This is someone who isn’t feeling you any longer on a romantic level.

Somewhere along the line, the spark ran out or diminished.

This isn’t a sentiment that just happened over night.

He was already thinking about asking you to just remain friends some time ago.

The signs were there.

When he wasn’t taking you out on dates as frequently or calling you as much as he once was.

Whenever you hung out with him, he was far more interested in playing video games or surfing through social media than talking to you.

There are a variety of reasons why this loss of romantic interest occurs, two of the most popular being disappointment that an expectation wasn’t met or a recent availability of someone more attractive than you.

When the reason is when an expectation wasn’t met, this is usually because you presented yourself to be someone you really weren’t.

If you were presenting a particular behavior or physical appearance that changed as he dated you over time, this is where the spark starts dying.

When your behavior or physical appearance inevitably transitions to one that is authentically yours, he is turned off.

It’s a turn-off because he thought you were one thing when you actually weren’t.

As a relationship progresses, people inside of it naturally become less capable of keeping up the act.

Did you present your personality as witty and daring when in fact your persona is more bland and safe?

Was your physicality artificially enhanced when in fact you look much different in your natural state?

He noticed this change over time and that alone was enough to get him to start seeing you in a different light.

It all culminated with him asking you to just remain friends.

The truth is, he feels betrayed.

He believes his time with you as partners was a waste of time because it was based on subterfuge.

Knowing that you presented yourself as something you really weren’t has him feeling misled.

Even though he asked to remain friends, he has no real intention of doing that.

He merely suggested it because he didn’t want to look like the bad guy by leaving you no other outlet to stay connected with him.

This should be a learning moment.

Regardless of how much you like someone, you should always present who you really are in persona and physicality.

A false representation of yourself is bound to be discovered in time.

Once this happens, you are now faced with someone that you are deeply emotionally invested in who realizes that they were misled and suddenly wants to end the relationship.

This is a waste of his time and yours.

When the reason why he asks to just remain friends is on account of the recent availability of someone more attractive than you, he wants to break up with you and pursue the more attractive person.

This can be heartbreaking, but you mustn’t react with pleading for him to stay in your life as a romantic partner.

Rather, accept his request with integrity and poise if indeed you are okay with remaining friends.

Know that this has nothing to do with you as a person.

He was never all that into you in the first place.

He used you as a placeholder until someone he considered to be more attractive came along.

Moving forward, give it more time before getting into a relationship with a guy.

Let him court you over an extended period of time first.

This proves that he is taking you seriously because he is investing a significant amount of time, effort, and money to court you.

Such a man is far less likely to lose all interest and ask you to just remain friends because someone more attractive than you has shown up in his life.