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Topics: Dating, Sex and Relationships, Gen Z, Life
Jen Thomas
Dating in 2026 is brutal enough already, but Gen Z has shared a shocking warning about their love lives they say is even worse then ghosting.
It can be hard to meet someone new, and just when you think you've found the one, the rug can be pulled out from under you.
Some of the latest dating trends include 'shrekking', 'pocketing', 'future faking' 'low-vibrational' partners and more.
We're all familiar with ghosting now, where someone just goes silent and disappears from your life without warning, but what happens if they stick around but nothing is progressing?
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Another dating buzzword has been added to our dictionaries courtesy of Gen Z - and this time it's 'stashing', and it's as bad as it sounds.
When you meet someone you really like, the urge for most of us it to shout about it from the rooftops, and tell everyone who'll listen about your exciting new love and the dates you've got planned.
If you've ever found your new partner is keen to keep things on the down low or desperate to hide you from the world then you might be a victim of 'stashing'.
This new phrase refers to the brutal new dating trend where one partner hides the other from their nearest and dearest.
Relationship expert Susan Winter said that 'stashing' someone is similar to being a 'sidechick', however, it doesn't always mean they have another love on the side.
It could just be that they're keeping their options open, or not wanting to share the relationship for whatever reason.
The expert explained it involves you being 'kept at a distance' from your partner's family.
“You’ve been seeing your date for a while, but never met his or her friends. You rarely go out together," she said.
It could also mean you never appear on their social media, and you feel like you're a dirty little secret of theirs.
If your partner is guilty of 'stashing', it could be that they're wanting to still appear single to the world, while safe in the knowledge they have the companionship of their partner behind the scenes.
Of course, some people are just more private, so the key thing is communication to explain how it's making you feel.
According to The Guardian, 'stashing' can be 'humiliating' to the partner on the receiving end.
One such person asked for help on Reddit, writing: "It’s killing me feeling like my boyfriend is so ashamed of me that he can’t invite me to gatherings or even introduce me to a single person in his life”.
So what can you do?
Winter recommended: “I would talk about it. I would say, ’Here’s what I’m experiencing... we see each other three, four times a week... I don’t know any of your friends or family. This is making it very unexciting for me to continue.”
This is a trend which shows a 'lack of respect' for the other party, and Winter urged we should 'feel that our partner is proud of us'.
You'd think that was the bare minimum, but all of these nasty new dating trends prove otherwise.
If your partner doesn't want to change and it keeps hurting your feelings, the experts recommend letting them go and putting yourself first.