Dating Red Flags: Would You Still Date Him If He Did These Things?

What counts as a dating red flag?

Is having a girl best friend a red flag? Is checking your partner’s location caring or controlling? What if he likes other girls’ Instagram posts, still lives with his parents at 25, or treats you differently when his friends are around?

In this episode of the WAG Podcast, Angelina, Annabella, and Scarlett — the real teen hosts behind the show, meet them here — play “Would You Still Date Him If…?” and debate dating red flags, relationship dealbreakers, jealousy, social media boundaries, independence, friendships, and the behaviors that can make you rethink a relationship.

Some answers were immediate.

Others nearly started a war.

Here’s where everyone landed.

Is Having a Girl Best Friend a Red Flag?

Not necessarily—but boundaries matter.

Having friends who are girls isn’t automatically a dating red flag. The bigger question is what that friendship looks like once someone is in a relationship.

A longtime friendship is different from a girl best friend who constantly texts him, calls him, hangs out with him, and becomes the first person he wants to tell everything to.

That’s when the debate got heated.

Angelina eventually admitted:

“The only reason I would be girl best friends with a guy is if I had a thing for him.”

Ryan was immediately excluded because he’s considered “like a brother.”

The girls also agreed that a girl best friend who respects the relationship — and wants to be friends with the girlfriend instead of competing with her — creates a very different dynamic.

WAG verdict: Female friends aren’t automatically a problem. Boundaries, intentions, and respect matter.

Is Liking Other Girls’ Instagram Posts a Red Flag?

It depends on the context and pattern.

Liking his sister’s Instagram post? Obviously fine.

Liking a longtime mutual friend’s picture? Probably nothing.

But meeting one of your friends and suddenly liking all of her recent posts? That’s when the girls started getting suspicious.

One Instagram like doesn’t tell you much. Repeated behavior combined with other signals can feel completely different.

WAG verdict: Don’t judge one like. Pay attention to patterns and context.

Is Checking Your Partner’s Location a Red Flag?

Checking occasionally can be practical. Constant monitoring is different.

Location sharing can be useful when your boyfriend or girlfriend is traveling, driving a long distance, or you simply want to know they arrived safely.

Checking every ten minutes to see exactly where they are? The girls unanimously called that weird.

Then one of them admitted she tracks her boyfriend all the time. Including where he’s going. And apparently which turns he’s making.

So much for the unanimous verdict.

WAG verdict: Checking for safety? Fine. Running a 24/7 surveillance operation? Maybe put the phone down.

Is Being a Mama’s Boy a Dating Red Flag?

There’s an important distinction.

Loving and respecting your mom can be a major green flag. Depending on her for everything is different.

Someone who treats his mother and family well may demonstrate kindness, loyalty, and respect — all qualities the girls value in a boyfriend.

But if Mom makes every decision or becomes an unavoidable third person in the relationship? That’s where the opinions changed quickly.

As Angelina put it:

“I’m not dating the mom.”

WAG verdict: Loves and respects his mom? Green flag. Needs Mom to run his adult life? Different story.

Is Jealousy Normal in a Relationship?

This became one of the biggest debates of the episode.

Is jealousy automatically toxic? The girls don’t think it’s that simple.

Feeling uncomfortable when someone openly flirts with your boyfriend or girlfriend can be a normal emotional reaction.

But there’s an important difference between feeling jealous and using jealousy to control another person.

WAG verdict: Feeling jealous sometimes can happen. Trust, respect, and how you handle that feeling matter much more.

Is Living With Your Parents at 25 a Red Flag?

The initial answer? No.

Then everyone started thinking about it.

Someone might live with their parents while attending school, saving money, helping family, building a career, or working toward moving out.

That’s very different from having no goals, no responsibilities, and no interest in becoming independent.

The conversation ultimately wasn’t really about where someone lives. It was about ambition.

WAG verdict: Look at where someone is going, not just where they’re living right now.

Is Sleeping Until 3 P.M. a Red Flag?

Again… context.

Someone working until 4 a.m. obviously has a different schedule than someone staying up all night scrolling social media or playing video games and sleeping through most of every day.

The clock wasn’t really the problem. Lifestyle was.

WAG verdict: Sleep schedules vary. Responsibility and healthy habits matter more than the number on the clock.

Is Treating Your Girlfriend Differently Around Friends a Red Flag?

This one barely required a discussion.

If “different” means disrespectful, yes.

Someone might naturally be less affectionate around friends than when they’re alone with their girlfriend.

That’s different from becoming rude, dismissive, or making your partner feel small because friends are watching.

WAG verdict: You don’t have to act exactly the same everywhere. Respect shouldn’t change depending on who’s in the room.

Is Having a Fake Instagram Account a Red Flag?

This question exposed everyone.

Because apparently… more than one person had a spam account.

One story involved using an alternate account to see an Instagram Story after discovering the main account had been hidden from it — and learning that someone who said he didn’t have a girlfriend apparently did.

So we’re going to be careful judging this one.

WAG verdict: We may not be qualified to answer.

Does a Guy Need to Know How to Change a Tire?

According to Angelina? Yes. Very yes.

The conversation started with whether constantly calling your girlfriend because you can’t solve basic problems is a relationship red flag.

Somehow, changing a flat tire became the ultimate test.

That led to a story about a dad learning that his daughter’s boyfriend couldn’t change her tire.

The joke? Step one: dump him. Step two: Dad’s coming to help.

Knowing how to change a tire may not actually determine whether someone is boyfriend material. Being independent, resourceful, responsible, and willing to help your partner? Those qualities matter.

What Are the Biggest Dating Red Flags?

After debating girl best friends, Instagram likes, location sharing, mama’s boys, jealousy, independence, fake accounts, and even flat tires, one thing became clear:

Dating red flags aren’t always as simple as social media makes them sound.

Context matters. Intent matters. Boundaries matter. And respect matters.

Instead of relying on one viral relationship checklist, some better questions might be:

Does this person respect you? Can you trust each other? Do they respect your boundaries? Can they take responsibility for themselves? Can you disagree without disrespecting each other? Are you comfortable being yourself around them?

The internet can give you endless lists of dating red flags and relationship dealbreakers.

Real relationships happen between actual people.

And sometimes figuring out what matters to you starts with sitting on a couch with your sisters and arguing about it for twenty minutes.

Want the Guys’ Perspective?

Guys Answer Questions flips the perspective, with WAG putting dating, texting, and red-flag questions directly to the guys — on camera and unscripted.

More real relationship talk

WAG has gotten into the real stuff before — including the time an ex wouldn’t stop showing up and the group’s own most awkward first-kiss stories. For the full archive and everything else the show covers, head to The Wild Adventure Girls.