My (F19) boyfriend (M20) probably ruined his life. How do I approach this/our relationship?
I'll try to give as much info without making this too long-winded.
My boyfriend isn't the smartest with his driving habits. Speeding and driving under influence are the two most common happenings, and I know this should be a deal breaker. This is our second time dating, with our original separation being related to schedule and time issues. I thought he'd started to slow down and stop on that end of things when we started dating.. Key word being "thought." He's gotten into a lot of accidents in the past, a surprising majority of which weren't his fault, but it's still worth mentioning. He also definitely has depression but won't really do anything about it or properly acknowledge it.
Last night he took out a telephone pole while out with his friends. He had been drinking. We live in the country so it was on the backroads and no one was hurt aside from a fractured arm on this part. But when I say took out, I mean genuinely. Apparently it was quite clean, AND he managed to climb out of the hill he rolled down without getting hurt from the downed wire. I'm beyond glad hes alive, but I simply dont know what to do. At all. He hasn't reported it yet and I've seen people post about it on the local forums, so who it was might make its way into someones knowledge since his vehicle isnt modern and is identifiable. We also arent quite sure what the consequences might be as of writing this, but he also had recent issues with his license that I can't remember the details of. We suspect best case is him being sued for damages and something happening with his licence, with worst case involving jail/prison time.
I really don't know what to do about us as a couple. I don't want to leave him, but he potentially just massively fucked over his life, and not to mention acted incredibly irresponsible. It feels selfish to say but I myself just applied to university and have a small modelling career; I have a life to live, and he just did,, this. As much as I love him, it's really hard. Especially because, as I mentioned, he's definitely mentally unwell, and voiced internal thoughts I'd had about this probably being on purpose on behalf of his drunk self. I feel like I'd be making a "young person in love" move by staying, though. I mostly want to ask what others who've dated those that have wound up in jail/prison or severely punished have done or how they navigated it, or how to emotionally process any of this, and if I really would just be making a "young person in love" decision. And, of course, general opinions from onlookers.
Posted Feb 26, 2026, 3:28 AM UTC