‘Don’t Think’ Discusses Toxic Exes, Gaslighting, and the Ultimate Breakup Horror Story

When it comes to dating, most of us have a story or two we’d rather leave in the past. But on the Halloween episode of Don’t Think, host Carla Bezanson is going all in, serving up her own “ultimate breakup horror story” while inviting listeners to share their personal tales of romantic chaos.

Bezanson leans into the theme by dressing up as the iconic Carrie Bradshaw, complete with hours of hair prep and a nod to the Sex and the City character’s famously messy dating life.  And because no good Halloween story is complete without multiple jump scares, Bezanson follows her own account with listener horror stories that range from secret sex tapes to love bombing gone wrong.

The Nashville dating nightmare that feels like a horror movie

Bezanson shares her long-awaited Nashville breakup story, which unfolded during what should have been a festive New Year’s Eve celebration. After dating a man long-distance for several months, she agreed to spend the holiday with him and his friends. But things unraveled quickly.

When she asked him to grab her phone from a restaurant, he snapped that her “existence annoys” him. Later, he downplayed their relationship in front of other women and openly gave more attention to someone else at the table. By the time midnight approached, the gaslighting reached new heights. “You’re not fun anymore. My friends don’t think you’re fun anymore. You’re not the girl I fell in love with,” he told her.

As Bezanson cried in the club lobby, unable to find a ride, she looked up to see him on stage, throwing dollar bills and chugging champagne. “That image is just burned into my brain,” she recalls. “It felt like I came out of my body and watched this scene of me, this emotionally battered woman, while he was smiling like I never existed.” 

Naturally, and thankfully, she dumped him shortly thereafter.

Listeners reveal their own dating horrors

Bezanson turns the mic over to her audience, asking them to share their worst dating and relationship horror stories. One woman discovered a date had secretly propped his phone against a lamp to record her during sex. When she confronted him, she found videos of multiple women saved on his phone. “What is he doing with these videos?” Bezanson asks, calling out the clear violation.

Another listener described traveling across the country to see a man who told her he loved her one night, only to refuse to speak to her the very next morning. “It’s giving emotionally unavailable baby man,” Bezanson quips, summing up the whiplash so many people experience in modern dating.

Then there’s the date with the unexpected plot twist. A man met a woman whose father had murdered her mother and was now about to be released from prison. While she was focused on forgiveness, her date admitted the revelation was too heavy for a first outing. “That is really spooky season right on brand for this episode, because the horrors do, in fact, persist,” Bezanson notes. 

Why dating still feels like a haunted house

What makes these stories so compelling is how familiar they feel, even if the details are extreme. In every case, the pattern is the same—red flags ignored, boundaries crossed, and moments that leave someone questioning reality. “Every house is a haunted house when you’re scared of your own brain,” Bezanson says.

The modern dating landscape is just like a haunted attraction. Every swipe or date can feel like walking through a dark hallway, unsure of what’s lurking behind the next door. After all, the monsters in dating aren’t always supernatural. Sometimes they’re just the people we thought we could trust. 

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