Fat Folks (or Partners of Fat-Folks) in Happy Long-Term Relationships...Where Did You Meet?
For most of my life I kind of took myself out of the running when it came to finding love and a meaningful, reciprocal relationship. I just assumed it wasn't something that was really in the cards for me. Over the last year or so, though, I've done a lot of work on my self-image. I definitely still struggle with my body image at times, but for the first time in my life I genuinely believe there are people out there who might see me very differently than I see myself. Communities like this one have actually been a big part of helping me get there.
So I've been putting myself out there, and...it's been rough. I've met people I really connected with only to find out they were married, emotionally unavailable, or they just ghosted without warning mid-conversation. I know that's dating, and I know people of every size deal with ghosting and disappointment, but I really have to stop myself from being like "oh, its because I'm fat, and if I was pretty this wouldn't have happened". I'm trying really hard not to become cynical and to remind myself that finding your person usually means kissing a lot of metaphorical frogs first....but I'm also 41, and after another disappointment I found myself downloading dating apps again, lasted less than an hour before deleting them, and remembered just how profoundly they are not for me. They feel like poison to my soul.
So I'd really love to hear from those of you in bigger bodies who have found happy, long-term relationships. Where did you meet your partner? Was it online? Through friends? A hobby? Reddit? Pure dumb luck? I'm not looking for advice on optimizing my dating profile or which app to try next. I'm honestly just looking for some stories that remind me this is possible, because I'd really like to keep believing that it is.