What’s His Game?

Q: I’m 23 years old and I’m dating a guy who is 27. At first, everything was perfect, until I found my picture in his phone written as “my sister Mariah”. Mariah isn’t even my name. I’m wondering if he could be cheating or if I’m just imagining things.

Another thing is that I love a neat guy, because I am neat. He’s not. I am thinking of breaking it off with him. Am I just being stupid to dump him for being untidy? What should I do?

A: In your short letter, you have made it clear that you doubt how honest he is. That is a lot bigger than neatness. Not knowing whether you can trust him could mess up your relationship and you are right to wonder about it. Ask him. Tell him what you found. I’m not sure why you were busy on his phone. You will need to explain that.

If you guys are serious about each other, and he’s not prepared to admit to the world that you are his girlfriend, then there’s a problem. It’s possible that you are both just looking around and not taking this relationship too seriously. If you are serious, then an adjustment in honesty needs to happen before you get in too deep.

Untidiness is an irritant. If your relationship isn’t working, it will drive you mad, but if you are good together, you will manage to work out how to deal with his untidiness.