A mum has been slammed for admitting she has a crush on her 18-year-old son's best friend.
The 39-year-old woman explained how she doesn't want a long-term relationship at this point in her life, but wouldn't mind romantic companionship.
While she doesn't want to act on her crush knowing it would "hurt" her son, she is struggling to stop or even hide her feelings for him.
Taking to the TrueOffMyChest thread on Reddit, she said: "I don't want to get with him because I know this would hurt my son's feelings.
"I imagine he'd get bullied if other guys his age found out about this - and the mum jokes would harass him 24/7. But this guy is good looking and has a lot of emotional intelligence. I enjoy talking to him. He's been wanting me since he was 19, he's 23 now."
She explained how she doesn't have the energy to search for "the one" at this time, and insisted she is happy being single but wouldn't mind having some fun.
"I know someone is going to say ''Go find a man your age' but the thing is, I'm not looking for a relationship that will last forever," she added.
"I'm happy if I find the right one but the fact that I have a son means that I have my share of unconditional love, a partner would just be a bonus.
"I'm not really putting all my energy into trying to find the right one, so if I happen to fall for a younger guy, I might give it a try and not have unrealistic expectations.
"But the fact that he's my son's friend means my son would suffer if he found out his friend is having sex with his mother regularly.
"I hope I won't end up sharing my bed with him. If I wasn't conflicted, I'd just have sex with the guy."
While most users strongly warned her against acting on her crush, others spoke about how this could 'ruin' her son's life.
One user said: "Your son comes first - or should come first. You're right in your assessment that this would hurt him.
"If you kept it secret, you could avoid that, but how are you ever going to do that?
"Can you guarantee that your crush will take it well, if things ever break apart?
"That he's never going to drunkenly reveal his secret to anyone? That you won't be caught in flagrant?
"The heart wants, what the heart wants... but the reality of the situation makes it just a really bad idea."
Another user added: "Your son's relationship and trust with you are more important than your own perceived temptations/needs with his friend.
"Control yourself. For the sake of the purity in your relationship with your son. And for his ability to trust you and believe in you.
"These are important things that can't be fixed once they are broken."
A third user said: "There’s no harm in having a crush. People in relationships have crushes all the time, most don’t act on them.
"She is probably attracted to the taboo of the whole situation, which is probably why she can’t get rid of the crush.
"I’ve been in situations similar and I’ve acted upon them, and boy do I regret it.
"Trust me, that two minutes of sex is nothing compared to the lifetime of regret you’ll have."
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