Guys/men: 'Erm, she's cute' - backhanded compliment? Context given....

I'm not sure how to interpret what this guy said, so I'll explain what happened then see what guys on this forum think. Personally I think it was a bit odd, but oh well...

I was strolling through a shopping centre when these two girls, minor IG influencers, saw me and said, "oh my god you're stunning....so pretty". (I think they are minor influencers on IG and wanted another follower.) They asked me if I wanted to join them on a night out or something, but I politely declined.

Then a guy - presumably their friend, or one of their boyfriends - walked up to them both. One of the girls said, 'oh we've just met ___, isn't she the most stunning girl?", and the guy said, in front of me, "hmm....she's cute." I thought that was a polite way of disagreeing with them, of saying I'm not actually that attractive.

Then the girls left, and the guy hung around for a minute, and said to me, "are your eyes really that colour or are they contacts?" (I have blue - grey eyes, which might have stood out with my tan). "...oh, they're real". And then he said, a bit awkwardly, "....I don't know why I just asked you that". I found it all very confusing, to be honest.

I'm not sure whether that guy was trying to politely tell me that I'm not very attractive, which isn't a major deal to me, but it does bruise my self esteem a teeny bit.

Reply 1

Awaitingquavers

I’d take it over being called ugly

Reply 2

londonmyst

Are you a very popular social media influencer or person who attracts a lot of media publicity offline?

The guy was probably just caught off-guard by his two female friend's sudden question coming out of the blue and feeling quite embarassed that you could hear everything.
Unless he has a history of dating women who look very much like you do and you reminded him of an ex.
If you are very famous, it could be that he gets very nervous around famous people and says the first thing that comes into his head then regrets it fearing that saying it has made him look like a weirdo or moron.

Reply 3

1582

Volunteer Team

He was put on the spot and forced to compliment you. That would be awkward for anyone. Don't overthink it.

Reply 4

ray5656

I wouldnt take that personally at all. Firstly, cute implies arractive. Secondly, some people feel uncomfortable complimenting others. Focus on the fact that the other 2 said you were stunning