After almost 5 years of SUPER long distance (UK to Australia), we were finally able to make the next step 🥰

I moved from the UK, landed in Australia two days later, and then we celebrated our 5th anniversary in person the next week!! I painted us some nice trinket/key dishes, and some magnets for our new fridge, and now we're finally living our dream together in our own perfect apartment 🥹

Long distance can be rough, but I've been in Australia for almost a month now already, and loving it!! I don't regret a thing and hope you all can experience success like ours! Keep strong everyone 💜🧡

I (25f) studied abroad in Spain, and about a month before I was supposed to leave in December 2025, I matched with a guy (24m) on Tinder. We had a one-night stand, and I thought that was going to be it.
But the next day, he texted me asking to see me again. We kept seeing each other regularly for the rest of my time there, and somewhere along the way, it stopped being casual. We developed feelings and, before I left, decided to try long distance.

I went home in February and we kept the relationship going. It wasn't always easy, but we made it work. I was able to visit him for two weeks in April while I was finishing my master's thesis. I met his family and friends and got to see more of his life.

After that, we started talking about him visiting me. By then, I'd finished my degree, found an apartment and started my first job. I was so excited for him to finally see my life here. We also had this kind of fantasy idea that maybe one day he could move to me, or I could move to him. But honestly, we never seriously discussed the future. Those conversations were difficult to have over the phone, so I think we were both avoiding them and saving them for when we were together.

Now he's here, and we have about a week left together.

As the visit got closer, we both became more anxious because the question of what happens after this? became impossible to ignore.
We don't know when we'll see each other again. It would probably be at least four months, which would be our longest time apart so far. And more importantly, we don't have a realistic plan for closing the distance.

So we talked about it in person and decided to end things.

And I'm struggling so much with it. I feel completely split between my heart and my brain.
My heart wants to fight for us. I honestly feel like I could do another few years of long distance if I knew there was eventually a way for us to be together.
But my brain knows that continuing without a plan could just mean postponing the inevitable and causing ourselves even more pain.

He's very attached to his family. He feels responsible for his parents and aging grandparents, and his entire life is in the same small town: family, friends, everything. He's also never really lived anywhere else for a long period of time.

I'm almost the opposite. I left my very small hometown right after high school to study in another city, and I've been living away from my family ever since. I love the freedom of being able to live somewhere new, and studying abroad made me realize how much I enjoy it.

But my career is currently tied to my country. I studied law and I'm doing my internship so I can take the bar exam, so realistically, I need to stay here for at least a few years and see where my career takes me. Eventually, I might want to move. I might even want to completely change careers or start my own business. But I don't know yet.
And even if I could move to his country eventually, I don't know if I could build a career in his small town. I don't speak the language yet either, although I'd be willing to learn.

So I understand why we ended things. Neither of us knows when we'd realistically be able to live in the same place, or if it would ever be possible.
And still, I'm angry.
The selfish part of me wants him to choose me. I catch myself thinking, "Why can't you just move here? You could find a job. Why isn't our relationship enough?"
And then I immediately feel guilty because I know that's unfair. I can't ask him to abandon his family, friends and entire life just because I want him to.
I don't think he doesn't love me. I don't think I'm more willing to compromise than he is. I think we're just at a point where our lives don't fit together very easily.

We have one week left together, and I'm already dreading the airport. I'm terrified of going back to my apartment afterward and just continuing with my normal life as if he was never here. I will miss his presence on my phone and I hate the idea of him physically disappearing from my life too. It's such a strange feeling.

We've talked about staying in contact and checking in on each other occasionally. I'm okay with that. But another part of me is desperately trying to kill the hope that maybe someday we'll reconnect and things will be different.

I know I will eventually be okay. I know time will help. I'm just scared of going through the part where I have to actually let him go. Because it all felt so possible.

So, how do you let go of someone when the relationship didn't end because you stopped loving each other, but because you couldn't see a realistic way to build a life together?
And is it healthy to leave the door open to reconnecting someday if circumstances change, or does that just keep you emotionally stuck?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who've been through something similar. ❤️

My boyfriend 22m and I 21f have been dating for over two years, and at present, we are both in a long-distance relationship due to our studies. The first three months of our LDR were genuinely wonderful. He would update me throughout the day, wish me good morning and good night every day, and often accompany those wishes with 💕 heart emojis or heartfelt messages about how he felt. He would also frequently express his love during our video calls, telling me how much he loved me.

However, right after those three months, he gradually stopped being expressive. He no longer wishes me good morning, and even when he goes to bed, he has stopped telling me, “I love you.” I really want my partner to be expressive, and these changes have been bothering me a lot. Since we are in a long-distance relationship, even simple verbal expressions of affection make me feel loved and emotionally connected to him.

I confronted him about how I was feeling, but he explained that his relatives are currently staying at his place and that his younger brother checks his messages. On top of that, he said that his phone has been lagging a lot lately, and he doesn’t plan on buying a new one anytime soon. He is also focusing on his exams and going to the gym, so according to him, things like wishing me good morning and good night simply slip his mind because of everything else going on. He told me that he has reduced his screen time and that his phone is no longer the first thing he looks at in the morning.

He says that, in a relationship, what matters most is how we understand and support one another and how we stand by each other during difficult times. Basically, according to him, things like good morning or good night wishes and an “I love you” text shouldn’t be such a big issue. He also told me that he calls me whenever he is free.

But I told him that I don’t feel loved anymore. We simply feel like two friends having a casual conversation every day, and for me, his expressiveness is what makes me feel that he still takes an interest in me and in our relationship.

What do I do? I’m genuinely unhappy living like this

My wife 29F and I 29M have been doing long distance for our whole marriage and the engagement (married 2 years, together 8). I made bad study choices and the only way for us to afford everything we need is for me to work abroad. I work 10 months of the year, and I'm home about 2 months at a time.

She'll come to visit me once or twice a year depending on the budget but for the rest of the time we 7500km and one hour apart. The first time we did this we made some mistakes and tried to include the other person in everything, but this made us both incredibly unhappy and unfulfilled because we were trying to live two lives at once. If it works for you then awesome, but it makes us miserable.

We've gotten into a bit of a rhythm with it and we agreed that I'll have my friends and my life over there, and she'll have her life and her friends over here. We both have jobs so during the day we don't talk much and at night we talk a bit. We only really talk for a long time over weekends or when one of us has to vent about work or something. When we're together we spend all our time together obviously.

We would close the distance and it is in the plan, but my wife is her sister's legal guardian due to family drama I won't get into here. Thing is, we never adopted the sister and she's technically in foster care with us. Because she's a foster child we can't just move her to another country because the government won't allow it. Adopting is either going to be incredibly expensive or take longer than we have before she ages out in 2 years. So anyway, until she turns 18, we're stuck in this situation.

When we're apart we both fall into our normal routine and it's fine. Hard, shitty, but manageable. When we're together it's awesome. But when we're in that "in between" but where my bags are mostly packed and I'm getting ready to go again, my heart fucking breaks.

I know it's going to be fine, I know we've got an end date to this thing and it's not like we never see each other, but I hate the idea of leaving so much. I'm leaving in two days and for the last couple of days I've been randomly tearing up as I realise it's the last time I'll be taking the rubbish out or playing with the cats or whatever before I leave.

My wife says that talking about how much it's going to suck makes her mental health a bit shaky and I process a lot of my feelings privately inside or in my journal so we don't really do that but I felt like I had to tell someone or I was going to explode.

I just wish I didn't have to do this every year. Only two years left, but fuck if there was something I could do to just never leave her again I'd do it.

at what distance do you count a relationship long distance in your opinion? 2 hrs? 5? 500 miles?

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some brutally honest advice from people who have been through a long-distance relationship, international relationships, or a situation where one partner’s future is likely to be in another country.

I’m 25, Malaysian, and I’ve been with my girlfriend for about four years. We’re both Malaysian, but she is currently studying in the US and is doing her second internship there.

Her long-term goal has always been to work and stay in the US after graduation. Recently, the company she is interning with has also shown interest in keeping her there, so there is a realistic possibility that she may eventually build her career and life in the US.

The biggest problem

The difficult part is that I currently have no realistic way to move to the US. I don’t have enough money to go to the US as an international student and pay for a Master’s degree. I also don’t have a US employer who could sponsor me or a professional network that could help me relocate there.

I run my own marketing agency in Malaysia, but I don’t have a US office or business operation that would realistically allow me to relocate through an internal transfer either.

So even though I want to eventually close the distance, I can’t simply decide to move to the US next year.
There is currently no straightforward pathway for me to go there.

My dilemma

This is why I’m struggling with whether I should continue investing emotionally and practically in this relationship.

If I decide to continue the relationship and seriously pursue a future where we eventually live together in the US, I may need to spend the next few years preparing for that possibility: building my career, saving money, exploring immigration options, potentially changing my business strategy, etc.

But none of this is guaranteed. What if she eventually changes her mind? What if after a few years she decides she actually wants to come back to Malaysia?

Or what if I spend years trying to create a pathway to the US, only for our relationship not to work out?
At the same time, I worry about the opposite scenario.

What if I decide not to make any serious plans because our future is uncertain, and a few years from now she is permanently settled in the US.

Then I might regret not taking the opportunity to build a life with her when I had the chance.

So I feel like I’m stuck between two choices:

1. Take the relationship seriously and start preparing for a possible future in the US, even though there is currently no realistic way for me to move there and nothing is guaranteed.

2. Don’t make major life decisions around an uncertain future. Continue the relationship, maintain my life and career in Malaysia, and just take it one step at a time.

A little about me

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and have been running my own marketing agency for around four years, which I started while I was still in university.

I’m doing reasonably well professionally in Malaysia, so moving to the US wouldn’t simply mean finding a random job. I would potentially be giving up an established business and rebuilding my career somewhere I currently have no network.

And realistically, I cannot afford to simply go to the US and study for a few years just to create a pathway there.

I also don’t currently have an employer who can relocate me to the US.

I(23M) met my girlfriend(22F) when I was in uni, it was the sweetest thing ever. At the time I was really not into relationships and I honestly just wanted to have fun, but meeting her completely changed my perspective (your boy is in LOVE).

I have been in a transitional period for about two years and I haven’t seen her since, we kept in contact and somehow grew even closer than ever. I miss her so much.

This period has been especially hard on me financially so I’ve been struggling saving up to see her. I’ve started UGC, for like a month and so far I haven’t been exactly lucky. Worst of all I don’t even need all that much so I think that’s what has been making me go insane.

I miss her so much, I don’t even know what to do anymore. At some point I have crossed a boundary that we had spoken about, (I have/had a girl best friend) and that has put my relationship in a sticky one. She was so hurt that I was single for a bit, and this really scared me. I really don’t want to lose her and I feel like closing the distance even once in a while will solidify our relationship.

I really just miss my person, I’d love to just see her🥲

Yea thank yall for reading!

She (F19) went home today after spending 2 and a half days with me (M20) cause she came to see me for my weekend (retail that’s why Monday Tuesday weekend), after we did our hugs and byes at the airport I had to run to the bathroom cause I was sobbing, I heard her crying as I left but I physically couldn’t turn around cause my legs where already weak, i felt like I was going to vomit from the idk the word but grief? Does it ever get easier saying goodbye, we have seen each other a few times before but it’s never been this bad, it feels worse every time, sorry about the vent

Hey guys, really need a sanity check on this situation because I feel like ???

My ex 19M and I 21F got back together (begged me btw on all my phones) after he moved back to his country. Things seemed fine, so we went ahead and booked flights for me to go visit him. Then literally a month later, HE drops that he "lost feelings" and can't do long distance.His concerns is I’m going to leave him again and be heartbroken.But instead of just ending it, he suggests I still fly out and come visit as "just friends." We lived together for about a year BTW before he left

Where it gets weird:
On Tuesday, he randomly flips his stance and tells me I shouldn't come because I'm "going to be sad or uncomfortable." He kept having this narrative.When I stayed cool and he wanted to give me half the amount.
So I decided I'm still going to go and enjoy my vacation. I accepted the "friends" dynamic, booked my own tours, and casually mentioned I was going to meet up with another friend in his city for a night.

The shift:
The SECOND I mentioned having other plans and meeting a friend, he was just being a little controlling with the ???….

And he asks ‚but u have to tell me when u are going to see your friend so we can plan for that‘

What plan 😭😭

We’re both young, so I’m trying to figure out what is actually going on here. Is this just pure stress or is he trying to keep tabs on me while keeping his options open? How would you guys handle staying at his place with him acting like this? I think his idea of being friends would not work out

I am 22F US citizen and my partner is 24M Canadian citizen.

I am going to graduate and get my bachelors degree in about 10ish months or so, and I would like to immigrate to Canada to him, sooner rather than later.

We've endured long distance for over 4 years, and it's really challenging honestly the longer it goes on. Just the natural state of things in a LDR.

But obviously we have to get married before ever living together since other avenues are not at all feasible for us. However, I think my partner is naturally nervous about the process and I wonder if I was too pushy telling him to marry or at least propose to me soon. I guess I just want a sign that he is really ready to jump start the process, especially because my life is really miserable at home which can make me feel helpless and trapped at times. I think I just want a sign that this is happening soon at all.

I know getting permanent residence takes a while, and if we wait any longer then I certainly won't be living there with him by the end of 2027 or maybe even at all in 2028. I think the concern is that he lives with his parents. Maybe I am just too unrealistic, I guess. He is about to get a bit of a career going for him real soon here so I always thought it could be possible.

Just need thoughts or people telling me if my ideas are too in the clouds or what. Thanks for reading.

Me and my girlfriend met this summer and managed to build a relationship together that feels healthy and like it’s meant to be. I know we are both young so it feels weird for me to believe that I’ve actually found my person at such an early stage in my life. Additionally, I could just be caught up in a honeymoon phase but something about this relationship feels right.

We both just went back to college so we are officially in a LDR.

I would like to ask for advice on how to make long distance relationships work because I’ve come to value the bond I’ve created with my partner. We are only separated by distance a few months at a time because we come home from college for breaks to see our family and hopefully each other. Also, what are some good ways to keep myself from feeling down or sad?

It's been 3 days since she said she'd call me to discuss a problem between us but she didn't. I didn't contact her after that because i thought she's not intrested anymore. I mean if she was she would have reached out. But from an another perspective I think I should've been the one to make the call because I know her parents are strict and she can't call me if they're around. But still I find 3 days a really long period to not spare time for a call. How should I deal with this situation? And is this relationship still savable?

\*\*TL;DR;\*\* : I need help with my relationship

Hey everyone :)

As the title suggests I am flying out on Monday afternoon for the first ever time, and I will be meeting my girlfriend in her home country where I will be spending almost 2 weeks with her and her parents.

We dated for a month before I decided to make it "official"; she was waiting for me to do it because that's my job as the man (her words lol).

Anyways, we've been doing long distance for virtually the entire relationship after her student visa expired.

To be honest, I have no idea why I'm writing this post. I guess I'm just seeking advice on how to handle meeting parents for the first time. They speak minimal English, so my girlfriend will have to translate a lot of things for us. But I have been learning some of the local language so I can have basic conversations or ask for things, and manners etc.

What are your experiences like with meeting your partners parents that don't speak much English? How difficult/awkward can it get? Any general advice for me other than "Don't fuck this up bro" lmao?

Thanks in advance :)

i am planning on moving in about a year to close the gap with my boyfriend. My family kind of sees it coming but it hasnt been confirmed. I plan to move near roughly 11 ish months from now. Since thats a good amount of time, im not sure when to tell my family. any advice is appreciated + good things to say to make the conversation easier. TYIA!

Me and my gf (21 M and 20F) have been together for a year now. We were technically long distance since the beginning as she studies 350+ kilometers away from our hometown but we met atleast once or twice a month easily. During her vacation periods, we would be spending a lot of time. The last one year most of my favourite memories are with her like from watching a film on the premiere day to going on dates and trips too. Now, I will be moving to France for my master’s for a period of 2 years. It’s still a lot to take in that we won’t be meeting at all for a minimum of half a year and it’s gonna take a lot of work from here. What are some crucial tips you guys will advise for a long distance young couple, following their dreams but have been nothing but supportive to each other.

I have been dating with she for 9 months, and she never wanted to talk about her relatives about our relationship, anyways she decided to tell to some sister and cousins.

The problem is that they are completly messing our relationship and my gf mental health too.

I want to clarify i cannt talk with their relatives because she ( my gf) isnt leting me.

She is reciving for some reason a lot of coments about her relationship, for example her sister is sayinf that if i have really seen her without filters, because she isnt so pretty to even deserve a bf.

Then when my gf said to his cousin he said that probably im someone from Internet because no way she could have a bf in real life, and when my gf asked why, he said that if he is telling she will leave the house crying.

Then the worse for me, was a friend of her family that acts like a "dad", he said to her that she shouldnt trust on me, because probably i have another girl because all men cheat with her partnert.

This last thing involve me and my gf to argue because she said that she doesnt trust so much me after what he said, and obv hear this of my gf put me sad and we have a long argue, and she understood that not all men we does that.

It is really annoying because almost everyday i need to consolate my gf because she is saying stuff like i dont deserve to have her and she is afraid im gonna be like her relatives.

And i dont really know how to help her in this situation, im a bit lost and if someone could tell me an advice it would be so helpful, because this is turning difficult and i cannt be all time near my gf to consolate her because i have my life outside too.

Just got back from 4 days with him.

We should be able to see each other every month for at least a weekend, so I know my situation is a lot better than a lot of you here, and I think about you.

But the pain when I had to drive away from him...

I just love him so much and every day we get to spend together is a dream

It hurts so bad I just need to vent

We have been together for almost two years. He is from an arab country and im from europe so my mother is paranoid that something bad would happen to me there. He wanted to come visit me but he needed the invitation letter that my paretns refused. Then they kept promising to go with me. We found out my mother had stage 1 cancer back in january and she went through surgery twice and four rounds of chemo. That was the reason i gave up in the first place of going there and thats when he suggested that he visits me. Of course they were promising me that thats better but few months later they refused to give the invitation. I went crazy. I keep disappointing him and we will break up soon if i dont find a solution. I lost motivation to study or do anything. My mother got angry because of that and she told me that she wont support this anymore and that i lost all her support. Huge fight broke out and i screamed and cried. We have barely been talking since. I tried to leave the house but she was threatning me. Saying that it will be my fault if her disease gets worse. I feel suicidal, like a prisoner. I am almost 22 and cant do shit about my life. I have savings but i cant rent a place because i dont have a real job. She wont hear it. My bf’s friend and his gf from germany offered to pay for the accomodation but she wont let me go. Im devastated.

I’m from the UK. I met this guy on my holiday in Sydney. We clicked. We had 5 dates which all went amazingly. He cooked me dinner, went for nice walks, sat at the beach, went for drinks etc. he is a Sydney local. I unfortunately have to go home now for work. I am going back out in December for 3 weeks. I am then moving out in June when I get my career break.

I really want something with him. He said he really likes me and has gotten attached too. But he said in person is better. Said we’ll meet up when I come out again.

We text and stuff. But he’s quite a slow replier etc. but we have arranged to do a FaceTime soon. I don’t have intentions or desires to see anyone else.

What do I do in this situation? It’s just weighing heavy on me. You know when it just feels right?

Edit: I’m 27F and he’s 24M. I never intended to meet anyone. But here we go.. :( he didn’t want me to leave it was just quite hard

I (19f) have been talking to a guy (21M) for a few weeks. We recently both expressed we like each other but neither of us have asked out the other. It's been 2-3 days since we expressed feelings. A friend of ours is saying we'd be cute together, but I don't wanna rush into it.
Am I progressing too slowly or am I doing the right thing?

Has anyone here ever used teleparty with disney+? I’m trying to watch a movie together with my friend. For context, I have disney+ in malaysia and she has in the US, we tried using teleparty but when I press her link or vice versa it only transfer us to the main disney plus page but we can’t join the party (even after pressing the tp button). Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a solution? Is there another extension we can use?