I [24F] am dating a [25M] an almost unreasonably picky eater and I'm pretty much at the end of my rope

I can relate to him because I was a pretty bad picky eater too. I would eat plain chicken and plain French fries every time I left the house, and I was very specific on how I liked them as well. If I was at home, it was 2 pieces of a specific brand of bread with one piece of cheese in the middle - no crust. When I was 16, I found it embarrassing and really tried to fix the issue at hand. I knew it was weird deep down, but I just hated everything food wise.

Long story short, this is a disorder that he has to recognize and fix alone. When someone told me the way I ate was weird, gross, etc I always felt attacked because eating other foods seemed simply impossible. Being weird was so much better than eating that *one** very little green bean*

It took me 5 years of gagging, puking, and anxiety to put a dent in my eating disorder. (Because picky eating is one!) If he does take the steps to fix it, be prepared for a slow fix and don’t expect him to try a new food every time at a restaurant - because that would be exhausting. Even with active work/therapy, he’ll still be eating pizza at a restaurant 1/3 times.

The point is, this is something that takes a while, and if it’s a dealbreaker (which it totally should be!) I think he should understand that. It is weird. He knows, you knows, and I know. It could also be exactly what he needs to fix his problem instead of hiding behind it.

It’s no different than breaking up with someone depressed who won’t get help. He has a mental disorder he refuses to even recognize.

/r/relationship_advice Thread