No one enjoys feeling unwanted or unloved in their relationship, and women will walk away if they experience it. Feeling like your partner doesn’t want you means the person feels neglected and unprioritized. They might feel like they’re doing all the work in the relationship while you’re not giving any effort.
Eventually, tensions arise, and a woman will choose to walk away instead of lashing out or bottling it up. When a woman decides to walk away, it’s sometimes because they feel like their partner is ignoring them or doesn’t care. It leads to a woman shutting down and moving on to protect herself and find someone who wants her.
NOTE: We focus on women in this article, but they aren’t the only ones who sometimes feel unwanted. Men feel rejected, unloved, and unwanted, too, and we discuss that scenario in a separate article.
Studies Show Women Need to Feel Wanted
Your primary relationships are essential for emotional health, so a woman isn’t unreasonable for walking away. Staying in a relationship where she feels unwanted creates a danger in her life, potentially interfering with her health and well-being.
Love is a core psychological need, and people long to be cared for and desired. In adulthood, the most vulnerable relationship between two people is romance.
When your romantic relationship makes you feel unloved or unwanted, it can become isolating and detrimental to self-esteem. It can also lead to stress, anxiety, trauma, and insecurities if it goes on too long.
What Happens When a Woman Feels Unwanted
Before she walks away, you might notice that things become complicated. Your romantic connection will fade, and sometimes the relationship will be full of tension and conflict.
When you notice these things, take a moment to consider if you’re making your partner feel unwanted. You can make some changes to remedy the situation and rebuild before the woman walks away for good. The relationship doesn’t fail overnight, so you can save it if you know how to look for signs.
A woman feels unwanted after repetitive actions from her partner. One instance may not trigger her negative feelings, but reoccurrences can be detrimental.
Eventually, a woman will begin resenting you for what she’s done for you and all the times you’ve made her feel unwanted. She’ll notice when you fail to recognize her, show gratitude, or even look her in the eyes.
Then, a woman who feels unwanted will stop doing nice things for you. She won’t see a point in trying anymore, and she’ll start disconnecting herself from the relationship. It’ll lead to her wondering whether there’s someone better for her who will treat her the way she deserves.
Eleven Things That Can Make a Woman Feel Unwanted
There are many ways a woman might feel unwanted in a relationship. These things aren’t the only ones that lead to relationship neglect, but they’re beneficial ones to know. Understanding these things can help save your relationship if you want to make it work.
1 – Greeting Her in a Nonexcited Way Causes Her to Feel Unwanted
When you see your partner and give a flat “hello,” she might feel like you’re not excited to see her. It’ll seem like you don’t care whether she’s there. Eventually, she’ll wonder if she could find someone who gets excited when seeing her, making her feel wanted and cherished.
2 – Leaving Her Alone in Social Situations Makes Her Feel Unloved
People tend to want to stay close to their partners during social events. Please don’t leave her alone in social situations when you show up together. Separating for a few minutes to say hi to other people is okay, but you shouldn’t leave her for an extended time.
3 – Ignoring Her or Looking at Your Phone While She Talks to You
A woman never wants to feel ignored, and not responding when she talks makes her feel unwanted. Looking at the phone is a common way people ignore their partners. It shows that you’re not interested in giving her your undivided attention.
Staring at your phone while she talks is dismissive and may imply that she doesn’t matter. It also interferes with communication, making discussing essential aspects of your relationship hard.
4 – Being More Excited to Spend Time with Friends Than Her
She doesn’t need your constant attention, but she wants to know that you enjoy spending time with her. It can hurt her when you get more excited about spending time with friends than with her. It implies that other people in your life are more attractive to you and that you don’t cherish your time together.
5 – Not Standing Up for Her Makes Her Feel Unwanted
When someone behaves rudely toward your partner, you should stand up for her. Letting people disrespect her is a sign that you don’t care, and it’ll make her feel unwanted.
6 – Drinking too Much When She’s Told You She’s Uncomfortable
Most people act differently than usual when they drink too much. Your partner might tell you that she feels uncomfortable, unsafe, or embarrassed when you overdo it. Continuing to drink past that point shows her that you don’t care about her feelings, making her feel unloved.
7 – Betrayal Makes Her Feel Unloved
Betraying your partner is one of the worst ways to make her feel unwanted. Becoming physically or emotionally involved with another person can destroy your relationship. Many women won’t give you a second chance, marking the end of your romance together.
8 – Not Giving Affection Makes Her Feel Unwanted
In a romantic relationship, your partner wants affection. Not initiating hugs, kisses, cuddles, or anything else will make it seem like you don’t want them. She won’t feel your love if you don’t give affection.
Physical affection increases oxytocin, allowing you and your partner to bond and feel close to each other. It’s an essential part of a romantic relationship, and a lack of it affects your partner.
9 – Comparing Her to Others Makes Her Feel Unloved
Your partner will feel unloved if you compare her to other women. Comparing her traits, beauty, achievements, or anything else will make her feel diminished. She’ll see it as you thinking she can’t measure up to others and that she isn’t enough for you.
10 – Using Her Insecurities to Hurt Her
When you use a woman’s insecurities to make her feel bad, it is manipulative. She’ll despise you for it and feel worse about herself, too. There’s no winning in this situation unless you want your relationship to end. She’s already aware of the insecurities, and calling attention to them is mean and disrespectful.
11- Rarely Complimenting Her Makes Her Feel Undesirable
A woman loves to hear what her partner likes about her. Tell her that she looks beautiful in the dress she chose for a date or that you love how she styled her hair.
You can also praise her intelligence or thought process. Any positive comment will make her feel good. This gesture is one of the best ways to rebuild and strengthen your relationship.
Ten Ways to Make Change Her Feelings From Unwanted to Desirable
When you want to make your relationship work, it’s essential to make your partner feel wanted. Even if you’ve struggled with this, you can make a change to strengthen your bond.
1 – Acknowledge That You’re Happy to See Her
Seeing your partner should be an exciting part of your day. Even when you’re stressed, make it a point to show her you’re happy to see her. Hug or kiss her immediately, or say hello excitedly so that she knows she’s wanted.
2 – Stay With Her During Social Situations
It doesn’t mean you can’t catch up with others, so don’t feel you must ignore everyone. Instead, let her know what you’re doing, and come back in a reasonable amount of time. Doing it this way ensures she doesn’t feel like you don’t want to be there with her.
3 – Listen to Her to Make Her Feel Loved
Listening to your partner when she talks will let her know what she says matters. She’ll also know you want to hear her, helping her feel acknowledged and respected.
When she starts talking, put your phone down and focus on what she’s saying. It allows you to read each other’s facial expressions, improving understanding and promoting positive communication.
4 – Do Fun Things Together
Plan fun things with your partner, so she knows you’re excited about your time together. It lets her know that she’s important to you and that you want the relationship to work. You can invite her to spend time with you and your friends, although you don’t have to do that every time.
5 – Stand Up for Her to Counteract the Unwanted Feeling
When you hear someone say something disrespectful to your partner, speak up. Even if the person says they’re joking, make it clear that it’s not okay. Stand up for her with friends, family, and even your kids. She’ll know you want and cherish her when she hears you doing this.
6 – Consider What She’s Comfortable With
When your partner tells you she’s uncomfortable with something, you shouldn’t ignore it. Consider her feelings and try to ensure she’s comfortable in your presence. It might involve saving some behaviors for when you’re out with friends and reeling it in with your partner.
7 – Stay True to Her
When your partner isn’t around, don’t do anything that can destroy your relationship. Consider how she would feel about your behavior and only do things she’d be okay with. Inappropriately interacting with others isn’t okay, so keep the trust intact by refraining.
8 – Make It a Point to Offer Affection
Spend time kissing, hugging, and cuddling with your partner. It will let her know that you want her and cherish the relationship. It’ll also increase oxytocin in both of you, encouraging a deeper bond.
9 – Celebrate Her
When your partner achieves something, take the time to celebrate her. Praise her efforts and tell her you’re proud of her. Letting her know that you think she’s worthy of celebration will let her know you want her.
10 – Don’t Say Negative Things About Her Efforts
Avoid commenting about her veering off her diet, not fitting into her jeans or any other goal she may set. You should also avoid telling her she didn’t work hard enough to get what she wanted. Even if you mean these things to encourage her to do better, it’s not a good look.
Final Thoughts on When a Woman Feels Unloved or Unwanted Enough to Walk Away
When a woman feels unwanted in a relationship, she’ll walk away if nothing changes. Recognizing what makes her feel like you don’t want her can help you make necessary changes. Consider saving your relationship and show her how much she means to you. You can do many things to show her you cherish her, which means more than you know.
