The internet has another perfect dating term for awful people

Just when you thought you'd finally got your head around ghosting and love bombing, there’s a new dating trend in town you need to watch out for.

Because it isn’t pretty.

Stashing is the name for the situation where you’ve been seeing someone for a few months and everything seems to be going smoothly - but while you’ve introduced your near significant other to your family and friends, they haven’t yet introduced you to anyone in their life.

You tag them on social media, but they don’t really acknowledge anywhere online that you’re seeing each other. In other words, you’re kept at arm’s length from their life, and you’re not sure anyone knows about you.

Metro has christened this “stashing”.

Stashing means someone can justify getting with other people, because they’re not really dating you properly. And they’ve made sure of that using all the subtle ways that add up to you not really being a part of their life - so any relationship-unfriendly behaviour (like you know, being unfaithful), can be easily brushed off.

The Metro writes:

You know when someone hurriedly tidies their room and shoves a jumble of stuff in a cupboard so it’s not on show, so they don’t have to think about it until later?

When you’re being stashed, you’re that jumble of stuff. And that doesn’t exactly make you feel valued or respected.

How pleasant.

More: There's a dangerous new dating trend called love bombing and you need to be aware of it