So I've been living with my girlfriend (27) for about a year, and I don't know how to talk to her about her increasingly bad body odor. Initially it wasn't serious - if she went a few days without showering I could tell, but I understand when you're just doing things around the house and neglect to clean yourself up (and her ADHD may have something to do with that). However, she recently started doing cam work at home (which is fine, I've dated SWers before, a job is a job) and after working for a few hours she smells BAD. Problem is, she doesn't shower afterwards, just puts on some regular clothes and goes about her day. She also tends to reuse the same outfits and pajamas, which are still smelly from the previous day, so... you get the picture.
I don't know of any nice way to tell someone they smell bad. I've tried to drop hints, things like "those clothes kinda smell" or "did you shower today?" But nothing seems to sink in. She once said she doesn't really like showering, and has to force herself to do it. Then last night while watching TV I made a comment about how her pajamas smelled bad, and she told me it was sort of triggering because when she was young her overbearing mom would tell her she smells bad all the time. Her mom is kind of a jerk and I don't want to bring up troubling memories, but now I feel scared to even mention it.
It's getting really depressing. I work remotely in the main bedroom, and she usually works in the 2nd bedroom, but I can't go in there anymore because the smell is overpowering. I'm afraid she's gotten to the point where she can't smell herself at all, so she has no awareness of how bad it gets. I can feel this creating distance between us, as it is really difficult to initiate any kind of intimacy when your partner reeks of BO. I just don't know what to do.
Anyway, thanks for reading. All advice is greatly appreciated.
