Most people dream of meeting the person they want to spend the rest of their lives with, and they hope that this person will love every single part of them - from the clothes they wear to their haircut, their perfume scent, and their personality as a whole. Of course, there are also times when you expect your partner to call you out on little things, like having food in your teeth or a bug in your hair. But what if your other half kept complaining about your smell? What if they kept telling you that you needed to shower? Well, one woman had to go through all of that herself, and she just couldn't understand what her boyfriend was talking about... until she met his mom.
A Confusing Request
When her boyfriend asked her to shower for the first time, Linda was confused. While she loved her boyfriend and always found that he gave good advice when she needed it, this request was a complete curveball. She looked at him with a surprised look on her face, as she had only showered that morning. Surely she couldn't smell that bad when she'd washed both her hair and her body just a few hours earlier?
Linda sniffed the air, trying to see if she could smell what her boyfriend was smelling - but she couldn't. She still smelled like soap and even the deodorant she had applied after her shower. So, what was her boyfriend talking about?
Off to a Bad Start
Although Linda thought that she was in a good place with her boyfriend, she knew that they had gotten off to a bad start. When she first met Chris at a birthday party for a mutual friend, she didn't like him at all. He was too loud and obnoxious, and he wasn't the kind of person that she would normally surround herself with. And while she left the party thinking that she'd never see him again, the universe had other ideas.
A few weeks after the party, she kept bumping into Chris and saw it as a sign that they were meant to be more than friends. But at the time, she had no idea the secrets that he shared with his mom.
Their First Date
After bumping into each other on numerous occasions, Chris seemed to realize that it was a sign, too. So, he plucked up the courage to ask Linda out on a date - and she accepted! And while she was nervous that she'd initially taken a dislike to him, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and learn more about him on the date. At the time, she was so thankful that she did.
Their first date was a resounding success, and it didn't take long for them to become an official couple. And while things seemed perfect for a while, Chris then called her out on something that changed everything for them.
Can You Smell That?
The first few months of their relationship went by in a flash, and it seemed as though both Linda and Chris were happier than they had ever been. But then, Linda started noticing something very curious about her boyfriend. Whenever they were around each other, Chris would start sniffing the air and pulling a disgruntled face every now and then. Although she was confused and intrigued, Linda tried to ignore it.
But every so often, Chris would turn to her and say, "Can you smell that?" and continue sniffing the air. When Linda told him that she couldn't smell it, he would reply, "It smells really musty."
Subtle Digs and Hints
Linda continued to ignore her boyfriend's strange behavior for a while, but this seemed to make the situation worse. Chris sniffed the air non-stop while they were together, and he became increasingly concerned about the odor that was supposedly hanging around them. And while Linda wanted to smell whatever he was smelling, the scent was non-existent to her. After a while, however, it became clear that Chris thought she was the one that smelled.
He would make subtle digs and hints about her supposed lack of hygiene, but Linda would politely tell him that she showered and wore deodorant like everyone else. But Chris just wouldn't let it go, and soon took things one step further.
Hit the Showers
As Chris seemed to get more and more concerned about the smell in the air when they were together, Linda could see that he was battling some inner demons - but she still didn't understand. She couldn't smell anything, and she began to feel uneasy around him. And this feeling became even stronger when he asked her to sit down and talk to him. Linda knew exactly what he was going to say.
During this conversation, Chris told her that he believed the strange smell was coming from her and that he wanted her to shower more than she already did to tackle the stench. He even suggested that she shower twice a day.
Completely Humiliated
Although Linda had been expecting those words to come out of her boyfriend's mouth, they still stung. She felt completely humiliated and embarrassed that things had reached such a point, but she was also confused. She didn't understand why Chris had suddenly become so obsessed with how many times she showered and what she smelled like - especially as she always thought that she smelled clean as a result of showering regularly.
Although she loved Chris, she couldn't help but feel self-conscious, and she began to wonder if maybe she was in the wrong. Could she not smell herself? Could other people smell her? Was there something wrong with her?
Seeking a Friend
Over the next few days, Linda found herself spiraling. She showered twice a day and washed herself with body wash, soap, and other scented products in an effort to scrub off the smell that Chris could smell on her - but her self-esteen had still taken a hit. She wanted her relationship with Chris to work out more than anything, and she hated the fact that he thought she smelled.
To cheer herself up, Linda hopped in her car and drove to her friend Sarah's house. As soon as Sarah saw the tears in Linda's eyes, she wrapped her up in a hug and told her to explain everything. But Linda didn't expect her to respond in the way that she did.
Getting Professional Advice
By this point, Linda was convinced that Chris was right - which is why it was so surprising when Sarah told her that she didn't smell. But this just opened up even more questions for Linda, and in an effort to get to the bottom of her relationship issues, she decided to seek medical advice. She went to the doctor and explained the mystery smell that seemed to emanate from her, hoping for answers.
The doctor, like Sarah, couldn't smell anything on Linda either, and she confirmed that she had no medical issues that would result in such an odor. And with this information in her back pocket, Linda couldn't wait to tell Chris. But how would he react?
Even More Questions
When Linda left the doctors, she felt more confident than she had in months. She had finally started to believe that she wasn't the issue and that she didn't smell - but Chris didn't react in the way that she had hoped. Despite this new information and medical backing, Chris continued to tell her that she smelled. Not only that, but he also continuously sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose, breaking her spirit once again.
Despite the support from the doctor and her best friend, Linda started to crumble once more. Chris was the most important person in her life, and she didn't want to push him away by fighting back.
Meeting His Mom
Although Linda was convinced that Chris would break up with her because of the odor she supposedly gave off, he maintained that he still wanted to be with her. In fact, he wanted her to meet his mom! Linda was both nervous and excited about the prospect of meeting his mom, as she knew that they were close and she wanted to make a good impression - especially as he wasn't 100% convinced about her and her smell.
So, Linda prepared herself for dinner with Chris's mom. But what she didn't realize was that Chris had ulterior motives for this meeting with his mom, which she'd soon discover.
Smelling Fresh
On the day of the dinner with Chris's mom, Linda spent hours getting ready. She made sure to spend a huge amount of time in the shower, washing every inch of her body with soap and then spraying deodorant and perfume. She wanted to smell fresh, and the last thing she wanted was another member of his family to sniff the air and crinkle their nose when she walked into the house.
Despite being nervous, Linda was confident that she smelled clean and fresh, and she had no concerns that his mom would smell anything unpleasant. Unfortunately, things didn't go the way she'd hoped.
Sniffing the Air
When Linda was first introduced to Chris's mom, Elizabeth, they instantly embraced each other and exchanged pleasantries - and Elizabeth didn't seem to smell a thing. Relieved, Linda felt at ease enough to enjoy the first half of the dinner party. But after a while, Linda noticed that Elizabeth was doing exactly what her son often did. She was sniffing the air, as though smelling something that she couldn't quite place.
As Linda realized what Elizabeth was doing, she began to panic. Had Chris told her that she smelled? Was she trying to smell her for herself to confirm her son was right?
Starting to Sweat
As the evening progressed, Linda tried to be present and enjoy spending time with Chris's family. After all, his little sister was there, too. But she couldn't help but keep her eyes off Elizabeth, watching her sniff the air in an all-too-familiar way that made her skin crawl and her neck start to prickle. And as time wore on, Linda's heart began to sink even further into her stomach - and she even tried to furtively smell herself to see whether she really did smell.
To make matters worse, the situation had started to make Linda sweat, which was the last thing she wanted to happen. After all, if she sweated she was bound to start smelling.
An Unlikely Friend
The more she sweat, the more Linda retreated into herself. Although she had made an effort to be present at the dinner table and engage in conversation with Chris's family at the start of the evening, she began to get quieter and quieter as the hours progressed. And while she felt very alone, she soon realized that she had an unlikely friend in Chris's younger sister, Emma. She was just a teenager, but she understood exactly what was going on.
As Emma watched Linda silently from across the table, she decided to step in and offer some reassurance. She gently nudged Linda's leg under the table and whispered, "Just ignore them. They're so judgemental."
Hushed Conversations
Although Linda knew that Emma was trying to make her feel better, her words of reassurance did nothing to help her self-confidence. After all, if she was reassuring her, did that mean she did indeed smell? Could Emma smell her too? Linda's thoughts were whirling inside of her head, made worse by the fact that she could see Chris and Elizabeth having hushed conversations at the other end of the table.
In fact, they were both stealing glances at Linda and then continuing their secret conversation amongst themselves, and Linda knew for certain that they were talking about her. All she wanted to do was leave.
Talking Behind Her Back
On the one hand, Linda wanted the ground to swallow her up so that she could get away from the situation as soon as possible. But on the other hand, she couldn't smell a thing, and she still wanted to make a good impression on Chris's family. So, she decided to fight back the urge to cry, made her way over to her boyfriend, and sat down next to him.
She asked Chris whether everything was ok, and he didn't look as he said, "Yeah, fine." But Linda couldn't help but notice that he sniffed the air a few times before answering her question.
A Downward Spiral
Linda was convinced that the whole experience had been the worst experience of her life - and it wasn't even over yet. They still hadn't eaten dessert, which meant that Linda had to deal with at least another hour of the dinner party before she could eventually leave the table, and she didn't know if she could handle it. She was more embarrassed than she had ever been before, and she felt incredibly self-conscious.
She felt as though all eyes were on her, and that's because they were. Emma was looking at her with pity in her eyes, and Elizabeth and Chris were still stealing glances at her in between their investigative sniffs.
Smelling Herself
Linda struggled to hide her embarrassment, too. She could feel that her cheeks had turned red, and she could feel the sweat prickling the back of her neck. And while she didn't think that she smelled, she tried to smell herself every so often. When the others turned away from her to eat their food or talk to somebody else on the table, she took these opportunities to reach up her arm and smell her armpit.
However, this made Linda even more confused. All she could smell was her deodorant and her perfume, and she didn't think that she smelled musty at all. So, why were they making such a fuss?
A Sweaty Situation
Nothing made sense to Linda. Chris had told her that she smelled, and she could tell that his mom thought the same thing. But what were they smelling? Did they not like her perfume? Even if they didn't, there was no way for them to react in such a way as it was making her feel incredibly uncomfortable. And as the sweat continued to drip down her, she more uncomfortable she felt.
Linda knew that she couldn't sit there any longer, and she began to battle with her fight or flight. She could either leave the table or confront their beady eyes - and what she did next shocked everyone.
Taking a Stand
Although everything in Linda wanted to fight back against the stares that were coming her way, she also knew that she didn't want to affect her relationship with her boyfriend or his family. So, she decided to initiate her flight response instead - and she stood up from her chair and told them that she was just popping to the bathroom. However, it seemed as though standing up had made the situation worse.
By standing up and moving her body, she had supposedly spread the smell around the room, and before she went off in search of the bathroom she saw the wrinkled noses and the disgusted looks of her boyfriend and his mom.
Taking a Moment
As she peeled her eyes away from the disgusted looks, Linda also spotted Emma's worried look from the corner of her eye. She seemed concerned about her, and she looked as though she was going to get up and follow her to the bathroom. However, she seemed to think better of it, so Linda hurried off to the bathroom by herself. And after locking the door, she laid her head on the wood to calm herself down.
Linda needed a few minutes to herself, but more than anything, she wanted to check whether she smelled or not. So, she started to take off her jacket and smelled her armpits.
Wanting to Be Perfect
As she sniffed her armpits, Linda started crying. All she could smell was deodorant and perfume, and she felt both relieved and infuriated at the same time. Why were they being so mean to her? All she wanted was to be perfect for her boyfriend and his family, but she couldn't understand why they kept saying that she smelled when she couldn't smell anything at all. It just didn't make sense to her.
She had never experienced any hygiene issues before, but they were making her feel as though she was dirty and unclean. And before too long, her sweat was merging with her tears.
Becoming More Self-Conscious
As Linda's sweat muddled with her tears, she knew that she wasn't helping the situation. She knew that her tears would stain her face and draw even more attention to herself, but she just couldn't stop herself. She was so overwhelmed with confusion, outrage, sadness and embarrassment that she just didn't know how else to react. No matter how hard she smelled herself, she just couldn't smell what everyone else seemed to be smelling.
In desperation, she looked around the bathroom, searching for anything that could potentially help her out of this situation. Then, she spotted something that she hoped would fix things completely.
A Quick Bathroom Wash
Sitting on the side of the sink was a small hand towel, and she knew that she could use this hand towel to her advantage. After all, she wouldn't have been able to get away with having a full-on shower, but she could discreetly wash both her face and her armpits with the towel. So, she loaded the towel up with soap and water and stared down at it, questioning whether to go through with it or not.
She couldn't believe that her life had come to this. All she had wanted was a normal, loving relationship - but now she was having to wash herself in the bathroom of her boyfriend's mom's house.
Making No Difference
After taking a few moments to compose herself, Linda then lifted the towel to her face and washed it. The cold temperature of the towel felt wonderful against her flushed, hot cheeks, and she relished the chance to wipe away the physical signs of her embarrassment. Then, she moved down to her armpits and started wiping them, too. But while she had hoped that it would make a difference, Linda knew that it wouldn't.
Linda had been showering twice a day and her boyfriend still thought that she smelled, so what would one sponge bath do to help? It didn't help that she couldn't smell anything on herself, either.
Wanting to Go Home
When she'd finished wiping herself with the soapy towel, Linda stared at herself in the mirror. Although she didn't look as red or blotchy as she had a couple of minutes ago, she still looked awful. She looked pained, she looked sad, and she looked as though she'd given up. And the truth of the matter was that she had given up. All she wanted to do was go home.
But Linda loved Chris too much to simply walk out of the house and cause problems with his mom. She wanted to make things work; she just needed to find a way to get over it.
Calming Down
In the next few moments, Linda started crying once again. She could feel all of the emotions building up inside her body, and she knew that she had to let it all out. However, she didn't want to start crying in front of Chris or his family, so she chose that moment in the bathroom to have one last cry. But when she looked at herself in the mirror, she realized that her sweat and tears were now starting to mingle with her makeup.
Linda knew that she couldn't walk out of the bathroom looking in such a way. They'd know immediately what had happened, and she couldn't bear the thought of them staring at her even more. So, she had to do something.
Splashing Some Water
To snap herself back into action and wipe off the mixture of sweat, tears, and makeup that was running down her face, Linda bent down over the sink and rinsed her face with cold water. She wiped underneath her eyes and across her cheeks and scrubbed until her face was clean and clear once more. Although she knew that she had been crying and struggling in the bathroom, even she was able to convince herself that she was fine.
But before she left the bathroom to return to the dinner table, Linda smelled her armpits once more. Again, she couldn't smell anything - but it wasn't long before her hygiene issues were brought up once again.
Plucking up the Courage
Placing her arm back down to her side, Linda knew that there was only one thing left to do. She had already taken longer than usual in the bathroom, and she knew that her absence had probably aroused a lot of suspicion. And while she knew that she looked better than she had - aside from the slightly puffy eyes - she didn't want them to think that something was wrong.
So, she took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door, and she plucked up the courage to leave the sanctuary of the bathroom behind. She needed to face her demons head-on.
Fight or Flight?
Although Linda knew that she needed to head back to the dining table and get on with her evening, she also had no idea what was going to happen. Would they continue to wrinkle their noses and talk under their breath about how much she smelled? For a moment, she once again battled with her fight and flight. She could either choose to fight back against her boyfriend and his mom, or run away and go home.
Although almost everything in her body wanted her to leave, she knew that she couldn't leave Chris in such a position. She loved him, and she knew that his family had gone to a lot of effort to host her.
A Casual Entrance
As she made her way back into the dining room, she tried to be as normal as possible. She didn't really look anyone in the eye and simply sat down as though nothing had happened. She'd simply gone to the bathroom, after all! But while she didn't arouse suspicion with Chris or his mom, Linda quickly realized that she wouldn't be able to keep anything from Emma, Chris's teenage sister.
Emma clocked that she had been crying almost immediately, and she looked at Linda with a mixture of sadness and pity. But while Linda thought she couldn't feel any worse, Chris then did something that tore her heart in two.
Breaking Her Heart
As Linda sat back down next to Chris, she had assumed that everything would go back to normal and that the quiet whisperings and air sniffs would stop. But, if anything, the whole situation got even worse. Just a few minutes later, Chris shot a dirty look at Linda, cupped his hand to his nose and mouth as though he was smelling something terrible, and then shot a knowing look towards his mom.
Linda had seen everything and shrunk into her seat. She couldn't believe it. She'd literally just given herself a wash with soap and water, so how could she still smell?
Helping Her Out
Emma had also seen the situation unfold in front of her eyes, too, but she didn't seem on the same page as her mom and brother. She could see just how much the situation was affecting Linda, and she decided to help her out. She once again nudged Linda's leg under the table and offered a supportive, "Are you ok?" And while Linda wanted to tell her that she was, she wasn't ok.
Linda just felt as though she couldn't win, and she just didn't know what to do. Nothing made sense to her, and she felt as though Chris and Elizabeth knew something that she didn't.
Talking It Out
Although Linda felt like a world away from her boyfriend and his mom, she also appreciated Emma looking out for her. She finally felt as though she had someone on her side, which is why she moved further down the table - away from Chris and closer to Emma. She then started explaining the situation to Emma, and it was like a faucet had been turned on and couldn't be turned off.
Linda spoke for ages before she'd finally dumped all of her thoughts and feelings on the teenager, and she had expected Emma to agree with her mom and brother and explain how she smelled. But she did something totally different instead.
Over-The-Top
Instead of confirming her hygiene issues, Emma confirmed that the problem was with her mom and her brother rather than Linda herself. In fact, she told Linda that Chris and Elizabeth had always been over-the-top and had incredibly sensitive senses that they played up to in certain situations. There had even been occasions where they had made up smells that didn't even exist because they wanted to believe that it was true.
Linda stared at Emma, confused. Why were they being like that? Surely they would have realized that them making up smells would affect her and her relationship with Chris as a whole?
Forming Resentment
As Linda took in everything that Emma was saying, her former embarrassment and confusion turned to anger and resentment. How could Chris treat her in such a way? How could he force her to have two showers a day and make her feel awful about herself because of his own controlling behavior? She started to feel as though she was looking at a stranger, and she didn't recognize the man in front of her.
In her eyes, a man who loved her wouldn't treat her in such a way. And even if he had smelled something that wasn't there, why didn't he act nicer about it? Linda decided to confront him.
Confronting Her Boyfriend
Linda had had enough of being pushed to the ground and walked all over. She finally felt her feelings were warranted and that she wasn't the bad guy. So, she stood up and confronted Chris right there and then. Although Emma had half expected Chris to deny everything and side with his mom, he eventually gave him and confessed that he did indeed have sensitive senses and often made things up for attention.
Linda couldn't believe it. Although she hadn't suspected Emma of lying, hearing the truth from the horse's mouth was even more upsetting - and she didn't know if she'd be able to come back from it.
Breaking up
As Linda pulled herself together, she told Chris that he could make things right if he simply apologized for the way that he acted, the lies that he made up, and the way that he made her feel. However, this seemed to spark a fuse in Chris, and he did the opposite. He started shouting at her and becoming defensive, and he once again claimed that she smelled - but that she couldn't smell it herself.
At that moment, Linda knew what she needed to do. She couldn't stay with someone who would do such terrible things and then not apologize, so she knew that she needed to end the relationship right there and then.
Suffering Heartbreak
Over the next few weeks, Linda battled with her emotions. On the one hand, she was heartbroken to lose Chris and the relationship that she had once loved. But on the other hand, she was glad to be rid of him and his scheming. She didn't want anything to do with him any longer - even though there had once been a point where she'd thought she'd eventually marry that man.
However, Chris had broken her down into a shell of herself, and she knew that she needed to focus on building herself back and finding a partner that loved her for her.