Sadly it is very real.
It is not just the gay community - some men like to over feed their women.
And I suppose some women like to over feed their men.
It can get to the situation where the feedee is so large it is impossible to leave the house, and their health is at serious risk. The feeder is then the enabler, giving access to food- making it impossible for the feedee to lose weight. The feedee is then totally dependent in every way on the feeder.
Very rarely this can be seen in mother/child relationships.