Is Future-Faking a Thing?

Did they really want to grow old with you or was it all a lie?

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

When Sarah met Tom, she was instantly smitten. Tom was charming and confident, he was everything she wanted in a man. They shared a taste in music and movies and had the same political opinions.

A few months into dating, Sarah and Tom started talking about the future. Sarah wanted a house in the suburbs and kids to fill it with. Tom said kids delighted him. He wanted at least four. They compromised on three (if they were lucky enough to have twins), and immediately began discussing baby names.

Tom loved to travel and kept a list of places he’d like to visit. Sarah had backpacked through Europe in college and knew how to find the best hostels. She promised to show him her favorite spots.

One of Sarah’s biggest dreams was to open her own business. Tom had experience with start-ups and promised to help. They discussed business structures and marketing strategies late into the night. As Sarah fell asleep on Tom’s shoulder, she sighed, delighted. What a life they would build together!

But their happiness was not to last. Before the year was up, their relationship grew cold. Tom became distant and eventually broke up with Sarah, saying something about how she was a great girl and he wasn’t good enough for her. It wasn’t her, it was him, he swore.

Sarah was devastated. She couldn’t understand what had happened. She spent hours trying to figure out what she had done wrong, but the worst part was the feeling of betrayal she felt watching the future she had imagined for herself fall apart. And then she learned that what Tom did to her had a name: he had future-faked her.