A man is feeling 'really conflicted' after he ditched his date when she dropped a huge bombshell – and after breaking up with her over the revelation, he isn't sure he made the right decision

We all have things that put us off dating people – but one man reckons his preferences may have cost him the perfect woman.

What does your perfect partner look like? Maybe they're a specific height, or perhaps you gravitate toward people with certain jobs or hobbies. We all have our preferences, and while some of them are shallow and surface-level, others run much deeper. For example, you might not want to date someone who doesn't have a good relationship with their family, or you might take their opinions on animals into account.

One man, however, has found out that his dating preferences may just have cost him the ideal partner after he broke up with a "great" woman he was dating because of one bombshell she dropped on him.

The man told Reddit he had been seeing a woman – who he gave the fake name Sarah – after they met through a mutual friend, and the pair "clicked on so many levels". But after a few dates, Sarah revealed a huge secret that made the man want to run for the hills – she is a single mum to a three-year-old son.

In his post, the 24-year-old insisted he doesn't have "anything against" Sarah or her son, but he doesn't believe he can continue dating her because he isn't ready for the "kind of responsibility" that comes with getting into a serious relationship with a mother.

He wrote: "I took a few days to think it over and realised that I'm just not ready for that kind of responsibility. It's not that I have anything against her or her son – it's just that I'm still figuring out my own life. I knew I had to be honest with her, so we met up for coffee.

"I told her, as gently as I could, that while I think she's amazing, I don’t think I'm ready to be involved with someone who has a child. I explained that it's more about where I am in my own life and less about her or her son. She seemed to understand, but I could tell she was hurt and disappointed."

A few days later, however, the man is feeling "really conflicted" about his decision. He still thinks he made the right call for his own life, but he feels terrible for making her "feel bad about something she can't control".

Commenters on the post praised the man for his emotional intelligence and said calling things off with Sarah was better for everyone involved at this stage.

One person said: "It's not judgmental to be aware of what you can manage. There is a ton of responsibility involved in dating a parent," while another added: "If you aren't ready to be somebody else's father figure, stay away. You did better by being upfront and not leading her on."