When Jeff Wilson met someone special on OkCupid, he knew it was only a matter of time before he'd have to reveal his unconventional living situation. After all, dating a guy who lives in a refurbished dumpster isn't for everyone.

Sure enough, his new paramour was cool with it, and Wilson, a professor at Huston-Tillotson University in Texas, says it was at that moment that he realized they were "meant to be."

"She has stayed in there a few nights with me," he said, referring to his dumpster, during a HuffPost Live interview Thursday.

Wilson said that his "alternative housing situation" actually helps their dating life because it forces them to engage in stimulating activities outside.

"I feel like we actually spend more time together now," he explained. "Obviously we don't spend much time at my place, but we actually don't spend that much time at her place, either. We find ourselves roaming around the city more, interacting with others on campus more, others in various parts of town. We made a local hotel our living room, in some sense. We spend more time at our friends' houses. I would say in most ways it's effective in a more positive way."

He added that scouring for activities outside the home has strengthened his and his girlfriend's relationship.

"The way that the average American home is built these days, you can really do anything from birth to death inside your home. ... You could literally never leave," Wilson said. "When you have a smaller living space like this -- much radically smaller -- you tend to spend more time outdoors and out in the community together than you would, and I'd say that's had a really positive effect on our relationship."