Perspective

8 SG Girls Share Their Worst Rejection Stories

Experiencing Rejection

When it comes to love, we’d imagine guys to make the first move by confessing their feelings outright. But for us girls, we’re usually more shy and discreet. Most of us would get our friends to drop hints, and wait for their approach instead.

Though we’d always hope our crushes reciprocate our interest, we’d want to be let down gently if they don’t feel the same way. Unfortunately for these 8 Singaporean girls, their one-sided love was rejected in the worst ways possible.

*Some names were changed to protect identities

1. He rejected me over live radio

When I was in poly, I was in love with my best friend. He was a campus DJ and I’d tune into his programs just to listen to his voice.

During one morning broadcast, he confessed his feelings for a girl he liked by complimenting her looks and personality.

At the end of the segment, he addressed the people who shipped him and I together, saying it’d never happen. The whole school was talking about it for weeks.

That day, I went home and bawled my eyes out. It took months before I could see him as a friend again.
Claire, 24

2. He told me to “f**k off”

When I was 18, I had the biggest crush on one of my Junior College classmates.

At the year’s end, my classmates organised a chalet to celebrate the end of A levels. Someone brought a few bottles of alcohol and we got drunk while playing ‘Truth or Dare’.

Eventually, it was my turn to spin the bottle and it ended up pointing at my crush. Fuelled by liquid courage, I told him, “I dare you to go on a date with me”.

 

Shocked, he spluttered “f**k off!” to the amusement of the entire group. Though I was hurt by his reaction, I laughed along and claimed to be “just joking”.

Recently, he apologised for what he did. Turns out, he actually liked me too and only reacted that way because he didn’t know how to handle his feelings.
Jamie, 28

3. He thought it was a joke

I developed a huge crush on this guy at work. We were flirting back and forth for a couple of weeks and quickly became close friends.

One Friday, I figured I’d give him my number so we could go on a date over the weekend. Winking, he promised to call but didn’t.

The following Monday, I asked him why he didn’t ask me out and he gave me the most perplexed look.

Turns out, he had a girlfriend and thought being cheeky was the way we joked with each other.

Work the next day was impossibly awkward and by the end of the week, he quit his job. I never saw him again.
Joey, 24

4. He told me he appreciated my feelings

In my first year of Uni, I developed feelings for one of the guys in my friend group. I knew we were too different so I didn’t pursue a relationship with him.

However, the entire clique found out I had feelings for him and kept teasing us about it. It became difficult for us to be in the same room, which strained the group dynamics.

Pulling him aside, I told him we needed to talk and confessed I had feelings for him, he awkwardly patted my arm and said, “I appreciate it”.
Paula, 23

Also read:

5. He blocked and deleted me from his life

My ex-boyfriend and I had been dating for a year and a half. We were perfect for each other—or so I thought.

One day, we went furniture shopping at IKEA. While looking at the designed room sets, I mentioned about the type of home I’d like when we got married.

He sent me home after promising to have dinner with me the next day. When I woke up, I Facebook messaged him to confirm our plans but realised he had ‘unfriended’ me.

Confused, I tried texting him but he had blocked my number and removed me from all his social media accounts.

A few months later, he called me to apologise, saying he only dated for the long run and broke up with me because he didn’t see me as ‘wife material’.
Erica, 25

6. He two-timed me and dumped me over text

I was dating a guy from Tinder and things were going well so I decided to introduce him to the important people in my life, starting with my roommate.

Around the same time, my roommate claimed to have met someone new. She was constantly on her phone, giggling to text messages she wouldn’t let me see.

One evening, we were chilling in our room when I happened to glance at her phone screen. Even though she had saved my boyfriend’s contact under a different name. I recognised his Whatsapp display picture.

As I stormed out the room, my phone lighted up with text messages from him. He explained how he never had feelings for me and we shouldn’t date anymore.

Days later, they got together. Worst roommate and boyfriend ever.
Mandy, 25

7. He crushed my birthday gift to him

When I was in Secondary three, I developed feelings for a schoolmate. As his birthday was approaching, I decided to buy him a present—a box of his favourite snacks including Pocky.

Back then, I was receiving a daily allowance of $3. It wasn’t much and I skipped several days of recess to save up the money.

On his birthday, I sought him out during recess and presented the box to him. He rejected the gift and told me to take it back. Persistent, I pushed the gift toward him.

Annoyed, he snatched the snacks from my grip, threw it onto the floor and stepped on them. Like the crushed Pocky, my heart was crumbled to bits.
Alexine, 18

8. He started crying and said I looked like his dead sister

When I was in Secondary school, I joined Drama as a CCA because I had the biggest crush on the club’s president.

By a stroke of luck, we were paired as a couple for the annual school production. During one practice, the director told us to hold hands for a particular scene.

Immediately, he freaked out, repeatedly shaking his head while saying “no”. Feeling hurt, I approached him after school to talk about what had happened.

When questioned, he started crying. He said he couldn’t stand being near me as I reminded him of his sister who had recently died in a car crash.
Penny, 23

Rejection Sucks

While rejection hurts, it’s important to remember everything happens for a reason. It’s not your fault if your crush doesn’t like you—you can’t force someone to feel something they don’t. Life is tough as it is, so don’t beat yourself up or sweat the small stuff!

This article was first published on 7 August 2017 and last updated on 30 March 2024.

Also read:

Cheryl Chiew

Cheryl likes bread and cats, especially so when cats tuck in their limbs so that they look like bread.

Share
Published by
Cheryl Chiew