Dear Milena:

You wrote that your boyfriend “had a big fight with his parents and he also wanted to earn money and move out”- did he move out from his parents’ home or is he still living there?

You wrote: “He wanted a break from our relationship because he wanted to ‘live his life’. He wanted to drink, party and meet his friends, without a burden (that burden was me)”-

It reads to me that he is not out of his parents’ home and has not lived independently yet, which is not uncommon for a 22 year old young man these days. He sees you as a parent figure, someone who tells him what to do, someone who wants him home at a certain time, and he doesn’t want that parental-like control, a burden to him.

He wants a girlfriend but he is not yet independent so he is confused about having a girlfriend vs. a parent. He sees a reasonable request from a girlfriend as an intrusion by a parent who tries to control him and “rain on his parade”, interrupt his time with his friends.

You asked “Does he really love me?”- I think he needs to live independently before this question can be answered.

anita