“My boyfriend forbade me to read books – he says it’s the same as cheating”

Passionate bookworm has been banned from reading by her boyfriend because he believes the steamy scenes from her favorite love books are a sign that she is unfaithful

Books have the power to transport us to another world, but did you know they can be so captivating that some see them as a form of cheating?

This is the experience of a Reddit user when her boyfriend asked her to stop reading romance novels because he says portraying intimate scenes is tantamount to being unfaithful to him.

She wrote in her article, “I really love reading books. It’s therapeutic for me and I feel calm and at peace when I read books.

“There were times I read romance-themed books.

“My boyfriend says I’m cheating on him because these books have written sex scenes and I’m not supposed to read them because people imagine the scenes in the book and that means I’m going to imagine another man having sex with me.

“I never purposely bought a book because I want to get by but I don’t want to stop reading books like that.”

The woman then asked for advice on what to do, and the post received more than 500 comments, many of which told her to get rid of her boyfriend.

One of them wrote: “Go, my daughter. If it’s an adult who becomes jealous of a book, imagine what will happen to hanging out with your friends and leaving the house.

And another added: “You might be dating someone sane instead. It might work. Give it a try.

While a third said, “Release him. Drop him now. It’s a major red flag and if you tolerate it controlling what you read it will continue to control your life more and more. Never be with someone who would prevent you from reading. Or do whatever helps you feel calm.

The woman has since responded to some of the comments and insisted she would leave the relationship before things got worse with her partner.

She told a commentator, “Yes, he’s very conservative. He’s not sure of himself and has control over other matters as well, so I’ll leave before it gets worse.

And then replied to another: “I plan to break up with him. Books aren’t the only thing he controls and it’s definitely something I don’t want to deal with. I will leave him when I still can.