Think aloud
What if I told you that there are fake relationship rules?
You’ve seen this happen in so many romantic comedies. The two main characters realize that they need to make this pact to get to a certain end goal.
It’s an awful idea because you know how these things end. Even if it’s just in movies, real life isn’t much different. You need to set clear rules in a fake relationship if you want it to be successful.
You don’t want to be stuck in a relationship with someone you don’t like at all. At least, you should be able to be with a person who understands that this is something temporary.
So is there even a way to protect yourself from heartbreak? And worse yet, if you get into this arrangement with a friend, can you save the friendship afterward?
There are a few rules that you should take into consideration before you let yourself believe that this is an easy feat.
1. Have set boundaries
Understanding the rules of a fake relationship isn’t as simple as maintaining them. It seems easy at first because you think that the only problem would be falling in love with each other. But you do need to think everything through.
How much PDA is okay for you? Will you allow him to kiss you in public? Do you want to hold his hand when you’re walking together?
And what are the boundaries when it comes to communication? How much will you tell your friends? Will your parents know what’s going on or will you put on an act for them, too?
See how many questions there are! You’ll need to respond to these questions just like many others. The best thing you can do is to create a list of boundaries and the very moment someone breaks one, you need to stop the arrangement.
The main rule should be that you’ll both keep your promises and respect each others’ boundaries.
2. Both partners should be aware of the arrangement
You’d be surprised if I told you that so many people are in fake relationships without even knowing it. Their partner pretends to love them and lies to get what they want.
This is extremely scary. So, to get the best outcome as well as maintain a good relationship with the person afterward, you should both be aware of the arrangement.
It should be consensual because you can easily cause a lot of pain if you don’t talk about everything. Communication is key in relationships like this.
3. You should both get something out of it
If only one party gets something out of this arrangement, then they’re just using the other one. This often happens when, for instance, a guy wants to make his ex jealous so he gets into a rebound relationship.
That’s when he breaks the heart of another girl who truly did love him, all for the sake of getting another woman.
So, once you lay down the ground rules for your fake relationship, make sure that you both have some sort of benefits from this. If this relationship won’t benefit you in any way, shape, or form, then it’s not for you.
You’ll fall in love and your heart will get broken. Simple as that.
4. Set your story straight
One of the most important rules for a fake relationship is to set your story straight. If you don’t, it’ll be obvious that you’re just making things up and you’ll only become the laughing stock of your friend group.
Setting your story means that you’ll talk about how you met, how you fell in love with each other, how you got into your relationship, and so on. You should also talk about plans for the future and what you’re going to say if someone brings up the topic.
You can even talk about your favorite things, so your partner doesn’t get into an uncomfortable situation because he may not know all those little details about you. Information like that is crucial to make things more believable.
5. Always remind yourself that it’s fake
Set a reminder on your phone. Write it on your palm. Put sticky notes all around your room.
This may seem excessive, but if you don’t remind yourself, then you could easily get into trouble with your own emotions. The line between fake and real will blur, and you’ll misunderstand his kindness for true feelings.
He’s just acting and so are you. You can keep your emotions out of this if you try hard enough and if you remind yourself constantly that it’s fake.
This is one of those important fake relationship rules that you should follow. One of you may get carried away, so the other one has to make sure that you both keep it calm.
If you end up getting jealous or showing any other signs that you got carried away, your fake partner should be able to stop you and get you back to the real world.
Never forget that all of it is pretend.
6. Break it off the second you start to develop feelings
This may become the most painful part of this relationship. It’s not real and it never will be. That’s not the easiest thing to accept, but you need to do this if you want to keep your sanity.
Your fake relationship had an ulterior motive. You wanted to achieve something and that didn’t include falling in love with each other.
For that exact reason, you have to break up with your fake boyfriend if either of you starts to catch feelings. That wasn’t part of the plan and it can only backfire if you continue.
Understand that the only reason you fell in love with each other is that you were pretending so well that you started to think that there was some truth to it. Don’t even let yourself get to that place.
The first time you feel your heart skip a beat because of that man, run.
That said, if you both realize that you could be a match made in heaven, why not give it a shot? But this time for real.
