*itch Session: Chronic Skin Conditions and Romance. A Match Made in Heaven?

Let me premise this rant with the fact that the majority of my dating stories are actually a bunch of positive and interesting experiences. This one though, sucks.

I was a few months into dating this guy and we were getting serious. At this point of my peeling journey, I was still relying on steroids, my skin was definitely addicted, and the steroids were barely working. So I was trying to do the dating thing while still working. Between working, managing my skin, and dating, there wasn’t time for much else. I was able to manage about one date night a week, and the rest of the week I was resting up my tired, flaring skin.

How did eczema impact our relationship?

Sometimes, Ryan (his name was not Ryan, but I always thought I would date a Ryan, so I’m going with it) would want to hang out spontaneously, which, in a perfect world, totally matches me and my personality. But unfortunately, in this life, I have an at-times debilitating skin condition. So when he would call, I would be upfront and tell him that as much as I’d love to go galavanting with him, I needed to stay home because of my skin (which was exactly what I was doing!), but was looking forward to the future date night we already had planned.

How did he respond?

Little did I know that he didn’t believe me as me staying home would happen quite often. What can I say as a skin warrior? This shit is chronic! And trust me, I’d rather be off dressing up in cute outfits and going on fun dates and making out with my hot boyfriend! Duh!

I ended up having one of those incredibly realistic dreams where I found him cheating on me. I called him as soon as I woke up, and apologized for my subconscious having that dream/nightmare, but I couldn’t see him for a week or so. I just needed time. He was incredibly understanding and gave me the space I needed.

How did our relationship end?

Fast forward to when I realized Ryan wasn’t the one. I got an awesome theatre contract on the east coast, took the risk to survive on steroids again and took the job. He still entertained the idea of there being an “us” even though I firmly closed that door.

During the last week of my contract, Ryan contacted me wishing me well and saying he was happy to hear I had a successful, critically-acclaimed run. But little did I know that he had called looking to unburden a guilty conscience. He wanted to tell me something that he had been keeping from me. Remember that dream I had? Trust your intuition ladies, because turns out I was RIGHT. No joke! He confessed his infidelity at that time, and the morning I called him about my dream, he had the 4th girl lined up for that night!

Trust your mind, body, and especially your skin y’all. There’s a reason it’s in worse condition around certain people.