1. The Momma’s Boy

These are the types of men that your mother would love to see you with – so ask yourself, am I dating him because I like him, or because I want mom’s approval? He knows how to talk to and treat your mom because he worships his own mom. Everything you do will be compared to the way his mummy does it and naturally she does it better. Don’t have an opinion that differs to mummy’s and heaven forbid that you wear an outfit mummy doesn’t approve of. You’ll be competing for time and attention because he’s always visiting home to be fussed over. It’s time to run a mile before he suggests you move in together – in a house next door to his mom!

2. The Bad Boy

Unlike the Momma’s Boy, bad boys are the types of men your parents loathe. Bad boys are players. They look smooth and they talk smooth. They are whispering sweet nothings in your ear while reading texts from other squeezes over your shoulder. He tells you he’s taking a night off from “us” ‘cos he’s kicking with his homies when he’s really off with someone from his little black book. He wears dark shades even in the daytime so you can’t see him eyeing up the honeys and his car is as flash as he is. You’re uneasy around his friends because you not sure if they’re in a gang or into selling drugs, even if they all look and act respectable. There’s a frisson of danger attached to being the date of a bad boy, but who can trust a guy like this?

3. The Frat Boy

Like something out of the Hangover, or an Adam Sandler comedy (cough), Frat Boy has not yet grown up. He wears shorts in the winter, wears a sports headband though the last time he saw a gym was in high school and a letterman sweater even though he went through college in a beer and pot fueled haze. He invites you out on a date but his buddies are in the pub and you have to put up with lewd jokes and drinking games. You tell him you’re hungry, thinking a nice meal is on the cards, but it's back to one of the lads’ pads for take-out pizza and cold beer. Farting, burping, scratching his nuts in public are trademarks of Frat Boy.

4. The Cheapskate

This is one of the male stereotypes you want to avoid. We all want to be careful with money, but there’s a difference between being frugal and being a cheapskate. You should be able to spot these types of men from the off. Even in these days of equality, do you really want your first date to be one where he wants to go Dutch? And it gets worse: by the second and third dates you’ll already be watching him whip out the coupons or watching him stuff as much as he can at the all-you-can-eat buffet. Treats are non-existent, gifts are grudgingly given, of low-value and with little thought given to them.

5. The Struggling Artist

I know many women are attracted to these types of guys. It is kinda romantic to say “my boyfriend is in a band” or my “boyfriend is an actor,” a musician, a dancer etc. The reality is, though, there are way more unsuccessful artists than successful ones. Your man might be the one who dines out on his one success – an advert where he played a tomato, or the story about the gallery that purchased one of his paintings for $50. These men fall into two types: the ones who pursue their dream but still work at another job; and the ones who won’t let anything else get in the way of their art. Although you might get a song written about you or your portrait painted, unless you are prepared to be second best to their dreams, these types of men are best avoided.

6. The Jock

Being in a relationship with a jock can be very wearing if you don’t like sports. If he’s not playing it, it’s on the television. You fancy a night out at the pub, what happens? He insists on his favorite, where he knows the big screen will be tuned into the latest match and where his buddies will be so he can talk sport all night long. You talk about vacation and he suggests going to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, or it’s a resort where there’s a golf course and tennis courts and he’s already planned the schedule. Unless you see yourself at the track, or at the game waving a big foam hand every weekend, this is another of those types of men you may not want to find yourself in a relationship with.

7. The Dreamer

In the UK, we have a sitcom called Only Fools and Horses and the main character is Del Boy Trotter – a wide boy, a wheeler and dealer and a ducker and diver. His catchphrase is “this time next year we’ll be millionaires.” This guy is like a butterfly flitting from one scheme or project to the next, never finishing a task. He has all kinds of dreams but no plans to achieve them. When will it happen? Tomorrow, of course! You’ll be spending so much of your time trying to keep up with his latest change of direction, your head will spin.

Other types of men you may have come across are Mr. Perfect, Mr. I Am Always Broke, Mr, Angry, The Flirt, The Charmer and the White-rapper Wannabe. How many of these have you had experience of, or maybe you have another to add to the list?