One Moncrieff listener 'hates the sight' of her boyfriend's fingernails after he grew them to play guitar... what should she do about it?
Barbara Scully and Declan Buckley joined Sean for their weekly slot 'So You Think You're An Adult', where they answer the woes of the nation.
The problem
My boyfriend took up the guitar at the start of the pandemic and has really become good at it. I don’t find it annoying to listen to him play the same song over and over when he practices, which I thought would.
The issue I have is that he has grown his fingernails so he can pick at the strings. They actually make my stomach turn. They are so creepy and I hate them.
I don’t want him touching me intimately with them, I hate holding his hand, I just hate the sight of them. Is it unfair of me to ask him to cut them?
I know he’s loving the guitar but this has had more of an effect on me then I thought it would.
Barbara's advice
This woman just has to weigh up the pros and cons here.
It's lovely to have so much music in the house on a regular basis... that's a really big advantage as far as I'm concerned.
Initially I thought I get what you mean about now watching him to touch you inanimately with his long nails.
But then I thought... some of the sexiest men were guitar players. Phil Lynott, Jimi Hendrix... I don't think I'd have a problem with intimately touching if they had long nails.
I think she just has to adjust her prejudice against long nails... I think she's being long-nail-ist.
She can't ask him to cut his nails... because then he can't play his guitar properly. She just has to adjust her mindset, as far as I'm concerned... unless he's not worth it, in which case just get rid of him.
Declan's advice
If they're full-on, big, long, curly, horrible things like you'd find on the leg of a goat... he needs to get rid of them.
But he doesn't need to have really, really long nails to play the guitar.
Some guitar players actually put on the same fake, acrylic nails that drag queens do... just to play guitar when they're gigging.
Under it all, though, I do agree with Barbara... if this was the guy saying 'I want my girlfriend to cut her hair or change her nail polish'... we'd be going cop on to yourself.
He also needs to be told it's bothering her, because then he can weigh up his options as well.
