Terms like secret dating, private dating or secret romance refer to the concept of

dating Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the catego ...

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

between people who wish keep it private from others they might otherwise normally inform. It often overlaps with concepts like forbidden love (such as in

affair An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...

s or disputes between families). It is presented in titles such as Secret Love.

Reasons for secret dating

Sexual orientation (LGBT)

Homosexuality and LGBT identity is a taboo in some regions of the world, including in most of Africa and Asia. It is therefore, not difficult to see people involved in secret dating with same sex partners in those regions of the world. An historian, Daniel Rivers threw light on how gay parents were in constant fear in the early '70s and '80s of losing their children, in his book, ''Radical Relations: Lesbian Mothers, Gay Fathers, and Their Children in the United States since World War II''.

Older women looking for young men

One of the factors that make people resort to secret dating is their age. Some women prefer to date younger men in their twenties. Because this is not a norm in their society, they may experiment with distance relationships.

Disadvantages of secret dating

A major disadvantage of secret dating is the risk of being scammed. Given that the relationship is private, the people involved will keep details of the relationship to themselves. If the other party is fraudulent, it may take some time detect. If it is open, women tend to share details of their relationship with others. Majority of private dating take place on the internet. With the advent of the online solutions like Tinder and Badoo, scamming and manipulations between the parties have increased. The disadvantages of this type of dating now include stalking and constant need of personal possession

Examples

Cheating

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John Tucker Must Die ''John Tucker Must Die'' is a 2006 teen comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film is about a trio of teenage girls who plot to break the heart of school basketball star John Tucker after they learn he has been secretly dating all three and ...

'' *''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American mystery teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. Developed by I. Marlene King, the series was broadcast on Freeform between June 8, 2010, and June ...

'': Ian Thomas with

Alison DiLaurentis Alison Lauren DiLaurentis is a fictional character in the ''Pretty Little Liars'' book series, its television adaptation, and the spin-off series '' Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists''. The character was created by American author Sara She ...

behind Melissa Hastings back, and

Hanna Marin Hanna Olivia Marin is a fictional character created by Sara Shepard for the ''Pretty Little Liars'' book series, and later developed for the Freeform television series adaptation by I. Marlene King. The character has also appeared in the spi ...

secretly dating Caleb Rivers *''

Rebelde Way ''Rebelde Way'' is an Argentine telenovela created and produced by Cris Morena. It was originally broadcast on Azul Televisiónfrom 27 May 2002 to 10 November 2003. The soap opera has been broadcast in many countries, achieving widespread succe ...

'': Victoria Paz secretly dates Tomás Ezcurra behind Pablo Bustamante's back

Family disapproval

* ''Daddy's Little Girl'' (novel) *''

Late Marriage ''Late Marriage'' ( he, חתונה מאוחרת, ''Hatuna Meuheret'') is a 2001 Israeli film directed by Dover Kosashvili. The film centers on Zaza ( Lior Ashkenazi, in his breakthrough role), the 31-year-old child of tradition-minded Georgian ...

'' * ''Night and Day'' (TV series): Alex Wells was secretly dating his daughter Della Wells' best friend Jane Harper *''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

Other

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Cougar Town ''Cougar Town'' is an American television sitcom that ran for 102 episodes over six seasons, from September 23, 2009, until March 31, 2015. The first three seasons aired on ABC, with the series moving to TBS for the remaining three seasons. AB ...

'': Julia "Jules" Kiki Cobb-Ellis and Grayson Ellis keep their friends with benefits relationship secret *'' Degrassi: The Next Generation'': Peter Michael Stone secretly dates

Emma Nelson '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...

and

Darcy Edwards '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...

* Flawless (book): Melissa finds out Spencer has been secretly dating her ex-boyfriend, Wren *''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lis ...

'':

Monica Geller Monica E. Geller is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appears on the American sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). Created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and portrayed by actress Courteney Cox, Monica appears in all o ...

and

Chandler Bing Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character from the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', portrayed by actor Matthew Perry. Chandler was born to Nora Tyler Bing, an erotic romance novelist, and Charles Bing, a gay female impersonator and star of a Las Vega ...

keep their relationship secret at first, but are eventually discovered by

Phoebe Buffay Phoebe Buffay is one of the six main characters from the American sitcom, ''Friends''. She is created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and portrayed by actress Lisa Kudrow. In the series' universe, Phoebe was born on February 16 and is the d ...

and

Rachel Green Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character, one of the List of Friends characters, six main characters who appeared in the American sitcom ''Friends''. Portrayed by Jennifer Aniston, the character was created by David Crane (producer), David ...

* ''The Office'' (American TV series):

Erin Hannon Kelly Erin Hannon (born May 1, 1986) is a fictional character from the U.S. comedy television series ''The Office'', played by Ellie Kemper. She is the optimistic office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previously ...

and

Pete Miller ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments w ...

start dating but keep their relationship secret from

Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series '' The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford branch of paper distribution ...

, but Erin had already broken up with Andy * ''Scandal'' (TV series): Liza Weil secretly dates Billy Chambers *''

Zoey 101 ''Zoey 101'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. It aired from January 9, 2005, to May 2, 2008. It focuses on the lives of Zoey Brooks ( Jamie Lynn Spears), her brother Dustin ( Paul Butcher), ...

'': Logan Reese and Quinn Pensky hid their relationship, because they did not want to hinder their high school reputation (Logan Reese being a mean jock who cannot commit, and Quinn Pensky being an awkward geek), but they later announced their relationship at prom.

References

Interpersonal relationships Love {{Socio-stub