'I saw the look in his eye.' Women told us the moment they realised their partner didn’t love them.

We were walking along the harbour on Valentine's Day when I realised the person I had been seeing for eight months didn't and probably would never love me. I guess I'm considered one of the "lucky" ones for catching on to it so quickly. However, it still hurt so, so much.

I was asking him about his sister. I knew she was interviewing for a new job; she was nervous, and I wanted to know how she went. He told me everything, and we continued to walk until he said... "How's your sister.... Poppy?"

My sister's name is not Poppy. It's not even close.

It was then that I knew I was going to break up with him. I knew his sister's name; I knew which state she lived in; I knew what she does for work; I knew she loved the theatre; I knew she was nervous about the prospects of this new job because it was her dream job since she was 20.

And he couldn't even remember my sister's name. My sister who I love, who's one of the most important people to me, who I talked about with him multiple times since our very first date.

He didn't just not love me but he didn't care about me or my life at all.

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The feeling of knowing someone doesn't love you is something that's so tragically unique. It's different to the feeling of someone falling out of love with you. When someone falls out of love with you, it's like a slow tide pulling you away. When someone has just stopped loving you or never loved you, it's a sharp stab of confusion, embarrassment and pain.

It's also a feeling many women like myself have experienced. Here are the stories of seven other women on the moment they realised their partner didn't love them...

1. "When he was admitted to hospital, he rang his ex-girlfriend to let her know before me."

2. "He was stationed in North Queensland, and I would fly up as often as I could to see him. For his 21st birthday we went clubbing with his mates, and the designated driver and I got to talking. He told me of all the times they’d all gone to strip clubs and brothels on their trips to Sydney. I knew he didn’t love me then. I stayed with him anyway. He left me a few months later."

3. "He returned from his first trip overseas and I sensed he had changed. Seeing what was outside Australia and his bubble, he quickly realised there were things I couldn’t understand and fell in love with someone else. He told me he loved me but wasn’t in love with me. I still feel the physical pain in my heart to this day 20 years later."

4. "When I got a call from his workmate who had 'won' me in a card game with my ex-husband. I was in lieu of the gambling debt."

5. "When he didn't pick me up from the train station after an operation."

6. "I took a bunch of photos of my three-month-old son and his father (my partner at the time). Back in the day you got them developed. When I picked up the photos, I saw the look in his eye that clearly expressed he didn’t love me anymore. About a month later, he ended our relationship stating he wasn’t happy."

7. "When my husband of 13 years said he wouldn't come to my birthday family dinner at a restaurant because my dad 'was a c**t.' My dad is a very sweet and lovely man and had never done anything to hurt my husband. That was the culminating moment after years of knowing I deserved better that I decided to finally end the marriage."

If you want more culture opinions by Emily Vernem, you can follow her on Instagram @emilyvernem.

Feature image: Canva.