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Is there anything in the world that feels better than a new relationship? Your heart is beating fast, and your knees are like jelly. You have butterflies in your stomach, and you feel like you’re on top of the world.
The months go by in a whirl till one day, you start noticing some things about your man. Some not-so-positive things. Or, maybe they’re downright negative.
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At first, you brush it aside. You make excuses for him. You ignore. Till one day, you can’t ignore it any more, and you finally admit the awful truth, you have made a mistake again!
A lot of times, this happens because women are too quick to say yes to men. They don’t take the time to study the men and note any red flags before they jump into a relationship.
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However, it’s also likely that some women do not quite know the red flags to look out for in a man. If you’re one of such women, this article is for you.
Here are the five types of men to avoid in 2026
1 The Love Bomber
This type of man knows what he wants. If he wants you, he will leave no doubt in your mind.
He comes on strong with affection and adulation. He will do everything within his power to sweep you off your feet and bypass your natural boundaries.
In a matter of weeks, he will be planning your lives together. He’s a master at making promises and will usually keep a good number of the promises he makes.
The problem is, once he gets you to fall in love with him, the story changes. He becomes unavailable to you. The affection he once freely gave you noticeably reduces or even vanishes.
Suddenly, he doesn’t pick up your calls. You talk to him, and you get one-word answers. You think it’s your fault and decide to chase him in a bid to win his attention back, but the more you chase, the faster he retreats.
Getting heartbroken by a love bomber can leave you feeling less confident. You start questioning yourself, wondering what you did to make him stop loving you and how you can fix it.
Well, you did nothing wrong. Love bombers do it for the thrill they get from making women fall for them. It’s not about you in any way.
Stop chasing him. Learn your lesson. Do not let any man rush you into a relationship next time.
2. The Perpetual Victim
This type of man takes no responsibility for anything. Nothing is ever his fault. His boss fired him because he was jealous of him. His exes are all crazy. His family hates him because he is special. No one understands him but you.
As he tells you these stories, your maternal instincts kick in, and you want to heal him with your love.
But then he also starts giving you excuses and not doing anything he says he would do. You keep forgiving and giving him multiple chances till one day you realise that he constantly evades responsibility, and that is not the type of man you want.
Once you see these signs, it’s time to cut your losses and move on. You need a man of his word, a man who keeps his promises. Not a whiny “manchild” who cannot get anything done.
3. The Passive Aggressive Man
This type comes across as peaceful, understanding and emotionally balanced. You relax because he doesn’t stress you. He doesn’t shout, doesn’t fight or cause any trouble.
Till you offend him one day and he withdraws emotionally.
You ask him what’s wrong a million times, and he either keeps quiet or tells you nothing. You notice he is the master of silent treatment. He can go for days without talking to you when he’s angry.
You find yourself walking on eggshells so you don’t offend him and make him shut down.
Every relationship experiences friction from time to time. Having a partner who would rather make sarcastic remarks or give you the silent treatment than communicate with you like a mature adult is dangerous. Men like that will only stress you out and make you age rapidly.
Avoid them.
4. The Fun Guy
He’s the life of the party. Always laughing, telling jokes, full of charisma. Everyone likes him. When you met him, you loved that he was a free spirit. Always good vibes. Never a dull moment with him. He draws you in with his boundless energy. You feel alive when you’re together.
However, with time, you notice he is never serious. He cracks jokes at the most inopportune times. Whenever you want to have a serious discussion with him, he gets upset because, according to him, “you want to kill his vibe.”
If you meet a man like this, please run as fast as your legs can carry you because you will definitely regret it. This type of man is not capable of handling real-world challenges.
If you decide to go ahead and build a future with him, you will be the one doing all the heavy lifting, like paying the bills, cooking, and doing most of the childcare if you have children.
It’s a very stressful place to be. At the end of the day, you will most likely grow to resent him.
5. Mr Potential
He always has projects he is working on. His deals are in the pipeline. His career will soon blow. He is on the verge of securing the billion-naira contract. He lacks a job or a concrete plan, yet you fall in love with him for his sweet tongue.
READ ALSO: Relationship: Women, men share incidents that made them stop their ‘talking stage’
He sells you his unrealised dreams, and you buy them wholeheartedly. You tell yourself that building with a man is not bad and give him money to actualise his dreams.
In this case, you fell in love with “who he could be” rather than “who he is”. Experience has shown us that this hardly goes well. Both of you might end up resenting each other if his plans don’t work out. You will be angry because the resources you deployed didn’t yield anything, while he blames you for his own lack of success. In fact, he may even get jealous and try to sabotage your accomplishments.
Ladies, when you meet a man who doesn’t have a job or anything concrete he is doing for work, do not hitch yourself to him. Allow him to realise himself and find his own path before you date him. Stop taking men as projects. It hardly ever ends well.
Dating should not be synonymous with bedroom activities or cinema and ice cream. It’s an opportunity to ask your potential partner the hard questions. To learn their values. To know what makes them tick. To watch them carefully and notice any red flags.
Let 2026 be the year you’re intentional about dating right, so you can finally pick the right one and have your happily ever after!
