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Are we doomed? In love but unsatisfied

User Profile: AliceRabbit9
AliceRabbit9 June 21st, 2024

I'm not sure what category to put this under because I'm new to this. Thank you so much for clicking on my thread. I would appreciate ANY and all views on this topic - even if they're brutally honest.

I've been with my boyfriend for 7 years and we currently live together under his parent's roof with his siblings. We are in our late 20's.

I love this man, he is so fun, creative, imaginative, informed, talented, and the life of the party. He makes me laugh and we have a million great days. I see him being an amazing big brother, and a thoughtful son. But I'm not sure we're compatible anymore. 

When we first met, we both weighed less. We both didn't want kids. We both didn't care about marriage. Year later, understandably, he and I have changed. He is now very overweight, while I am now healthy-range-chubby. He grew his hair really long which isn't attractive to me (he loves it). He knows he wants kids 100%, but I don't know how I feel about having them yet. Sometimes we talk about what we would do as parents in a certain situation, but I don't coo at babies or think about how much I'd want them. It just isn't in my mind at this point. 

We've talked about getting married, and while I think it sounds nice, it just isn't that important to me. BF said he views marriage as a safety net for having kids (as in, they benefit from a two parent household with secure finances bla bla). So, if I don't want kids, we wouldn't get married. 

So here's my problem. I'm still in love with him. I love who he is. I love being a part of his family. I love the friends we've made together. But now it feels like our needs have shifted. And I'm scared of every single possibility. 

I'm scared that I stay with him, have kids I wasn't 100% sure about, and then resent all of them years later, sacrificing my career and lots of money. 

On the flip side, I'm terrified that we break up, I lose my best friend and long term partner, he moves on, I change my mind about kids and he's already long gone. 

I'm terrified of that regret. I'm terrified of staying when there could be a better match for BOTH of us out there.

Other issues affecting our relationship are sex and finances. For sex, he has a high sex drive and I do not. It's really hard for me to tell if my lack of sex drive is due to his appearance, our stress, or if it's just not who I am. I've never been a highly sexual person and was overall a late bloomer in that regard. I like sex when it's happening, but I do not crave it more than once a month. I've looked into many reasons why - hormones, adhd, depression, etc. which are all possible. But I don't feel the need to change myself at this time. It feels like such a silly topic to be wanting more sex when our lives are so busy. I would rather have a good meal most days. 

I feel like there's something wrong with me, like I'm broken. He in turn, feels ugly and unwanted because I don't initiate and often turn down advances because I can't get in the mood. I hate doing this to him, and I hate feeling wrong. 

I think it's important to note that he and I have always loved how we feel, how we kiss, etc. His skin is like warm lightning, and I love his thick lips. He's well endowed and I find that exciting, but not enough to want sex. 

To the finance part - I've been paying more than my share for years for any purchases. I told him at some point "sometimes it will be like this, right now I've got you, and soon you'll be able to take care of me if I need it". I meant that, but I feel I give him so much time, so much understanding, but I feel stressed from the now expectation that I will be the one working harder. I'm about to start a new job that will double my current income, and he has a part time gig at the moment. He's getting a small raise next month but it isn't enough to pay half of the bills and save money for his future. He doesn't have a car (his family used it to death), so he works near home. His family drives him sometimes, which is kind. He has plans in place to go back to school or get certain certifications which is a great sign. But that's another expense that I feel I'd be helping with. The family also relies on my car often and they owe me money. It's not his fault he was raised this way, but I'm scared it'll be a leech on my back forever to be associated with his family. 

He's making steps to get a better job, he might buy a cheap used car from a friend, he wants to do more with his music career which he's promising in, he is taking practice tests for IT certifications online. But all of this, alllll of it. Just feels.. eh? Like... I'm going to have to be the one who is always holding up the world. I'm going to work harder, stay up later, do all laundry, say no to his parents asking for loans, etc. 

I love him, why couldn't we just stay the way we were? I'm so sad that we may not be well matched anymore. I'm terrified. He still tells me daily that I'm amazing, he's proud of me, I'm beautiful, etc. he tells me how attractive I am, how impressed he is by my choices. But I feel so guilty for not fully feeling the same way - because his actions and appearance don't match to what I've come to think I deserve in a partner. 

Will anything save us? Are we doomed? How do I continue daily while having these thoughts? 


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User Profile: AliceRabbit9
AliceRabbit9 OP June 21st, 2024

@AliceRabbit9

here are some thoughts I've had on him recently when trying to think about this:

pros:

  • Funny, broad shoulders and tall, sweet/handsome face, pretty hair, good older AND younger brother, creative, artistic, full of stories, fame bound, never boring, comes with built in friends and family, similar interests, some similar goals, best friend, built in lover/roommate combo. He's my entire life right now, we do everything together, it's so nice to just talk.

Cons:

  • More into politics than I am, knows he wants kids, not as much tact when talking, addicted to caffeine, want him to lose weight, family leeches off of him, more into sex than I am, we both originally preferred different types of people, I like shorter hair on him better, the dandruff grosses me out and gets all over my car. 
1 reply
User Profile: toughTiger6481
toughTiger6481 June 22nd, 2024

@AliceRabbit9

In the end it will be the little things that you will grow to resent  ... the personal appearance and hair issue can be a turn off.  a person IMO should consider that when they do things like grow it out .... did you ever tell him you are not a big fan of it and like short hair on him better?    same thing with weight if you never spoke up they most likely do not know you think they could/ should lose a bit. 

  The unequal finances and family while great...leeching off him and not being on same page on finances becomes a bigger issue if you have kids and what you plan on doing buying a house or needing to upgrade a car etc, my issue currently is i save all the time and maximize my accounts to earn as much interest as possible and spouse has a *** ton of money sitting in house/ car not earning a penny in interest.... so why should i work so hard so when the time comes for retirement i get to fund it all?  .. it all takes takes a toll. unreliable transportation also becomes an issue.....rides here and there seem reasonable but some days you just may not feel that way  

I know it feels comfortable and he is your best friend etc but someday that will NOT be enough.   

Do not have kids hoping it will grow on you and while many people that are creative and artistic many do not make a living at those.... 

make a list for yourself and be honest .............what is a deal breaker for you? 

paying more then your fair share always waiting for the next plan or big break..... weight is not only sometimes unattractive but can take a toll on health ...... i was low libido was ok with a couple of times a month until i met someone else that turned me on... then i realized my best friend / partner was not doing that for me.  

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User Profile: WickedSick
WickedSick June 22nd, 2024

@AliceRabbit9


The overall impression I got from your post is that those issues are getting heavier and heavier for you, for example, " For sex, he has a high sex drive and I do not. It's really hard for me to tell if my lack of sex drive is because of his appearance, our stress"  then you mentioned " or if it's just not who I am. I've never been a highly sexual person and was overall a late bloomer in that regard." not the other way around, which shows that you are more and more unattracted to him, and its growing over the time, plus the other things.


So the questions now are, how long do you think you can keep it up? And how long do you think it would take him to get fed up with this and either leave or become so cold toward you? As we were talking yesterday, I mentioned as we grow older our priorities do change, are you sure yours won't change as well? 

User Profile: dukeofdearham
dukeofdearham June 22nd, 2024

@AliceRabbit9,

you seem to be struggling. Struggling with "how about me". A situation developed and you don't feel comfortable anymore with it. Maybe "knowing" deep down inside that something needs to change to prevent you from feeling more and more unhappy.  Like life is passing by and you're just watching it pass by.

It happens, it's normal when you've been with someone this long.

Have you talked to him about how you really feel? And no, it's got nothing to do with loving or not loving someone else. It's about loving you. Creating space for you. No distractions of daily life so you have time to listen to your heart. Your intuition.

We all need alone time. Maybe move out for a while and let him and his family look after themselves. Whatever the outcome. This is about you, your needs. Your life. Like, only give if it doesn't cost you. If it doesn't mean you're giving away part of who you really are. Being kind, gentle, honest to you hence to others.

If he truly loves you he'll understand. Maybe not right now, but in time. Give him time and space by giving yourself time and space.

I didn't (different situation) and I lost myself and losing me helped to lose the love of my life. Although we've started to try to create a friendship. And we can only try because we love ourselves more and genuinely love each other.

Do talk, do communicate, and do listen to your heart. Gut feelings tend to be right. Don't ignore them.

User Profile: 0m
0m June 24th, 2024

@AliceRabbit9

7 years is a long time and it sounds like you are currently both at different points in life, with different priorities.

One thing that stood out was - he is okay with talking marriage and kids with the assumption that it would cost your career (even though he hasn't a career, why isn't it him wanting to be the hands on parent to support your career which obviously would secure the finances that he talks of in that safety net of marriage) This sounds like the important conversations haven't happened yet.

Even though you both love each other, from what you shared, you are both making each other feel unwanted or unattractive.

It is indeed sad that things couldn't remain the way they were - as you grow up you understand and process stuff a lot better. People don't change all that much, we just understand better.

Moving forward, it really is upto you whether you feel the situation is worth giving it a go in having all those uncomfortable conversations to see what he thinks about the points you brought up. When two imperfect people choose to make things work, it can create a perfect relationship simply by both parties wanting to do their bit in listening and making things better for their partner. There is actually no perfect person who is going to just meet every single expectation and keep meeting them forever; it's about finding the lines that are hard no or if you want to be flexible with any.

I hope you find the path forward that brings you the happiness you deserve. All the best!