Healthy Relationships Support Group
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shaayy
This is my first post on this site and I'd really like some advice. I am very confused.
I am currently in a relationship with a man, and we've been together about 5 months. I have codependency issues but have been working on myself for years so I've made a lot of progress but still have the tendency to slip, sometimes quite quickly. Anyway, my boyfriend is very confident, charismatic, outgoing, and highly independent. In the first few months of dating before we became official, he was texting/calling me quite often, initiating conversations, planning dates and trying to be close with me. It's been really hard for me because after we became official, I really started to think about our differences and how there are things that I need in a relationship that I am not getting from him. I am unhappy and I'm confused, is this just me or is it because of him? I'll explain.
Even after we became official and had gotten past that beginning part of the relationship with all that oxytocin, I felt like we were really getting close. He was telling me all the time how he could see himself marrying me and having kids with me, and that he loves me. But when I'd stay over at his house and he had to leave early in the morning for work around 6 am, he continuously would make me leave and go home. This was okay at first, but when things started to progress and he continued to kick me out in the mornings, I had to say something. I told him it isn't fair that he won't allow me to sleep a few more hours and lock up when I leave, that I feel like some girl he is just sleeping with and doesn't want to let me get too close to him. He has a busy schedule, with work and school, and instead of dates, it turned into us spending time with each other at night when I'd get off of work. He distanced himself from me and broke up with me after I told him several times I don't feel important when he makes me leave every morning and won't even tell me why he doesn't want me in his house when he isn't there. He'd give me a different reason every time, or he just wouldn't talk about it. When we got back together, I decided to try to be happy for a month (per my therapist), no nagging or complaining or arguing....and it worked. We got closer, he wanted to talk to me and spend more time with me. He began telling me he loves me again, he wants to marry me, he loves spending time with me. He just wanted me to be happy. I told him I want to be happy as well, but two people have to work on the relationship together. It can't just be me letting everything go to keep the peace. I told him, as I have before, that I like romance, thoughtfulness, little gestures that let me know he cares and loves me and appreciates me. I do those things for him. I make dinner for him, baked brownies for him to surprise him since he had been saying for a week that he was craving brownies, cleaned up his kitchen several times when he needed it but was too busy with school and work, have taken off early repeatedly at work to spend time with him or to try to spend time with him. He's done things too but I honestly feel like I am making more of an effort and I am not getting what I need out of this relationship. When he was on summer break from school and had the full weekends off, he was spending them with his family and friends, not even trying to make any time for me. We had broken up around that time after he repeatedly spent weekends away, not inviting me to anything, texting me a few times a day but not responding back to me (basically it was him saying good morning and good night). He spent the first two weekends with me after we had gotten back together, and that's when things started to get better. We got closer, we started joking and laughing again, things felt great. I felt happy. He was happy. But then we had an argument, about a week ago. It was about the fact that he turned his phone off on a friday night, without calling or texting me anything. I had no idea what was going on when I called him and his phone was off. We both have trust issues and agreed to work on them with each other, so I was surprised when his phone was off and had not received any sort of contact from him that night. I freaked out and had to calm myself down, because i immediately thought he had turned his phone off because he was with another girl. He never turns his phone off, and he always says something to me, if nothing else, he says good night. The next day he apologized and said he simply went to bed. The other part of the argument was when we were together one night, it was late, and his phone rang twice in a row while we were lying in bed. I NEVER am concerned with his phone or with who calls, but it was late and I remembered how a girl had called him on a saturday night months ago....and found out it was an ex who wanted to sleep with him. Anyway, I asked if he was going to check his phone. He said no. I told him it'd make me feel better if he checked it, and that I kind of wanted to know who it was. He refused, telling me it didn't matter who called and he was only concerned with me, not his phone. It seemed shady to me and I started spiraling. He finally checked his phone after he refused for a half hour. He said it was his best friend but I still didn't believe him. I didn't understand why he put up such a fight about it. The next day we talked it out, and I started to feel better about it. But things haven't been the same since. I've been feeling really insecure, he still hasn't made any efforts on his part. No sweet gestures, still made me leave his house the other morning at 5:30 am when I had driven all the way to his house the night before at 10 pm to see him. He hasn't been texting or calling as much. No joking around unless we are together. The communication bothers me. I like to be close to my boyfriend, like really good friends who can talk to each other whenever and don't spend a whole day before replying back to a text or a call. We just talked about this stuff the other day and he said he understands, he will do whatever it takes to make me happy. But it's the weekend, and he's not around. He texted me this morning but was kind of distant. Sent a text tonight, I responded and he never replied back.
I know this is all confusing and jumbled, but I'm panicking. I am very unhappy and depressed. I feel really alone in this relationship. I want him to buy me flowers and be sweet and show me that I am important to him, not just say it to me. Actions speak louder than words, right? I don't know if I am expecting too much, being too dramatic, if I'm slipping into my codependency patterns, or if my boyfriend is just not making much of an effort to be with me. Any advice would help me tremendously. Thank you.
I am currently in a relationship with a man, and we've been together about 5 months. I have codependency issues but have been working on myself for years so I've made a lot of progress but still have the tendency to slip, sometimes quite quickly. Anyway, my boyfriend is very confident, charismatic, outgoing, and highly independent. In the first few months of dating before we became official, he was texting/calling me quite often, initiating conversations, planning dates and trying to be close with me. It's been really hard for me because after we became official, I really started to think about our differences and how there are things that I need in a relationship that I am not getting from him. I am unhappy and I'm confused, is this just me or is it because of him? I'll explain.
Even after we became official and had gotten past that beginning part of the relationship with all that oxytocin, I felt like we were really getting close. He was telling me all the time how he could see himself marrying me and having kids with me, and that he loves me. But when I'd stay over at his house and he had to leave early in the morning for work around 6 am, he continuously would make me leave and go home. This was okay at first, but when things started to progress and he continued to kick me out in the mornings, I had to say something. I told him it isn't fair that he won't allow me to sleep a few more hours and lock up when I leave, that I feel like some girl he is just sleeping with and doesn't want to let me get too close to him. He has a busy schedule, with work and school, and instead of dates, it turned into us spending time with each other at night when I'd get off of work. He distanced himself from me and broke up with me after I told him several times I don't feel important when he makes me leave every morning and won't even tell me why he doesn't want me in his house when he isn't there. He'd give me a different reason every time, or he just wouldn't talk about it. When we got back together, I decided to try to be happy for a month (per my therapist), no nagging or complaining or arguing....and it worked. We got closer, he wanted to talk to me and spend more time with me. He began telling me he loves me again, he wants to marry me, he loves spending time with me. He just wanted me to be happy. I told him I want to be happy as well, but two people have to work on the relationship together. It can't just be me letting everything go to keep the peace. I told him, as I have before, that I like romance, thoughtfulness, little gestures that let me know he cares and loves me and appreciates me. I do those things for him. I make dinner for him, baked brownies for him to surprise him since he had been saying for a week that he was craving brownies, cleaned up his kitchen several times when he needed it but was too busy with school and work, have taken off early repeatedly at work to spend time with him or to try to spend time with him. He's done things too but I honestly feel like I am making more of an effort and I am not getting what I need out of this relationship. When he was on summer break from school and had the full weekends off, he was spending them with his family and friends, not even trying to make any time for me. We had broken up around that time after he repeatedly spent weekends away, not inviting me to anything, texting me a few times a day but not responding back to me (basically it was him saying good morning and good night). He spent the first two weekends with me after we had gotten back together, and that's when things started to get better. We got closer, we started joking and laughing again, things felt great. I felt happy. He was happy. But then we had an argument, about a week ago. It was about the fact that he turned his phone off on a friday night, without calling or texting me anything. I had no idea what was going on when I called him and his phone was off. We both have trust issues and agreed to work on them with each other, so I was surprised when his phone was off and had not received any sort of contact from him that night. I freaked out and had to calm myself down, because i immediately thought he had turned his phone off because he was with another girl. He never turns his phone off, and he always says something to me, if nothing else, he says good night. The next day he apologized and said he simply went to bed. The other part of the argument was when we were together one night, it was late, and his phone rang twice in a row while we were lying in bed. I NEVER am concerned with his phone or with who calls, but it was late and I remembered how a girl had called him on a saturday night months ago....and found out it was an ex who wanted to sleep with him. Anyway, I asked if he was going to check his phone. He said no. I told him it'd make me feel better if he checked it, and that I kind of wanted to know who it was. He refused, telling me it didn't matter who called and he was only concerned with me, not his phone. It seemed shady to me and I started spiraling. He finally checked his phone after he refused for a half hour. He said it was his best friend but I still didn't believe him. I didn't understand why he put up such a fight about it. The next day we talked it out, and I started to feel better about it. But things haven't been the same since. I've been feeling really insecure, he still hasn't made any efforts on his part. No sweet gestures, still made me leave his house the other morning at 5:30 am when I had driven all the way to his house the night before at 10 pm to see him. He hasn't been texting or calling as much. No joking around unless we are together. The communication bothers me. I like to be close to my boyfriend, like really good friends who can talk to each other whenever and don't spend a whole day before replying back to a text or a call. We just talked about this stuff the other day and he said he understands, he will do whatever it takes to make me happy. But it's the weekend, and he's not around. He texted me this morning but was kind of distant. Sent a text tonight, I responded and he never replied back.
I know this is all confusing and jumbled, but I'm panicking. I am very unhappy and depressed. I feel really alone in this relationship. I want him to buy me flowers and be sweet and show me that I am important to him, not just say it to me. Actions speak louder than words, right? I don't know if I am expecting too much, being too dramatic, if I'm slipping into my codependency patterns, or if my boyfriend is just not making much of an effort to be with me. Any advice would help me tremendously. Thank you.
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Also, the next time you are in a relationship, try not to do wifey things early on - like cleaning the kitchen, folding laundry, etc..treat a man well, but save that for later.
I always do stupid crap like that - go out of my way for a person who had no serious intentions towards me and just takes me for granted.
if the person that wrote it was a friend of yours, what advice would you give them?
the guy is at best a manipulative jerk
He loves that you do wifey things for him ...like clean up..etc...
and he gets sex too.
He didn't even invite you to be with friends and family? That is a Huge red flag.
Dump him and don't look back.
And I agree don't do all that wife-y stuff so soon in the relationship. I know it can feel like you're doing it to show you care but there's a desperation quality to it, like if I do all these things maybe he'll pay attention to me. You shouldn't have to act like a housekeeper for your boyfriend to pay attention to you.
We only get your angle on the relationship so to be fair, without knowing his side, it's hard to say if he's reacting to you being what may feel to him like you being clingy. I'm not saying you are, just that we can't really know. If your therapist is good, she'll be able to help you get to a place where you can look at the situation and know for sure if this is just not the right person for you or if you have realistic expectations or if he just is not the guy for you. Five months is usually way too early to start talking marriage and kids in most relationships so that part is what makes me think this is not merely a situation of him being a bad guy but just jumping into wanting something serious too fast.
Have to agree with the others. He has compartmentalized you into "the sex zone" and likes the wifey things you do like cleaning his house, but apparently doesn't want a wife occupying his house when he's not there. Maybe he doesn't trust you, thinks maybe you'll steal from him or bring some other guy over to have sex with, maybe he doesn't trust himself, wants to bring some other woman home to have sex with and doesn't want you, his pseudo-wifey, already there to have the other woman ask that awkward question, "who's this?".
I'm even more confused now.....but you all are right. This isn't a healthy relationship and I deserve to feel important and appreciated and loved.
I dated a lot of men and none of them ever kicked me out in the morning.
You sound like you want him to care about you the same way that you do and this is completely Fine.
is as does
the boyfriend has his own secretive agenda, that is not the foundation of a relationship
I have no idea whether he's a cheater or not... He doesn't want to have to account for his day....who calls him etc though...
It doesn't seem as though you're on the same page with your needs... If someone wanting me to go home at 6 am... I would only stay the nights that I didn't need to be up early...Perhaps it would be better for him to stay at your place and you can just roll over
I know that I wouldn't want to have to account for every minute and every phone call and it would have nothing to do with cheating
@rmb & @SunCloudJD, your inputs have really helped me to feel better tonight. I don't like to immediately think, oh he's hiding something or, oh he doesn't really feel the way he says he does because of X, Y and Z. What if, that's just who he is. What if, he likes his space and he doesn't trust people to be in his house. He doesn't even let his parents stay at his house when he isn't there. He and I talked this afternoon. I brought up some of my feelings. He told me that he has been used to having his own space and being independent since he graduated high school and moved out of his parent's house. He told me he does a lot of things on his own, he doesn't spend a lot of time with someone constantly, and he isn't a big texter. But it doesn't mean he doesn't want to see me and spend time with me. I think this is just who he is. He is feeling comfortable in our relationship and is being himself now. This doesn't make it okay, that he isn't making much of an effort with me and that I don't feel cherished with him the way I should. I will take everyone's advice here and stop doing those "wifey" things and stop making so much of an effort when he isn't.
You are different people, he is independant and you are codependant, and I'm not so sure the two work well together.
I don't think it's a matter of him not wanting to spend time with you, as much as it is he values his time on his own, and a codependant person would be his nemesis. You would be weighing him down, while he would be leaving you feeling empty and alone. Yes he says he wants to settle down, but it's not your version of settling down, and talk is cheap.
The Friday night episode, where he said he fell asleep, yet his phone was turned off when it's never turned off, and those late-night calls, are big fluttering red flags for me, I'm sorry to say. Your gut feeling may have been correct, and your desire to succeed in this relationship may be clouding your ability to judge excuses that simply don't add up.
You're not being overly codependant, or dramatic, you're being realistic, smart, and introspective. You know what you need from a relationship, and although he may have a lot of it, he may not have what you need to thrive, feel supported, loved, cherished and secure.
I wish you well.