How To Know When A Leo Man Is Playing You (14 SIGNS!)

If you are seeing a Leo, you would want to understand who he is at his core, to better pick up on signs that he might be playing you.

A Leo man is socially active, kind-hearted, generous, and upbeat. However, he can also be jealous, possessive, and he can have an explosive temper.

All of these traits can show up when you are seeing a Leo man, but the absence of some can show that he is playing you.

You would obviously want to find out if the guy you are seeing is serious about you, or if he is just using you to pass the time, playing games, until someone else comes along.

Here are some signs to look for that a Leo man is playing you, so you can better work out what his intentions are…

How To Know When A Leo Man Is Playing You

You Aren’t His Priority

When a Leo guy is serious about someone, and when they see a future with them, then they would make them a priority in their life.

If you have been seeing him for some time, and you still feel like you aren’t a priority to him, then there should be cause for concern.

When a Leo man falls in love, they put their partner first. So if he’s constantly busy, giving excuses, and canceling last minute, he may very well be playing games.

You can’t reasonably expect him to make you a priority if things are still casual and if you haven’t made him a priority, but if you have taken that next step and he hasn’t, then it could be because that he has no intention of taking things further with you.

It will be easy enough to tell whether or not you are a priority for him, as you will feel second best to everything else in his life. He will cancel plans with you, make you wait for him, and not see to your needs like he should.

A Leo man would put you first, because he is serious about you and because he wants to care for you, and if he doesn’t, then you should question his motives.

He Isn’t Affectionate

Leo men, and women, are very affectionate, and are considered the most heart-centered sign. They love holding hands, hugging, cuddling, and just being in physical contact with the person they feel affection towards.

If you are dating a Leo man, you would know that he is really into you by the physical affection he offers you, and by how much he wants to be in contact with you. If he doesn’t show this physical contact, then it might be because he is playing you.

Instead of showering you with love and affection, he would be cold, and only show you any physical affection when it suits him. He would be giving you the cold shoulder to not let you in too close, and to make sure he can shake you off when he needs to.

Affection comes naturally to a Leo, and if he is not showing you this affection, then it shows that he isn’t being his true self around you, which means he might have ulterior motives.

Read Next: How Does A Leo Man Test A Woman

He Doesn’t Let You Into His Inner Circle

Leos love to have a group of close friends who they trust and enjoy spending time with, and these friends are a very important part of their life.

When a Leo man finds someone who they are serious about, they would be excited to introduce them to their close group of friends and make them a part of their inner circle. This would be to better include this person in their life, and get the approval from their friends.

Especially if he’s looking for a serious relationship, he would include you in his inner circle after dating for a bit.

If you have been seeing him for some time, and you’ve introduced him to people in your life, but he has not done the same, especially when you know he has a close group of friends, it is a clear sign that he really doesn’t see you staying in his life too long.

Not introducing you to his friends, especially for a Leo, shows that he doesn’t want to let you get to know his friends, and not let his friends get to know you, because you won’t be around for too long. This saves him the effort and all the questions from his friends.

This is a clear signal that he doesn’t plan to build a stable future with you, and that he is just there to play games for the time being.

He Doesn’t Act Like Your ‘Hero’

For most men, being with the woman they love triggers the ‘hero instinct’ in them. This is an instinct where they want to protect her, to keep her safe, for her to see him as her hero.

While most women nowadays do not need or want a hero, it is an important feeling for a man.

This is even more true for a Leo, who has a deep instinct to protect the person he is with, and to get the validation that he can be her ‘hero’.

A clear indication he is into you is when he tres to be your ‘hero’ or help you in times of need.

He should want to come to your rescue, to help change a tire, to make you feel safe, and whatever other need arises. If he doesn’t show any signs of doing this, it could mean that you do not trigger this ‘hero instinct’ for him.

Not triggering this instinct means that he does not necessarily see you as a serious partner, and he does not feel the drive to protect you and to keep you safe.

Especially since a leo man lives to protect and provide for those they care about, this is a glaringly obvious sign he may just be playing mind games.

Read Next: How To Tell If A Scorpio Likes You

He Gaslights You

Gaslighting is not always obvious. But if you look closely for the red flags, you will be able to notice the signs that he is antagonizing you and possibly gaslighting you.

A Leo man who is serious about you will want to put in the effort and time to solve issues and problems together, even if those problems are within himself.

Self-growth is important, as well as holding himself to a high standard, and he will show this by working through problems with you.

When he isn’t serious about you, and when he is just playing you, he will not be willing to put in the effort to work through problems. He will instead gaslight you and turn things around to make you feel like the guilty party every time something happens.

Instead of taking the blame, he will be emotionally closed and become defensive, making you feel as though you are at fault, putting the blame solely on you.

This is obviously incredibly unfair, and shows that he does not see the two of you building a fair and equal relationship together, and is just trying to play mind games for now.

Read Next: Why Do Sagittarius Like Cancer So Much?!

He Doesn’t Open Up To You

Leo men are confident and upbeat, and this allows them to open up to their partners when they feel as though they can trust them, and when they want to take things to the next level with them.

If the Leo man you are seeing stays guarded, and does not allow you to get to know him more than just surface value, then it shows he is not sure about you.

He could just be playing games and guarding his heart in the process.

You might try to pry into his life a little, asking about his past, his hobbies, his family, only for him to brush the question off or give very basic answers, and then change the conversation.

Keeping you out of his personal life and nit getting to know who he really is, shows that he does not actually plan on building a strong base with you to have a relationship in the future.

He doesn’t want to make himself vulnerable to you for no reason, especially if he is playing you and does not take you seriously as his partner.

Your Relationship Is Undefined

A Leo man will be sure to make your relationship clear and you would not feel confused as to where you stand in his life.

However, if he is making you feel unsure, and if you are not very clear on what your relationship is, it is likely that he is doing this on purpose. If a leo man is playing you, he will keep you at arms reach and to not commit to you, unless it suits him.

He will maintain his own life and not try to involve you too much in it.

If a Leo man is serious about you, he will make it very clear where you stand, and let you know for sure that you are an important person, and relationship in his life.

Even if he doesn’t tell you with words, his actions will show his commitment to you. He will let you in, he will put you first, and he will go out of his way to make you feel like you hold a special place in his life. 

By making you feel as though you are in a clear and defined relationship, it shows that he does not want to lose you, but if a Leo man does not do this, it is a good sign that he is probably playing you.

Read Next: What Is The Taurus Man Communication Style?!

He Doesn’t Get To Know You

Seeing someone new comes with getting to know them from scratch, and this is a journey that a Leo man loves. His bubbly personality, and confidence, allows him to draw you in and learn more about you, mostly because he sees a future with you.

These men are known for grand romantic gestures and truly try and go deep with people they care about. They are true romantics.

For a Leo man who is just playing you, it is painfully obvious he will not feel motivated to get to know you past the surface, and he will keep things very basic with you.

He will try to avoid any personal conversations, he won’t ask you about yourself, your past, your hobbies and more, and he won’t really seem interested when you talk about yourself.

This is because he doesn’t like you as much as you’d hope, and has no real desire to get to know you. Also so that he doesn’t feel too close to you, so he can easily end things when it suits him, which is a clear sign that he is playing you.

You deserve to be with someone that cares about who you are as a person, and someone who wants the same things as you, and when he doesn’t try to get to know you, then take it as a red flag that he is just stringing you along.

He Uses You For An Ego Boost

Leo men are confident and enjoy being the center of attention, which means that he does like a good ego boost every now and then.

However, this does not mean that he should seek out an ego boost from you, or use you just to stroke his ego. Unfortunately, he might be playing you for this reason alone. 

The attention you give him would boost his confidence, and will make him feel better about himself. He would seek this approval and attention from you when he feels like it, and leave you high and dry the rest of the time. The relationship is run on his terms, and run on his ego.

Another way he would use you to stroke his ego is by trying to make you jealous. He would flirt with other girls in front of you, message girls on social media, whatever it is, to try and get a reaction out of you.

When you get upset and jealous (which isn’t your fault)  and you lash out at him, he actually enjoys it, and you are feeding right into what it is that he wants. You get upset, his ego is stroked, and he is just playing you.

Also, if you get a sense he just wants an attractive woman on his arm and isn’t interested in developing the relationship, that’s a sign he may just be playing mind games and boosting his ego.

Leo men love to be seen and care about appearances a lot, so he could just be using you as a status symbol.

He Compares You To Others

A Leo man naturally loves to brag and show off, and  this often extends to their partners, where they will show off their partners qualities and achievements, and brag about them to others.

He will openly let others know that he is proud of you, that he values you, and that he thinks highly of you. However, when a Leo man is playing you he won’t feel the urge to do this, and it might even make him do the opposite.

He is playing with you, and your feelings, and this means that he might then openly compare you to others. This is to put you down, and for him to make you feel unsure of yourself, which almost makes you feel more dependent on him.

It’s All Physical

When a Leo man is interested in someone, he will want to spend time with them, getting to know them on a deeper level, and just being in their presence.

However, he would go against this natural trait if he is just playing you, and this means that your relationship will be mostly physical.

When the two of you are intimate, he will leave instead of staying. When you are together, he will focus more on physical contact rather than spend time getting to know you. Looking back at all your time together, you will notice a clear pattern, and see that emotional connection is lacking.

If he had serious plans for you and your relationship, then he would spend more meaningful time with you outside of the bedroom.

He Is Open About It

This might seem silly to put down as a red flag, but many of us don’t want to accept what we are being told, especially if it is not what we want to hear.

A Leo is open and upfront, and he might have told you that he does not see the relationship as anything serious, and that you should not expect too much from him. However, when he tells you this, you think he is just shy and scared of commitment, and you think you can change him.

You need to learn to listen to what he is saying, to save yourself from getting hurt further down the line. He is admitting to not being serious with you, and the longer you stay around hoping that he changes his mind, the worse it will get for you.

He Is Rude To You

Naturally, A Leo man will be fun, friendly and kind-hearted, so it is quite out of character for him to be rude to someone he is interested in.

If a Leo man is rude to you, and it becomes a habit, but then he also sends mixed signals, then it shows he is playing you, and does not consider your feelings to be important.

He is trying to distance himself from you, but he is putting the burden on you to end things, discouraging you from trying to stay with him.

You don’t deserve to be with someone who is rude to you on a whim, especially when his natural instinct is to be kind and caring. So take this as a clear sign that there is something fundamentally wrong with the relationship between the two of you.

Who Is A Leo Man Best Suited For?

Looking at traits and compatibility, a Leo man would work best with Aries, Libra, Gemini and Sagittarius. These signs gel well together and bring out the best in each other.

However, this doesn’t mean that the other signs can’t put in the effort to build a good relationship with a Leo man.

In Summary: How To Know When A Leo Man Is Playing You

Leo men are true romantics and won’t risk playing games with someone they see a future with.

If you’re dating a leo guy and he is talking to other women, the relationship is all physical, doesn’t introduce you to his circle, or (after awhile of dating) doesn’t define the relationship, he’s very clearly just playing games.

Leo men goe the extra mile for those they truly care about and will try to make you feel special. On his priority list, you will be pretty high up. So if it feels like you aren’t an important part of his life, if he’s canceling plans, or just giving you the bare minimum – it may be time to move on.