TALL ORDER ROMANCE

A 25-year-old woman says a brutally honest conversation with a friend left her wondering whether she's asking for too much, or for something no real man can meet.

She starts by admitting she has never been "the most easygoing when it came to dating." But after that talk, she says she realized her standards "are way too high," and now she's unsure "how or if I should lower them."

Then comes the list.

She wants someone taller than her own 5'9" frame, preferably over 6 feet. He should make at least as much money as she does, or be in a field with strong earning potential. If he's temporarily broke, there should be a good reason, and he still needs to be financially literate.

Politics and values matter too. She wants a partner who largely agrees with her politically and shares the same "(non)religious beliefs." He should be reasonably fit, physically attractive to her, and, in her words, have hair.

The rest of the checklist keeps going. She wants someone who encourages her hobbies, "not get jealous when I'm out with friends," and is "a worldly, well traveled individual." She also wants him to be childfree, with "not having any children or wanting them" spelled out plainly as a requirement.

Then she draws firm lines around behavior. She says he should not be addicted to "adult movies, gambling/sports betting, video games, alcohol, or any sort of drugs."

And when it comes to intimacy, she says he needs to be open to waiting at least a year before sleeping together, maybe longer. She even says she could see separate beds, separate rooms, or separate houses in the mix.

The friend listening to all this did not soften the blow. According to the poster, the friend fired back: "not looking for a man, I'm looking for a mannequin or a fantasy world."

The poster says she "lost it."

Now she's left with the question hanging over the whole conversation: are her expectations "really that unrealistic"?