BEING EXCLUSIVE VS. BEING OFFICIAL: WHAT THEY REALLY MEAN
Do you remember on Love Island (Man, do I miss that show) when Curtis asked Amy to be his ‘half girlfriend’ and explained it was essentially being exclusive? Oh, what a time to be alive. I’m sure it raised a lot of chats for people and whoever they were seeing at the time. It’s a question a lot of us may have had at one point or another. Is being exclusive the same as being in a relationship? Well, rest assured guys, we’re going to dive into all that today because there are definitely subtle differences between the two. So, being exclusive vs. being official: what they really mean? Let’s go!
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Being Exclusive
There are definitely stages of getting into relationships and being exclusive is one of them. In fact, it’s the stage before being official. This is when you’ve both decided you don’t want to see other people, but you still want to see how things go between the two of you, before putting that official label on it. While you can get into this stage without having ‘the talk’, I personally think it’s worth it for clarity, it’s also important to make sure everyone is on the same page to avoid any conflict about that later on.
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Being exclusive is definitely a good sign that you’re on
track to being official, however just be aware of them
potentially benching other people.
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It’s easy to assume that you’re exclusive with someone based on their actions or the time you spend together. However, we all know that looks can be deceiving (hello, situationships has entered the chat.) So, yes discuss with them to be sure. Being exclusive is definitely a good sign that you’re on track to being official, however just be aware of them potentially benching other people (having a backup plan) in case things don’t work out between the two of you.
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Being Official
This definitely warrants a conversation, you can’t just assume that you’re both in a relationship and part of a healthy relationship is clear communication. If you have become official, you’re making a real commitment and investment about your future together. You’re not just testing the waters, the way you were if you we’re still just being exclusive. Making assumptions about whether you’re in a relationship can definitely lead to awkward encounters, especially if the other person didn’t even think you’re exclusive, it’s like skipping essential steps. Check out CLiKD if you want to see people’s opinions on dating stages.
Also, I firmly believe that if you want someone to be your girlfriend/boyfriend/partner, then you should have no trouble having an open chat about it. After all, being official involves both (or however many, depending on your relationship) of you. Also, discussing it first is a good time to make sure you want the same type of relationship in general.
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Being official is having a discussion and agreeing you
want to be in a relationship and make a
longer-term commitment.
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So, there you have it. The answer to the debate on being exclusive vs. being official: what they really mean. Essentially, being exclusive is not seeing other people and testing out how it would be if you were official. Being official is having a discussion and agreeing you want to be in a relationship and make a longer-term commitment. Hope this helps. Happy dating guys!
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