How To Breakup With Him Without Being An Arsehole

Here’s How to Dump Anyone, at Any Stage of the Relationship, in the Classiest Way Possible >

- Michelle Ruiz

For Kathleen*, 34, a witty blonde with an advanced degree, dating on Tinder, Bumble and Hinge has led to a few ‘special snowflakes’. There was the first date who took her batwatching in 30-degree heat. And the guy who got weepy on date two: ‘He told me he had a tattoo of his dead dog on his chest,’ she groans, ‘and that the dog was wearing a leisure suit’.

Both guys followed up with a ‘great time last night!’ text. Kathleen ghosted Bat Man but struggled with how to break it off with Suit Dog Guy. Even though they’d only met twice, they’d been messaging and emailing for weeks. ‘I feel like I’m constantly having to break up with guys who aren’t even my boyfriend,’ she says. ‘Do you ghost? Do you text goodbye? The struggle is real.’

Welcome to the Wild West of digital dumping. Yes, dating apps mean more swipes, more dates and more options, but they can also mean more break-ups. Women now have to master the art of rejecting Tinder matches, three-date wonders and friends with benefits. Laurie Davis Edwards, founder of online-dating coaching company eFlirt, says that clients commonly ask, ‘What do I do about this guy, and this guy, and this circumstance, and that one?’

The etiquette on when to text and when to –