It’s easy to get annoyed by your soul mate.
After all, they know how to press your buttons. However, there are certain common habits that seem especially annoying to members of the opposite sex—stuff that will drive your boyfriend or girlfriend completely insane, even if you’re not aware of it.
We’re talking about stuff like…
1. When Women Make Plans Without Consulting Their Partners
Women are generally better at making plans. Guys don’t tend to set up brunches or organize trips to the zoo, so women often take control of the schedule.
But men still like to know when they’re going to be busy. There’s nothing worse than planning for a Sunday on the couch only to find out that you’ve got to head out to a big brunch before taking couples’ dancing lessons and a hot air balloon ride.
Actually, that sounds kind of awesome, but you get our point.
What Men Do in Return: Forget About Plans
The previous entry is only applicable when a woman forgets to tell her partner about a certain plan or project.
Half the time, he simply forgets…then acts offended when she brings it up.
2. When Women Take Too Long to Get Ready
If the reservations are for 8:00, some women won’t be ready to head out the door until 7:55 at the very earliest. Granted, they’ve got a lot of stuff to do—looking your best takes time—but men can get ready in 20 minutes. Why can’t women?
At the very least, why don’t women start getting ready a little bit earlier? And why do they have to check their makeup at every red light on the way to the event?
What Men Do in Return: Make No Effort Whatsoever
It’s true that guys can get ready in 20 minutes. It’s also true that they look like they just stepped out of the shower.
A little bit of grooming goes a long way. Men seem painfully unaware when they’ve got wrinkled shirts, stained pants, and disheveled hair. It’s like they expect their mothers to show up and get them ready.
3. When Women Get Too Needy
Sometimes women seem like they need constant attention. They’re not content to let guys watch TV; they’ve got to cuddle, and he’d better start kissing her (and meaning it). He’d also better check in on her occasionally, ask her how she’s doing, and immediately notice if something’s wrong.
This is annoying behavior at every stage of a relationship, but it’s an absolute red flag if it surfaces after a few dates. Every guy has dated at least one woman who texted and phoned constantly. Occasionally neediness turns into outright jealousy, which certainly isn’t attractive. Why can’t she just relax?
What Men Do in Return: Get Too Needy
Everything we wrote up there is equally true when you reverse the genders.
While women are often stereotyped as being needy, guys are just as guilty—and whether you’re a man or a woman, neediness isn’t something you look for in a partner. Why can’t everyone just relax?
4. When Women Gossip
Everyone knows this stereotype. Men don’t tend to gossip as much as women, right?
Well, not really, but men might be more annoyed by gossip, since they’re more likely to see the behavior as a negative trait. For what it’s worth, we do know that the human brain is wired for gossip, in a sense—our brains start to perceive a person’s face differently when we hear negative rumors about that person.
That’s not to excuse gossip, but we’re just saying that it’s wired into our biology.
What Men Do in Return: Brag About Minor Accomplishments
Perhaps in an effort to prove their value, men will go on and on about relatively small stuff.
They’ll brag about how they never forget to change their laundry over or about that one time that they hit a home run in Little League (which stopped being impressive around age 35). It’s not exactly attractive.
5. When Women Talk About Makeup
It’s not that makeup isn’t interesting; it’s just that it usually isn’t all that interesting to people who don’t wear it. Guys don’t know the difference between blush and eyeliner. They have no idea which brands are the best.
They can’t even tell your favorite YouTube makeup tutorials apart; they just know that every single video starts with a pretty woman saying, “Hey guys!” in kind of a singsong tone. When you tell your boyfriend about makeup, his eyes roll in the back of his head.
What Men Do in Return: Talk About Fantasy Sports or Role Playing Games
Geeky dudes are often into role playing games, whereas sports fans get into the fantasy sports. Either way, it’s mind-numbingly boring to anyone outside of the group.
Ultimately, these games are just statistics on a spreadsheet. Your girlfriend wants to take an interest in your hobbies, but there are limits.
6. When Women Can’t Choose a Restaurant
This conversation happens roughly 3 billion times a day.
Him: Where do you want to eat tonight?
Her: Anywhere.
Him: Okay, how about Shaolin Temple?
Her: Ugh, not Chinese food again.
Him: Okay, what about that Mexican place?
Her: No, anything but that.
Repeat this basic sequence until you’ve gone through every restaurant in the phonebook (if phonebooks still existed).
And while we’re at it, ladies, no, you can’t have any of your boyfriend’s fries. He ordered the exact amount he wanted.
What Men Do in Return: Insist on Paying
Some guys believe that they should pay for every meal. It’s 2017; if a woman offers to pay for something, let her do it. It’s not a trick to strip you of your masculinity. You’re equal partners, and she’s just trying to assert herself.
By insisting on paying, you can turn a nice meal into a big ordeal. If it comes up, just let it go.
7. When Women Ask Unanswerable Questions
Some examples of these questions:
“Do you think she’s cute?”
“What would you change about me?”
“Am I gaining weight?”
Basically, this is any question that will inevitably result in a fight.
Some women have enough self-confidence to ask these questions and truly want an answer, but in many cases, they’re conversation landmines. If he suddenly jumps out the nearest window as soon as he hears the question, he’s probably justified.
What Men Do in Return: Look At Their Phones While in Conversation
If your partner is talking, pay attention. Period. Don’t check for sports scores, don’t read email, don’t message friends, and don’t look up who played D.J. Tanner on Full House (it was Candace Cameron Bure).
You’re never allowed to pull out your phone mid-conversation. But if you do so, never look up when she’s done talking and say, “what?” That’s a quick way to lose your phone, and honestly, you deserve it.
