When Does A Man Start To Miss You? 21 Strategies To Make Him Crave You (2024)

If you’re wondering when does a man start to miss you, this guide should help. It explains when guys start missing the women in their lives and what you can do to make guys miss you quicker.

When Does A Man Start To Miss You
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The powerful tips in the guide below can work wirh ex-boyfriends or love interests who you feel might be slipping away. 

In my role as a life coach, I am often helping clients develop stronger relationships with the most important people in their lives. 

That’s why I’m excited to share this guide with you. 

So, let’s dive in. 

How Long Does It Take For A Man To Miss You?

This depends on a range of factors, including how much he liked you, how much contact you have after you leave and how easily he can replace you.

With that said, I’ve listed some strategies to help ensure a man misses you quicker below. The more of these you can apply, the more likely it’ll be that this guy is reaching out hoping to meet up with you again. 

How To Make A Man Miss You: 21 Strategies

1. Follow The No Contact Rule

This means you don’t call him, message him or interact with his social media accounts – and you do your best not to bump into him in the real world. My guide on Insights In No Contact Rule Male Psychology explains why this is so effective.

2. Live A Fun And Amazing Life Without Him

If you’re living a life full of fun and excitement and this guy finds out about it, he may begin to feel the fear of missing out (FOMO) which is a powerful emotion if you’re trying to make guys start to miss you.

If you’re engaging in activities and hanging out with people that he really likes, this strategy will be ten times more powerful. The most important thing is that you’re having fun without him though. 

3. Document Your Fun And Amazing Life On Social Media

It’s more powerful to let this guy witness you living your best life without him on social media, rather than telling him about it.

Social Media
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If he follows your profile and has interacted with it a lot in the past, there’s a great chance that he’ll see the new content you post.

Indeed, when guys start to miss a woman, they usually sneak-peek at her social profiles to see what she has been getting up to.

Even so, you should refrain from posting things directly related to your ex or your break-up on social media. It’s better to stay silent on this topic, so it at least looks like it wasn’t a big deal to you.  

4. It’s Time To Start Looking Your Best   

We’ll assume that this guy is going to spot your upcoming social media posts. In this case, it’s a great time for a glow-up.

Perhaps you’ll treat yourself to a new haircut, a new outfit or start sculpting a new-and-improved body in the gym.

This is a great confidence-booster for you, plus a guy is more likely to start missing you when you look better than ever.

5. Make Use Of Social Media Filters 

Since you’re going to be making the effort to post pictures and videos on social media, you might as well add some subtle filters so that you’re looking your best. 

6. Level Up

If you start levelling up in your career, your hobbies and your friendships, this can make guys start to miss you. That’s presuming they hear about it. So, you’re either going to need to post about it on your social media or achieve something so awesome that it reaches him through word of mouth.

7. Start Dating Other Guys

There’s nothing like dating other people to make men realize how much they miss you. It’s a basic element of human psychology that we want something more when someone else has it.

Once again, you can post a subtle hint about a first date on your social media, or you can tell your mutual friends and hope the rumor reaches this guy.

Of course, you should only begin to date a new guy if you want to. Don’t do it just to make some other man jealous. Rebound relationships based solely on revenge nearly always have a sour end. Maybe you will need a few weeks by yourself to heal from losing your ex-boyfriend or ex-husband. 

Related: Why Does He Keep Me Around If He Doesn’t Want A Relationship?

8. Tell Your Mutual Friends How Great Your Life Is Going

Before social media, this was the most reliable way to ensure your ex-partner knew that you were moving on – and it still works well now.

So, if you have mutual friends, make sure to stay in touch with them for emotional support and to give them the lowdown on how well things are going.

If they’re good friends, you can rely on them to pass on the message to the guy you want to miss you.  

9. Announce Your New Boyfriend

Once again, you should only do this if you want a new partner and you’ve found a suitable candidate.

When you announce your new relationship on social media, there’s a great chance the news will trickle down to the guy you want to miss you, especially if he follows you or you have mutual friends.  

10. Take Your Time Messaging Him

Earlier, I recommended zero contact if you’re trying to make someone miss you.

However, I’ll also say: if you do respond to this guy’s message, don’t do it immediately after receiving it. 

Make him sweat on your reply and he’ll start missing you a lot faster. 

11. Keep Your Messages Short, Formal And Infrequent

The less of your personality you share in your messages, the more he’ll start to miss hanging out with you. 

12. Keep All Communications 100% Positive

If you stay in touch with this guy, keep all conversations positive. A great way to make someone not miss you is to start complaining and wrapping them up in your problems.  

13. Don’t Mention Your Desires For A Serious Relationship (Yet)

Another great way to make men not miss you is to talk about your desire for a serious commitment. Women tend to make this mistake a lot and it’s often what scares guys away from them in the first place. To win back a man’s interest, you need to keep things fun and casual for now.

If you are looking for something serious, it’s best to wait until he’s enjoying his time with you again before you bring this up. 

14. Apologize

If you know the reason why you two fell apart in the first place, apologize for this. This will usually help him see you in a different light, and start forgetting the reasons why he didn’t want to be around you. It can even help to apologize for “whatever I did to upset you”.

15. Callback Humor

Callback humor is essentially referring back to a funny moment from the past. It’s a great tool to make guys start to miss you. This reminds them of when they were having loads of fun with you, and will inspire them to want to do that again.    

16. Reach Out When He’s Bored

If you do reach out to this guy, try and do it when he’s likely to be bored. Sending him a message when he’s out having the time of his life won’t have the same impact. 

17. Give Him Something Of Yours

If you have given him something of yours before he pulls away, there’s a chance he’ll spot it at his house now and again and that this could spark happy memories of you. It doesn’t have to be something valuable, although it’ll help if it’s too sentimental for him to throw away. 

18. Bump Into Him While Looking Your Best

This can take a lot of effort to pull off, especially if you’re trying to make it look like an innocent coincidence. However, it is possible, especially if this guy has a favorite bar or nightclub he goes to a lot.

When a guy sees you looking amazing in the flesh, it can make a huge emotional impact that makes him want to miss you. If you happen to be with another extremely attractive guy, there’s a great chance he’ll feel jealous and he’ll start to miss you even more. 

19. Flirt!

If you’re spotted flirting with another man, that’s a great way to make other guys start to miss you.

However, in some cases, it can be just as powerful to flirt with the man you want to miss you!

When you make a guy horny, it can override all logical feelings he has about you and make him want to hang out with you even more. 

20. Focus On Your Own Life  

The truth is: it’s not always possible to make guys start to miss you. As previously mentioned, it depends on their previous feelings towards you and their current life situation.

That’s why I recommend you focus mostly on improving your life, rather than what to do so he’ll miss you.

This will help you get over this guy so you don’t care whether he starts missing you or not. 

Plus, if you do happen to cross paths again, it’ll put you into a frame of mind when you can play it cool, rather than being desperate for him to come back.

21. Want Some Devious Psychological Tricks To Make Guys Start To Miss You?

Not satisfied with the tips in this guide? I have listed these Psychological Tricks That Will Make Him Miss You. Use them at your own discretion.          

When Does A Man Start To Miss You: Frequently Asked Questions

Let’s round off this guide with the answers to some frequently asked questions about when a guy misses you. 

Miss You
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Does Absence Make A Man Miss You?

Yes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. In fact, it’s technically required for someone to miss you.

However, your absence will only have an impact on him if he liked you a lot in the first place – and his life is now worse without your presence in it.  

Will No Contact Make Him Miss Me?

Eliminating all contact is a proven way to have guys missing you quicker. See my guide on what to say after a no contact period for more information.  

Things Guys Do When They Miss A Girl

There are various things that men do when they miss a woman. Some will engage in measures of escapism to try to stop missing you.

However, the most consistent thing they do is try to contact you again.

This might be through phone calls, text messages or whatever social media accounts they can reach you on. They might email you if that’s the only option. 

The point is: if they actually miss you, they’ll nearly always find a way to get in touch. Once he does, you can consider that a green light to explore how he feels about meeting up again.  

How Do You Know If He Will Miss Me?

If a man genuinely misses you, he will usually reach out. It might take two weeks or even a few months, but it’ll take a very resilient dude to refrain from contacting a woman he wants to see again.

Honestly, there is no way to read your ex’s mind and find out whether he will miss you ahead of time. 

What Makes A Man Realize He Misses You

The most common scenario is when his single life doesn’t go as well as he had planned. Maybe his next fling turns out to be garbage or he finds himself unable to attract any romantic partners at all.

That’s typically when a man realizes what a good person you were and will start to miss you.

He’ll realize he misses you a lot faster if you follow the steps in this guide as well.

Signs He Doesnt Miss You

Has he tried to contact you yet? That’s the only question you need to ask – and it has a single solid answer. If the answer is no, he doesn’t miss you enough. 

How Long Does It Take For Someone To Miss You After A Breakup?

It really depends on how much they liked you, how they deal with the break-up and how their life turns out once they become single.

Most guys will miss you the most immediately after a break-up, then their wounds will heal with time.

However, it’s not uncommon that an ex-boyfriend starts off excited about being single, especially if he hooks up with a new girl quickly, only to later realize he let go of a good woman who was perhaps the right person for him.  

When Does A Man Start To Fall In Love?

There’s no simple answer. Once again, this depends on his state of mind before he met you, plus how satisfying the relationship is. His mental health will play a clear role in how quickly he becomes emotionally attached. If he is desperate and needy for affection, he might fall in love quickly with anyone.

If he has been hurt in a previous relationship, it’ll usually take longer until he finally realizes his true feelings.

You can check my list of tell-tale signs he has caught feelings for you if you’re unsure whether a man is in love.    

Also, make sure to explore my list of Reasons Why Guys Fall In Love When They Miss You

How To Make Your Long-Distance Boyfriend Miss You?

The tips in this guide will work well for an ex-boyfriend. However if you’re in a long-distance relationship, you may want to follow the complete opposite advice. It’s better to remain emotionally connected more during this challenging phase of a relationship so he’ll remember how much he loves being around you. 

Any More Questions?

Thanks for reading my guide.

If you’d like to ask a question or share some final thoughts on making guys miss you, feel free to leave a comment below.  

You need help and I enjoy giving healthy relationship advice, so it’s a win-win situation!

I’m not ready to stop talking about this topic, so it would be great to hear from you! 

About The Author

Bijan Kholghi is a certified life coach with the Milton Erickson Institute Heidelberg (Germany). He helps clients and couples reach breakthroughs in their lives by changing subconscious patterns. His solution-oriented approach is based on Systemic- and Hypnotherapy.

Bijan