I had to chuckle when I read that. I've been totally out of debt (with the exception of my house) twice in the past 10 years. After going to college for the past 3 years and living on student loans to get 'er dun..... I will be on the wire for awhile. That makes me more of a hindrance than a help....in the dating world. So.....if most guys think like that....I can hang it up for the next 5 years. :)
There's no "most" of any group of people that sees things the way that I do.
If it is due to unforeseen or circumstances that could not be avoided or in the case of education and bettering yourself you have to go through I think it is not relevant apart from how you dealt with the problem.
If you were irresponsible and got into more debt than you needed to or expected others to bail you out then this indicates that you are irresponsible and not good with financial matters or other pressures that could lead to problems in a relationship.
On the other hand if you handled the situation well and kept the debt to the minimum you could and where possible had a plan to get out of the debt then not only do I see this not as problem in starting a relationship but as an advantage because that person would be adding their experience and knowledge of how to manage money and coping when things get tough in life which can be applied to other things as well as money.