Say you've never had a girlfriend without saying you've never had a girlfriend. She just wanted him to admit he doesn't want her getting drunk around other guys, not that she intends to if he doesn't forbid it.
Honestly the fallbacks are probably the better option for 99% of mangaka. Most mangaka are stuck working long ass hours to make deadlines and not earning that much unless your work hits mainstream(and if it does, I hope you had a good contract with the publisher).