There's a buzzy new dating term abound and true to form, it sucks just as much if not more than the OG term: ghosting.
First coined by Metro UK's Ellen Scott, "stashing" is when the person you're dating fails to introduce you to anyone in their lives, and basically hides you away from their friends and family.
Scott says that by hiding all evidence of time spent together from their lives, stashers are able to play dumb about their commitment (emotional or time-wise) to the stashee and thus treat them poorly.
Stashing isn't just limited to not meeting the parents either. Scott also says that stashing can play out online, when the stasher refuses to acknowledge the stashee's existence on social media. If you're constantly tagging a guy in photos and he's only uploading ambiguous shots of your shared meal together (sans mentioning you in the caption or tagging you), chances are good you're being stashed.
Dating expert Jo Hemmings told the Daily Mail, the most likely reason for being stashed is that you're "being played a bit. They could be someone who doesn't think of you as a long-term prospect, or they don't think you're special enough to have brought you into their circle of friends." But she does mention that there are also legitimate reasons for not being introduced to a partner's friends. It could be that it genuinely hasn't come up yet or that they're worried you won't get along with their buddies.
But if you've made every effort to include them in your life and they haven't reciprocated, it's totally fine to check in for a status update and ask why. After all, just like with ghosting, it's usually better to get an answer either way.
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This article originally appeared on Cosmopolitan.com. Minor edits have been made by the Cosmo.ph editors.