How would you prefer to be told TERRIBLE flaws about the great new girl you're dating?

Well OP, the long and short of it is that the herpes thing will scare most people off due to a combination of ignorance about the virus, how it's contracted, what the symptoms are, and other things. Most people I know automatically associate herpes with "sleeps around", regardless of how accurate or inaccurate that is.

If I were the guy you're dating, either of these would be a deal breaker for me. I do not have herpes and I don't want herpes at any point in the future. In every sexual relationship I've been in, I've made it clear that we needed to swap STD test results (at the same time, each reading the other's papers) before any sexual activity happened. Sure, it made me a bit of a stick in the mud and removed the possibility for one night casual encounters, but on the flip side.. I never got herpes or any other STD. My current girlfriend is on the same wavelength as me and actually beat me to the testing idea in our relationship. 2 years, clean and happy. So that's one deal breaker right there, the herpes.

You being a former stripper would also be a deal breaker for me. I don't personally care whether or not you were a stripper or a hooker or anything like that. However, that's not what I want in a serious relationship prospect. I'd totally be friends with you, and not pass judgment for your choices, but when it comes to dating seriously (especially when you're ready to settle down and get married), this matters a whole lot more than it otherwise would. I honestly would not be able to look at you, naked or clothed, without thinking about how many people have seen you naked and how much you were paid for it, and the possibility that you were giving "private VIP shows" in the back room (especially combined with the herpes). I know the limitations of my ability to accept things and move past them with someone, but in a relationship either of those two things would end it immediately on my behalf. Together, they're a nuclear warhead waiting to detonate.

I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, but my views on this aren't in the minority by far especially once you get into the age bracket where more and more people (men and women both) are looking for something long term and serious.

My advice to you: do not tell any future boyfriend you were a stripper. Especially not after you tell them about the herpes (because you definitely have to do that). No matter how accepting or open minded they seem, there's always going to be that little bit of doubt in the back of their mind that will eventually ruin your relationship in all but the rarest cases. If you have truly left stripping behind in your past, then LEAVE IT THERE and never, ever bring it up again. Even if a guy is cool with dating a former stripper at first, and most will be for a little while, those feelings will come up and some point and you're essentially putting an expiration date on your relationship.

The guys truly okay with that are few and far between, but I'm fairly certain the chances of finding a guy okay with both of these things AND CAN PUT THE HERPES IN PROPER CONTEXT is going to be next to goddamn impossible. Do yourself a favor and leave the stripping out of it in the future.

/r/AskMen Thread