10 Signs That Your Partner Put You On Layaway

Nothing is quite as bad as being fooled into thinking that you are someone's "Special One," only to have that dream ripped from your hands the moment they decide that they found someone more compatible.

In retail, the concept of putting something on layaway is to get an expensive item while paying for it in small, more manageable monthly payments. However, in the dating scene, it's a bit different.

When someone is put on layaway in the dating scene, that means that the "renter" will try to keep someone interested in them while they fool around and search for the One. The "renter" will do what they can to keep the girl they are interested in single and commitment-free, so they can use her when they need her.

The layaway is a person they may have casual sex with, or even have a quasi-relationship with...but they'll never commit to until they are ready to settle down. More often than not, "renters" won't actually settle down with a layaway unless all other attempts have failed.

Sounds cruel? That's cause it is. But, some guys actually do it. Here are some of the biggest signs that can tell if he put you on layaway.

For things to be committed, you literally would have to drag him, kicking and screaming, into it.

Layaway relationships aren't about commitment; they are about having a last resort. People who put you on layaway do not see you as relationship material, per se, unless all other options have been exhausted.

As a result of that basic concept at the foundation of a layaway relationship, guys who put you on layaway will not commit unless they are basically forced into it.

If you're paying his bills and acting as the main helper in his life, he might commit to boyfriend — or even fiance. However, actually getting him to spit out a wedding date will not happen if you are the "layaway" bride.

Why would it, anyway? You've basically given him everything he wants, and he's comfortable in the situation. For all you know, he might be looking for the girl he actually wants to marry while you're at work.

This is no way to live life, and this is not the way you want to get married. If you get layaway vibes, you may want to just call it quits and ghost him.

He's very tactful about his feelings for you.

No, he won't say that he loves you. Or rather, if he put you on layaway, he might only tell that to you when he feels you are about to bail on him.

However, he will tell you that he "really cares about you," and tell you how "beautiful and special" you are to him. He will regularly tell you that you're great and that he's into you...but he will always stop short of anything that could indicate any interest in long term commitment.

The reason why he does this is because it builds plausible deniability. This way, he can say, "LOVE?! Woah, wait. I never said I love you. We're just friends like that."

He fades in and out of existence.

Guys who put you on layaway will only come to chat once in a while. They don't want to expend too much energy getting you back, or if they do, they will do so to the point that they just want to make sure that they don't appear like a fuckboy.

Usually, they'll pop up with a slightly more involved version of a classic "Hey," or "Wyd?" They might even hang out with you once a month just to make sure that you know he's semi-interested...and to keep you on your toes.

You regularly find yourself questioning your self-worth around him.

One of the more common signs he put you on layaway is the effect he has on you. He is, whether he admits it or not, playing mind games with you. They are damaging mind games, too.

These mind games may make you feel like you're worth less than you really are. If you are questioning yourself more often than not, it may be time to cut things off with him.

If you're a couple, or even a quasi-couple, you regularly find yourself worrying about him cheating or leaving abruptly.

Do you regularly find him scoping out other women? Have you caught him chatting up single girls while he claims to be single — or worse, looking to leave you? Though this could also be a sign that you're with a serial cheater, it also may be a sign he put you on layaway.

This is a particularly bad sign if he gets very skittish about commitment, too. Should this be an issue in your relationship, it should be clear that he probably is just using you for entertainment while he finds what he thinks is "the one."

Even if this isn't the case, it's still a sign he has no regard for your feelings. It's a bad look.

If you were honest with yourself, you feel used by him but can't figure out why.

He's not asking you to pay all the time. He's not really being that mean to you if you can't hang out. But, at the same time, you can't help but feel like he's using the time you could be putting into finding someone who would be more interested in you.

Sound familiar? Many girls in layaway relationships get that feeling, a lot. They should feel like that, though, because they are being used.

Even though he does't want to date you or commit to you, he literally gets super jealous of you being with someone else.

This is the biggest the best indicator that he put you on layaway. If it seems like he just wants you to be single even though he's not interested enough to cement the relationship, that's because he is.

He wantsyou to be single so that you can be the "Girl in the Glass Case" for him. So, in case he's lonely, is too broke to live on his own, or can't find anyone better, he will get to have you. Any guy who actually wants you ruins that plan.

If you regularly notice this messed up dynamic with a guy, then he's trying to put you on layaway — or worse, isolate you from your friends. Either way, it's an ugly, controlling, and telling sign of the kind of person he is.

He ghosts on you, then suddenly appears again as if nothing happened.

If you call him out on it, he may actually balk and call you unreasonable. Don't fall for it. You're not unreasonable for expecting guys not to magically disappear at random. This is a sign he put you on layaway, and also is a sign that he takes you for an idiot.

You're being strung along at this point. Cut the cord, already.

Though he dates you, he regularly tells you that marriage is a "terrible contract" that he would never enter — and says similar things about kids.

Now, I know that there are childfree people out there who don't want kids. I'm not talking about people who don't want kids; that's different. I'm talking about guys who make a point of telling you that they want zero markers of a committed relationship.

I can't name how many guys claimed they didn't want marriage, didn't want kids, would never have a wedding without the certificate...only to be married with kids five years later.

The chances of him not wanting these things long term are very, very slim. Humans all want companionship eventually. If he's making a point of telling you these things, it means that he doesn't want to have those things with you.

However, if he's dating you, what he's saying is way more insulting. He's basically telling you that you're a placeholder and that he put you on layaway while he finds the one.

You get the feeling that he wants you to wait until he "gets his shit together."

Yeah, if this is the feeling you're getting from him, he put you on layaway. It may be time to cut things off with him and find a man who actually does want to commit.