What are the signs of a toxic boyfriend?
Toxic boyfriends are not always very easy to spot.
When we talk about toxic boyfriends, you might be thinking they are the aggressive and violent ones.
But this isn’t always the case.
Toxic boyfriends aren’t always overtly abusive or violent, but they do their best to make you feel unloved and unwanted, and that is why they are toxic.
A toxic guy is one who drains your energy and takes away your happiness.
His behavior creates an environment of negativity that’s impossible to escape from.
He’ll try to trap you by making you feel guilty for wanting to leave him.
If you’re in a relationship with someone who makes you feel bad about yourself, or if they make you feel like you have to walk on eggshells around them, then it’s time to re-evaluate your relationship.
If you’re dating a toxic boyfriend, it’s important to recognize the signs and get out as soon as possible.
Here are some signs that your man is toxic:
11 Signs of a Toxic Boyfriend
- He makes you feel bad about yourself
One of the biggest signs ofa toxic boyfriend is that he makes you feel bad about yourself.
He’ll constantly criticize you, and put you down in a way that makes it seem like it’s your fault that he doesn’t like something about you.
And the worst part?
He’ll always have an excuse for why he did it—even if he was the one who started in on you first.
He might say things like, “You look pretty when you’re dressed up.”
“Are sure you can do that?”
“I love skinny girls, but I choose you anyway.”
Your boyfriend should be making you feel confident and good about yourself, even if you battle with low self-esteem.
But if he constantly puts you down or makes negative comments about your appearance or personality, he’s simply toxic!
- He’s clingy and jealous all the time.
If your boyfriend is always checking in on what you’re doing (even if it’s just hanging out with friends), this is not healthy behavior — especially if he gets angry when he finds out something that he doesn’t like.
Jealousy is normal in relationships, but when it starts getting out of control, then there’s nothing cute about it.
He’s simply controlling and wants to dictate how you should live your life.
- He puts himself first
A toxic boyfriend will always put his needs before yours.
He expects you to cater to his every whim and desire without considering your own feelings or needs.
He doesn’t care about your feelings, only his own.
If you realize that you keep giving and giving more than you’re receiving, you’re with a toxic man who only cares about himself.
- He’s never wrong
Nothing screams toxicity than a boyfriend who is never wrong.
He always has an excuse for any wrongdoing he commits or for anything he does wrong.
He blames others for his mistakes, always making it seem like he was the victim in the situation.
If you call him out on something, he will make sure that he turns it around so that it seems like it was all your fault somehow.
He makes excuses for everything from cheating on you to lying about where he was last night because he had been out.
If you ever ask him why he did something wrong, he will start making excuses immediately instead of owning up.
- He doesn’t respect your boundaries
A toxic boyfriend may try to persuade you to do things that make you uncomfortable.
He may pressure you into making decisions that are not in your best interest, or he may make decisions for you that are out of character for the type of person you are.
He just doesn’t respect your boundaries, whether they’re physical or emotional.
He might try to force himself on you sexually or emotionally, or he may manipulate your emotions by making you feel guilty or upset if he feels like his needs aren’t being met.
- He has a bad temper
One of the most important signs of a toxic boyfriend is his tendency toward anger and rage.
He has a habit of yelling at you or losing his cool over little things.
Worst thing is, he says things like “I’m sorry,” but then acts like nothing happened when you try to talk about it.
- He acts like everything is about him all the time — even when it’s not
You know the old saying, “the world revolves around me”?
Well, it’s true.
But not in a good way.
When your boyfriend starts acting like everything is about him all the time — even when it’s not, and even when you’re just trying to have a conversation with someone else or be in a room with other people — that’s a sign of toxic behavior.
The idea that your boyfriend thinks the world revolves around him isn’t just rude—it’s indicative of a larger issue: controlling behavior.
A toxic boyfriend will always think everything is about him no matter what situation he’s in, from work problems to family drama; there’s always something going wrong in his mind.
If he can’t stop talking about himself, or about his problems and experiences, it’s a sign that he has an unhealthy self-centeredness.
He may also be using other people to get attention — for example, by constantly complaining about his boss, his coworkers, or even you, so that you’ll feel bad for him and try to help him out.
This kind of behavior is toxic and manipulative, and it will only get worse over time.
- He accuses you of being too clingy or needy when he ignores you
A toxic boyfriend will pull away from the relationship for long periods of time without explanation and when you confront him, he accuses you of being clingy or needy.
He might also claim that his behavior is normal and that he’s just trying to give you space, but then pulls away again without explanation shortly thereafter.
It’s common for abusers to try to make excuses for their actions like this—and it’s also common for them to try to gaslight their victims into thinking that there’s something wrong with them when they complain about it.
- He blames you for things that go wrong in the relationship
If your partner blames you for things that are going wrong in your relationship, it’s a clear sign of toxic behavior.
This is not to say that you don’t share responsibility for the problems in your relationship—you probably do.
But if he constantly puts all of the blame on you, it’s probably because he doesn’t want to own up to his own mistakes or shortcomings.
- He puts down other women
Every woman wants to be with a man who respects and values women, so if your boyfriend puts down other women, it might be time to rethink your relationship.
A toxic guy will often use language like “slut” or “bitch” when he talks about other women, and that’s just not cool.
He may also say things like “all girls are crazy,” or “no one likes her.”
These kinds of comments don’t make you feel great—and they definitely aren’t true.
He may do this for no reason at all, or he might do it because he’s insecure about his own body image or lack of success with women.
- He says he loves you but then treats you badly
This is a common complaint from the victims of toxic boyfriends: they say they love you, but then treat you badly.
They say they love you but ignore you, or constantly put you down. They might make promises and break them, or make promises to never do something again and then do it over and over again.
The victim often feels confused by this behavior at first, but later realizes that these actions are an attempt to keep control of their partner.
If you can relate to these signs of a toxic boyfriend, summon courage to quit this hell of a relationship because it’s not going to get any better.
Toxic partners rarely change.
