Thank you for writing this….
I have been in a relationship for many years exactly as the one described… Apart from he refuses to live together. I broke up with him after 7 years of this behaviour, and he wrote letters and opened up to me (only after losing me) and I gave him a second chance.
Things were to be different, we were engaged prior to the break, and the only time a date for a wedding was made was after we got back together. However, that was the only thing to change, a wedding…….
2 and a half years later, making it a total of 10 years later, we still do not live together, it is my shame saying how my husband will only visit me for an hour at the most at night.
It it a great question you asked, do you stay or leave? How long do we give of ourselves waiting on others?
For the first time in all these years, I felt a wave of relief seeing I am not the only one, and I thank you for that.