At the end of dinner at a high-end restaurant, he blew his nose into a cloth napkin.

—Joanne

Aftermath: That was it. Gross.

5

My long-distance boyfriend and I took a holiday vacation together. He was sick and had the sniffles all weekend. The sniffling was annoying, but I cut him some slack since he was sick. On the last day of our trip, using his fingers, he combed boogers out of his protruding nose hair and ate them. It was over the second his fingers hit his lips.

—Adrienne

Aftermath: I resisted the urge to dump him in the airport before we parted ways, but did so 2 weeks later over the phone. I didn’t tell him the reason.

6

He gave me a used massage oil candle for a going away present when I was moving home to take care of my dying mother.

—Marissa

Aftermath: He called me about a month later to express his condolences after her passing. Shortly thereafter he changed his Facebook status to say he was in a relationship with someone else.

2

After only a few weeks of dating, I agreed begrudgingly to accompany him to his best friend’s wedding, where he was Best Man. After being ignored all afternoon, I rejoiced in meeting a sweet, in-the-closet, spotty teenager who was a competitive ballroom roller skater with fabulous outfits. Too bad he rejoiced in meeting me, too. I couldn’t shake this poor boy. He literally followed me wherever I went, while my date smoked cigarettes with his friends. I finally told my date, “If you leave me alone with that kid one more time, I’m breaking up with you.”

—Suzanna

Aftermath: That’s exactly what happened.

3

I was starting to wonder whether his stoicism and silence were a little more than just bashfulness. We went to the park to hang out for a little while, and I began attempting to provoke some sort of conversation or response from him. After some uneventful walking and non-reciprocated communication, I started stuffing sticks and grass into his pockets. I even tried throwing dirt on his head. Nothing. Not even removal of the pervading organic materials. That’s when I knew.

—Lauren

Aftermath: I quit seeing him totally as a result of that day.

8