So you are ok with flirting as long as its on his own time? With his friends he doesn't want to look like a loser in front of? At a bar? With alcohol? Seriously? You are almost encouraging him OP. WTF? I saw your comment on another post so I was just checking. It's your relationship, not mine tho.

I'm realistic about things. I don't like to keep him on a short leash, per se. I trust him, and I like to allow him a little wiggle room to at least look at other women, because that's what men do. I don't want to be the psycho controlling bitch that pushes him away, but I don't let him do whatever he wants either. When incidents like this happen, that's when I tell him he's crossing a line, and then he understands.

Im not saying you have to put blinders on the guy and walk him around OP. Just saying be careful. You give a man an inch and he will take a mile most of the time and in my past experiance.

I understand. With him being an ex-playboy I guess I'm trying to make the transaction process go more smoothly for him. If he can "flirt" with girls to feel like he's "still got it," then no harm done letting him inflate his ego a bit. Though of course I will keep an eye on him, thank you for the advice.

I, for one, congratulate you on your mature atitude. I think a little more faith in ones significant other and a lot more communication could do most relationships a world of good.

You know as much as I understand your whole situation with your boyfriend being that 'X player' sort of type...., Chivalry isn't dead. I get that guys need that certain ego to keep them confident and going but that confidence should exist just by knowing and being a great guy/boyfriend who has earned himself a gorgeous woman like yourself and I don't think he needs an ego boost from others. 8 months of being in a relationship and a couple of months from now it'll be a year and that's pretty serious. He shouldn't be getting numbers from other women, you don't know if he's done it before or has already done the worst. Straight up I think you should tell him that you're worth a lot and can get better offers if he doesn't step up. He can always lie to your face to make you "happy" but a real man sticks to his partner and tells the truth even if it hurts. You shouldn't have to "reel" him back in because if you gotta "reel" then your taking something that doesn't wanna be caught

No offense but I think you're being naive. If he flirted with a girl for 4-5 mins and exchanged numbers practically in front of you imagine what he's doing behind your back. Plus how would you know if they aren't texting each other unless you snoop in his phone which would be invading his privacy. I'd keep your eyes and ears open.

Amen to that

Dear, if your boyfriend doesn't value you enough to NOT flirt with other girls, then find one who does.

I understand where you're coming from, but when I say I gotta "reel him in," I just mean that he doesn't always realize what "isn't okay" when you're in a committed relationship. He is very loyal to me and is always honest, he's never given me a reason to doubt my trust in him. In his simple mind, he's honestly thinking, 'Oh sure, I'll give her my number and we'll all hang out at the concert! I'm not going to have sex with her or cheat on my girlfriend so this is okay!' I'm sure it wasn't his intent to stray, and I had to tell him from my perspective that giving out your number to random girls that are being flirty is bad. And he agreed. He's not completely dense I suppose, haha.

OP, u really are a patient woman, i hope your relationship lasts happily and your boyfriend sees the best in you and appreciates it :)

And you believed that? You poor naive fool. I've dated guys like that. Believe me when I say, he won't text her back.. when you're around.

A man in a relationship knows that giving a girl flirting with him his number is wrong. He just knows you think hes dumb and is playing that up. If he really wanted to e exclusive with you he wouldnt want to give girls his number. My ex was like that and I forgave him all the time, he ended up cheating. My current boyfriend gets hit on ect but loves me and wouldnt give some girl hitting on him his number because he respects me, unlike your boyfriend who clearly does not respect you.

Wow, there are some seriously damaged women on FML here. There is nothing wrong with a bit of innocent flirting. Both me and my gf do it from time to time, this means absolutely nothing. It absolutely does not mean I do anything else behind her back too. If you are that distrusting in a relationship, maybe you shouldn't be in one until you learn the word 'trust'... Sure, there are bastards out there, but that does not mean everyone is like that. His story seems fairly legit in this case, and do you think he would be stupid enough to do it right in front of her if he really was planning to do more? Do you really expect your man to not talk to any woman out there anymore? And you think this is healthy how? And how does this mean he doesn't appreciate her? Really...

Wow catching up on FML's and I see this. As a former flirt/playboy type, it took me a bit to transition away from that lifestyle. In every other relationship in which I had tried to go cold turkey with the flirtatious side of my personality I ended up cheating. Now I was not saint and made some mistakes along the way, but now me and my wife have been together for 5 years and married for 3. It can be done if patience and trust is given. The biggest problem is no one has patience or is willing to trust anymore. Sometimes guys have had things happen to cause them to turn that way and need a little bit of rehabilitation. Just because some of us may act similarly doesn't mean we are all the same. Everyone has different experiences that take them down certain paths and where they go from there is different for every person.

by the sounds of it he didnt realize she could see him, I'd say he came up woth some **** and bull cover story

Anyone that would even think of cheating on you should get his head examined. If that's you in your profile picture

You are way to beautiful to be treated that way

Will at least he understands you view of it, he sounds like a keeper for you

It's cool that you trust him, but 8 months into a relationship, he should know what your boundaries are, especially if this is not the first time you have had to tell him. Yeah a little harmless flirting is okay but it shouldn't last more than 2 minutes and there shouldn't be any number exchanges. Sure there is a transition period from single into a relationship, but in reality it shouldn't last more than 6 months, by then you should know if the relationship will work out or not. And you should really think about your relationship, if this is how he acts when your with him, what might he be doing when your not there. If you are the only one in the relationship doing all the forgiving and making excuses for him, is it a healthy relationship? Since you did post this fml you do have at least some suspicions about him. But I hope things work out for you.

I want an update.

The rest of that night went smoothly. We celebrated one year in December. We're doing quite well.