The bad boy is your new boss, your sexy ex, the client you've been warned off, the friend of a friend who 'everyone knows about'. We know they're bad news, but we're charmed every time. Louise Candlish reveals why
We crave their badness, that's the thing. It gets the juices flowing. Bad boys are our water cooler men: we enjoy dissecting them with the girls the morning after as much as we enjoyed being charmed into bed with them the night before.
The predator...
People often refer to the bad boy as wolfish or foxy, which are just fun ways of saying he's a predator. Of course you know you shouldn't go there but you're driven by the sexual excitement, the cachet of being with someone extremely handsome and charming and, let's face it, the fantasy that you might be 'The One' to break through the cynicism and change him.
Bad boys make us feel sexy instantly: the gorgeous siren we've always wanted to be and that the good guys don't always convince us we can pull off.
He's not in love with you
The real bad luck is to fall in love with a bad boy. Do that and what should be a sweet pick-me-up becomes a lengthy bout of food poisoning. Always remember: he is not in love with you. If he says he is it's to get you to do something (possibly still illegal in some European countries) you're not sure about doing. On the plus side, if you do fall hard for a bad boy, you're unlikely to do it more than once (OK, twice), which is why any happily married woman in her twenties almost certainly had an affair with her Lothario tutor when she was nineteen - it's called learning your lesson.
So how do you know if you're addicted to the silver-tongued charmer in the tux or if you're ready for the good guy in the bad shoes who likes you just the way you are? The simple answer is this: if you like you just the way you are, then you're ready for a Mr Dependable. But if you're not sure yet, then there may be a cad or two to negotiate before you can pass Go.
| Mr Dependable | The cad |
| Not conventionally good-looking | Devilishly handsome |
| Speaks as he finds | Talks dirty |
| Steady job conceals genuine talent | Flashy job conceals medium talent |
| Attracted to lapsed good girls | Attracted to any girl willing to act naughty |
| Favourite game: scrabble | Favourite game: strip poker |
| Celebrity dependables: Colin Firth, Paul Bettany, Jonny Wilkinson | Celebrity cads: Hugh Grant, Colin Farrell, Sean Bean |