The modern versions of “I’m afraid of commitment” and “It’s not you, it’s me.”
If a person says this and then suggests slowing down a little bit (maybe seeing/texting each other less during the week or whatever) then they are probably reacting accordingly to things getting serious more quickly than they'd like. Fine! Understandable! If a person says this and then suggests no longer seeing each other at all (or [ugh] "taking a break") then they've realized that they are no longer interested in this budding relationship but would rather end on infuriatingly open-ended terms than risk confrontation.
This one is baffling because there exists a vast middle ground between "being in a relationship and hurting someone" and "not being in a relationship and not hurting someone." Part of it is "being in a relationship and not hurting someone"! So it's strange that the person using this line thinks that the person being dumped doesn't understand this? No one who hears this feels grateful for their feelings being spared. They might feel grateful for avoiding dating a turd.
On its own, this is a completely valid statement. Not everyone is looking for a relationship, and sometimes people who are both looking for relationships are actually looking for different ones! Different strokes, you know? But it is without a doubt the worst kind of person who says they aren't looking for a relationship, allows the other person to walk away feeling like they experienced an honest and amicable parting of ways with a decent human whom they will think of fondly, and then announces their new relationship on Facebook three days later.
