【Uschi Karnat】

Feel like your new romance features a little bit too much alone time?Uschi Karnat You might have been stashed.

What now? Meet “stashing,” the newest relationship term to strike fear into our hearts. We’ve already been victims of “kittenfishing,” “breadcrumbing,” “gatsybying,” “haunting,” and, of course, the ubiquitous “ghosting.” And now we’ve got this to worry about.

SEE ALSO: Cushioning is just a fancy new way to cheat on someone

Stashing, as the Metro reports, is that thing where you’re in a new relationship and everything seems great, except for one thing -- you’ve never met any of your new love’s friends or family.

You’ve let this person fully into your life, but they haven’t even so much as acknowledged your existence on social media or introduced you to one of their pals. Uh oh, you’ve been stashed.

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Basically you're being kept a secret for one reason or another, like a little treasure stashed away in an underwear drawer. Ugh.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

When you press your partner about it, they’ll try to wriggle out of having to explain. Sorry to say, but they’re probably already in a relationship with someone else or have some other dark secret to hide.

The good news is that “stashing” is just a new name for something that people have been doing since the beginning of time. So this isn’t some new horror brought on by dating apps or Instagram. Still, it’s no fun.

SEE ALSO: Finally, there's a dating app that helps geeks find true love

But don’t take it personally. It doesn’t mean they find you too embarrassing to share with their nearest and dearest; it means they’re a liar. And the sooner you can un-stash yourself the better.

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