AIBU – For wanting to break up with my 23 year old partner because he sleeps with a stuffed animal?

My husband has a Felix the cat Teddy he sleeps with, never bothered me in the slightest

This man isn't for you. He needs a woman who let's him be him self! What a wonderful hobby he has, and there are woman out there who will encourage and appreciate him...... it's not you. Ypu will be miserable, critical and hate his hobbies..... and both of you will suffer. This isn't your person, please move on for both of you. Please don't stay with someone who.isnt yours to keep. He needs to find his person as much as you need to find yours.

Don't be hard on yourself.

BTW my 4 year old is obsessed with dragons and aall things chinese. She even wants me to read to her in Chinese. Unfortunately I don't speak any languages from China. She wants us to holiday there, eat Chinese food etc. She would absolutely love a 20ft Chinese dragon!!!

I've recently started sleeping with my old childhood toy again after 25 years. I'm sleeping so well! I just get so much comfort from it. I'm married and my husband finds it quite sweet, he sometimes steals it if it meanders to his side.

My partner has stuffed animals on the bed, I’m not a fan. I see them as childish, unhygienic and just unnecessary. HOWEVER, I love my partner and most other things about them, so I keep my mouth shut and keep a clear boundary on my side of the bed 😂😂
I have an annoying (actually perfect and adorable) cat that climbs all over the bed in the night, my partner tolerates her. All about give and take x

Be careful of ditching him for such a small thing. He sounds on the whole, wonderful, and let me tell you men who look after you in the way he does are very rare. I would wonder if your experiences of your dad and your observations of your friends relationships have made you wary and a bit suspicious- maybe too quick to spot a fault because you are expecting one.

I would love to know if he does commissions, my special person would love one, as his Twitch username and the name we all call him by has dragon in it.

Tricky one. On the one hand, he sounds a really nice guy and a good partner. He also sounds like he is in touch with his emotions. How refreshing not to be with a toxically masculine ‘alpha male’ type who scoffs at anything involving feelings or remotely ‘soft’. He’s not afraid to hug something at night that gives him comfort when he’s on his own In a way that’s quite enlightened. He would most likely be a good father who wouldn’t, for example, tease his son for cuddling a teddy or playing with dolls.
I also agree that this dragon sounds like one of those long cushions that some people use for extra comfort in bed. Similarly to how weighted blankets help some people feel less anxious and sleep more soundly. It sounds like he likes to be cocooned in and that’s not unusual.
On the other hand, you feel how you feel and I can also see why this might seem very strange. Only you know if you can get past it or whether you are looking for reasons to move on from this relationship. The fact that your post asks this very question rings alarm bells for me that that might be exactly what you are doing even if unconsciously.

Please tell me you do not intend to work in a profession where depth perception or distance measurement is a requirement.

You don’t have to try. You don’t need permission to leave. If you don’t like that he sleeps with a stuffed dragon you’re allowed to leave. You don’t owe him anything.

IF he had an anatomically correct life sized Ewok, THEN I'd get freaked and call it quits! Apart from that I'd be fine with it. I have two plushy Simbas - one at my place and one at my BF's place to hug if we have to sleep separately due his disabilities. He has a couple of his old Teddies in cupboard, but hugs a pillow when he sleeps in a similar manner to when he spoons against me.

(Yes the Ewok sex doll is a real thing! Two threads on Reddit and a few adult memes about it! 🤣 Can't imagine what was going through the gf's/wife's mind when she found it 😳)

I thought everyone was a side sleeper 😳

I'd find dragon quite endearing. It obviously helps him to sleep and he sounds skilled at making them. Does he do them on commission??

That's a bit harsh isn't it

I'm 39 and a side sleeper I have a long pregnancy like pillow that look like a pig i personally wouldn't be able to sleep comfortably if I didn't have it.

If that is the worse thing he has then you are in for a shock with the rest of the male population.

If your unhappy about the pillow you are allowed to brake up over it but be prepared for people to look at you a little bit funny as this is such a minor thing compared with what he dose for you.

If the Daily Mail picks this up, you may have some questions to answer.

Does seem a bit odd for a 23 Yr old guy, but if everything else is good in the relationship it's probably not worth breaking up over it. OK for you to discuss it with him if it bothers you - but if he doesn't want to change - it's then up to you how you want to deal with it. You say he discusses it with other friends... how do they respond? Does he suggest an insecurity or just something he chooses to do/ make or a bit of OCD? Or just that it's something he chooses to do and doesn't want to change because it's his choice.

I'm 45 and I sleep with a stuffed panda and I even go insane if it's not in the bed when I go to sleep, 😂. My kids sometimes take my panda and hide him because they know I can't sleep without my panda. My partner is 36 and he sleeps with a massive unicorn. I think you're being incredibly unreasonable.

Yep. This. He sounds a decent guy. If you had a 'thing' that was important to you for whatever reason... and you posted on here 'partner has proposed a ' thing or me' situation' He would be shot down

A solid relationship should be 50% give and 50% take.
Not just in money, pleasure or time, but also tolerance.
If he has all the good qualities that you list and only one quality that you don't like then ask yourself whether you are bringing 50% of the tolerance to your partnership.
I know some people get the ick over the single smallest thing and always feel they have no choice but to walk away, I'd say they are unrealistic. People are quirky, it makes them interesting, it's not a bad thing.

Good luck if you think most men are emotionally intelligent, confident and will get up at 4.30am to drive you to work when they don't have to. He sounds like a gem. He may not be the gem for you, and that's OK, but his dragon is fine.

Really? He sounds like a doormat! What would people say here about a woman who got up to drive their male partner to work at 5am, hours before they have to get up, ditches their friends and did things they don't have any interest in just to please their partner?

I didn't the the toy was a huge deal until I read all the other stuff.

You think he's an amazing boyfriend, but you don't like his dragon.......
It's not porn, it's not other women, it's a soft toy....

What are you worrying about?

Me too

My only question op is please as a dragon lover please share a photo or link ...I personally think your boyfriend is a keeper as he shows himself as a soft kind man at heart!

Honestly op you brave to ask and even more brave to accept the answers. I think you be shocked how many adults sleep with soft toys ... please look at jellycat toys and goggle what has recently happened.. I'm 49 and dh and I sleep with my childhood soft toy his sleep s on his bedside table as he is worried it might fall apart if in the bed. My dad in his late 80s has a childhood soft toy on his bedside table too... It's something people don't talk about but a lot more common than you think. You only learn when you ask so thank you for asking xxx

Nope, unless her boyfriend is 10ft tall...