I am a F and met a M (we are both in our 20s) on a matrimonial website. We had great chemistry, attracted to each other, and aligned on a lot of things including deen. After a few days of talking on the phone for hours, I was ready to involve my family. He spoke to my parents and was honest in volunteering that he deals with riba to make purchases for his business. However, my family is very strict on not using riba. We spoke afterward and tried to make it work, but he said that he currently has no plans to stop dealing with riba and has arguments justifying it. But he said that if my family changed their mind he would be interested in continuing on. He was still lurking on my social media for a few days afterward but I deleted him off everything.
This was a few months ago. And I involved my family virtually before we could meet in person. Most people who I talk to say if he was interested enough in me, he would give up the riba and continue to pursue me. Therefore, I should forget him. However there are circumstances from his past that limit his job options and I feel that this is a big decision one would take time to make. I also feel like we had strong chemistry, attraction, he confided in me, etc. in a way that was not lustful or too forward. It was just a natural human connection with shared experiences.
I don’t plan to wait on him. But I pose a question for the men here: if a woman wanted you to distance yourself from riba (with the acknowledgement that this would take time to implement in your business/not immediate) would you come around eventually if you liked her enough or would this be a dealbreaker for you?