You made your way through the dating jungle and managed to find someone worth trying out the monogamy game for… Now you’re ‘in a relationship’ and suddenly you care. A lot more than when it was just a quick date or a sneaky kiss on the dancefloor. Here are 10 things to fear in the early stages of a blossoming romance… The Texting Dilemma Are you texting too much? Is that Snapchat funny or annoying? How often is too often on a night out? It’s all getting too much. WHY DID I SEND THAT TEXT? Meeting His Friends You’ve probably heard how one of his friends was his wingman, or the one who is ‘whipped’ by his girlfriend. Now you’re rocking up to the group and all eyes are on you. You have The Fear before you’ve even knocked back a pint. Looking Immaculate Weeks one to four, each outfit for every date could be snapped for style inspiration. By week five, you’re looking for your Bridget Jones pants and fat day jeans. The pressure to look polished is slowly going out the window… Going au-natural Make-up can be a girl’s best friend, but you hope he’ll still recognise you without the warpaint. We’re telling you now, he will. And he won’t care less what you look like. Panda eyes be gone. Sex Does that go there? Do they like that? Is that how everyone’s doing it now?   The first time with a new partner is terrifying. Sometimes you have to just bite the bullet. (That is NOT a metaphor) Meeting The Parents Shake hands or debate over leaning in for a kiss on the cheek? Maybe you’d prefer wave across the hallway? Personal space is your friend... Encountering An Irish Mammy You can kiss goodbye to ever impressing her. Nobody will EVER be good enough for her child wonder. Rumour has it a statue is being built in his honour in the local town. The First Argument They were wrong. Totally, ridiculously wrong. You can’t believe they haven’t called. You’re not going to call. That’s it. You won’t settle for this. An hour later you’re staring at your phone. Why can’t we all just get along? Bodily Functions Yes, we’re all adults. Of course they know we have bodily noises we can’t control. It doesn’t mean we won’t die of embarrassment at the first sound to escape. (Which is ALWAYS in an otherwise dead silent setting)   Uttering Those Three Little Words Speak too soon and you’ll be biting your own tongue. Wait to reply and you’re the most callous of all kind. Tread carefully. **Honorary Mention – The First Present** It’s an omen for all your gifts to come. No we’re not that materialistic. We’d just prefer not to expect a range of Christmas jumpers and bath sets for years to come.