Single men who are ready to leave their bachelor lives behind and pursue relationships may have one obstacle they're not quite ready to face—rejection.
That prohibits most of us from having the courage to ask someone out. Some people's egos are way too fragile.
So how do you encourage someone to throw caution to the wind and take a chance on love? Just tell them to go for it. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?
Apparently, it turns out there are some worst-case scenarios as experienced by these single cisgender males who were turned down and drop-kicked to the curb after asking a girl out.
Curious to hear about their shattered self-esteem, Redditor JadenYuki15 asked:
"Dear boys of Reddit, we all know the whole, 'the worst thing she can say is no,' and that its bs. What's the worst rejection you've ever received?"
Stingers
The zingers here really dented these Redditors' self-esteem.
Harsh Dis
"I asked a girl out in high school and she just looked at her friends, said eww, and walked away. It crushed my self esteem for months."
A Horrible Person
"There was this girl I was on good terms with. Good friends for a number of years, always had a crush on her but just decided I was done hiding that. So I asked her out."
"You'd do much better asking a face surgeon for a consultation. I'm going to take a shower. Bye."
"Yeah...I mean, we were good friends, a simple 'no' would have sufficed. Unsurprisingly our friendship didn't last much longer because boy oh boy she turned into a horrible person. And by that I mean she started hanging with some really f'ked up people, and when I did actually end up in a relationship, she got super jealous (the f'k) and tried her best to end it. And she succeeded."
– We1tfunk
The Punchline
"At a bar with a friend, I asked a girl for her number and she said, 'I have one but not for you.' I went back to my friend and we laughed and got drunk."
The Bad Insult
"I asked someone out and she said she'd pardon my language: never go out with a 'retard.' I have borderline intellectual functioning but she called me that because I was in special Ed classes. Here I am at 27 and haven't asked anyone out since high school."
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In addition to being rejected, more humiliation was to come for these poor guys.
Sorry, J.K.
"I went to school with a girl I ended up nicknaming JK."
"Her initials were actually JK, so she never thought much about it, but I called her that because she was always 'just kidding'."
"She would flirt with you nonstop, making you think she really had a thing for you, until you built up the courage to ask her out. Then she'd laugh and say she didn't think about you like that."
"Weeks later she'd start flirting again, really pouring it on that she wanted you, rinse and repeat."
"Wasn't 'the worst' rejection or anything but man was it aggravating to keep falling for it!"
The Popular Girl
"I asked a girl out privately in highschool, she rejected me politely but told everyone at school that I asked her out. That would have been fine but she is a popular girl in highschool while I am an ordinary, unnoticeable student. Every boys that liked her bullied me until the end of the year for confessing to her."
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"Making small talk at a bar with a girl and offered to buy her a drink. She said 'nooo, I'll buy you a drink!' Can't argue with that, I thought, and accepted."
"She got me a gutter shot... Apparently she was dating the bartender and it was a thing they did whenever she got hit on."
"Ninja edit: a gutter shot is when the bartender scoops up a shot glass full of whatever spilled drinks ended up in the trough behind the bar. It's disgusting and probably not sanitary. Anyway, she was a b*tch and that bartender was an a**hole. I left without paying and never went back."
Twisting The Knife
"I told a girl in high school i had feelings for her and then she completely ignored it and told me about how she was f'king her personal trainer and proceeded to send me pictures of them together."
Height Prejudice
"She laughed in my face and said, 'Oh, you were serious? I don't date short guys.' I'm 5'4."
"6 years later I'm doing very well, she is couch-surfing."
"Saw her at a bar recently and she didn't recognize me, partly because I grew a beard and partly because she was so sloshed."
"She tried to hit on me, and I'm actually proud that I just said no thanks, but I'm flattered."
"Proud of myself, sad for her."
Scorned Dance Partner
"Girl I was in to in middle school, who was supposedly into me to. We used to dance at the dances, kind of. At the end of one, everyone was pairing up for the next dance, so I asked her if she wanted to go to the next dance with me. No hesitating, she just said no. Hurt like hell. But I still had feelings for her and it ruined a possible relationship later because I couldn't let that girl go."
The Shallow Date
"A friend set me up on a date with a wonderful woman and we got along well. But when I took off my hat and revealed that I was bald, she gasped and walked briskly to the bathroom."
Lies
The passive aggressive type of rejection cuts deeper.
The Excuse
"I met this girl at a Metal concert (specifically Gwar), she came up to me and was scared because of the mosh pit, and insisted I hold onto her because I was the biggest guy there (6'5" and 250lbs), she was cute so of course I did. After the show ended I forgot to get her number but gave her a drumstick of one of the opening bands. Fast forward a few days later I get a message on Facebook asking if I was the guy who gave her the drum stick, and I said yes. We ended up hanging out, a few times, got lunch, and I asked her out, I was told she does not date younger guys (she I guess was 25, I was 20 at the time), Fast forward a few days later, I find out she was dating an 18 year old so surprised me with a curveball."
Presumed Single
"I bought a girl a few drinks at a nightclub in my early twenties. After about 3 drinks, I asked her if she wanted to come hang with my friends and I. She leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek and says 'Thanks for the drinks I have to get back to my boyfriend now.' My guy friends were laughing their a**es off."
– RAM_592
The Prom Date
"Asked a girl to our prom in high school. She said someone already asked her. She came with her brother."
Based on these responses, it seems some rejections are no worse than any of the others.
Although it may still sting, "I'm just not that into you" is better than a cruel punchline harsh enough to annihilate a dude's self-esteem, stomp it to pieces, and pour acid all over it.
The good news is, the ones who have the capacity to insult you at a vulnerable moment are the ones you would not want to take home and introduce to mom.
Don't give up hope, gents. There's definitely a keeper out there somewhere for you who will be worth the wait.
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