An unnamed woman revealed how she was accused of ‘catfishing’ when her boyfriend saw her without makeup.
The 20-year-old took to Reddit to explain she has hormonal acne and tends to have breakouts on her cheeks and chin.
She covered up her spots during six dates with a love interest but decided to ditch makeup for a weekend trip away with friends.
‘’At first, he didn’t say anything, just looked at me a bit weird. When we were alone, he just told me that he didn’t know I had acne like that. After that, he’s been acting distant the whole trip,’’ she explained.
‘’When we got home that night, he said that it would be for the best to stop seeing each other because he doesn’t like me anymore. As the very last thing, he said that I shouldn’t lead people on like that.’’
In the ‘Am I the a**hole’ forum, she wrote: ‘’I’m 20 years old. Me and that guy (also 20) have been on 6 dates before the incident and everything was going well before that.’’
‘’My acne is caused by my hormonal issues. These are the most accurate pics I could take – some of the spots are a bit redder in reality, but it’s not a dramatic difference. I don’t have breakouts on my forehead or anywhere else on my body.’’
‘’I usually cover up my acne with makeup – however, that’s the only thing I do on my face make-up wise, so I don’t look like a completely different person when I’m make-up less.’’
‘’This weekend, me, the guy and a few of our mutual friends went on a backpacking trip and he saw me with no make-up for the first time.’’
‘’I feel like I dodged a bullet here, but at the same time, it haunts me that he thinks I’m catfishing people and I wonder if anyone else feels the same way,’’ she said.
‘’I wear makeup because I’m not the biggest fan of my acne and because it makes me feel a bit more confident.’’
She also revealed that her ex had split up with his former flame because she changed her hairstyle.
She added: ‘’I asked mutuals about that guy and apparently he broke up with his ex because she cut her hair short. Just thought you might be interested in knowing.’’
‘’So yeah, definitely dodged a bullet.’’
‘’I made this thread because he told me that I lead him on and that I’m catfishing guys by putting makeup on.’’
‘’I didn’t feel like I’ve done something inherently wrong, but a lot of people around me seemed to agree with him on this – but since makeup is generally frowned upon where I live, I wanted opinions from a more diverse sample of people, if you will.’’
‘’Just thought I’d clarify because some people thought that I was seeking validation. Trust me, if I wanted validation I’d go to my loved ones.’’
One user commented on the thread: ‘’You’re definitely not catfishing anyone by wearing make-up. I mean acne isn’t a huge deal for normal people, potential boyfriend sounds like a really shallow guy to break up over something like that.’’
Another wrote: ‘’If you get with someone and expect them to never have a blemish or some pimples, you have unrealistic expectations and are asking to be let down forever.’’