Men can be quite hard to read. Take it from someone who has been relationship-hopping for a very long time, the male species often finds it hard to communicate what they’re really feeling about you. Thankfully, my collective dating experience helped me form a database of men who are very open about what they like and what they absolutely hate! We got five of these very helpful guys to admit the cutest things women have done for them that eventually led them to pop the big question.
1. She helped my best friend through a really bad break up
“We met six years ago at a common friend’s cocktail party, and from the beginning, I could tell she was one of those people who got along with everyone. She even got along with my rowdy gang of boys and tolerated their terrible jokes. Once, one of my best friends had the worst break up and he was in a terrible mood. He was drinking incessantly and would get abusive and confrontational about everything. My girlfriend joined him on one of these drinking sprees one day. They nursed a hangover the next day, and she took him to a spa in the evening. She even took over his profile on a dating app, and was determined to help him get over his ex. After about two months of a lot of drinking and swiping right, he was back to normal again. He is currently dating someone he thinks he is going to marry. So am I.” – Rishabh Jamdani, Pune
2. She waited at the table for an hour!
“I met my wife on a dating website some two years ago. It was my first blind date experience and I was shaking like a leaf. My wife had been on the digital dating scene for a while and didn’t expect much out of the date. When I arrived at the restaurant, I found her sitting at the table all by herself. She looked smug and had a drink in her hand. Her confidence was almost intimidating. I was so scared of any kind of confrontation that I walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. I faced the bar so she couldn’t see me. After about an hour, she walked up to me and said, “Hi, I don’t bite you know.” She had the warmest smile and I realised I’d just portrayed all my self doubt on her. She knew I’d been sitting there all along but waited till I was sure enough. I knew then that this woman would inspire confidence in me all my life.” – Karthik Narayan*, Mumbai
3. She befriended my ex girlfriend
“It takes real courage and a different kind of maturity to accept that people have pasts. My girlfriend and I started dating five years ago and, back then, I was still in touch with my ex. We weren’t really communicating on a daily basis, but since my ex had no family to fall back upon–I would become her shoulder to cry on very often. My girlfriend was very supportive of my ex. She would encourage me to talk to her and to help her out with her problems. She even went so far as to befriend her and help her out financially sometimes. Eventually, the faith she had in me helped me help my ex move on, and find someone she can share her problems with. My girlfriend is now my soon-to-be wife. My ex is also in a happy place.” – R. Shubham, Bangalore
4. When she came to meet my parents for the first time, she looked completely different
“My girlfriend and I had been dating for a year before we decided it was time to tell the parents. A little back story about my girlfriend: she is a complete no-nonsense, rugged jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. My parents were in town and it was the day she was supposed to come home and have dinner with us. The doorbell rang at 8pm, and there she was dressed in the most non-casual clothes ever. She’d made an effort and she was extremely polite throughout the dinner date despite the fact that my parents said some very problematic things and my dad cracked some really terrible jokes. I was floored by her maturity and how she handled the situation. Not that my parents or I ever expect her to dress in anything that she isn’t comfortable in–but the fact that she made an effort was enough to tell me she was the one.” – Sayan Chakraborty, Delhi
5. She has this habit of helping those in need
“Everytime I go out with my girlfriend (now wife), she has this habit of being really generous with people in need. Every red light we stop at, she ensures she gives those asking for alms a 10-rupee note or a five-rupee coin. If she doesn’t have change, she gives them food from her bag. I used to have a problem with this because I felt they could misuse the money she was giving them. But her reasoning made sense to me. She said we might use that change for cigarettes or for alcohol. We indulge in these habits because they make us happy, help us forget, help us de-stress. “What gives us the right to judge them on how they use the money?” she asked me one day. “Do we have the right because we have this kind of disposable income and they don’t?” I never once questioned her generous ways after that. I still don’t. It’s best not to question an intelligent wife.” – Chirag Khattar*, Delhi
*Names have been changed on request
