@quiethand Welcome to the collective. Thanks for the clarification.
I think that it is important to hang in during the earlier stages, because there are a lot of miscommunication and misunderstandings in the dating world.
I can think of twice when my husband and I almost broke up while dating. Once he had invited some of his friends to my apartment. I had never met these people. One of the guys’ cars broke down, and he asked if he could sleep on my living room floor. My then BF had something he had to do early the next morning, and he blithely left leaving me to host a potential ax murderer alone!!! I was furious. We talked it out, though, and he got my point, and I got his. He knew his friend was OK, or he would never have left him there. I wish he had told me that, but just the fact he thought about it made it OK for me.
There are, of course, some things that are personal deal breakers. If, for example, your faith was a vital part of your being, it probably would not make sense to date someone who did not share it.
On the other hand, I knew a woman who was lovely, smart, funny, just one of the greatest people I ever met. I could not see why she was not in a relationship. Over time, as I got to know her, I found about “the list.” She had such a detailed picture of her ‘perfect man’ that no human being would have had all the characteristics or been able to live up to it. If a guy missed one thing or broke one rule, she dropped him. She also yearned for love and marriage and children to the exclusion of all else, which gave off some seriously hampering vibes.