dating

Eating habits so bad they ended relationships.

I am married…(pause for dramatic effect)…to a plate-licker. He says it’s a compliment. He says my cooking is so good that he licks his plate so he doesn’t miss even one little bit of deliciousness.

The fact I find it utterly REPULSIVE doesn’t seem to bother him.

Disgusting eating habits can break a relationship. Some might seem cute at first, but they eventually, inevitably wear thin. Others have immediate effect.

Like some of the examples Mamamia staff have been forced to endure:

Eating with their mouth open and not using knife and fork properly are deal breakers for me, 100%.

I dated a guy who would scrape the toppings off pizza, eat the toppings, then eat the bread separately. It was pretty gross. But mostly I thought it was disrespectful to the pizza.

I saw him eat poached eggs at home one time… with his hands.

Bad table manners are everywhere. You’re probably guilty of some yourself. All those crumbs in your keyboard from lunchtimes at your desk? Those elbows resting on the tabletop? Licking your knife? Eating off your date’s plate without permission?

'No "thumbs up" for your table manners George Costanza.' Image: Seinfeld, Sony Pictures Entertainment
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Hardly anyone thinks about table etiquette anymore, let alone dating etiquette. BUT WE SHOULD.

Why do guys bother putting all that effort into perfecting their online dating profile if they're going to blow the whole relationship by rinsing their fingers in a glass of water?

Or by tipping the last remnants of soup into their mouths, directly from the bowl?

There's even a term for it: 'food crimes'. That's how serious and wide-spread it's become. But these food crimes, they should also be considered 'dating crimes'.

The proper way to eat delicious snacks like cupcakes. Article continues after this video.

Burping, picking food from teeth, and talking with a mouth-full, are among the worst table offences discovered by a by GloTech in the United Kingdom.

In a survey by the same company, almost a quarter of the women said their partner regularly chews with their mouth open while 22.5% reported that they have dated teeth-pickers.

More than half of those surveyed are willing to eat food that has been dropped on the floor (five-second rule) and 10.7% said they'd seen their partner re-use dirty plates and cutlery instead of washing them.

And that's not even getting into those freaky types, who dip potato fries into ice-cream, lick their yogurt lids or slurp up the remnants of their drinks.

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Piper pressures Larry to join her in a Lemon Detox on TV series Orange is the new Black. Image: Netflix

Eating smelly food on public transport is not on, according to the Mirror.

Pressuring your partner to 'eat clean', or join you on a health cleanse, is also a big no-no when it comes to dating.

Eating your partner's work lunch for the next day can cause enormous relationship friction, that can be hard to come back from.

It is about the food but it's also not about the food. It's about manners, and having some consideration for others.

Nobody wants to hear you chew, especially someone you should be trying to impress.