45 Times Dating Ended With A Plot Twist No One Saw Coming

Many of us associate psychopaths with terrifying monsters who make it into scary, true crime, Netflix documentaries. But the truth is, the majority of psychopaths aren’t actually criminals. They live fairly ordinary lives all around us, often hiding in plain sight. And there are more of them than you might think.

Here's the bad news: An estimated 1 in 100 people are psychopaths. To put it into perspective, that's similar to the number of people who are teachers in the U.K. So, statistically speaking, it's not that unlikely that one day, you might find yourself dating a psychopath. Or worse yet, marrying one.

If you want the good news, keep scrolling...

Let's start with what a psychopath is... According to Calli Tzani Pepelasi, a lecturer of investigative psychology at the University of Huddersfield in the U.K., most researchers agree that psychopathy involves "persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, boldness, emotional resiliency, meanness, impulsivity and extremely egotistical traits."

But that doesn't make psychopaths all bad. Apparently, they also have certain positive traits, like paying attention to detail, being good at reading people, and engaging in conversation with ease. "Their ability to be precise and creative means psychopaths can be successful professionals," explains Pepelasi.

The expert says there are some red flags that scream "psychopath" in relationships. The first is that they're often pathological liars.

"Psychopaths are likely to repeatedly attempt to deceive their partners and will lie about anything under any circumstances in order to conceal their behavior and achieve their goals – whatever they may be," reveals Pepelasi.

That said, it's not always easy to catch them lying because they're so strategic in their planning of tall tales. "They often also tend to have a superficial charm that may have got their partner addicted in the first place – this could make their other half doubt their suspicions," the expert adds.

They're also apparently quite full of themselves. Or, put another way, their perception of self-worth is typically extremely high. The expert says even if you are a successful, confident professional, you are likely to feel worthless in comparison. "And if you don’t, a psychopath partner may set out to crush your self-esteem in order to have more control over you," Pepelasi warns.

Psychopaths are masters at gaslighting, too. They'll erode your confidence and sense of reality by confusing, misdirecting, deceiving, and persuading you, until eventually, you start to suffer from extreme self-doubt.

And there's a reason why psychopaths are so good at manipulating people. Find out what it is further down...

These cunning men and women, as previously stated, are excellent at studying other people’s behavior and then using what they've learned to control them.

"If you are in a relationship with a psychopath and manage to resist their manipulation, they will often throw a toddler’s tantrum full of frustration, anger, nagging or repetitive conversations – and of course the pity puppy eyes as a final attempt – to make you feel sorry for them and give in to their wishes," says Pepelasi.

If you're waiting for an apology from your psychopath partner, don't hold your breath. They often have an astounding lack of guilt or remorse. And that's how it'll stay... Because research has shown that the brains of psychopaths are wired in this way.

"A recent brain scanning study of psychopaths in prison showed that the higher levels of psychopathy people had, the more likely they were to cheat – and not feel bad about it," writes Pepelasi. "Other studies have discovered that psychopaths have structural and functional differences in several brain areas, including the prefrontal cortex, which plays a crucial role in personality development and planning."

Because of their cold behavior, you might think that psychopaths don't feel empathy. But apparently, that's not the case. They're just able to choose to disregard it, like an emotional off-switch. "Similarly, it seems psychopaths are often aware of the wrongfulness in their negative behavior, but act in that way in any case due to their lack of self-control," adds the expert.