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One minute, you’re glued to your phone, laughing at inside jokes and counting down till the next time you’ll see each other. The next, you’re sending “hey” at noon and getting “k” as a reply three hours later. If you’ve ever been in a talking stage that went from “God when” to “God abeg”, then you already know how it goes. 

We broke down the seven stages that mark the slow, painful death of a talking stage.

1. Dry texting zone

Conversations lose their spark, and the messages shrink to one-word responses like “lol,” “k,” and “sure.” You’ve gone from texting all day to barely hearing from them before midnight.

2. Delayed replies (a.k.a. the 24-hour wait)

Remember when you’d reply within seconds and keep your phone close to your chest just for them? Now, hours or even days go by before you get a response. They’ll throw in excuses like “I was busy” or “My network’s been shitty all day.” Lies,lies and more lies.

3. The blame game

At this point, you’re both realising that your “situationship” isn’t going anywhere. So, you start low-key blaming each other for lack of vibe, saying things like, “You never initiate conversations” or “I feel like I’m putting in all the effort.” No one’s owning up; you’re just tossing blame back and forth.

4. Partial ghost mode

You’re not completely ghosted, but responses get real patchy. You see them active on social media, but your messages remain unread. At this point, you’re sure they’re probably focused on another talking stage.

5. Cancelling plans

At this stage, they no longer want to see or physically be in the same space with you. Meetups that were once carefully planned now get cancelled at the last minute with flimsy excuses like “My grandmother is visiting.” Since you’re both over it, no one bothers to reschedule.

6. The “What are we even doing?” talk

You’ve both had it to the last straw, but someone suggests a “where is this going?” chat, hoping to get some clarity. The conversation is awkward because deep down, you both know the ship never left the harbour. The conversation ends in even more confusion.

7. Familiar strangers

Now, neither of you initiates contact. You both let things quietly fizzle, and just like that, the talking stage is officially over—no hard feelings, no closure.

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