The thing about my ex was that he was the first nice guy I had met in a very long time. The kind of guy who was sweet, had integrity and manners. Who would get me a glass of water without even checking to see if I was thirsty. Who would wake up in the morning with me and want to spend the rest of the day together. Who would ask me if my toes were cold while watching a movie at his place and grab me a pair of socks before I could even answer the question.

I can’t help but blame him for initiating my cry-before-every-date routine. When I started dating again, I would spontaneously burst into tears just as I was getting dressed for a date. Do you know how hard it is to apply eyeliner while you are simultaneously crying every spec off? Hard. Very, very hard. Still, I would somehow manage to get myself out the door and on the date. One night, I was out with this guy and it was freezing cold and raining outside. We were at the bar talking and flirting, when he suddenly interrupts to point out a girl wearing an extremely revealing dress for the dead of winter and 5” stilettos. “I like girls in heels. Do you wear heels?” he asked. I tried to explain that while I love a good pair of heels as much as the next girl, the weather did not call for stilettos. It called for my very cute, stable black boots, which frankly I looked adorable in. He seemed to nod along to my rationale, but then added, “You’d look good in heels.” Okay, dude. I get the point. I made the wrong shoe choice. But honestly, if I had worn heels I would have been his height. And I’m only 5’2!

This is what I call a Dating Downgrade. In 3 months, I went from a guy who was genuinely concerned when my feet were too cold to a guy who expected me to wear spike high heels in the dead of winter. There is no question that this guy was a jerk, but not every guy is. The nice guys are out there – and I promise you they want your feet warm and happy. So whatever you do, try and remember this one thing. Don’t let the schmucks get you down.