Guy I am seeing likes watching Eastenders

My DH has always watched it since before we met, usually on catch up at weekends. He used to watch Fair City too back then but thankfully gave that up - that was way worse! I still slag him off about it at times but generally don’t tell others he does, lest they judge him 😂

By osmosis I’ve picked up a fair bit over the 30 years by sometimes being in the same room. It really is foul, all the lies and cheating (and murder) and general scumminess. Everyone seems to end up sleeping with everyone at some point and the children all seem to grow up to be the lovers of the already full-grown adults. I do wonder if there are impressionable young people who would think it’s okay in real life to behave like this.

i think it’s a habit and a bit of escapism for some people and I wouldn’t let it put you off this person unless they show signs of thinking any of what goes on is ok in real life.

Yes, would put me off too, unfortunately

I 'watch' EastEnders and HollyOaks. I have a job that requires a lot of brain power, so both allow me to completely switch off. Although when I say 'watch' I usually mean its background noise whilst I flick through personal emails/etc.

So handsome!!! I miss watching EastEnders😭

Yep. Instant ick.

My husband watched Eastenders when we got married, though not religiously. Why? He spent years watching it with his gran who loved the soaps. It was nostalgia really. Didn't bother me a bit.

I wouldn't. It ended up being a contributing factor in a previous relationship breakdown. Ex partner watched easterners and Corrie every time they were on, I can't stand soaps, and whilst I was happy to go off and do my own thing leaving him to watch, he'd then get pissed that we weren't having enough time together.

I have a high intensity job and watch Made in Chelsea like a fiend. I agree that’s it’s because I want to switch my brain off / pretend there are no complex issues in the world for a while. I’d give it time before letting a new partner know about it though 😂

If he just liked watching Eastenders? No of course not.

If everything we did had to revolve around Eastenders schedule and he didn't want to go out in case he missed it then yes.

How dare he, send that lad to the tower.

On a serious note, it's EastEnders. Pretty harmless and iconic British TV show. If he was watching Emmerdale, that would be a red flag. That would mean he's a wrongun who doesn't mind adverts.

What specifically is your issue?

Would you have the same issue with The Archers? I know loads of men who listen to that.

Oh no way, hard pass.

It’s interesting how people perceive “grown ups that watch soaps”

When I was younger pretty much everyone I knew watched Eastenders - boys and girls. As we started adulthood it was “uncool” to watch soaps - but we might reference characters in convos.

I started watching Eastenders recently - I cannot find anything much on TV. It’s my equivalent of most peoples trash TV - whatever that might be. My family and a few friends constantly ask me “why do you watch Eastenders!!” - then I ask them “Why do you watch the Kardashians/ a movie every night/ MAFS/murder investigation shows”

I still go to work, run my projects , do my hobbies, raise my kid.

Find out why he likes it. I’ve often met people I would class as very intelligent or ambitious who surprise me when they tell me what they watch - usually the world is too serious.

well i dont watch it so we wouldnt have that in common, also, does seem a female passtime

Really? That’s quite surprising.

If you have the same values, you want the same things in life and you have the same ideas about children, careers, money, housework etc, you’re physically attracted to each other and you enjoy each other’s company, then I’d say you’re well matched.

If you define well matched as having to like all the same things, and not being able to enjoy something because your partner doesn’t share your enthusiasm for that, then I’d say that was controlling, deeply concerning and absolutely fucking insane. But each to their own I suppose.

Being tied to a soap opera if they were not willing to use catch up, yes.

Eastenders is on iPlayer so no planning needed, it's not like sport which you have to watch as it happens, that can be very disruptive.

That’s quite sad IMO. My DH and I watch some different shows. Can’t imagine not marrying him because of that.

I would be pleased, I'm 31 (so not old) and have watched EE for about 20 years but DH hates it. He will occasionally watch it with me and get interested in a storyline but I tend not to watch it live anymore and just catch up when he's not around or doing something else.

But he watches all sorts of programmes that I'm 😴 about, as long as it doesn't impact on your life (eg not going out because he doesn't want to miss an episode) it's fine to have different TV watching habits.

No because I watch it, I don't like sport though so that would be a no

You can be put off someone for any reason and that’s fine. My friend once dumped someone for the way he ate an apple. It looked a perfectly normal way to me (no excessive crunching or slurping) but it put her off and that was enough.

How much do you really want to be in a relationship though? If you’re not really bothered then it’s fine to hold potential partners to a very high standard and not to settle for anything less than someone who ticks every single one of your boxes. If you’re actively searching for a partner though, it might be worth being a little less rigid and accepting that very few of us are completely perfect. I don’t mean ignoring the fact that he doesn’t do his share of the housework or any big stuff like that, but recognising that he might enjoy some mindless tv to help him wind down of an evening.

😂

As long as he doesn’t insist on watching on Christmas Day!

A man watching soaps would be a huge turn off for me!

Does he like a cheese and pickle sandwich?