Opinion: Dark side to Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson’s split

OPINION:

Kim Kardashian’s and Pete Davidson’s divorce is current news. But I am more intrigued by how Davidson appears to date only in the most harmful way.

28-year-old comedian Davidson is my favorite. He’s tall and boyishly handsome. His interviews are very nice. His dating behavior is alarming, though I am charmed by him. Seriously? He appears to be inked to pay tribute to all women he’s been with for over a month.

He dated Kardashian (41) for less than one year, and already has numerous tattoos that are tribute to her. It’s becoming less romantic, and more obsessive.

Also, it speaks volumes as to how Davidson conducts himself in any kind of relationship. It’s like he copies and pastes his signature – over-the-top – behaviours to whoever he is currently sleeping with.

When he was engaged to Ariana Grande, pop singer Ariana Grande made Davidson “it boy” status. Since then, he has been involved in several public affairs with famous women like Kaia Gerber to Kate Beckinsale. Kim Kardashian was the most recent.

His relationship with Grande is undisputed. The necklace that his father, who was killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks, had worn to death left him for Grande. In her honor, he got her tattoos, which include her last name on the rib cage. He joked that he would like to replace her birth control pills by Tic Tacs on Saturday Night Live.

It’s creepy to joke that your girlfriend wants you to get her pregnant, even though I am sorry! You don’t matter what height or how beautiful you might be.

Davidson basically plays into the cliché that true love is about big gestures and obsessiveness. He often joked about how he felt “hard” due to Grande. Grande’s obsession with Davidson was deemed couple goals at the height of their public romance. However, it was just a lesson in how to be.

These things do happen. We have all been guilty of being a bit too intense in some relationships. But Davidson is making it a daily habit.

Although his personal relationship with Kardashian is more secretive, he was snapped sporting a tattoo featuring Kardashian’s children names. In honor of Kardashian, he also had a tattoo that said: My girl is a lawyer. This was in reference to the fact that she was studying for her bar exam. After only being with Kardashian for a short time, he got the tattoos.

This behaviour is a red flag.

Davidson reminds me of those toxic men who I grew to love in romantic books and movies. As Edward Cullen in Twilight, Noah in The Notebook or The Beast from Beauty And The Beast, Davidson’s actions remind me of the toxic men I grew up idolizing. Is that a guy who watches you while you’re sleeping? Creepy. If you’re married to another woman, how can a man build you a house? It’s too much. Are you being trapped in your own house by a guy? Illegal.

The obsessive behavior of these fictional men was something I once thought was the height of romance. But now, as an adult, I find it more frightening and less adorable.

Davidson, however, is a living example of these fictional men. Many women admire his big gestures, grand declarations and public interactions. These women want to see a man who tattoos their name, as they think this is love. However, love is more subtle.

Davidson is not a cute couple. He is toxic and unhealthy, and this may be why his relationships fail.

A healthy, long-lasting and happy relationship is not possible with grand gestures or sweet words. It’s more simple things, like communicating and understanding each other’s boundaries.

The worst thing about Davidson’s romantic history with women is its tendency to romance toxic behaviour. Davidson is this generation’s Edward Cullen. But he’s not a vampire. He’s a celebrity.