I'm worried that my teenage son is in a toxic relationship

A year ago, our almost 18-year-old son began seeing a girl, who is a year older than him and is his first "real" girlfriend.

- Annalisa Barbieri

He stopped seeing his friends and spent all of his free time with her. When they were not together, they were on the phone or playing remote video games.

We barely saw him over the summer, as he was with her all the time. He refused to go on holiday with us unless we invited her too, which we were not willing to do.

She has psychological issues, including bulimic tendencies and phobias (about school, public transport), and no friends. Before meeting our son, she was going nowhere in life. Her mother told us their daughter had been making their lives a living hell, but that changed when she met our son. She has returned to school and started making plans. The problem is these revolve around our son. Everything he does she wants to be part of. His dreams and ambitions are hers.

Our son is now studying abroad, and we hoped it might be the start of a break, but his girlfriend is planning to move to be with him. We are far from happy about this, but our opinion is falling on closed ears.