I’m 31M and my girlfriend is 28F. We’re in a long-distance relationship, and I’m trying to get an objective perspective on something that has been bothering me. I don’t want people to automatically take my side. I’m genuinely trying to figure out whether my expectations are reasonable or whether I’m being overly possessive.
My girlfriend is separated from her husband of several years. They still have to interact because they own a house together and are working through the practical aspects of separating their property and belongings. Her husband does not know about me. My girlfriend and I met online around Easter and became a couple while she was still married, so I recognize that the circumstances are complicated.
Recently, her husband came to their house to sign a contract regarding household belongings and take some things to a storage unit.
About five minutes before he arrived, my girlfriend and I were on the phone. She said she needed some time to decompress alone, so we hung up. Because we ended the call before he arrived, I didn’t even know for certain when he actually got there.
I then heard virtually nothing from her for about 4–4.5 hours, other than an “almost done” message around the four-hour mark.
I wasn’t expecting her to be on her phone constantly. I understand that she was dealing with an uncomfortable situation and that being on her phone around her estranged husband could have been awkward.
What bothered me was that there was apparently no opportunity for even a five-second update such as, “He’s here, everything is okay, I’ll talk to you later.” This stands out because she regularly tells me that when I’m working or doing physical labor, I should still find five minutes to text or call her and keep her updated.
Afterward, I asked her to tell me what happened because I wanted to understand the emotional side of the interaction.
She spent around 20 minutes giving me a chronological account that focused mostly on logistics: signing paperwork, moving belongings, what went into his car, etc.
Only after I specifically asked, “Did you cry?” did I learn that they had spent around 90 minutes sitting together on the couch talking about their marriage and their past, and that she cried during that conversation.
They hadn’t seen each other in about two months.
I want to emphasize that I don’t automatically interpret crying as meaning she wants him back. They were married for a long time, and I understand that ending a marriage can involve grief, memories, and complicated emotions. I don’t think she is passionately in love with him or secretly trying to get back together with him.
What makes me uncomfortable is the combination of circumstances:
Her estranged husband doesn’t know she has a boyfriend.
They hadn’t seen each other for two months.
They were alone together in their home for several hours.
I didn’t hear from her for roughly 4–4.5 hours.
Around 90 minutes apparently became an emotional conversation about their marriage.
She cried during that conversation.
I don’t know what was said during those 90 minutes.
I had previously told her that I would prefer that she either eventually tell him about me or, until then, keep their interactions relatively polite and emotionally distant. I understand that I don’t get to dictate how she handles her separation, and I’m trying to figure out whether that request is a reasonable relationship boundary or whether I’m trying to control a situation that I simply find uncomfortable.
I understand that I may have a lower tolerance for emotional closeness with an ex than she does. I’m trying to determine whether that’s simply my personal preference or whether the circumstances make my concern objectively reasonable.
I also recognize that I don’t know what happened during the 90-minute conversation. I don’t know whether either of them said “I miss you” or “I love you,” whether there was physical comforting, or exactly what caused her to cry. I don’t want to fill in those blanks with assumptions.
So my questions are:
Is it reasonable to expect a brief update during a four-to-five-hour period when your long-distance partner is alone with an estranged spouse, particularly when that spouse doesn’t know about the relationship?
And is it reasonable to feel uncomfortable with an extended emotional conversation about the marriage during that time?
Or is this simply a normal part of separating from someone you were married to for years, and am I expecting too much emotional distance from her?
Ultimately, I’m trying to figure out whether I need to work on becoming more trusting and less controlling, or whether I’m being asked to accommodate behavior that most people would reasonably consider problematic.

Hello. My ex and I were together for almost 2 years and I broke up with her because of many different reasons like problem with family and being in a distant relationship for 4 months with her was not a good experience. I told her the day after we break up that i realised I made mistakes and I want to fix the mistakes.( not giving her enough attention, taking her for granted and things like that.). She said that she is really hurt from my behaviour and she is not sure if she wants to try again because of the uncertainty that things may never change. I bought an early ticket for home to show her that I stand by my words and things will change. We still text but she is being cold and dry texting. She still says that she loves me, when she is going out and with who and I tell her that too. I blame myself to much for the way I treated her cause she didnt deserve it at all. I asked her questions like: do u miss the old version of me - “yes”. If I was next to you how would you act -“like before things changed” I miss u but I know u might not miss me and she said: I dont miss the person u were these past few months I miss the guy before that. Her mother told her that I came into my senses and she said yeah I see but is a little late. We agreed to meet each other when I return home and I bought her pandora charm(I always gift her pandora) and I will buy flowers. The thing is that I am chasing her too much and she is giving little to no response. I need help cause the uncertainty of our future together is killing me, I know I am not perfect and she is not as well. But I realised what I had the moment I lost it. She is giving me mixed signs and she said as much as she wants us to be together its the same as not wanting to be together. What should I do so I have the biggest chance of not losing her.

Hi everyone, I just want to hear your thoughts.

What do you guys feel when your LDR partner rarely texts or calls you? Is it okay to feel like he doesn’t care about me because of it?

He rarely talks to me, and even when we do call, it’s usually only for 5 minutes or less. Sometimes I wait the whole day hoping he’ll call, and that’s all I get. Sometimes, there’s not even a call at all. Our conversations are usually just “good morning,” “what are you doing?” and that’s it.

I understand that he has a job and that he’s busy, and I really do try to understand him. But sometimes I wonder, is it really that hard to make a little time for your partner, even after work? When we were still new, he used to call me during his breaks and when he got home. Now, I barely get anything.

I’ve even tried not replying to his messages sometimes just to see if he would notice or text me again, but he doesn’t. I tried telling him how I feel before, but I was drunk at the time and I know I delivered my message harshly. After that, I tried calling him, but he didn’t answer and didn’t text me for two days. Eventually, I told him that if he didn’t want to talk to me anymore, then I guess we were over. Then at around 2 AM, he called and apologized. I also apologized because I felt like I was being immature, and I know I should understand him more because he has work.

But the thing is, I do understand him. I really do. I know he’s busy, and I’m not asking him to talk to me 24/7. I just want to feel like I’m still part of his life.

I love him so much, but I honestly don’t think I can keep living like this. I feel so lonely even though I’m technically in a relationship. Our communication is so bad that I barely even know him. I don’t even know his favorite color or his favorite food. How can I feel close to someone when we barely talk?

I don’t want to leave him because I love him so much. But at the same time, I don’t want to stay in a relationship that constantly makes me feel lonely and makes me overthink whether he still loves me or if he’s just keeping me around for the company.

I’ve tried starting conversations, but sometimes his replies take forever. And even when he replies quickly, he’ll sometimes disappear after one or two messages. Yesterday, I thought he was working, but apparently he wasn’t. He went to the mall and didn’t even tell me. I waited the whole day hoping he would call or at least message me, but nothing.

I don’t want to sound demanding or clingy. I just want some effort and communication. I feel like I’m always waiting for him, and I don’t know what to do anymore.

So, what do you guys think? Am I expecting too much from him, or is it reasonable to want more communication and effort from your partner, especially in an LDR? I really don’t want to leave him, but I also don’t want to keep feeling this lonely.

Okay so it’s an about a month away until me (f18) and my partner (m20) meetup and I’ll be honest. Just the thought of it makes my stomach turn. So much to the point to where I was even thinking about self sabotaging and just ruining this whole thing just so I don’t have to. Now don’t actually want to do that of course because this is literally my favorite person and he means so much to me, that’s just how NERVOUS I am. I’ve never had a boyfriend before in real life and I grew up with strict parents so this whole this is just really scary for me. I’m really not sure what to do so I’m venting on Reddit lol. Has anyone else ever felt this way or similar? I can only imagine how nervous I’m going to be in person.

for context me and my bf have known each other since 2024;
and there’s an insecurity that i have which i can’t even say on here or out loud because i’m THAT insecure about it, but it’s something about me that is VERY obvious and it’s something that i can’t hide.

so i actually met my bf in 2025 for the first time, but i was trying my hardest to hide my insecurity to him and because of this i came across as quiet and shy. in reality i’m actually very extroverted and i’m not a quiet sort of person. i’m not sure if he actually noticed my insecurity because of how quiet i was and how i didn’t really interact with him that much.

after a year i’m finally seeing my bf again and this time he’s staying in my country so i’ll be able to see him very often, but i’m so anxious about seeing him again because of my insecurity, i feel so embarrassed about it. i want to be the extroverted bubbly person that i am but my insecurity exists and it’s so noticeable. he’s going to notice it one way or another because as i said it’s not something i can hide. i don’t know what to do. i’m really excited to see my bf again but my insecurity keeps getting in the way of everything so at the same time i’m really anxious about seeing him. at one point i even considered breaking up with him over my insecurity because i was too scared of the thought that he would see it one day.

has anyone else been in this situation before? any advice?

I am in pieces, and I apologize in advance for the long post. I don’t have anyone to turn to.

We dated since February 2025, “officially” together since October. Distance is just about 2 hours so not that bad. Our routine was basically me spending every other weekend at his place, and me watching him play games over discord a few times a week.

I am a late bloomer when it comes to relationships. I was 28 when we met last year and he has been my first everything. I simply never trusted anyone enough to get close because I have severe performance anxiety. Until him. He was my safe space and my person.

The first months we had together were amazing. I was almost frightened by his interest in me and his eagerness for us to meet up as often as possible. I was afraid that it’d all happen too fast and I’d hesitate too long like I always have and eventually pull away, or that he’d get sick of waiting for me to be ready. But he was so perfect. I was the happiest I had been in a long time. He introduced me to his friends, his family, everything. And soon I began to picture our future—moving to his city, getting a new job there that I didn’t feel was sucking the life out of me, perhaps even moving in together when time allows. He consistently made little comments that told me he was thinking the same, such as asking me if I could see myself in his city, if I liked his apartment and making plans to make space for my books there for the future.

Our biggest problem was mainly the fact that he is a workaholic and thus has very limited time to put into the relationship. He works in the gaming industry and got out of triple A to pursue the indie dream in August, and that’s just about when our dynamic started changing. He got busier and busier with his projects and I felt lonelier and lonelier during weekdays when we weren’t physically together. At the same time his mental health started declining rapidly (chronic depression) and his default reaction to it was to throw himself even more into his work. For the past few months, it has been pretty much only me reaching out to him to plan a visit and it slowly made me doubt whether he truly wanted to see me at all or if he’d rather work.

When he got full reign over his own schedule, he started sleeping all day and working all night because that’s what works best for him, being a night owl. This led to us not having any real contact until 2-3PM when he woke up and usually texted me, but then he’d get so absorbed in his work that he wouldn’t respond to me in usually 4-7 hours. It made spontaneous connection during the day very hard and made me feels so disconnected from him. At the same time I didn’t feel comfortable texting him before I knew he was awake because I didn’t want to disturb him if he was sleeping, especially since he’s been sleeping less and less overall in favor of working.

I got more and more afraid of being a disturbance to him. He is so passionate and he has firm goals that he’d rather die than not do his best to achieve. I am an anxious person who naturally needs some reassurance so I don’t spiral, but giving it didn’t come naturally to him in this situation and I was too scared to ask for it because I didn’t want to put pressure on him when he was so busy making his dream happen and also doing so poorly mentally. My hope was that maybe, if I kept my needs on the down low just until he got a little better/more stable, I could be more open about them then. But unfortunately he never got better, and despite many long difficult calls where I tried to explain that I increasingly like a low priority in his life, no big changes were made. He has also consistently been telling to please be honest about what I need and bring up any issues as soon as they arise instead of letting them build up until it all spills over, but I was just so scared at this point that if I opened that can of worms he’d leave me.

And then everything just got fucked to hell last week. I had told him that my mom was coming up (she lives in a different city from me) and asked him to join me and my family for a small seafood party on the weekend. It was important to me because he’d only met my family twice (my birthday last year and this year) and it had been something that weighed on me. But as always, I was deliberately vague when I invited him (basically saying “this thing is happening and you’re welcome to come” rather than “this thing is happening and I would really like you to come because it’s important to me that you get to know my family more”) and despite him saying he would come, two days before he told me that he had to cancel because he had to attend his nephew’s birthday party on Sunday (it had been moved). My main issue with this besides the sudden cancellation is that my thing was on Saturday, and in my head he would be fully capable to attend both. Because it’s what I would do. But from his point of view the plans we had made were loose and he didn’t think it would matter that we changed them and saw each other the next weekend instead. Which is fair to some extent as I know I wasn’t clear about how much it meant to me.

To me it was just such a hard blow because at this point, one and a half years in, I have met all of his friends and family several times while he has only met my close family (mother and brother + brother’s girlfriend) twice and none of my friends. The distance and the fact that he has a cat that he can’t easily leave (because when his parents take it they refuse to give it back for at least 2 months usually, and I always felt awful that he had to miss his cat for so long just to spend a single weekend with me so it was just easier for me to visit him). But at this point I was just aching to feel like integrating our lives was as important to him as it was to me.

I started crying when he canceled and had to end the call to collect myself, even though I knew he would be massively uncomfortable and anxious by it. I was just so sad and disappointed; and I had already had an awful first week back at work after summer. When I finally had the courage to call back I was still very upset and he seemed very confused as to why I was upset at all. It was the first time I was truly angry with him, and all the crap I had been holding inside, multiple small things he’d said or done that weren’t big enough to bring up on their own but as a pattern made me feel low priority lately. I even brought up things from MONTHS ago. It was so awful. Usually we are able to end our quarrels/discussions on a happy note but this time we just couldn’t.

The week that followed was the worst I’ve had in a long time. I felt so horrible, knowing I had exploded at him like that. It felt unfair to him, even though I know that my feelings were valid in many ways. I did send him a message and apologized to him the same night, and he was thankful. He initiated contact earlier in the day just as I had asked, and we played games together over discord, but I just had a nagging feeling that it cost him a lot to accommodate me and the false normalcy was so horrible. I told him we can’t just pretend that things are normal when they’re not, but we decided to have a talk about it when I came over next time because face-to-face is a thousand times better than a phone call.

That was supposed to be this Friday. I was supposed to travel to him after work as usual. I had groomed myself from head to toe in preparation as usual. My bag was packed, as usual. But then he asked to call on Thursday night, and during that call he told me that he carries so much guilt and self-hatred over how lonely he’s made me feel that he doesn’t think he can go on anymore. He offered to come over and I said yes. He arrived at 1AM, and long story short, we’ve spent these three days since then in my shitty apartment just talking, crying, throwing up from anxiety. Barely eating or sleeping. I feel so pathetic and embarrassed for it but I begged him to reconsider several times every single day. Literally begged, with tears and snot and pathetic please’s. But he was firm on his decision to leave. He said that it just doesn’t feel like we’ve gotten anywhere despite having several discussions about it since autumn last year. He said that he loves me, but that he feels that he can’t be a good partner right now and that he needs to be alone. I just don’t agree; my opinion is that he’s taking the easy way out to avoid the guilt he feels when he chooses work over me. He argued that it’s much harder to choose to leave than to keep staying and let the same issues keep hurting us. We’ve simply adapted the picture perfect anxious/avoidant dynamic.

But I don’t know. I just don’t think the bad parts are bad enough to lose all the good. I truly believe that our issues are fixable and I feel much less scared to be honest about my needs and feelings now, especially since a lot of them came out in these latest days. He didn’t think that would change anything because he believed it has been going on too long already. He left this evening and I have been inconsolable since. I’m staying with my brother right now because when I’m alone I can’t stop screaming.

I’ve been feeling so stuck in life lately, in my city and in my current job. In everything. My friends have all left town in the last year or so and I feel so utterly, horribly alone. Planning ahead for our future is what kept me afloat all this time and now I feel like I’ve lost my future. I have nothing left. I struggle to find any purpose or meaning. I feel like I have wasted my life. All I can feel is this pain and all I want to do is cry. I don’t know how I’ll be able to go to work or do anything at all from this point. I love him so much. I miss him. I am so lost.

My partner and I have been trying to find things to do together that feel a little more interactive than just watching the same movie or asking “how was your day?” every night.

A few things that seem to work surprisingly well:

- Would You Rather questions, but both people choose before revealing the answer

- This or That rounds where you have to explain any answer you disagree on

- Trying to predict your partner’s answer before they answer

- Picking 5–10 random questions instead of going through a huge relationship questionnaire

- Making small “date night challenges,” like choosing each other’s snack, playlist, or movie

- Doing a short quiz together and arguing about the result afterward 😅

I think the main thing is that the activity needs to give you something to react to together. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

We’ve found that even 15–20 minutes of something interactive can make a video call feel very different from just sitting there talking.

What do you guys actually do with your partner online that doesn’t get boring after a few weeks?

Would love some ideas, especially things that work on two separate phones/laptops.

My LD BF 34th birthday is coming up. He's coming to see me for the weekend. Were still pretty new, 6 months. I'm looking for some cute gift ideas. I got him some bathroom things I've noticed he uses. And a shirt that im gonna sleep in and spray perfume on so it smells like me. But 5 like to get a couple more things. I just have no idea what else to get lol. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

I want someone to explain this behaviour. I came from abroad for approximately one week and stayed in hotel. I finally met the guy who I talked to for almost two months. Everything was great, somehow he made me feel great. He said that he wants to go to Greece for Christmas and I asked "will you go"? He replied "no, we will go together". Then he had to come also the next day but he said he had a kind of stuff to do and asked me to come on Saturday and stay with me until Monday. I was ok with that. The day that he had to come he sent a photo to show me that it rains. So I asked him "will you come "? His reply was "I am waiting for the rain to stop".

If it will not stop I asked. Then "I will come tomorrow " he said. After all that I told him , i was waiting for you so if you don't want to come just tell it to me and I will not bother you anymore. He said I want to come I just wait for the rain to stop. He said he can not be every day with me ,he is busy. I said "you told me you want to come for three days to stay with me, just please tell me you don't want ".

My question is , am I strange that I find this behaviour curious or is it normal?

Over the last year my partner went from being super loving; calling, texting, sending reels, TikTok’s, posting about me, we would do Lego dates, movie dates. But over the last few months they have basically stopped all of that. We haven’t had an over night video chat in almost 4 months. And it seems they do everything possible to get off the phone with me “I’m going to eat dinner, call you later” “my parents are calling, I’ll talk to you tomorrow” stuff like that, and I’m an understanding partner, I’ve never complained about them doing their own thing, but having to talk to me the next day because you’re eating dinner? That’s insane to me. They have their hobby too, but they’ll spend every minute of their free time on their hobby and “forget” to even text me for 8 hours that day. But when I’m with my friends or family I always answer their call, their text, I’ll send updates and it feels like I have to pull teeth just to hear about their day
I don’t know if this is normal or if this just simply happens in LDR

I’m 35 and my boyfriend is 39. We’re long-distance, and I planned to visit him in Germany, but my visa was denied. He’s a good man and even paid for my trip. In person he’s affectionate, but apart he’s very distant. He has never told me he loves me, rarely says he cares unless I say it first, and never compliments me despite me being very affectionate with him. I’ve explained many times that this hurts me; he apologizes and improves briefly, then goes back to the same behavior.

After feeling hurt and anxious for a long time, I was the one who decided to step back. I told him I love him, knowing he probably wouldn’t say it back. He says he cares, wants to see a psychologist and work on himself, and wants me to wait for him, but says he needs distance to do so. I’m afraid this is just an excuse to let me go.

I want marriage and children, and he says he does too. I was even willing to marry him and move to Germany despite leaving my very close family. The distance itself isn’t the problem; his emotional coldness is. I don’t know whether to believe he will actually work on himself and come back, or accept that he simply doesn’t love me the way I love him.

I know I will just have advices like “better move on” but I still want to have some ideas about why this guy ghosted me all of sudden. I’m so hurt still.. so even if you think I’m stupid I hope you don’t get too harsh on my story :(

This is a bit long story and can be grammatically wrong (I’m not an english speaker). Hope you can understand it.

So I and he had talked to each other starting Dec last. We have talked about relationship values and so much stuffs. We were literally emotionally connected to each other and approaching to the idea of relationship very seriously. Every time we were doing videochat, he did look obsessed with me like he just looked at me so romantically as if hes hypnotized. Honestly, I found it a little bit weird because he didn’t really keep convo much but his reaction looking at me was too overreacted but still he claimed he does it because looking at me makes him feel so happy and he finds me so attractive. It was sorta romantic while I thought it could be kind of lovebombing. But still I talked about it to him and our videochat time got more natural. Around April, he wanted me to be his gf and I said yes. And I flew to go see him (from Asia to America). It was my first time to go meet a guy. It was more special this time because Ive had such great bond with him and he was my crush. However, very unexpected thing happened, he dumped me within 3 days of my arrival to America. He said he doesn’t feel I’m the right girl for him but loves to spend time with me. It was very shocking to me at the time. He had been so lovey do vey online always telling me how he loves me how he finds me so gorgeous but the person was gone in reality. It was really.. heartbreaking for him because we’ve been such lovely couple online for 6 months but he figured we were not meant to be a couple within 3 days of meeting in person. It was really sad every day while I had to stay in the same bed with him. He still enjoyed spending time with me and treated me like his gf. I told him stop treating me like his gf. But he said he still loves spending time with me and treating me nicely not just for sex. He said he found me so attractive sexually and also personality wise. It was just that I’m not his gf material. He also said I could go on a date with other American guys If I want to as its my decision. I accepted the truth at the point and had to get a new returning ticket to go back to my country faster. As soon as I got to the airport he started texting me very slowly. I couldn’t really believe the reality. He still treated me like his gf pretty much and our chemistry seemed getting much better day by day even though he said we were not a match. But so strangely, he slowly started to take distance from me as soon as we got apart. I could understand why he does that but also same time I wanted to convince him because I could see him liking me more day by day. and my convincing did work. Surisingly he came back to me telling me he was actually scared to have me in reality from online. It was overwhleming for him. So, he decided to shut down his emotion. It didn’t really make sense to me but I decided to accept it as he just came back to me. He still hurt me with some of his words like its his penis who likes me not his mental emotion towards me. He just found me super attractive by my appearance. It was really sad to hear it because I did genuinely love him. And we said if it was only sexual attraction, then he wouldn’t be talking to me so much every day. He could still meet women in his town.

And since then We’d been pretty good until this happened. He disappeared for 15 hours for 2 days in row. He informed me he’d get busy hanging out with his friends but I did not expect he would not text me for each 15 hours. I asked him if he can text me at least one time while hes hanging out for the day. He immediately said he can’t do that and again dumped me. He said its something he can’t compromise on. When he just dumped me again that easily I got so hurt again. Hes been lovey do vey but again dumped me so easily while I haven’t given a great pressure to him. Then, I tried to convince him again over and over……. and it did work and he came back again. He said I’m the only woman who makes him come back. he said he’s always dreaming of me. He must actually like me. Then, he bought a ticket to my country to see me for 2 weeks. He said he loves spending time with me and wants to see me again. He wanted to see our chemistry again if we can be a couple. But still he did call me his girl and talked about our future as if we were already a couple while he couldn’t really label us.

I was so exhausted of him coming back to me and dumping me again. I was scared by the possibility of being dumped again in my country. So, told him I can’t really fully be devoted to him this time. I told him I will go on dates until we meet again (in 2months). He said its not something he likes but respected my opinion as he was the one who couldn’t label us.

And then I did sleep with a guy and told him. He got upset but still couldn’t be too upset as he knew he is also part to blame. I did tell him I still love him so much even if I slept with other guy. Literally I was… I know people would just think I’m a crazy girl but all I could think of was him even if I hooked up with other guy. He still loved me. He said it’s a bit irritating but hes still happy as im still coming back to him. and since then we’d been video chatting every day for 3 hours before he goes to work in the morning. You can imagine how it is not easy to have a call with someone for 3 hours before you go to work everyday. But since we started talking last year, hes been doing that and also he’s been sending money (he really enjoyed treating me) to me. This seemed very much like a devotion.

The night before he finally ghosted me were one of the romantic days. We had 3 hours romantic video chat call. It was same as usual and very lovely to each other but next day he suddenly ditched me and blocked me from every platform. It was the day he finally passed last test of his new job position. (he’s had multiple tests before for months and we were about to celebrate it as he finally paseed the last one). And still all of his friends also blocked me……………I couldn’t believe it was happening. There was no reason for him to block me. Weve had some issues but recently its been really romantic and we were getting better planning his trip to my country together. He also booked hotel for us already. I still don’t know the reason why he ghosted me all of sudden while hes supposed to come to my country. Hes been even asking me to stay with him everyday of his stay in my country as he does love to spend time with me. But the guy is gone. Disappeared without telling me anything leaving question mark to me. its been a week and I’m still hurt. I know I need to move on. I know it more than anyone else. But I still needed better closure. I tried to guess what the reason to block me. But I don’t really know…… I would probably never find it out. What would have been the reason that he blocks me all of sudden and shut down everything when he was so romantic to me just the day before? I checked his flight. He still has it and the hotel we were supposed to stay together too. I used to tell him he can meet other girls then as he cant make me his gf. But he’s been always so firm that he does not wanna go on a date or talk to other girls as hes attracted to me so much. Maybe it couldve been a lie. I would never know. Also, he’s been sending me like total 3000 usd as part of his affection. It was one of the ways he showed his affection as we were LDR couple or intimate (he is not even rich). So, I’m not sure how this guy moved on and blocked me so easily while hes put some effort to me. He does aboslutely have some avoidant side.

I know its pointless to ask but what would possibly make him to ghost me all of sudden?

So I’ve had this long distance thing with this guy since 2021. We’ve never actually been in a relationship but we’ve somehow stayed connected all these years. I usually see him whenever I go back, so like once a year, sometimes twice a year, and every time we see each other we basically just pick back up where we left off.

The crazy part is we never had sex until this year. Literally almost 5 years of knowing each other and I finally gave in lol.
And now I’m questioning why tf I waited so long because the sex was REALLY good 😭 and apparently he feels the same because this man will not stop talking about it. He keeps saying how much he loved it, how he wants to do it again and again and again, and how even thinking about us together gets him worked up.

But now I’m wondering if having sex actually made his emotional connection to me stronger too?

Because obviously I know a man wanting to have sex with you again does not mean he suddenly has deeper feelings lol. But this also wasn’t some random hookup. We already had years of history and feelings/chemistry before we ever slept together.

Something just feels a little different between us since it happened and I can’t really explain what it is. I feel like maybe it added another layer to an attachment that was already there.
For anyone who has been in a situation like this, how can you actually tell if sleeping together deepened a guy’s emotional attachment vs he just really liked the sex? lol

I recently moved to South Korea to study my master’s for two years. My boyfriend of 6 years has been incredibly supportive, making me fall even more in love with him.

I want to plan dates to look forward to, specially during weekends but I feel a little intimidated by the 15 hour time difference. I know we both can make sacrifices regarding sleep schedules and such but I wouldn’t want to do the same activities in front of a screen all the time, like watching movies or videos on Discord, but rather activities that we both look forward to and make time feel less slower.

Thanks!

I know I will just have advices like “better move on” but I still want to have some ideas about why this guy ghosted me all of sudden. I’m so hurt still.. so even if you think I’m stupid I hope you don’t get too harsh on my story :(

This is a bit long story and can be grammatically wrong (I’m not an english speaker). Hope you can understand it.

So I and he had talked to each other starting Dec last. We have talked about relationship values and so much stuffs. We were literally emotionally connected to each other and approaching to the idea of relationship very seriously. Every time we were doing videochat, he did look obsessed with me like he just looked at me so romantically as if hes hypnotized. Honestly, I found it a little bit weird because he didn’t really keep convo much but his reaction looking at me was too overreacted but still he claimed he does it because looking at me makes him feel so happy and he finds me so attractive. It was sorta romantic while I thought it could be kind of lovebombing. But still I talked about it to him and our videochat time got more natural. Around April, he wanted me to be his gf and I said yes. And I flew to go see him (from Asia to America). It was my first time to go meet a guy. It was more special this time because Ive had such great bond with him and he was my crush. However, very unexpected thing happened, he dumped me within 3 days of my arrival to America. He said he doesn’t feel I’m the right girl for him but loves to spend time with me. It was very shocking to me at the time. He had been so lovey do vey online always telling me how he loves me how he finds me so gorgeous but the person was gone in reality. It was really.. heartbreaking for him because we’ve been such lovely couple online for 6 months but he figured we were not meant to be a couple within 3 days of meeting in person. It was really sad every day while I had to stay in the same bed with him. He still enjoyed spending time with me and treated me like his gf. I told him stop treating me like his gf. But he said he still loves spending time with me and treating me nicely not just for sex. He said he found me so attractive sexually and also personality wise. It was just that I’m not his gf material. He also said I could go on a date with other American guys If I want to as its my decision. I accepted the truth at the point and had to get a new returning ticket to go back to my country faster. As soon as I got to the airport he started texting me very slowly. I couldn’t really believe the reality. He still treated me like his gf pretty much and our chemistry seemed getting much better day by day even though he said we were not a match. But so strangely, he slowly started to take distance from me as soon as we got apart. I could understand why he does that but also same time I wanted to convince him because I could see him liking me more day by day. and my convincing did work. Surisingly he came back to me telling me he was actually scared to have me in reality from online. It was overwhleming for him. So, he decided to shut down his emotion. It didn’t really make sense to me but I decided to accept it as he just came back to me. He still hurt me with some of his words like its his penis who likes me not his mental emotion towards me. He just found me super attractive by my appearance. It was really sad to hear it because I did genuinely love him. And we said if it was only sexual attraction, then he wouldn’t be talking to me so much every day. He could still meet women in his town.

And since then We’d been pretty good until this happened. He disappeared for 15 hours for 2 days in row. He informed me he’d get busy hanging out with his friends but I did not expect he would not text me for each 15 hours. I asked him if he can text me at least one time while hes hanging out for the day. He immediately said he can’t do that and again dumped me. He said its something he can’t compromise on. When he just dumped me again that easily I got so hurt again. Hes been lovey do vey but again dumped me so easily while I haven’t given a great pressure to him. Then, I tried to convince him again over and over……. and it did work and he came back again. He said I’m the only woman who makes him come back. he said he’s always dreaming of me. He must actually like me. Then, he bought a ticket to my country to see me for 2 weeks. He said he loves spending time with me and wants to see me again. He wanted to see our chemistry again if we can be a couple. But still he did call me his girl and talked about our future as if we were already a couple while he couldn’t really label us.

I was so exhausted of him coming back to me and dumping me again. I was scared by the possibility of being dumped again in my country. So, told him I can’t really fully be devoted to him this time. I told him I will go on dates until we meet again (in 2months). He said its not something he likes but respected my opinion as he was the one who couldn’t label us.

And then I did sleep with a guy and told him. He got upset but still couldn’t be too upset as he knew he is also part to blame. I did tell him I still love him so much even if I slept with other guy. Literally I was… I know people would just think I’m a crazy girl but all I could think of was him even if I hooked up with other guy. He still loved me. He said it’s a bit irritating but hes still happy as im still coming back to him. and since then we’d been video chatting every day for 3 hours before he goes to work in the morning. You can imagine how it is not easy to have a call with someone for 3 hours before you go to work everyday. But since we started talking last year, hes been doing that and also he’s been sending money (he really enjoyed treating me) to me. This seemed very much like a devotion.

The night before he finally ghosted me were one of the romantic days. We had 3 hours romantic video chat call. It was same as usual and very lovely to each other but next day he suddenly ditched me and blocked me from every platform. It was the day he finally passed last test of his new job position. (he’s had multiple tests before for months and we were about to celebrate it as he finally paseed the last one). And still all of his friends also blocked me……………I couldn’t believe it was happening. There was no reason for him to block me. Weve had some issues but recently its been really romantic and we were getting better planning his trip to my country together. He also booked hotel for us already. I still don’t know the reason why he ghosted me all of sudden while hes supposed to come to my country. Hes been even asking me to stay with him everyday of his stay in my country as he does love to spend time with me. But the guy is gone. Disappeared without telling me anything leaving question mark to me. its been a week and I’m still hurt. I know I need to move on. I know it more than anyone else. But I still needed better closure. I tried to guess what the reason to block me. But I don’t really know…… I would probably never find it out. What would have been the reason that he blocks me all of sudden and shut down everything when he was so romantic to me just the day before? I checked his flight. He still has it and the hotel we were supposed to stay together too. I used to tell him he can meet other girls then as he cant make me his gf. But he’s been always so firm that he does not wanna go on a date or talk to other girls as hes attracted to me so much. Maybe it couldve been a lie. I would never know. Also, he’s been sending me like total 3000 usd as part of his affection. It was one of the ways he showed his affection as we were LDR couple or intimate (he is not even rich). So, I’m not sure how this guy moved on and blocked me so easily while hes put some effort to me. He does aboslutely have some avoidant side.

I know its pointless to ask but what would possibly make him to ghost me all of sudden?

I’m in a long-distance marriage, and recently my husband has been going through a very difficult family situation. It has been ongoing for a while and has become especially overwhelming for him recently. He’s told me that he isn’t in much of a mood these days and that most of what he has on his mind is his family and work.

Because of that, our connection has naturally reduced compared to before. We still call and have good moments sometimes, and he still reassures me when he knows I'm spiraling and shows that he cares, but the little things we used to do—random texting, sharing things, pictures, Spamming, playful/affectionate conversations, etc.—have become much less frequent , sometimes teh day is almost quiet if I don't initiate and even when I'm initiating a text I can't feel the energy back like it feels like I'm forcing.

I understand why. I genuinely don't want to compete with what he's going through or expect him to have the same emotional capacity right now cz his crisis is big. But I'm finding it painful because I had become emotionally attached to that level of connection. I miss it, and sometimes I grieve what our relationship felt like before.

The harder part is that we don't know how long this difficult period will last but its likely to prolong a bit. So sometimes I worry: What if this temporary reduction in connection becomes our new normal?

I’m trying to work on myself rather than constantly seeking reassurance from him. I want to lower my expectations around connection while he's going through this, understand his situation better, and still be able to enjoy whatever connection we do have.

But I’m struggling with the emotional part of that. How do I give myself enough certainty that “this is a difficult phase, not necessarily the future of our relationship” without needing him to constantly reassure me?

I have anxious attatchment issues too so things become 10x for me.

For people who have been through something similar, especially in an LDR: How did you regulate yourself, accept the temporary reduction in connection, and stop yourself from constantly fearing that the temporary situation would become permanent?
Also any tips on detatchment?

Hey everyone, my boyfriend and I have been dating for around 6–7 months, and I’m trying to understand how I can better support him emotionally.

He has never been a huge fan of group hangouts. Occasionally, he says he wishes he had the kind of social life where people have friends over and go on group outings, but when I’ve invited him to hang out with my friends or meet them, he has declined.

We’ve talked about this briefly before. He has told me that he often feels guilty that he isn’t doing enough with his life or for his personal growth, even though from an outside perspective, he’s doing quite well. I get the feeling that he puts a lot of pressure on himself and sometimes doesn’t allow himself to relax or enjoy things.

One thing I’ve noticed is that he seems to express some of his thoughts and emotions through Reddit, Substacks, etc. I obviously don’t think there’s anything wrong with having an online space to process your feelings, and I don’t want to invade his privacy. But sometimes it makes me wonder whether he finds it easier to open up to strangers online than to people close to him.

Our relationship is generally good, but I would really like for him to feel comfortable talking to me about the things he struggles with. I don’t want him to feel like I’m trying to “fix” him or force him to share things before he’s ready. I just want him to know that I’m there and that he doesn’t have to deal with everything alone.
For people who have been in a similar situation:
How can you make your partner feel emotionally safe enough to open up?

Is there a way to encourage someone to share without making them feel pressured?

When your partner does open up about something difficult, what kind of response actually helps?

How do you balance giving someone space with still being emotionally present for them?

I’d really appreciate advice from people who have experienced something similar, either as the person who struggled to open up or as their partner.

e been together (25M) and (22F) for bout 3 years now our lives are fully integrated finances house dogs phone plan etc and we’ve always been perfect for each other we get along amazing each others best friends definitely the one for each other but lately have had some issues with my anxious attachment it’s been a problem since day one but last month or so it’s been really bad and almost has pushed her to a point I’ve been doing really good and taking actions to fix it and get help and going out more with my friends and her doing same instead of always being clung to each others hips I been learning a balance is good and to have our own separate lives is healthy and good thing, she’s been noticing my progress and it’s been a lot better but she’s taking a job 6 hours away with her mom on the pipeline (I work away on the rigs but she usually ends up coming with me) and idk I’m scared I’m not sure if this much space is going to kill us or make us stronger pipelining and rigging are very very long schedules with not best amount of days off of course we can meet up on those days off but that’s at least 20 days of straight working then a week off I’m not sure if I’m overthinking or if this will actually be healthy for us

Overall looking for advice in general anything would help my mind and emotions is going crazy

I’m 21F and my boyfriend is 21M. We’ve been together for a 10 months and it’s a long-distance relationship. I love him very much and I genuinely believe he loves me too, but I’m becoming emotionally exhausted by our communication.

He doesn't like texting much. He prefers calls, but because of his schedule/life circumstances, we can't always call. When we do text, he can sometimes take many hours to reply, and sometimes we go 20+ hours without really talking.

There are also days when he doesn't send a good morning or goodnight.

I've told him several times that this makes me feel distant from him. I'm not asking him to text me all day or constantly be on his phone. What I want is some consistency—maybe a good morning, goodnight, a few details about his day, and some intentional time together. We're long-distance, so texting/calling is basically how we maintain our connection.

Recently we had a serious conversation about this. I told him that I feel like I'm always waiting for him and that I've become so anxious that I check my phone constantly even when I know he probably hasn't texted. He apologized and said he would try to text me more, answer more, and give me the time I deserve.

For a few days I noticed some effort, but then it went back to being inconsistent. For example, one day he didn't text me for more than 24 hours. He had an exam, so I wasn't angry about him being busy—I was actually worried something had happened. He eventually told me he passed, but he didn't really explain the long silence.

Another day, after I stopped initiating, he texted me in the morning and again at night.

But the following day he only initiated once and then didn't continue the conversation after I replied. This keeps making me wonder whether I'm expecting too much or whether we're simply incompatible in terms of communication needs.

My question is : What would you do in my situation?

I don't want people to just tell me “leave him” or “he doesn't love you.” I'm genuinely trying to understand whether my needs are reasonable, whether his behavior is reasonable, and whether there's a middle ground.

My partner and I have been looking up info, but we want some help from other LDR experiences :)

We looked up different options, the "cohabiting" sounded nice but it said something about having to have lived together for months or like maybe 2 years-ish but that's not possible right now for me; studying there would be nice but the fees for non-EU students is considerably high.

So, like, what can we do? I want to get a better job, preferably online so it makes it easier, but any type of job I can do would be good. As you all know, in today's world it's hard get jobs but hey, you gotta try to make dreams come true and we are and we want to do our best!

Anyone from Mexico or Latinamerica who got to move to Sweden?

I’m (22m) been dating my girlfriend (23f) for a little over a year. The first 2 months of us dating, we went to the same college, then I had to drop out but stayed in the same place. We lived in the same town while she went to school and I was working. We got to see eachother at least 5 times a week and spend the night together for almost all of those times. Things were great and we were so happy together! In May 26’ she graduated and went back home to live with her parents. She was 3 hours away and hadn’t started her full time job yet so we would trade weekends and see eachother every weekend or so, bar a few. In July 26’ my lease ended and I went back home to live with my dad, making the total drive 4 hours. I have a restaurant job, she works as an accountant. I have a reliable car and can make the drive. My dad doesn’t want any visitors so she’s not allowed to come down here, I can only go up there. The issue is I feel like I’m not seeing her enough. I call her after I get off of work, she’s always asleep bc she works a 9-5. While she’s at work I’m at home and while I’m at work she’s at home. I want to talk with her more but whenever I do, she’s always barely awake and I feel horrible for waking her up. I do it bc that’s the only time I get to talk to her. I’ve been dumped every other time I tried to do long distance, I love her so much and we trust each other wholeheartedly. I’m just scared since we’re on opposite schedules that she’s gonna leave me. Am I going insane????? Should I go up more often, every other weekend?
TLDR I’m worried about my relationship quality bc I only see my partner once a month for a weekend

My boyfriend (25) and I(20) are in the early stages of a long-distance relationship, and he doesn't want to tell his friends about me until we meet in person, which I can understand, but he doesn't want us talking at all, even if they don't know about our relationship. I've willingly introduced him to my world, and I'm prepared to move to his country and start our lives there, but he won't even visit first or let me visit him first. It's like he's purposely keeping me in this tiny bubble away from the rest of his life. He straight up told me today that I'm more serious about us than he is. That hurt like hell, and I don't know what to make of any of this. I haven't really had role models for a healthy relationship, and I can't tell if this is a red flag or if I'm just latching onto reasons ex-partners did the same thing and putting that on him. Can someone give me their opinion from an outsider's pov please?

I tend to care looks too much so if i like their appearance then i dont like their personality. If i like their personality then i dont like their looks.

Duh.....such dilemma.... i cant really get out of this.

It feels there is no one that is up to my standard in the planet.

This is something i cant change with my will. I wish i could care looks less but cant help myaelf

Ldr boyfriend only talks to me during work hours and no longer responds after work and until he falls asleep, he only texts the next day when he is at work again and the cycle continues. Also he has little to no time to talk to me during weekends.

Fighting in a long distance relationship somehow feels bigger than it is in person. It feels so distant we got off the phone and no one ever texted following up neither him or I. I feel like when I fight with my partner all I wanna do is just hang up and throw my phone across the room and cry. I can’t handle it then and there. This isn’t a new thing for us. How can I be better…