Philadelphia woman goes on date with ‘full-package’ man—except for 1 major problem. Should she tell him or move on?: ‘It’s fixable’
Once you get the ick from someone, it feels impossible to overcome it. But what if that ick is fixable? That is the predicament faced by Philadelphia-based TikToker Grace Gautier (@gracegautier).
In a TikTok viewed by 94,100 people, Grace shared how her ideal man fell short in one particular way. This man, she said, was 6’4, muscular, successful in sales, had a great personality, and was a good conversationalist.
She met this man on Hinge, but there were two main icks. The first, which she herself admitted was pretty minor, was that he took the booth seat when they met for drinks.
The second, much worse ick was his breath, which Grace said was so foul that she spent the date with her hand near her nose. She said it became easier once she went to his apartment, as he wasn’t directly in front of her.
Is bad breath a dating deal-breaker?
“I didn’t know I had deal breakers,” Gautier explained. “But like, here’s the thing: that’s fixable. So what do I do in that situation? Because I’m not gonna be like, ‘Hey, I’ve only met you one time, but like, your breath is actually rank, and it’s burning my eyebrows off, and you’re the full package if that did not happen. What are you supposed to do?”
She continued, “He literally just texted me saying, ‘I had such a good time tonight.’ If that was not a factor, I probably would have kissed him tonight, I probably would pursue things, but like, he’s the full package; conversation was great, successful in sales, has a beautiful apartment with an insane view, has the most gorgeous dog, is six four. Did I mention he was six four and jacked? Like very attractive, but his breath, guys, I’m not kidding, like I can handle like a little morning breath, but I’ve never— he must have a million tonsil stones. I’d love to look at his tonsils. Actually, I don’t know if I would because I don’t want him to open his mouth near me that fast or that much.”
Gautier then appealed to viewers for advice. “But, what do I do?” she asked. “Do I just say it’s not a match and move on? Do I have the conversation with him?”
Gautier didn’t immediately respond to The Mary Sue’s request for comment via TikTok comment and email.
@gracegautier girls i need help. what the heck am i suppose to do. #firstdate #help #girladvice ♬ original sound – Grace Gautier
What did commenters say?
Commenters’ responses were mixed, but most were of the opinion that she should tell him.” I would never let someone have bad breath without telling them!” one wrote. “It’s 100% more impolite to not tell them than it is to struggle through it!”
“I had a girl tell me to shave after a couple dates,” another shared. “Proposed to her a few months later. Tell him, just be apologetic and kind about it.”
While a third concurred, “From a guy’s perspective, just tell him. If that ever happened to me and I was told, I’d be like omg, I’m sorry and we could just laugh about it. Guys aren’t sensitive like that. Just tell him.”
Others were concerned by the fact that the TikToker went to his apartment.
“Why would you go back to his apartment?” a fourth asked. While a fifth seconded, “First date and you went back to his apartment?! Girl, be careful!”
Is bad breath one of the biggest turn-offs?
Over in the UK, surveys have found that bad breath is one of the biggest dating turnoffs. In a 2018 study conducted by the Oral Health Foundation, it was found that 35% of people would find bad breath to be the biggest dating turn-off. Bad ‘chat’ was the second biggest, with 11%, while 2% of respondents claimed that being poorly dressed is the biggest faux pas.
Then, a 2019 survey by the same organization found that bad breath was a turn-off for 85% of UK adults looking for a partner. The survey also found that 80% of these adults would refuse a second date with someone who had bad breath on the first.
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