A jaw-dropping Reddit confession and viral TikTok series from 23-year-old Ryan Delgado of Austin, Texas, is blowing up across U.S. He reveals the unfiltered truth about dating single mothers while still in college – a trend spiking in popularity amid rising single mom dating challenges, age-gap college relationships, instant stepdad realities, modern dating double standards, and campus hookup culture shifts that young men rarely talk about publicly.
Ryan, then a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, matched with 32-year-old Kayla on Tinder in early 2024. She was upfront: divorced, two kids (ages 7 and 9), full-time nurse, and looking for something serious. Ryan thought he was ready.
“She was beautiful, mature, and actually wanted to talk about life goals instead of just partying,” Ryan wrote in the post that’s now topped 47,000 upvotes. “My buddies high-fived me like I’d won the lottery. Professors even said I was ‘stepping up’ in a way most guys my age wouldn’t.”
The praise didn’t last.
Within weeks, Ryan was driving 40 minutes across town after 8 p.m. classes to help with bedtime routines, paying for groceries when her paycheck was short, and missing weekend tailgates because the kids had soccer tournaments. Spring break in Cancún with his friends? Canceled. He spent it at Chuck E. Cheese earning “dad points.”
“I became the default third parent,” he admitted. “If a kid was sick, I was the one skipping midterms to watch them. If money was tight, I was Venmo-ing $200 from my work-study job. Meanwhile her ex was living his best life traveling with his new girlfriend.”
The double standards hit hard.”
Relationship therapist Dr. Marcus Chen of New York University told reporters this pattern is increasingly common on American campuses. “Young men are often celebrated for dating single mothers – it’s seen as noble and mature – but the emotional and financial labor is rarely acknowledged. Many end up in caretaker roles long before they’ve launched their own lives.”
Ryan says the breaking point came when Kayla asked him to co-sign an apartment lease so the kids could have a bigger room – six months into dating, while he was still sleeping on a futon in off-campus housing.
“I realized I was building her family’s future while putting my own dreams on hold. I was 21. I wanted to backpack Europe after graduation, not argue about whose turn it was to buy pull-ups.”
The relationship ended painfully but amicably last fall. Ryan graduated in May 2025 and now works in tech in Dallas. Kayla is dating someone closer to her age.
His final message to other college guys swiping on single moms: “There’s nothing wrong with it if your life stages actually match. But don’t do it for applause or because you think it makes you ‘one of the good ones.’ Do it only if you’re truly ready to choose that life – because once you’re in, walking away makes you the villain in everyone’s eyes.”
Across Reddit, X, and TikTok, thousands of young men are thanking Ryan for saying what they’ve felt but never voiced, while single mothers in the comments express heartbreak over the stigma his story reinforces.
As single mom dating challenges, age-gap college relationships, instant stepdad realities, and modern dating double standards dominate Gen Z conversations, one man’s honesty is forcing America to confront an uncomfortable truth: maturity isn’t just about being willing to date someone with kids – it’s about being ready to raise them.
By Sam Michael
Follow and subscribe for push notifications on the raw dating stories no one else will tell you.