allow you to move on, either with him or without him.
The sooner you find out, the sooner you know where to invest your time, energy and money.
