It sounds like you’re analyzing Dave’s actions in a very thoughtful way. From your perspective, it seems like he’s reaching for an excuse to break things off with Lauren. Maybe he saw something in Molly that sparked his interest, like how she looks or how she presents herself on social media. This could’ve caused him to second-guess his relationship with Lauren, leading him to manufacture reasons why they aren’t right for each other, even though things might have been fine before.
The idea that he looked Molly up on Instagram after getting his phone back makes sense too. Social media can sometimes be a sneaky way for people to compare their current partners to someone new, or just to feed a little curiosity. Scrolling through Molly’s profile and seeing her in a different light—maybe she looked “hotter” or had traits that caught his eye—could have stirred up some doubt in his mind about his relationship with Lauren. It’s easy to get caught in that trap of thinking the grass is greener when you see someone you find more attractive or seemingly more interesting on a screen, especially if you’re feeling a little uncertain about where things stand with your current partner.
What’s interesting about your take is the possibility that Dave might be using this as a way to rationalize his decision, rather than confronting the actual reasons why he feels like he’s not connecting with Lauren anymore. Maybe he’s feeling bored or unsure but doesn’t know how to communicate that directly. Instead, he leans on the idea that Molly is “hotter” or more appealing in some way, even if that’s not truly the core reason he wants to step away from Lauren. This is a bit of a coping mechanism—using superficial qualities as a reason to end things, when the deeper issue might be more about personal dissatisfaction or mismatched expectations.
At the end of the day, it’s a classic case of how easily social media can mess with someone’s perception of relationships. It can fuel insecurity, amplify comparisons, and sometimes even influence decisions in ways that don’t feel as straightforward. Maybe Dave is just using Molly as a scapegoat for something that he hasn’t fully processed with Lauren. It could even be that, deep down, he knew he wasn’t as invested, and the sight of someone else just gave him a convenient excuse.
