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What Is ‘Benching’? Dating Experts Explain the Toxic Trend.

A dating coach says benching happens when someone keeps you available without real consistency, effort, or intention.

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There’s a popular dating trend resurfacing this summer, and it’s bound to waste your time and drain your hopeless romantic heart.

“Benching” has been around for quite some time, but lately, more people are using this dating tactic to explore their options and keep some lovers on the back burner—you know, just in case they strike out with their top players and have a lonely night.

According to Val Bastien, M.S., Certified Dating & Relationship Coach at Love Lessons by Val and former Mental Health Counselor based in Boston, “Benching is a newer term for dating behavior that has existed long before the label became popular. It can also be described as being shelved, strung along, led on, or, what most people would probably recognize, put on the back burner.”

Just last week, I wrote about “roster dating,” which follows a........

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