There are a million reasons why a man might want to make a girl jealous, whether it’s his girlfriend, a girl he likes, or – in some cases – a girl he doesn’t know at all. No matter the goal, and no matter the situation, there are dozens of ways you can get a girl’s attention with just a little bit of effort.
In the following article, we’ll discuss how to make her jealous as well as why you might want to in the first place.
The Motivations of Jealousy
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of how to make her jealous, let’s first analyze what your motivations are for wanting to do so. For those that view relationships and dating as a “game,” invoking jealousy in your significant other (SO) or a girl you’re crushing on is just one way you can play your cards. To others, however, it can seem a little underhanded – even manipulative.
For this reason, we’ll first attempt to identify what lies behind your desire to make her jelly. Is it so you can have her forever, or are you just playing with her heart?
You Want Her to Like You
As you might expect, the most common, obvious, and well-meaning reason that a boy might want to make a girl jealous is that he is interested in her romantically. Maybe he doesn’t have a lot of confidence or experience dealing with women, or perhaps he doesn’t know how to spark her interest without being a “show off.”
Either way, you like the girl, and you want her to notice you. You also understand that women are more likely to respond to emotional triggers than non-emotional ones. With this information in your arsenal, you can go about finding ways to pique her interest – and jealousy is usually quite useful.
You Want to Know if She Likes You
Sometimes, invoking a bit of jealousy in a girl can make her realize that she likes you. Relationships are quite complicated, after all, and it’s not uncommon for a person to deny their feelings if they feel there might be social or personal consequences for them. Situations like this can be frustrating for men, especially if they like the girl back and don’t see any other way to convince her to give them a shot.
So, if you suspect a girl might be in denial about her feelings for you, making her jealous might help her realize where her heart lies. If she displays signs of classic jealous, this will, in turn, let you know that your suspicions were correct.
You Want Her to Miss You
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but jealousy can make that absence a much more exciting experience for both individuals. This is often the case when two people are already in a relationship. One person might be leaving for a few weeks, the summer, or maybe an entire year. Without constant contact with her beau, a woman might become interested in someone else, or have other men ask her out.
In this case, a bit of jealousy can make her miss you all the more. In turn, the fact that she misses you so much will keep her interested in you no matter how long you’re gone, and help her resist the temptation to take one of her suitors up on their offer.
You Want Her to Fight For You
As complicated human beings, we deny our feelings all the time. As we mentioned, if there are social or environmental consequences to emotions, those emotions are often the first thing to be repressed. This fact is especially true in situations where you and your girlfriend are on a “break” or even broken up. There may still be feelings there, but the deny them in favor of appearances.
In this case, a little jealousy can bring those feelings to the surface. Sometimes it’s just the sight of you with another girl, and sometimes it’s merely the suggestion. Either way, if she still cares about you, jealousy can be a strong motivating factor in making her fight for the relationship.
The Benefits of Making Her Jealous
As we mentioned above, the motivations behind why you want to make her jealous can vary quite a bit. There are, however, several benefits that come from utilizing the “jealousy” strategy.
You’ll Reveal Her True Feelings – If she’s keeping her intentions or feelings hidden for any reason, jealousy can reveal them. This knowledge allows you to know what move you should make next, depending on the status of your relationship with here.
You Can Renew Your Relationship – It’s an unfortunate fact that people tend to get complacent in their relationships. Injecting a bit of jealousy into your situation, however, can result in a renewed sense of attraction and interest.
You Can Gain the Upper Hand – Relationships aren’t necessarily a contest, but some men and women use the courting process as a way of “testing” whether the potential partner is good enough for them. If you can make them jealous, you can gain the upper hand in the situation and set the stage for the next move.
You’ll Definitely Get Her Attention – Regardless of what your relationship has been in the past, if you get her attention, you’ll be in a position to get more of it. If she doesn’t like you yet, you’re at least more likely to stand out to her, which can give you the chance to display your best characteristics.
How to Make Her Jealous
In this section, we’ll go over exactly how to make her jealous. Along with suggesting techniques and other things you can utilize, we’ll also identify why they work, helping you understand the strong motivations that jealousy can have when it comes to women.
Socialize with Your Ex
Few actions can spark jealousy faster than the mention of – or suggestion that you’re still into – your ex. While not all girls are inherently possessive or jealous, the vast majority will have a healthy distrust of any girl with whom you’ve been intimate in the past. It’s just common sense – if you’ve liked someone before, the chances of you wanting them again are much higher.
If you get a text from your ex in front of your current girlfriend, get caught liking a few of her posts of Facebook, you’re almost guaranteed to invoke some jealousy in your girl. Keep in mind, however, that you’ll need to do this subtly, or you’ll spend more time fighting than enjoying the benefits of her jealous heart.
Compliment Other Women
At its heart, the idea that fuels jealousy is the thought of you leaving a girl for another woman. Therefore, being overly-complimentary of other women is a surefire way to make your girlfriend jealous. This strategy is best accomplished if the compliments are subtle, and the compliments don’t always have to be physical. Remember, you’re not trying to make her feel bad, you’re just trying to get her attention!
If you’re not in a relationship, however, complimenting other women in front of the girl you’re crushing on could get her to notice you in loads of different ways. She might find you attractive, for one, or she might wonder why you’re being so complimentary to those around her but curiously leaving her out of the mix.
Ghost Her (For a Little While)
Few things are as prone to running wild as a young woman’s imagination. If you’re already in a relationship with a girl, or you’re merely on a text-only basis with a girl you like, you can stop responding to her for a few days and see how she reacts. In many cases, girls will at least start to wonder why you’re not responding. They may even lash out at you for it. Either way, the point is they’ll be thinking of you.
This strategy is highly effective because there are always a million good reasons for why you couldn’t text back. You could have a pre-planned excuse that will make your girlfriend feel a tinge of regret if she does choose to call you out. The point is, her insistence that you make contact with her is an excellent jumping-off point for discussing other aspects of your relationship.
Alternate Between “Hot” and “Cold”
The “push and pull” technique is one of the few pickup artist “tricks” that actually has some basis in psychology and science. The goal here is not necessarily jealousy, but to get the girl to be thinking about you (in one way or another) as often as possible. Being super friendly and flirty one day and then acting cold and unaccommodating the next will pique her curiosity and keep you on her mind.
It’s important to note, however, that the goal here is not to be a Casanova one day and a total jerk the next. You’re going to alter the way you interact with her in a subtle way that will keep her guessing. The second she starts wondering if you’re saving that flirty side for someone else, you’re going to make some headway.
Hide Your Messages (Real or Fake)
Being in a healthy, committed relationship is about being an open book and minimizing secrets between you and your girlfriend. For this reason, keeping secrets from her – no matter how small or benign – is a surefire way to get her jealous. In modern dating, one of the easiest ways to do this is to start hiding messages from her, like texts, Facebook threads, or Instagram pics.
It’s important to stress that these messages can be real or fake. All that matters is that you give your girl the impression that you’re keeping something from her. In her mind, she’ll begin to wonder why you’re not sharing the information with her, and – ultimately – just with whom you are sharing it.
Be Super Nice to Another Girl
Along with the strategy of complimenting other women, merely demonstrating your ability to be kind to someone that isn’t here can be enough to get those jealousy gears turning. If you’re already dating, you could choose a co-worker or even a friend of hers to whom you can start being overtly nice. If you’re still in the phase of courting your crush, you might want to choose a close friend of hers (or maybe an enemy).
When you are super friendly to someone, you’re not just displaying what she might perceive as a disinterest in her, but you’re also showing that you can be the “perfect guy.” These two factors combined can make a girl go crazy. At the very least, she’ll ask you why you’re suddenly so lovely to XYZ. In extreme cases, she might declare her feelings right then and there.
Have a Guy’s Night (Or a Couple)
It’s an old wive’s tale that women hate when guys hang out with their friends. In most cases, it’s quite the contrary, and she’s glad to be rid of you for a night or two a week so she can hunker down and watch Netflix or hang out with friends of her own. However, if you start spending excessive amounts of time with your bros, she might start to get jealous of the time you’re not spending with her.
People base relationships on connections. For women, strengthening that connection is done through diligent daily maintenance (talking, cuddling, etc.). If you start to miss those maintenance sessions in favor of time with your guy friends, it’s natural for her to get jealous and confront you over your lack of attention to her.
Show Off the Ex’s Gifts
We mentioned before that there is power in the mere mention of your ex. On the other hand, you might not have to mention your ex at all to invoke a little bit of jealousy in your mate. In many cases, just wearing something that was given to you by a former girlfriend or partner will be enough to make your current gal take notice.
From hoodies and shirts to all manner of accessories, showing that you’re still attached to the things your ex gave you can also suggest there’s a lingering connection to her. One of the best things about this particular strategy, however, is that you have plenty of plausible deniability should she try to accuse of wearing the items on purpose. After all, it’s just your stuff!
Tell a White Lie or Two
A white lie is a fib that doesn’t actually result in anyone getting hurt, but can help you get something you want. The point of this strategy, however, is actually to get caught in the lies you tell. Make sure they’re not about anything big, but just tiny everyday things and activities. As your girlfriend discovers that you’re not telling her the truth about little things, she may become suspicious of your feelings in general.
NOTE: Lying is a slippery slope, especially when it comes to relationships. In this case, we want to make it clear that we’re only advising you to raise mild, almost-humorous suspicion about your intentions. Remember, you like this person, and you’ll ideally want them to like you afterward.
Mention What Attracts You
A little bit of jealousy can actually be quite healthy in a relationship because it keeps people from getting complacent or overly-dependent on their partner. Sometimes, even the mild implication that another girl might be able to steal you away will be enough to drive her nuts. One way to do this is to mention something you notice about another attractive woman. When you do this, make sure to include her in the conversation.
This strategy is a particularly safe way to introduce jealous feelings to your relationship, as you’re not trying to hide anything or be secretive. If you see a girl or couple with something you find attractive, mention it to her. Given enough time, she’ll be almost guaranteed to want to show you just why she’s a better choice.
Take to Social Media
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are perfect for introducing a bit of jealousy to a situation. In many cases, simply “liking” or following other women too much will force your SO to take an inventory of what they have that she does not. If your girl has a “territorial” instinct in her, your chatting with and accepting friend requests from others will be sure to get her blood boiling.
Keep in mind, however, that your “liking” photos of other women may also end up sending messages to those women that you’re interested in them. If you’re merely trying to make your girlfriend playfully jealous, you don’t want to end up in a situation where these women are genuinely pursuing you.
Talk About Another Couple You Know
Many female readers will be more than familiar with the “comparison technique,” by which you can use another couple to invoke changes you want to see in your relationship. This is, most often, done by way of jealousy. If there’s a couple that you both know that do things you’d like to do or have more passion, experiences, etc., telling her about it can often have a big effect on her.
Mention your “ideal” couple enough, and eventually, she might become so jealous of your obsession with them that she’ll be down to try and make your relationship more like theirs.
Have a Great Day Without Her
Having experiences that don’t include her is another way to make her jealous without hurting her feelings or making your relationship more complicated. This strategy can be as simple as telling her about running into a mutual friend to going to see something you know she would have loved, but “forgetting” to invite her.
Though it seems tricky, this is a great way to get a girl to pay attention to you and remember what you offer. As we mentioned, sometimes people get complacent in their relationships and forget that they need to work to maintain them. Have enough great days without her, and she might never let you leave her side again.
Have an Inside Joke
Social interaction is about inclusion. If a girl you’re interested in or currently dating feels excluded from something, regardless of how small, jealousy is a logical result. A simple and effective way to accomplish this is by having an inside joke with someone. Ideally, this someone would be a woman, but it doesn’t have to be.
Phrases like “you wouldn’t get it,” or “it’s just a joke we have together” will, quite frankly, drive her nuts. Once you get her attention, however, it would be nice if you made it up to her by developing an inside joke of your own.
Look Your Best in All Situations
This is another jealousy strategy that works for both current SOs and girls you’re merely trying to get to notice you. Though it might require a little bit of investment, it’s also effortless to pull off. All you need to do is make sure that wherever you go and whatever you do, you always look your absolute best.
So, how does looking your best invoke jealousy? Because she won’t be the only one that notices you. By looking as good as possible, you’re increasing the likelihood that other women will look at you or comment about your appearance. If she likes you even a little bit, the dramatic increase in interest may push her to act quickly to claim you as her own.
The Final Word
As you can see, if you want to know how to make her jealous, there are dozens of strategies that you can employ. Not only do these get you the attention you want, but they can also serve as a springboard from which you can confess your feelings, improve your relationship, or make a grand romantic gesture and win her heart forever.
The point to remember here is that you don’t want to make a girl jealous so that she feels bad, but so that you have a chance to improve your relationship with her. It might be a bit sneaky, maybe even underhanded, but it’s just one more trick used every day in this game we call love.
