Exclusive dating: Its definition & the difference to casual dating
One of the many ways to approach relationships is exclusivity. And if you are serious about dating, relationships, and marriage, you should be exclusive by all means.
If you present yourself to the world as a couple, you should be monogamous. Based on our extensive matchmaking experience, we will help you understand what exclusive relationships mean.
So we devoted this post to that important topic and want to let you know what it means to date someone exclusively.
Ready? Let’s start ➔
What is an exclusive relationship?
In one of our posts, we have talked about the difference between dating and relationships. And we mentioned that relationship means that you are not in your search anymore.
It means that both of you have made a commitment and decided to be in romantic relationships with each other. Not necessarily you should be called a boyfriend and a girlfriend. You might not be comfortable with it yet. But it’s really important to be honest with each other.
You should clearly realize what this person means to you, respect her, and be ready to commit to her.
If you are ready to start this commitment, this is a sort of a trial period before real serious relationships.
You may not agree about it officially but when you live together, everyone knows you as a boyfriend and a girlfriend, you spend time with each other’s families, etc., you are supposed to have an exclusive relationship. It is natural that you are a couple and are loyal to each other.
We believe that when people have such a relationship, they are not considering anyone else, are they? So once you both committed your life to each other, you date exclusively. However, in the process of our work, we realized that not everyone is ready for such a commitment and here is why.
When you break the boundaries…
We all know that, unfortunately, not all people are monogamous in that world. And even if some people are in a relationship, they do not mind seeing other people as well. Your partner may not even suspect that you have such thoughts and start any sort of romantic relationship with someone else.
So remember that once you step outside the exclusivity, your couple is no longer exclusive. Some people consider it normal to have an exclusive partner and start romantic affairs with other people. We will not teach you it is wrong but you should not start an exclusive partnership in that case.
When your partner is sure you are exclusively dating her, you should at least discuss your wish to start dating other people with her. It would be at least honest. Exclusive relationship supposes you both to enjoy each other and not even thinking of dating other people.
Check a FREE gallery of single foreign women!
Mayko
34 y.o, Kharkov, Ukraine
Does an exclusive relationship exist online?
It sounds strange maybe but yes, it does. At first, people join online dating sites to communicate with people and it is normal they try to communicate with lots of them. You never know who you are talking to and how everything turns out, so you should try and meet as many people as possible.
But quite often, people start going along very well online. They decide to exchange contacts and leave the site for a while and keep communicating on their own before they meet in reality.
In that case, they do not consider anyone else as their potential partners and only wait for a personal meeting to proceed with their relationships. So, yes, exclusive relationship exists online although it doesn’t happen too often but it is possible.
Casual dating VS exclusive dating
Casual Dating
Exclusive dating
Gives you the most freedom
Supposes responsibility for another person
Supposes to see whoever you wish and as many people as you wish
Supposes to see one person only
Allows having as many dates as you wish without caring about what these people think of you
You cannot date others
You are still single but have dates
You’re not single anymore
You meet new people but aren’t committed to anyone
This can be both the pros and cons of exclusive dating, depending on what your goals are. When someone wants to find commitment and long-term relationships, he or she will be happy to date someone exclusively. But when you love your freedom too much, this could be a burden.
Just make sure you both want the same thing. If you have never discussed this with your partner and have concerns – then just do it. Try to talk about your goals. Make sure that when you want to date her exclusively, she is not going to consider other people and vice a versa.
It often happens that one of the partners considers everything to be very serious and doesn’t see anyone else while another one has an opposite opinion and automatically grants himself the right to see other people. So to avoid this, just discuss what you both want – casual dating or exclusive dating.
Exclusively dating someone VS being in a relationship
Dating exclusively
Being in a relationship
It’s a middle period between your casual dating and relationship
It is a pre-marriage period
You both decided not to see others
You cannot see others
You don’t live together
You may live together but may not (depends on your mutual decision)
You might not be an official couple yet
Officially, you’re a couple
You may not necessarily have intimacy
Intimacy is an integral part of your life
You pause your dating site activity if any
You’re not supposed to have any activity on the dating sites anymore
How to start a relationship when you are exclusively dating someone?
Everything goes naturally and you will understand it on your own
When you like someone more than others, you stop your casual dating and start dating her exclusively.
You will want to see and hear her more and more
You spend more and more time together
You spend time with each other’s friends
Follow your feelings because there is the right time for everything and love doesn’t follow any rules
How to find out that your partner wants to progress to an exclusive relationship?
If you don’t know how to see whether your partner is ready to go further, do the following:
Ask leading questions – what is your attitude to spending more together? My friends have moved in, what do you think, isn’t that too early? Etc.
Pay attention to her behavior – if she started to behave more romantic, she shows some gestures towards you, started to call you more intimately, etc.
Last but not least, ask your partner directly (you’re close people to each other already and direct discussions are normal for you both)
Remember that open discussions are the best for partners or potential partners. So, don’t be afraid to start a conversation on the topic bothering you.
Check a FREE gallery of single foreign women!
Anastasiya
32 y.o, Vinnytsa, Ukraine
Svetlana
32 y.o, Odessa, Ukraine
Irina
36 y.o, , Switzerland
Elena
39 y.o, Poltava, Ukraine
Conclusion: It doesn’t put a label on you!
We hope now you realize what exclusive dating really means. There is a very fine line between exclusive dating and relationship, and we bet if you both like each other a lot, it doesn’t really matter when you switch to relationships.
Do you still have any questions about dating and relationships?
Then welcome to share your comments or ask Kate, your dating blogger and professional matchmaker. If you are a single western man who is eager to find a Slavic bride, welcome to our online gallery of foreign brides!
Now Please let us know if this article was useful? Would you like to try exclusive dating with one of our brides? Then ask me how by leaving your comment ⬇bellow⬇
Written by Katrina El, a practicing psychologist, professional matchmaker and founder of the Slavic marriage agency Best-Matchmaking.com.
Now please select an alternative date and time to hold your Skype conversation. Your lady will be informed about your selected date and time, and she will respond to you if that time suits her, and if not, she will suggest an alternative time.
We all know that, unfortunately, not all people are monogamous in that world. And even if some people are in a relationship, they do not mind seeing other people as well. Your partner may not even suspect that you have such thoughts and start any sort of romantic relationship with someone else. 
