How do I [21F] move forward after my bf [20M] messaged sex workers and downloaded dating apps?
I 21F have been dating my bf 20M for 4 years. We have a lot of shared interests and I seriously love him but I don't know if this relationship can be saved. For some background, I am autistic and extremely easy to manipulate and emotionally vulnerable. We currently live together. My parents live in an RV and I have no friends. If this relationship ends I will have to share a room with my parents and live without running water or reliable electricity.
A month ago I found out that my boyfriend was messaging sex workers and offering to pay for their services. He had been very drunk at the time but did not go through with it based on location and bank account tracking. I was devastated and almost ended the relationship. I had no one to talk to except his parents who I told. We had a massive fight and I was very scared. When he became sober, he promised to work on his alcoholism and allow me to look through his phone. This revealed that he had been secretly watching porn despite our agreement to avoid pornography. Despite one big argument, our relationship has been doing better and I have been regaining some trust.
Yesterday, fueled by my OCD, I felt compelled to check his phone and found that he had downloaded several dating apps 1 year ago, days before we moved in together. I confronted him and I am seriously hurt as he had told me that the recent incident was the only time he has done anything unfaithful. I was convinced that the alcohol had been the only reason he felt compelled to be unfaithful but I am pretty sure he was sober during the incident a year ago. I do believe that he did not create any accounts, but I know that in 2023 he temporarily had a tinder account as I found a verification email. I don't believe he has physically cheated.
I have asked him why he did this and his answers were not super thorough. What are the chances that therapy and communication could actually fix this relationship and what steps do we need to take? I really love him and this is my first and only relationship. I am so so sad and really would like unbiased perspectives especially from anyone who was with an unfaithful partner that corrected their ways. I will answer any questions to the best of my ability.
tl;dr
Bf has been caught downloading dating apps and messaging sex workers. How do I move forward?
Posted May 1, 2026, 9:11 PM UTC