The most painless way to quell someone's unwanted romantic attraction/interest in us would be to repulse them in a subtle way. But why is it hard for us to make ourselves repulsive for this purpose?

What are some of the things one can do, to quell someone’s interest in them, by seeming gross or deliberately turning them off, or repulsing them slightly?

The rationale: (1) Breaking up is hard to do. It hurts someone we care about and don’t want to hurt, but maybe don’t love.

And, (2) maybe someone is after YOU, pursuing a relationship you don’t want. To deflect them, snubbing them off or acting disinterested only breaks their heart / gives them a sense or melancholy / unrequited love. Even being willing to be friends still hurts them.

So in order to NOT hurt someone who is good to you but wants more than a ‘friend’ relationship, one option would be to repulse them.

Make yourself look or smell nasty. Make yourself appear to be a looser. a weasel, a no-talent bum.

But why is it hard to do these things to our image or persona?

For fun, you can also list some things you could do to gross out / drive off an unwanted romantic interest.