'I kicked my boyfriend out over his rancid chewing habit – I couldn't take it any more' – The Mirror
A woman said her boyfriend’s noisy chewing is so ‘obnoxious’ that she kicked him out of her house to give time for ‘the ick to subside’ – or she would’ve dumped him
As you spend more and more time with your partner, you'll begin to notice little things they do that might get on your nerves, such as whether they bite their nails or snore.
But one woman has admitted she's getting close to "burning down" the solid relationship she has with her boyfriend of five years over one "absurdly mundane thing" he does.
The woman explained her boyfriend has always been a "very passionate eater", but since deciding to quit vaping recently and turning to nicotine gum to help him through the process, she's noticed that the chewing noises he makes are "rancid".
In fact, the man's chewing is so "obnoxious" that it makes his girlfriend's "skin crawl" – and she can't bare having him in her house when he does it.
Writing in a post on Reddit, the woman said: "My boyfriend of five years is a very passionate eater. He engulfs his food, chomping, lip-smacking, inhaling air mid-bite and making pleasurable moaning sounds as he demolishes his dinner plate like a beast.
"Overall we're quite bonded, share core values and have a solid relationship. Now, that being said, we're deadlocked and might burn it all down over an absurdly mundane thing.
"Since quitting Juul, he uses nicotine gum. The issue is not the gum, but that he likes to chew two at one time. His food-eating noises are super intense, but I let it go because, well … I understand he's just literally existing. The 'double gumming' however, is giving truly rancid vibes.
"The two gums create this gnarling, fiendish effect and even a white foam film around his mouth from the coating. It's fully revolting to me and makes my skin crawl. I've asked him to stop chewing 2 pieces at once when he's close to me, but he still does it.
"What follows is a miserable, cartoonishly escalated cycle of events. When I hear the double-gum, I'm immediately grossed out, pissed off, and feel totally disrespected because he knows how much it bothers me. Every ounce of attraction I feel toward him evaporates into the ether at that moment. He reacts with an eye roll, groan, and mutter of obscenities and takes the gum out."
The woman said her hatred of her boyfriend's chewing has gotten so bad that she's had to kick him out of her house so that she can wait for "the ick to subside" before she can bear seeing him again.
But she now feels as though the gum issue has become "symbolic of something bigger" in their relationship.
She added: "I need a cool-down period of a few hours for the ick to subside before I would be open to sex or intimacy. He always pushes this. Then this pressure behaviour turns me off even more. Then he feels rejected and unloved. I shut down, withdraw, stew. The other day we really got into it, and I asked him to leave. We haven't spoken in three days.
"At this point, I worry the gum has become symbolic of something bigger in our relationship. He's framing this as though I'm relentlessly oppressing an aspect of his personal autonomy. I feel like downshifting to one gum at a time would be a very small act of courtesy on his part that would make a huge difference for me.
"I miss him, but on the other hand since not seeing him for a few days I do feel oddly calm without the soundtrack of chewing."
Commenters on the post were firmly on the woman's side, with many saying the man has a choice over how he chews his gum, whereas the woman can't control how much she dislikes it.
One person said: "He has a choice over it, and he still continues to do it despite your requests. Doesn't seem like he respects you that much."
While another added: "My ex was like this, I got the complete ick and now it's over. Cannot fathom how his mother didn't teach him basic table etiquette."
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