Must Not Love Dogs

Everyone has a dealbreaker – that something that allows them to walk away from a relationship without a second glance. Maybe it's smoking, maybe it's drugs. There's probably someone who will refuse to date anyone that belongs to any given religion or political party, or who owns any animal. Maybe it's a quality that can be a little harder to determine at first glance, like bigotry.

Sometimes, however, our supposed dealbreakers can be a little more shallow. I can remember a time when I used to say, “I don't think I could ever be with someone who was completely tone-deaf. I think I would go crazy.” Thankfully, I never had to actually give up a relationship because of my declaration. But what if I had?

The fact of the matter is, no matter how much we think we know what we want, we have no idea what sort of package will contain a great match until it arrives. So why limit ourselves to silly ultimatums like, “She can't be a vegetarian” or “He can't like country music”?

I have a feeling that if I met a guy who was wonderful in almost every way I could think of, but couldn't carry a tune to save his life, I'd find a way to get past it. In fact, I might even come to love his tone-deaf squawking, if I love him. Actually, aside from core personality issues like the aforementioned bigotry, I can't think of many things I couldn't get past, under the right circumstances.

As you go about constructing your online dating profile, bear this in mind. Sure, it can be easy to come up with superficial dealbreakers on the fly; you're constructing your dream match, after all. But just as the whole “must have green eyes” thing is probably negotiable, so too are most of the dealbreakers. Be careful when you're actually putting your thoughts out there. A great person could be scared away because they think you'll never see past their 'dealbreaker' quality.