THE DINNER RULES

A woman says she's been living with her boyfriend for just a few months, and already feels like she's in a losing battle with dinner.

"I can never get his food right," she wrote, describing a partner so picky that even a plate she'd normally be proud of can get rejected at the table. The problem, she says, isn't her cooking in general. Her kids happily eat what she makes. She cooks for family gatherings. She cooks for church events. "I have never had a problem with people eating my food," she said.

But with him, nearly everything comes with a rule.

She listed the limits one by one: he can't eat chicken for dinner if he had chicken for lunch. Sometimes he's "not really in the mood for porkchops." Other times the food is "missing something." He doesn't eat onions, tomatoes, fish, any kind of Asian food, most vegetables except broccoli, vanilla ice cream only, microwaved food, leftovers, or corn.

She says she's "old school" and trying to be a good partner, but the dynamic is wearing on her. He doesn't really cook, she said, and his favorite meal is Hamburger Helper. She thinks some of it may come from how he grew up, but says it is still "frustrating."

In the post, she said the first picture she shared was tonight's dinner, and that she added more pictures of food she has cooked that he won't eat. She also noted that he'll DoorDash Jack in the Box instead. He is apologetic, she said, but "it just sucks really bad."

Then came the edit, where she said she had been overwhelmed by the comments in a positive way. She acknowledged something else too: "I know the paper plates are very lazy on my part." She said she needs to do better, explaining that she's been cutting corners because of the kids, her job, the house, and school. That, she said, was "not an excuse, just a reason and a commitment to do better."

She added that her boyfriend does expect her to cook for him, and that she makes dinner every night and lunch on weekends. He doesn't eat breakfast, and he won't pack a lunch for work, choosing fast food during the week instead.

She said he hasn't been diagnosed with ASD, ADHD, or ARFID, though she doesn't rule anything out.

By the end, she thanked people for being kind, helpful, and insightful, saying their responses gave her "both peace and guidance for my next steps."