I am freaked out after boyfriend claimed he had more than 500 sexual partners

DEAR DEIDRE: THE fact my boyfriend has had more lovers than hot dinners has left me feeling both insecure and jealous.

I knew he’d had a wild period but when he let slip that he has had around 500 sexual encounters, I felt utterly floored.

I am a woman of 26 and he’s 28.

We’ve only been together for two months and I’ve just moved in with him.

I am definitely falling in love but this revelation has made me have a serious wobble.

I am avoiding going to bed with him at the moment as I worry I’ll be nothing more than another statistic.

When we started dating he said he’d had sex with more than 20 women. But this quickly drifted up to 50.

And then one night he admitted it was more like 200.

The penny dropped about the true figure when he admitted he’d had around 60 sexual encounters every year since the age of 16.

I quickly worked out that meant he’d had around 500 partners.

He did try to reassure me that none of it meant anything.

I’ve insisted we both go for a full check-up at a sex clinic and he has agreed.

He says he’ll do anything to make me realise how committed he is to me.

I am really falling for him but his history concerns me and is a massive turn-off. How do I move past it?

DEIDRE SAYS: The starting point is that you need to have a full and frank discussion with him and spell out your concerns.

From what you told me there is a very high possibility that your boyfriend is a sex addict.

Having this many partners suggests he is unable to let anyone get close to him emotionally.

If he hasn’t had any help to work on the reasons why he keeps people at bay, it would certainly be a good idea for him to work on this, otherwise this issue is likely to rear up again.

If he’s serious about your future together he’ll agree to seeing a sex and relationship therapist, either together or alone.

COSRT, the College of Sexual and Relationship Therapists (cosrt.org.uk), can help connect you with a reputable therapist.