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Why Men Never Stop Thinking About ‘The One That Got Away’, According to Psychology

There’s a hard truth a lot of us need to learn.

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Most men have a person they’ve never fully stopped thinking about. The research on why is more interesting than the pop culture version.

According to UC Berkeley social psychology researcher Maria Luciani, studies show men are more likely than women to regret romantic “missed opportunities,” while women are more likely to regret relationships that actually happened. That’s a telling difference. For many men, the ghost of a relationship that never fully materialized sticks around longer than one that ran its course.

Metro spoke to a handful of men about how often they think about the one that got away, and the answers ranged from uncomfortable to striking. Ciaran, 37, has been married for 18 years and describes his marriage as happy—and still thinks about........

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