Paul Brian
If a guy recently rejected you then you’re probably feeling angry and depressed.
Maybe you never want to see him again or maybe you’re missing him like crazy.
Either way, there are some clear but subtle hints that he’s rethinking his decision to ditch you.
15 subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you
1) He tries to say sorry to you about what happened
One of the first subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you is that he’ll try to say sorry to you about what happened.
This won’t always be direct, as many times men react to guilt by internalizing it.
To be frank, they have trouble expressing when they’ve messed up in a relationship.
For this reason, his attempted apologies may come across as awkward silences, bringing up the beginning of what happened but trailing off, or saying sorry but in a really abrupt or strange way.
As Ashley writes for Ex Boyfriend Recovery:
“If he is regretting the breakup, then you can bet that he spends a lot of time thinking about how he could have screwed things up.
“You can bet he’s going to try and apologize for them.”
2) He’s not dating anyone else
When you’re looking for subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you, look at his relationship status.
Has he stayed single since he left you in the dust?
It’s not always because he’s been living it up or enjoying his life so much.
Sometimes it’s because he simply realizes he made a mistake letting you go.
If every other girl he dates pales in comparison then sooner or later he’s going to choose to remain solo.
And if this is the case then it’s because he misses you and regrets rejecting you.
This is especially true if it’s a guy who’s usually a serial monogamist who’s in a relationship.
3) He’s going wild and drinking the town dry
On the other hand, sometimes a man has a totally different way of regretting his past rejection for you.
One of the most subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you is that he actually appears to have totally forgotten you.
He’s out on the town partying it up and drinking like crazy, meeting new girls and posting them on the grid, and so on…
To all the world it may look like this guy has left your memory far behind.
But check out a post and look in his eyes. Does this guy really look happy?
Many times a man who regrets rejecting someone will go wild in order to try to drown the memory when in reality he’s missing her like crazy.
“You may drink for many reasons altogether, but he will go out and drink just to get you out of his mind.
“People will say stuff that he’s moving on and in doing so he’s trying to pick some random person from a bar,” notes Breakup Guy.
4) He tries to show off on social media about being over you
This is related to the last point.
Another one of the most important subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you is that he will try to show off on social media about being over you.
This includes the hurtful practice of posting photos with other girls just to hurt you and show off.
It can also include bragging about his career accomplishments, posting things about how great his life is and otherwise making an ass of himself.
If he’s trying too hard on his social media networks it can be a classic sign that he knows letting you go was a mistake and he’s trying to convince you (and himself) that it’s all good.
It’s clearly not.
5) He starts changing in ways you talked about wanting during the relationship
If you had problems with his behavior, lifestyle choices or actions during the relationship, he may start changing this after the breakup because he regrets rejecting you.
Sometimes people can be their own worst enemies, and self-sabotage a relationship instead of doing the hard work to improve themselves.
Looking in the mirror can be scary.
But once he realizes you’re really gone that’s when it hits him that this is no joke and that he really lost you forever.
That’s when he starts changing his actions to better suit the improvements that you had in mind for him.
“All of a sudden you will notice that he is taking all your criticism into consideration and is a completely different person.
“These gestures may be sweet but they won’t fix what was wrong with the relationship. But these are signs he feels guilty for hurting you.”
6) He wants to help you remember the good times
If you’re still in contact with this guy in any way, pay attention to what he talks about.
If he minimizes conversations or keeps it very professional, then he’s probably not interested and probably doesn’t much care about the way he dumped you.
But if he’s often talking about the good times you had together and trying to bring up the past, it can be one of the classic subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you.
He wants you to think of all the best times you had together because he’s hoping you still feel that spark too.
7) He straight up flirts with you
One of the least subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you is that he straight up flirts with you.
He may tell you how amazing you look, make jokes about your dating life or even try to put the moves on you and go for a kiss.
This can be uncomfortable if you’re well and done with him, but if you believe that he really regrets rejecting you then it can be an opportunity to try again.
The thing to watch out for here is that he’s not zombie-ing or benching you.
Zombie-ing is when he disappears and rejects you only to reappear to claim you as his plan B option.
Benching is similar, which is when he’ll “sort of” date you but keep other girls on the roster and periodically pop back up to get some action.
8) He wants to know what’s new in your life
When he wants to know what’s new in your life it’s one of those subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you.
After all, we’re all pretty busy with our lives, and if he’s asking for updates on your life then it’s a sign that he wishes he hadn’t dumped you.
If this is happening then it’s a sign that he is hoping to get to know you again and reintroduce himself into your life.
This can be stressful because it feels like you are somehow obligated to respond to him and be available.
But at the end of the day, you’re not obligated.
9) He’s envious about any new guys in your social orbit
Another one of the subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you is that he gets jealous and weird about new guys in your social orbit.
He may ask many questions about men you’re talking to or even just give them weird stares if you’re out in a group of friends where he’s also there.
This intense interest is obviously not what a disinterested guy would do.
“In his eyes, everyone getting close to you is a potential threat.
“If he ever gathers the courage to talk to you after what he has done, one of the first questions he will ask is ‘who’s that guy you are hanging out with nowadays?’”
10) He tells you all his problems and tries to throw a pity party
Another one of the subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you is that he tells you all his problems.
Despite rejecting you, he somehow appears to have confused you for his therapist.
He tries to throw a pity party every time you talk and mentions all his issues and why he’s not content in his life.
You just might find that his issues with you figure into that.
And specifically, that he regrets rejecting you and treating you poorly.
11) He drops hints that his rejection of you was a big mistake
Another one of the signs is that he may be hung up about rejecting you but be embarrassed or feel like less of a man for admitting it.
For this reason, it may come about in the form of hints.
As I mentioned in the first point, this can be the format of telling you he made a mistake in many indirect ways.
As the Attraction Game explains:
“For a lot of men, ego plays a role in their lives. It keeps them from coming outright and admitting to a mistake.
“Instead, they’ll drop subtle hints of regret like talking about what an idiot they were for rejecting you or about how you are such a catch.”
12) He’s particularly awkward and depressed around you
If this guy is usually pretty happy-go-lucky but he seems to become a real downer around you then you have to ask yourself why.
He may just regret letting you go.
Of course, it’s possible his life is just not very good, but when somebody regrets a past rejection he will often manifest it by simply being quite depressed.
It’s sad to see, but you need to decide whether this guy who hurt you is really worth a second chance or not.
13) He looks at you strangely quite a bit
When a guy looks at you intensely or strangely a lot who has dumped you in the past then it can be a sign that he’s burning up inside.
He really regrets what he did and he wishes he could rewrite history.
“If he rejects you and then regrets it, he will be feeling terrible for letting a great relationship slip by.
“His mind will be racing with thoughts of ‘What if…’, ‘We could’ve…’, and ‘I should’ve…’
“And most of all, he will be thinking about you.
“Because of this, you will catch him looking or staring at you a lot.
“He will try to look away, not to let you catch him staring at you, but he won’t be able to hold it in completely.”
14) He asks friends and family about you
When a guy regrets rejecting you in the past, he’s going to be asking around about you.
If you no longer allow him into your life, he’ll go to the next best thing: your friends and family.
So if he’s been asking around about you and mentioning you to those who are close to you then you can be sure he’s feeling bad about rejecting you.
He wishes you were back or at least that he hadn’t behaved so badly.
15) He stages situations where he’ll bump into you
This is another one of the subtle (but powerful) signs he regrets rejecting you. He’ll stage situations where he’ll bump into you.
It could be at a supermarket or your new yoga class.
Somehow or other these coincidences seem to stack up.
Of course, if this goes too far it can become outright stalking.
But if it happens once or twice you may wonder if you’re just being paranoid.
