20 Signs A Married Man Likes You But Is Hiding It (MUST-KNOW!)

Most of us do not go out seeking the attention of a married man, but in your group of friends, at work, or even just on the school run, you might notice a little more attention from a married man, and it could make you question whether or not you are imagining it all, or if there is really something there!

Married men usually have to be more subtle with their feelings for other women, obviously because they have a wife to whom they are committed to, and they can’t flaunt their feelings for someone else.

Because of this, it can be really difficult to figure out if a married man likes you, as he would be hiding it from not only his wife and those around him, but likely from himself as well.

Read on to find out the different signs that a married man likes you but is hiding it, so you can better understand where it is that you stand with him.

As mentioned above, a married man will more often than not try to hide his feelings for you, as he is married and might have a family, so he cannot just act on his feelings, or even admit them openly to himself.

However, we can’t always control who we fall for, and as much as he might try to hide his feelings for you, he won’t be able to control himself fully in your presence, and there will likely be signs that he does have feelings for you.

So, there are some signs to look for that a married man likes you, but is trying to hide it, you just need to know what to look for.

Signs A Married Man Likes You But Is Hiding It

Man putting on a wedding ring on his brides hand - Featured in Signs A Married Man Likes You But Is Hiding It

He Asks About You When He Can

He might think that he is doing a good job hiding how he feels when he is around you, but you might be occupying quite a bit of room in his mind, and this means that he will probably end up asking about you when he can.

He would want to find out more about you, so he will slip your name into conversations with mutual friends or acquaintances, and try to find out a little more about you without being overly obvious about it.

It could very well be that he is just curious, but if you hear from friends that he has been asking about you, and there are other signs that he might like you, then it could be a good indication that he has feelings for you.

He Seems Different Around You

If he is usually confident and self-assured, only to be more nervous and awkward around you, it could be because his feelings towards you make him nervous and unsure, and it just makes him seem like a different person.

This is understandable, as we all get shy and nervous around the person we like, and when you compound the fact that he would likely feel ashamed of his feelings and be trying to hide it from his wife, it just makes it quite an uncomfortable situation for him.

You might notice that he acts differently around other people than he does with you, or his behavior around you might change over time as he slowly develops feelings for you.

Either way, your presence makes him nervous, and he can’t quite cope with his feelings for you and the fact that he has a wife to consider as well.

He Speaks Highly About You

Man and woman looking fondly in each others eyes - Signs A Married Man Likes You But Is Hiding It

His feelings for you come from somewhere, especially since there is a very good chance that he wasn’t openly looking for someone to fall for as he is married, but your qualities have drawn him in.

This shows by him speaking highly of you and the qualities that he admires. It could be your intelligence, your wit, or your achievements. He finds these attractive, and respects you for this, and his way of showing this is to speak to others, or you, about what he admires.

As he is unsure of his feelings for you, and as he knows they likely aren’t right, he would be seeking approval from others by getting them to agree on how great you are, without actually admitting that he has feelings for you.

He could also display his feelings indirectly by complimenting you in front of friends or colleagues, and it might come across as a friendly or appropriate way to behave between friends, but if it happens often, it shows there is more there.

He Has A Pet Name For You

Pet names are created between people who are close and who show affection for each other. It is a way to show a bond between two people, who are either close friends or more than just friends.

To feel closer to you, he might come up with a pet name for you, or even a shortened version of your name. This will not be something obvious such as “love” or “baby”, as he is still trying to hide his feelings, but the pet name, no matter what it is, shows his affection for you.

He could also have given you a pet name to show you that he thinks of you and considers you to be more than just another friend, and while he is still consciously trying to hide it, it could be a subtle way of him showing his feelings for you, and validating them for himself.

Read Next: Signs A Married Man Is Using You

He Treats You Differently

Even if you don’t notice it, you would treat someone you like differently to how you would just treat a friend, and if you pay attention, you might notice that he treats you differently from other people.

He would go out of his way to make you feel special and valued, more than what a normal friend would do. It could be something small like him holding the door open, pulling out your chair, or making it obvious that he is laughing at your jokes.

Look to see how he acts with mutual friends, and even his wife – does he do the same for them, or is this behavior reserved for you alone?

It is likely that he doesn’t even realize that he is treating you differently from everyone else, but his feelings are showing through and making him want to treat you better and make you happy, more than what he would do for a normal friend.

He Makes Physical Contact

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Physical contact should not be a ‘thing’ between a guy who is married and a friend, apart from a hug hello and possibly a friendly touch on the back. So if you notice that he touches you more and finds reasons to be more physical with you, then he might feel more than just ‘friendly’ towards you.

He might not be able to help himself around you, and he touches you more often without even knowing it. Even though he is trying to hide how he feels, he would be drawn towards you, and would instinctively reach out to feel more connected to you.

It is probably not going to be so noticeable to others, as a passing touch here and there won’t be obvious, but to you, the increase in physical contact can be quite glaring. Whether you feel comfortable with it will depend on how you feel about him.

He Finds Reasons To See You

He likes you, and even though he is trying to hide it, he will want to be around you. The two of you might not see each other enough for his liking, so he would find any excuse he can to try and see you, even if it means seeing you around his wife or at work.

This can be even more obvious if you live quite a distance from each other, and he finds whatever reason he can to be closer to you or travel across town to be at the same place as you.

It can be a bit strange for a married man to want to spend so much time with a single woman, so he would try to hide the fact that he is actively choosing to spend time around you with what he thinks are reasonable excuses.

If you are also in a couple, he might try to plan more double dates, thinking that his wife, or your partner, would not be as suspicious, but it still gives him a reason to be close to you.

He Is Hot And Cold

Does he send you mixed signals? Is he sometimes so into a conversation that you feel overwhelmed and sure of how he feels, and other times he seems so disinterested that you think there is no way he could like you?

These mixed signals could indicate that he does in fact have feelings for you, but he just doesn’t know how to deal with them. At times, he wants to be around you and happy and vibing, and other times he feels guilty for how he feels and wants to avoid you, and his feelings for you.

He is torn between wanting to impress you, and trying to hold back and hide his feelings, and this would obviously send some very mixed signals your way.

He Doesn’t Speak About His Wife (Or Kids)

Family, two parents and two kids - featured in Signs A Married Man Likes You But Is Hiding It

Even though he would be trying to hide his feelings for you, he would instinctively want you to like him, and to see him as a potential partner, even if he knows that this will never happen.

To do this, he would not talk about his wife or his kids with you. He would keep them out of the conversation and not bring them up. He would also try to change the subject or brush it off if you bring them up at all.

This is to try to make himself appear more ‘available’ to you, ignoring the fact that he actually isn’t, but it might also be because he feels guilty for having feelings for you, and mentioning his wife or kids just makes him feel more guilty about it.

Try to test this out – ask him questions about his wife or his children and see how he responds. If he doesn’t have any feelings for you and has nothing to hide, then he should be fine with the conversation. However, if he quickly tries to change the subject, there might be something there.

You Catch Him Staring

If he is trying to hide how he feels for you, he will not be vocal about it or go out of his way to make it obvious, but he would still have those feelings there, and this means that you could catch him staring from across the room often.

Maybe you make eye contact with him often and he break away quickly..

He probably thinks that nobody else will notice his stares and lingering glances, but being on the receiving end, you will probably notice it more than others. You might catch him staring more than once when you are together. 

When you catch him staring from across the room, try to think of any other signs you may have noticed that he has feelings for you, but he is doing his best to hide it.

Read Next: Signs He Regrets Sleeping With You

He Avoids Being Alone With You

This might seem contradictory, but if he has feelings for you, and is trying to hide it, he will try to avoid being alone with you.

There are two reasons for this. The first is that he feels guilty about how he feels, and thinks that if you two are alone, even if it is completely harmless, it might seem like something is going on, and this is him projecting how he feels onto how people might perceive the two of you.

The other reason he might avoid being alone with you is because he doesn’t trust himself to be alone with you, and is worried he might not be able to resist making a move, or that you might reciprocate his feelings and make the first move on him.

So if you notice that he tries his best to avoid alone-time with you, but sends no other signals that he doesn’t want to be around you, it is because he likes you and just does not want to make it obvious, or end up doing something he will later regret.

He Seems Tense When You Are Close

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Your presence, as we mentioned above, can make him nervous, because not only is he hiding his feelings for you, but those feelings make him unsure.

This is more on the physical side of that. If he likes you, he finds you attractive, and he could find it really hard to be in your presence because all he wants to do is be with you – physically.

You might be wearing something a little revealing, or you could brush up to him a little too close, and this could make him hot and sweaty, and to hide this, he becomes quite tense.

He will seem flustered, and he will blush, and do what he can to move away to feel less intense with you being so close. He is probably worried that he is right on the verge of losing control and making a move on you, and knows that he cannot do this.

He Is Overly Touchy With His Wife Around You

In order to convince himself, and his wife, that he does not have feelings for you, he would become overly touchy and loving with his wife in your presence.

Some couples are just very touchy feely and loving as it is, but if this isn’t usually how he treats her, and if he only does it when they are around you, there is definitely a reason for it.

His wife could even comment that he is being overly-loving, and while she might not say it is because they are with you, she would have some idea of what is going on if it happens often.

He is trying to overcompensate, which can at times make it even more obvious that he is into you, but he is trying to convince himself and others that he isn’t.

Being Alone With Him Feels Wrong

The two of you might spend time alone, whether it be at work, or you find yourself alone in a room at a dinner party, and when you are alone together, it feels wrong.

Not wrong in the sense that he might try to harm you or anything of the sort, but as though the two of you are doing something wrong by just being together, and that others might have a problem with it.

You might be worried someone sees you with him. Perhaps you’re sexually attracted to him as well and feel like it’s taboo to be alone together.

Or his body language can be overtly touchy and intimate when you’re alone together, making things feel wrong. Spending one on one time just doesn’t feel right in your core.

There is no physical reason for this, you could even be sat on opposite sides of the room, but the energy between the two of you could be overwhelming, and while you aren’t acting on anything.

It is just a projection that you should not be alone, because there are feelings there, and he is a married man.

Your gut instinct can be a really powerful tool, so if you feel this energy coming from him when you two are alone, then be sure to look for other signs that he might have feelings for you, no matter how well he could be trying to hide it.

When a married guy likes you, just the form of eye contact can feel sexy and intense. This could be what makes you feel uneasy.

He Asks About Your Love Life

Man and woman talking - featured in Signs A Married Man Likes You But Is Hiding It

To many, a married man asking a friend about their love life might seem completely innocent, but for him, he is trying to gauge where you are romantically, to keep tabs on whether or not there might be an opening for him.

He would ask indirect, general questions, as he is still trying to hide how he feels, but these will give him a look into your love life and if there is a spot for him.

His eye contact may be more intense as he’s extremely interested in what you have to say.

Don’t take this as a lone sign, as it could just be a friend asking because they care, but if he asks often, and tries to keep up to date with who you are dating or seeing for no reason, then it could be because he does have feelings for you.

Most married men are busy with their own relationship and love life, they don’t have time to be keeping up with yours.

But if he’s constantly checking in, it could be one of the key signs he’s into you.

He Gets Jealous

If the two of you know each other from being in the same group of friends, you might notice that he gets jealous when you are all out together and another guy hits on you, or if you bring a date along to join in.

He would not make it completely obvious that he is jealous, as he still has his wife to think about, but he could seem frustrated, angry with you.

He might even question your choices in dates, asking why you picked this person and telling you that you could do better.

If someone is hitting on you at a bar, he might even step in and chase them off, and when you ask why, he would come up with some excuse that the guy wasn’t right or didn’t seem like a good person.

The truth is that he can’t actually stand seeing you with someone else and if he can’t be with you, then he doesn’t want anyone to be with you – even though rationally he knows that this isn’t fair, but he cannot help but feel jealous and upset.

If he was truly just a friend, and had no romantic feelings towards you, he wouldn’t get jealous when other guys approach you.

He Remembers Small Details

Having conversations with friends is one thing, but remembering every detail about the conversations is another, and it can be difficult to keep up with what everyone is saying.

A sign a married man likes you, even though he might be hiding it, is when he remembers every detail about you, and remembers everything that you tell him.

He could bring up your favorite band you mentioned in conversation a month ago, or buy you your favorite chocolates, these small details show that he is paying attention and that he genuinely cares about you.

Even if he does not make it completely obvious that he has feelings for you, a married man will drop these little hints by remembering minor details of your personal life.

Read Next: What To Know If Someone Tells You They Love You When They Are Drunk

He Sends You Funny Texts

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Does he randomly send you funny texts, or articles or stories he thinks you’ll like? This could be innocent, but there is also a chance that it shows he is thinking about you, and wants to send you something personal and to show that he cares.

The message won’t be an obvious flirt, but it also might not be normal for your friend’s husbands to message you so casually and send you funny texts, so you will have to see where it comes from, and what your relationship was before this.

A meme, lyrics from a song, or a selfie, are all hints that he has feelings for you, but is not making it too open by directly flirting over text.

He Makes Jokes About Being With You

He knows that he cannot act on his feelings for you, as he is married, but he also has those feelings to validate, so he will try to find signs that you may feel the same way as him.

One way he might try to do this is by joking about the two of you being together. This could be just to you in private, or around other people as well, depending on the relationship he has with them and you.

if a married man likes you he may even say things like ‘if I had met you when I was single…” in a joking way.

It could be joking about the two of you hooking up, joking about how perfect you would be as a girlfriend, or anything of the sort.

These might seem like harmless jokes, but he is looking to see your reaction, whether you shut him down completely or whether you joke back and are more open to the idea too.

Note his body language when he says these things, how he makes eye contact and waits for your reaction.

Read Next: Signs He Only Wants You For Your Body

He Bad Mouths His Wife

This is a more negative side to it, but if he has feelings for you, he could try to bad mouth his wife in front of you.

He could try and make himself seem more available to you and make it seem that he is not as committed to his wife as you think.

A happily married man won’t talk negatively about his wife or family life.

Unfortunately, this can show that he is possibly not the best partner in a relationship, as he is talking badly about the person that he should be the most dedicated to.

There is no reason to think he wouldn’t do this to the next person he is with as well.

Whether single or a married man, talking badly about the person you choose to share a bed with is a major red flag and not something to take lightly.

Trust me when I say, this is a clear sign he will do the same to you if you ever get romantically involved. (And we don’t EVER condone dating a married man.)

Summary: What To Do When You Think A Married Man Likes You

There is no clear answer as to what you should do if you think a married man likes you, but is trying to hide it.

First, you need to assess how you feel about him. If you have no interest in being with him and being part of breaking up a marriage, then ignore him and move on with your own life – making it clear that you are not interested.

However, if you feel a spark there for him, you need to be very careful with how you proceed. It might be that the two of you have a genuine connection and spark, but it might also just be down to him being bored in his marriage and looking for a bit of excitement.

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