Amy Reed
Being embarrassed by the people you love is playground stuff. When you’re dating the quirky kid in high school, you might worry about what your friends think.
But that’s child’s play. The older you get, the less peer pressure there is.
Dating someone as an adult shouldn’t feel embarrassing, no matter what quirks you have. When you’re in love, you should just be in love – with no embarrassment.
Want to know if your man is proud to be with you? Here are the 11 key signs, according to psychology.
1) He invites you to spend time with his friends
First up, when a guy is proud to be with you, he’ll want to “show you off”, so to speak.
That phrase often gets thrown about in a bad way, but it’s actually a GOOD thing for a guy to “show you off”. I.e., invite you out with his friends.
My brother always used to tell me that he’d only introduce a girl he was dating to his friends when it was serious. Otherwise, he didn’t see the point.
So provided you don’t already know his friends, if he invites you to meet them or their girlfriends, it’s a good thing – and he’s probably pretty proud of you!
2) He introduces you to his family
I’m sure we can all relate to this one. I know I can! I’d never even tell my parents about someone I was dating unless I really liked them and saw it going somewhere.
Guys feel exactly the same. When he seriously enjoys your company and takes pride in having you as his girlfriend, he’ll introduce you to his family.
Sure, some people’s parents are strict and (dare I say!) a little judgmental when it comes to who their son is dating. Which is why some guys might be hesitant about doing it too soon!
But when a guy is truly proud to be with you, he’ll still want you to know his family and for his family to get to know you – no matter how judgmental they are.
3) He likes having photos of you together
I never realized the LACK of desire to take photos together stemmed from a feeling of shame in our relationship until I experienced the opposite.
When you’re madly in love with someone, you love having pictures of the two of you together. You even love having selfies of them that you can look at or show your friends (provided they’re PG!) when they ask what you look like.
If you send him a quick selfie before you head out with your friends and he absolutely adores it, you best believe that he’s proud to be dating you! If he’s always wanting to take photos together with you, the same rule applies.
Whereas if he ignores your selfies or even questions why you sent it, girlfriend I’m sorry, but he doesn’t feel that way at all – and you deserve better!
4) He posts pictures of you two online
Granted, not every guy will do this when he’s proud to be with you. Some guys just don’t use social media or see the value in posting online.
But when a guy “gets it” and uses social media to genuinely share things about his life, you best believe that YOU will make a cameo somewhere!
People will know he’s dating you and that he thinks you’re something special. You won’t be hidden from his profiles like you don’t even exist…
5) He pays you genuine compliments
Guys who appreciate having you in their life will appreciate YOU. So you best believe that you’ll get the most genuine compliments from him day to day!
The nice things he says to you won’t always just be surface-level stuff either. Like a flippant, “You look nice” or “Great dress”.
They’ll be things like, “I love your smile” and “Your passion for your career inspires me every day!”.
6) He talks about you
Another sign he’s proud to be with you is if he actually talks about you to the people he cares about.
You’ll meet his family and friends and they’ll say things like, “We’ve heard so much about you!” or “It’s great to finally meet you!”.
Basically, you won’t be a secret that he keeps from everyone important in his life. People will know you’re dating and he’ll have mentioned you to most people he knows!
7) He’s nice to you in front of his friends
A friend of mine used to date this guy who constantly mocked her in front of his friends – and yes, it was while she was around!
I think we’re sometimes told to believe that guys who mimic and mock us actually do so because they “care” about and “fancy” us. But I’m here to tell you now that this is only half the truth!
Yes, they might like you, but they don’t respect you at all. They definitely aren’t proud to be in love with you.
They’re embarrassed by it, and it’s why they ridicule you in front of their friends whenever they get the chance…
8) He’s nice about you even when you’re not around
All you need is for someone to be nice to your face, right? Sadly not. When I was in high school, countless guys used to be nice to their girlfriends in person but talk trash about them behind their backs!
Guys who used to do things like this were either a) ashamed of their girlfriend or b) ashamed of the fact that they were in a relationship. Whichever way around it is, it isn’t a good sign.
When he does things like this, he doesn’t respect you and he definitely isn’t proud to be with you. I know that’s harsh, but believe me, it’s true!
9) He supports you and your goals
Another thing your man will do when he’s proud of you is lift you up whenever he can!
When you want to try indoor rock climbing for the first time, he’ll buy your ticket! If you want to try running a race, he’ll be at the finishing line cheering you on!
The same rules apply to whatever you do and whatever you want in life. When he’s proud to be with you, he’ll be proud of your views, morals, aspirations, and career choices.
He won’t begrudge you for them, put you down, or talk trash about the things you want to do with the people in your life…
10) He loves your quirks
We all have our quirks. You might enjoy terribly dancing to old-school anthems on your radio alarm clock in the mornings. Or you might enjoy painting and attending live folk band concerts.
Whatever it is, we’ve all got them! Your boyfriend doesn’t have to enjoy these things, too, but he should love that YOU love them.
Your quirks make you who you are and he knows that. So he’ll never ridicule you or resent you for the little things you enjoy. Honestly, that’d be the biggest sign that he ISN’T proud of who you are!
11) He mocks you, but apologizes if he goes too far
Every relationship needs a little banter! Poking light fun at your partner is all part and parcel of a healthy relationship. Some experts even say that couples who play together like this actually have stronger relationships!
But there’s a caveat – which is that a) it’s playful, b) you both laugh, and c) he apologizes if he ever goes too far.
A joke isn’t a joke if only one person is laughing – especially when YOU are the butt of the joke! A man who truly feels proud to have you will always say sorry if he’s gone a little too far with his mocking and it’s upset you.
He won’t brush it off, call you sensitive, or tell you to “get over it”. That wouldn’t be respectful or even mature…
Final thoughts
As long as you’re a decent person, you’re a catch! Your boyfriend should already know this and he should be proud to be with you because of it.
It doesn’t matter what kind of music you like, which clothes you wear, or how many “unusual” interests you have.
If he doesn’t feel proud of you for YOU, honestly, he’s had it! Life is way too short to waste your time on people who don’t value your presence.
Because when one man won’t, another will, right?
Take it from someone who spent years in bad relationships before finally finding the most perfect guy for me! I truly believe that if this guy isn’t it, the right one is still out there somewhere, waiting for you to find them…
