Eleanor France openly admits to a controversial parenting strategy: actively meddling in her 19-year-old son Fynn’s love life, going as far as sabotaging his romantic relationships. Her motivation stems from a profound belief that teenagers, lacking the necessary emotional context and hormonal balance, are ill-equipped to handle the inevitable heartbreak and intense emotional demands of young love. Despite witnessing her son's devastation after a recent breakup, France confessed to feeling a sense of relief, as the outcome aligned with her efforts to prevent him from enduring such complicated emotional experiences at his age.

France meticulously detailed her various methods of intervention. She orchestrated a 200-mile trip for Fynn to visit his grandparents, strategically removing him from a summer party his girlfriend was attending, with the explicit hope that distance would lead to their separation. Other tactics included deliberately interrupting their private conversations by entering his room, subtly reminding him of mundane matters like verruca treatment to dampen any potential passion, and consistently suggesting "boys-only" trips to theme parks or holidays she knew would not appeal to his girlfriend. She even resorted to reminiscing about past ex-girlfriends with whom he had good relationships, or pointing out attractive daughters of her friends from different schools. While his girlfriend's insecurities ultimately led to the split, France openly admits her hope that her persistent meddling contributed to the end of the 18-month "teenage tryst."

Her maternal instincts are reinforced by expert opinions on the subject of adolescent relationships. Dr. Lucy Foulkes, an Oxford academic, stresses the profound intensity of young love, warning against its trivialization as mere "pupppy love." Dr. Foulkes stated on the New Scientist CultureLab podcast that such relationships "can be the most intense relationship of some people’s lives in good and bad ways," providing academic validation for France's concerns about the emotional burden on teenagers.

France's protective stance is also deeply rooted in her personal experiences. Having met the father of her children at the relatively young age of 23 and now facing an impending divorce, she contemplates the idea of a legal age for relationships, similar to voting or military service, suggesting 25 as a more appropriate threshold. She attributes the heightened pressures on contemporary teen relationships to the pervasive influence of social media, where the slightest perceived slight, such as an unanswered Snapchat, can be catastrophic to a young person's world. This personal history underscores her conviction that she has gained the wisdom and context from a failed marriage to guide her children away from premature romantic entanglements.

The emotional toll on her son, Fynn, vividly illustrates her concerns. Following the breakup, he has withdrawn into himself, spending nights listening to sad songs like Christina Perri’s "Jar Of Hearts" and Noah Kahan’s "Stick Season," and crying himself to sleep. Despite Fynn being an exceptionally attentive boyfriend, diligently researching his ex-girlfriend Evie’s anxiety conditions to help her through panic attacks and willingly altering plans to accommodate her discomfort, the relationship dissolved due to her feelings of insecurity.

France extends her concerns particularly to teenage girls, noting they face even more significant pressures. Statistics reveal a stark disparity, with 30 percent of adolescent girls experiencing a "depressive episode" compared to 11.5 percent of adolescent boys. She attributes this to the immense pressure on their appearance, amplified by social media trends. She highlights the prevalent "lash lifts," weekly nail changes, and the financial strain of affording expensive items like Nike Air Force kicks, often requiring girls to work multiple jobs simply "to fit into the tribe and look ‘fleek’. " The constant scrutiny from TikTok videos featuring costly beauty products, the need for "on point" makeup, and the devastating impact of being videoed, Snapped, filtered, and "slut-shamed" for innocuous interactions with boys further compound these pressures. France acknowledges that the deeply ingrained gender roles of judgment, where boys are lauded for multiple conquests while girls are stigmatized, remain largely unchanged since her own youth, fueling her terror for what lies ahead for her 13-year-old daughter, Erin.

Eleanor France remains unyielding in her commitment to her "fairy godmother of sabotage" role. She intends to continue actively discouraging her three children from engaging in romantic relationships until they are well into their twenties, or even older, believing they will then possess the emotional resilience and maturity to navigate partnerships without their entire world collapsing from minor setbacks. Despite the unconventional nature of her approach, she maintains that her actions are driven by profound maternal love and a firm belief that, when it comes to the complexities of teenage love, "mother really does know best."