Did My Dating Advice Cause Heartbreak? AITA?

A simple dating tip turned into a full-blown friendship mess when one Reddit user told his friend to play hard to get. What sounded like harmless advice ended up pushing away the guy she liked, and now she is heartbroken.

The poster, a 29-year-old man, says Emily asked him for help after a rough run in dating, and he suggested she wait before texting back to seem more desirable. Instead, the guy lost interest and moved on, leaving Emily upset and blaming the advice she followed.

Now the friendship is strained, and he is left wondering whether he really helped at all. Read on.

I (29M) have been friends with Emily (27F) for over six years now. She recently asked me for some advice on dating since she's been having a rough time finding the right partner.

Now, here's where things get messy. I suggested she should play hard to get and not text back immediately to seem more desirable.

Unfortunately, she followed my advice but it backfired terribly. The guy she was interested in thought she wasn't interested and moved on.

Emily felt devastated and confronted me about the terrible advice I had given her. She was heartbroken and felt like she had lost a great guy.

I feel awful about the situation but also think she might be overreacting. I was just trying to help, but it clearly went wrong.

Emily has been distant from me since the incident, and I feel guilty for potentially ruining her chance at happiness. So, Reddit, AITA for giving my friend disastrous dating advice that led to her heartbreak?

I honestly don't know if I should have just stayed out of it or if I should make it right somehow. Really need outside perspective.

This one did not go the way he expected.

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A few people were quick to weigh in.

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More commenters jumped in with their take.

This matches the “should I admit it” tension in a friendship dilemma where bad dating advice led to heartbreak.

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The reactions kept coming.

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What would you do in this situation? Share your opinion in the comments.

This whole mess shows how fast dating advice can go sideways when it turns into a game.

Want the full blow-by-blow of how his “play hard to get” advice backfired on Emily? AITA for leading my friend astray with disastrous dating advice.