Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Life
    2. Relationships

    Blue-stalling is the dating trend we've all fallen victim to at some point

    Jadie Troy-Pryde's avatar
    By Jadie Troy-Pryde
    Published 23 August 2019 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    dating trend blue-stalling 526867730
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Picture (or recall) this: you're seeing someone, it's going really well, their dog loves you and you spend your weekends cuddled up on the couch drinking cheap Prosecco and watching Ru Paul's Drag Race. The dream.

    But it has been going on for a while now, and 'the chat' is looming. Are you official? Are you still meant to be dating other people? Will he ever post a picture of you both on Instagram?

    If you've plucked up the courage to have 'the chat' but your beau is reluctant to 'put a label on things' or insists they 'don't want anything serious' and 'aren't ready for commitment' - but they're still on Tinder and dating around - there's a name for it.

    Metro.co.uk have coined a term for this behaviour - 'blue-stalling' - and spoke to relationship expert James Preece about the phenomenon.

    He told the site: 'As a dating coach I know it’s incredibly common. This has always happened, but dating sites/apps have made it worse. That’s because people are often never really clear about why they are meeting in the first place. Are they going on a date, catching up, testing a friendship or simply hooking up?

    You may like
    • A woman's collarbones with a shell necklace and slip camisole top "Protecting Your Boundaries" Is One of 2026's Biggest Buzzphrases—But Therapists Say We're Using It Wrong
    • Emotionally Unavailable Men: Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights Why Are We Still Glamourising Emotionally Unavailable Men?
    • Milly Goldsmith “I’ve Never Had A Boyfriend”: Milly Goldsmith On Being “Chronically Single”

    'As nobody really knows it can be a confusing time and nothing ever really gets decided.'

    Frustrating, right?

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    Sadly, we've all been there. At least once (ahem). But there is a way around it if you're willing to cut loose when you don't hear what you're hoping to.

    He advises: 'If you’ve been seeing each other for a while it’s fine to want to take things more seriously. Emotions have come into play and you want to make sure they are being reciprocated. So if it’s worrying you, there’s nothing to lose by asking.

    'If they want to be an official couple then great, but if they need more time at least you’ll know. If weeks drag on to months with no change then it’s time for them to make a decision. You can’t go on not knowing, or you’ll end up resenting them.'

    So essentially, if you don't get the answer you want then it's time to Marie Kondo them and find someone who's on the same page as you.

    Jadie Troy-Pryde
    Jadie Troy-Pryde
    Social Links Navigation
    News Editor

    Jadie Troy-Pryde is News Editor, covering celebrity and entertainment, royal, lifestyle and viral news. Before joining the team in 2018 as the Lifestyle and Social Media Editor, she worked at a number of women’s fashion and lifestyle titles including Grazia, Women’s Health and Stylist, and now heads the Marie Claire UK news desk.

    Read more
    A woman's collarbones with a shell necklace and slip camisole top
    Wellbeing "Protecting Your Boundaries" Is One of 2026's Biggest Buzzphrases—But Therapists Say We're Using It Wrong
    Emotionally Unavailable Men: Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights
    Relationships Why Are We Still Glamourising Emotionally Unavailable Men?
     
     
    Milly Goldsmith
    Relationships “I’ve Never Had A Boyfriend”: Milly Goldsmith On Being “Chronically Single”
    A woman running into the sunset on the beach
    Wellbeing "Soft Hermitting" Is Trending on TikTok—and Promises to Be the Antidote to Hustle Culture
     
     
    Latest in Relationships
    Wedding planning
    Relationships I Love My Fiancé, but I Resent the Emotional Labour of Planning Our Wedding
    Wicker husband: Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Coleman in the new film Wicker
    Relationships Move Over Regular Men and AI Boyfriends, The “Wicker Husband” Has Arrived
     
     
    Emotionally Unavailable Men: Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights
    Relationships Why Are We Still Glamourising Emotionally Unavailable Men?
    Broken disco ball smashed to pieces on the floor. Black and white for a dramatic touch. Shiny backdrop is defocused.
    Relationships Why Do Men Ruin Your Birthday?
     
     
    Latest in Features
    Autumn Nail Trends 2026
    Nails From Fawn Print to Milky Matcha—These Are Autumn 2026’s Defining Nail Trends
    Fenty Beauty Pro Filtr Fluid Flex Foundation Review
    Make Up Fenty Beauty Just Replaced Its Most Iconic Foundation—3 Editors Put Its “Flexible” Full Coverage to the Test
     
     
    Ata-Owaji Victor reviews Clinique Black Honey Collection
    Make Up Clinique Just Turned Viral Black Honey Lipstick Into a Full Collection—I've Tried Them All, and I Have Thoughts
    Charlotte Mensah Afro Hair
    Hair Charlotte Mensah Has Spent 40 Years Changing the Conversation Around Afro Hair—Now, Her Legacy Is Going on Display
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.