Ryan Atwood and Marissa Cooper. Tim Riggins and Lyla Garrity. Justin Bobby and Audrina Patridge. Jack Dawson and Rose Dedsjfhskdfhskf. See where I’m going with this? If there’s a bad boy out there who stole your heart, you definitely do. Ready to hear why you actually never stood a chance against his rugged good looks?
Maybe he’s your high school sweetheart or a scandalous hookup you were working on for a while. It doesn’t matter, because once you’re hooked, it’s game over for you. His complete disregard for the rules is just one of the many perfectly imperfect things about him. He’s got you falling to pieces, even though you are “sooooo much better than he is.” Yeah, you’re not fooling anyone with that testimony.
This dangerous, dark, and completely wrong for you man has been lurking in the shady back alley of your mind, and it’s okay to admit you didn’t see it coming. He is the opposite of what you should want. So why does he keep you coming back for more when there are perfect gentlemen waiting to escort you out on a proper date and kiss you goodnight at the door?
You could try to change him. I tried to fit my own bad boy into the country club mold to show him off. It didn’t last more than two minutes, and the sideways looks and inappropriate walks on the golf course reminded me why he’ll always be bad to the bone. Maybe that’s why we fall for them–they are like no one else we’ve ever been with, and they certainly don’t fit any type of mold.
They usually don’t come well-dressed or well-bred. They remind us of our true selves under the sundresses and pearls. They remind us of the wild, free part of us who doesn’t care what the world thinks, but looks damn good anyway. Our mothers roll their eyes, but they know. They had these kinds of boys, too. Your father probably isn’t one of them, and that’s probably a good thing.
But these bad boys will hold a special place in our hearts forever. Maybe the fact that we know there’s nothing we can do about it makes us want them even more. It’s their world and we’re just living in it.
There’s an actual scientific reason why you can’t resist this guy. He’s a troubled soul, if you will. After having a bad boy of my own, it turns out that I’m not the first person to come to the realization that I never stood a chance. No, it’s most certainly NOT fate, and studies prove why they leave you breathless.
According to eHarmony.com, there are four main reasons that level-headed beauties chase these damaged men.
1. The impulse to perpetuate what’s familiar.
2. The urge to redo the father-daughter relationship.
3. The drive to rehabilitate or “save” a wayward man.
4. The appetite for adventure.
I don’t have daddy issues or a tragic past, but number four hits the nail on the head. The appetite for adventure, for something more exciting than what everyone else is up to. Number one and two could be true for some, if you are struggling with that sort of thing. Number three applies to the go-getter in a relationship, but that’s not me. I personally don’t want to exert the energy to save anyone’s soul.
A more legitimate, scientific study was done by New Mexico State University. They studied the “dark triad traits” on a personal level by testing 200 college students’ personalities. Guess what they found? Women are attracted to qualities in men that “should” be avoided–big shocker there. I hope this didn’t boggle any minds, because this seems like a big “duh.” I could’ve saved them a lot of time and money by directing them to every girl ever who has encountered one of these types.
Maybe nice guys finish last because the bad boys are out at the bars finishing first.