Angel ArditoSex Educator, Relationship Coach

Feeling Disgusted: When Your Partner's Following Hurts

21 Feb 2025 · 1 min

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In this personal narrative, the speaker recounts an impulsive decision to examine their partner's Instagram following, a practice they had not previously considered. Upon reviewing the accounts, they experience immediate regret and a strong sense of disgust, noting that many of the followed accounts are active and feature women with idealized bodies. The speaker feels the following is publicly visible and perceives it as "grimy" within the context of their relationship, leading to heightened insecurity about their own body image. The segment concludes with a brief validation, affirming that the speaker's emotional reaction is understandable and permissible.

Chapters

I never felt the need to go through his following like I have heard other people do until now. I'm not quite sure why I felt the urge, but I immediately regretted it. I feel disgusted with the kinds of accounts he follows, although a lot of those may be from before we got together. I do not follow any types of accounts that he does. Your following is very public, and to me it feels grimy to still be following stuff like this when you're in a relationship. I don't really know how to feel right now. The main thing I feel is absolute disgust. I also checked, a lot of the accounts are very active, so it's not like he followed them years ago and forgot they exist due to inactivity. 'He's on Instagram a lot, so it makes me feel even worse. It makes it significantly worse because all of the girls have perfect bodies that I will never be able to accomplish.' Yes, you're allowed to feel the way that you feel.