I flew from DC to Miami to spend time with a guy I was dating. After 2 days, he ghosted me.

28.09.2023 - 16:09 / insider.com

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with CP. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Editor's note: CP's identity is known to Insider, but she requested her full name be kept private. Insider reached out to the man CP said she went to Miami with. He did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

When I went on a trip for my 30th birthday, I never expected to meet a man I'd end up flying to Miami for.

But a month later, I found myself doing just that. At first, everything seemed to be going great — until he unexpectedly ghosted me.

I posted about it on TikTok, assuming the bizarre story might be seen by a few hundred people, but before I knew it, I'd gone viral and was flooded with DMs from amateur sleuths trying to figure out the details or offering theories about the situation. 

The whole thing was a blow to my confidence in dating, but it's also opened up new opportunities.

In June, I was visiting New Orleans with friends when a group of men approached us at a boat party and started making conversation. One of them paid particular attention to me and I initially felt like he was coming on a little too strong, but we were having fun and we ended up hanging out with them for the last couple of days of our trip.

After the vacation, he went home to Florida, and I went back to DC, where I live. We carried on talking, and the following month he came to visit. We spent two days together. 

For our next meetup, he flew me to Miami and booked us into a hotel for three days. At first, we were having a great time; he seemed like a really nice guy. But on our second day, he told me he was going to meet up with a family member whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

After spending a while at the pool, I noticed he still hadn't come back yet. I texted to ask where he was, reminding him about our lunch reservations. No response. I went back to the room, but he wasn't there. I was getting annoyed, and I followed up in another message saying his behavior was disrespectful.

He responded a couple of hours later telling me he'd gotten some devastating news. I felt bad for him and I was worried — I like to see the best in people.

But as I was about to leave later that evening, I noticed that his stuff was gone. When I asked if he was OK, he sent a reply telling me he'd be fine. That was when I realized I'd been dumped.

It wasn't the end of the world, but it was still really disappointing that somebody thought it was appropriate to do it this way. We had talked all the time, day and night, for the two months that we knew each other. We'd be on the phone every day, sometimes for hours, and we'd text all day. 

A few days later he texted me to say he owed me an apology. To me, it just felt frustrating.

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