Dear Prudence,
I am gay and my boyfriend is an artist. We’re both in our late twenties, and he avoids starving by having a “patron.” This woman is 17 years older than him and filthy rich. They don’t have sex, and she only wants “companionship and romance.” He writes her poetry, surprises her with roses, takes her out dancing, and basically does things out of a cheap romance novel. He told me her husband was a heel and she has no real family, only some greedy cousins waiting for her to die. I have met this woman three times. She was open, enthusiastic, and very generous. I mentioned I was missing my high school reunion because I couldn’t afford airfare. She wrote me a large check the next day so I could go. My boyfriend and I are getting more serious, but I can’t get over his patron. I understand it is his job, that he couldn’t afford to do his art full-time without her, and there is no sex, but I am jealous she gets the poetry while I get the “please get milk” conversations.
—Leftover Love