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Help With My Relationship… Advice

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  • #126483
    Debbie
    Participant

    Hello all… I am new to this but I have been going through a similar situation with my fiancé, well I guess my ex-fiancé right now. I need some clarity & advise. I have had my share of failing relationships in the past. I am a 37 year old single mother of one boy (17 years old). I met the most amazing guy about 18 months ago. For him, as he told me, it was love at first sight. For me, it took me some time to get there because of all in insecurities from past my past relationship, which was an abusive one. I explained this all to him in the first couple of weeks as to why I was so guarded with him & he was the most kind, loving patient man throughout. I finally opened up & allowed myself to love & when it realized it, I fell hard & fast. Our relationship was a whirlwind! Perfect in every way! We never fought, we never needed space or broke up. We discussed marriage & our life long goals. Because we are both older, him being 38, we both knew what we were looking for. He ended up proposing to me last Memorial Day, 8 months into our relationship! What a surprise it was for me! The happiest moment in my life, aside from the birth of my son. We started to plan the wedding within two weeks! We picked the date, August of 2017, Found the venue & booked it, met with the church, everything! Booked everything & even started paying off the vendors, some in full! We were in bliss… And I guess I was a little in shock that this man really wanted to marry me! I would ask him all the time, did you feel pressured to get engaged? His answer always was no… I WANT TO MARRY YOU! I would randomly ask him, joking around, you still want to marry me & his answer was always the same, “of course I want to marry you! You are the best thing that has every happened to me! I love you & you are going to be my wife”.
    This past September he was offered a huge promotion at work, to become the superintendent of his own “facility”! He felt it was the smart career move for him to continue to grow. With this promotion, he would have to move. Not out of state, just to the facility where he would be working to be there 24/7 in case something happened. It would be “free housing” for him. He seemed so excited & positive! I supported him through it all! It looked like everything was falling into place! He was placed on probation for 12 months to prove that he can handle this position & that he is a “good fit” for it.
    He has a best friend of 17 plus years, who happens to be another female. he dated her over 15 years ago but they decided they were better off as friends. Since that time, she has become a lesbian & is in a long term relationship herself, engaged & all. When he proposed, he asked me if I would mind if she could be his “Best Man”! I was so elated that I had agreed to it. Her & I got along fine up until this point. Everything changed once he out that ring on my finger. Suddenly she would be disrespectful to me or pass crude comments to me or about his & my relationship. It all came to a head recently… more to come on this later in this post.
    He started his new position in September of 2016. He literally walked into a nightmare. Everything was falling apart at this new place. The employee’s were drama filled & did nothing but complain about each other. He was still learning his “new position” & the people that worked there & trying to get a handle on the day to day activities that occur there & handle all the repairs that needed to be done as well. There were suppose to be three “managers” there to run this, him being the #1 in command… well he is still the ONLY person there in charge & everything is falling on him! I saw the stress in him & the change in his mental status. He could never leave work at work. It followed him everywhere. He began to lose weight, he wasn’t sleeping properly, eating healthy or even at all at some points. I expressed my concerns to him regarding this. I probably didn’t word it the best way or said it to him at the right times, but I cannot change what has been done or said. The week before Christmas, he had come to me & asked me if I could make amends with his best friend. It hurt me because I felt like he was not standing up for me & asking her to apologize to me for what had happened between us. I broke down & cried to him & explained how I was feeling. I told him every comment she passed to me or about me. I explained how I feel she does not respect our relationship & how I was uncomfortable with her standing next to him at the alter, signing off on our marriage license, when she doesn’t even support or respect us a couple. He thought I was going to leave him & not marry him! He begged me not to leave & to please forgive him for me asking to reach out to her. He assured me that I was the love of his life & how he didn’t understand how strongly I felt about this & he would rectify it. I told him that I would NEVER tell him who he can or cannot be friends with & will respect his friendship with her but he needs to respect how I feel & ask her to step down from the bridal party. He agreed with me & told me he would handle it. He again, told me how he cannot even imagine life without me & how much he loves me & wants to marry me. He even went as far as telling me that he already sees me as his wife & he cannot wait to spend the rest of our days together!
    I had gotten sick the day before Christmas Eve with the stomach bug & we were suppose to be driving to visit his parents out of state Christmas morning. I told him that if I was not well enough he should go without me. He was adamant that we wait until Christmas morning to see how I felt because he wanted me to go with him! So that is what we did. We had an amazing trip! Everything was perfect! His parents were, as always, more than gracious to host us & we had the best time! We returned home four days later & spent New Years together! Toasting to 2017 as the best year because we become Husband & Wife!
    Three weeks ago, this coming Thursday, we had our normal phone conversation on my commute to work. Everything was fine! Normal… he was stressed about his day with work but nothing out of the norm. We ended the conversation with him telling me he loved me & would call me later.
    That evening when I spoke to him on the phone he told me he had a horrible day at work. He found out he wasn’t getting any help at his job for another three months, they added more responsibility to his job, the house we would be moving into wouldn’t be ready until the fall…just everything went to crap that day! He was suppose to have band practice that night but he cancelled, completely out of character for him. I asked him if he wanted me to come over & he said he was so tired, then passed a comment to me, “see I can’t even give our relationship any time… I don’t know if I can do this anymore”. I panicked! I asked him if he was breaking up with me & he said, I don’t know. I hung up immediately and got sick to my stomach. I got in the car & decided to drive to his house to see if I could talk to him, calm him down… I called him on the way & told him I coming.
    When I got there he met me at the door. He looked beyond defeated & upset. We went to talk & all he could get was I can’t do this anymore. I am at my breaking point. I can’t handle another thing at work, they keep adding more & more things to my plate, the house won’t be ready until the fall, I can’t give our relationship the time it needs, I can’t give you what you deserve. I can’t even get excited about the wedding because it is stressing me out. I don’t know how I am going to be able to pay for it (because to be honest, he is paying for the whole wedding. I couldn’t give him any monies except what we made at our engagement party & once my tax returns came in, that would all go to him plus extra monies in 2017 that came in with my raise)… I just can’t do this anymore. I asked him, don’t you love me anymore? He said yes, of course I Love you but I can’t do this anymore. So I asked him are you breaking up with me? He replied, I just can’t do this, you aren’t listening to me. Again I asked him, ARE you breaking up with me? Again he replied with you don’t understand, I just can’t do it anymore. So for a third time I said, ARE YOU ENDING THIS? He shook his head yes, then muttered out the word YES. I broke down. I didn’t know what to do. I was blindsided! Everything was fine 7 hours ago! How did this all happen? I took off my ring & threw it on his bed & left! I was devastated. When I got home of course my closest friends & my family were all there to support me. They told me that he was just stresses & to give him time. I text him the following morning simply saying:
    I understand you are under a lot of stress. I am here for you when you want to talk. I truly love you with all my heart.
    I got no response.. Friday – nothing, Saturday – Nothing, Sunday – Nothing. So I then text him again Monday evening saying:
    Thinking of you… I am sure you are not ready to talk to me but if you could please just let me know you are ok
    I got back within 10 seconds:
    I’m ok…I’ll call you this week
    I felt a little relieved. At least he acknowledged me. So I waited… no call Tuesday, no call Wednesday, no call Thursday… I was dying more & more every day but I wanted to respect him. he said he would call me. I didn’t want to add anymore pressure to him. By Friday, I was at my wits end. I received tickets to his favorite sports team for Saturday nights game. So I thought I would bring them to him & some dinner to show him that I care & that I am thinking of you. Take these tickets & have a relaxing fun night. So I text him:
    Hey are you going to be home tonight? I have something for you I would like to drop off.
    He replied:
    Hey. I’ll be home this evening, what time you planning to stop by?
    I said after 7pm.
    He said ok text me when you are on your way…
    So that is what I did. I was so nervous the whole way there.
    When I got there, I knocked on the door because I didn’t want to just walk in. He answered & I handed him the Burger King (yes I know not healthy but he loves it) I bought him dinner & said here, didn’t know if you had eaten at all. He took it & said thank you but he was in the ER Wednesday night with his brother until 4am because he got sick off BK. Wonderful, is what went through my head. He invited me in & we went into the living room. I didn’t even take off my jacket because I didn’t want him to think I was there to talk about what happened.
    He engaged the conversation. He said, “I truly am sorry, I never meant to hurt you. This has been hell week for me. I have been working 13+ hours a day, I was in the ER with my brother all night the other night. But I had some time to think & I realized that my feelings have changed & I no longer want this”
    I was again, in shock. My immediate reaction was to cry, but I didn’t. I told him that I loved him & that I wish he had communicated all this to me when he first started feeling this way. I wished him good luck with his job & in life in general & I left.
    I was heartbroken because this came out of no where! So the next day I text him that I didn’t understand what had happened! One morning it was I love you then a few hours later it was I am ending this! It just makes no sense! He text me back, which didn’t even sound like him, there is nothing to wrap your head around. I said everything I did because I was trying to believe that I still was in love with you, when I wasn’t.
    It just makes no sense to me! All the monies he has paid out already! The things he said to me, the way he was acting up until that Tursday evening! There were no signs. he did not change the way he acted towards me. The intimacy was still there. He still held my hand! My God, that Monday we were talking about invitations! In fact that phone conversation Thursday morning we were talking about the bridal party & everything! How did this happen??
    I don’t know what to do anymore! Do I leave him alone? Do I go to him? What?
    My therapist says stress does a lot to a person & he clearly is not thinking rationally. There are a lot of changed going on with him right now. Change in his job, housing, friends, marriage… he can’t handle it all. He is cracking. He can’t give up his career & he is failing at it now & can’t keep his head above water… so what has to give? What can he get rid of to eleviate some of this stress? He said… ME. And he said his feelings changed to make it easier on him, less guilt because he cannot deal.
    I believe that! I truly do, yet I am still scared! My whole life was just thrown away… and I don’t know what the best steps to take here is!
    Please help me! Advise? Opinions… anything! Please

    #126484
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear debbie79:

    When he told you he couldn’t do it anymore and you asked him if he was breaking up with you, he said you don’t understand. Following him saying that you insisted: “ARE YOU ENDING THIS?”-

    That was a mistake on your part, a failure in communication. Clearly, your separation anxiety was triggered and all you wanted to know was if he was ending the relationship. Nothing else mattered to you at that point. It was like there was a siren in your brain going “danger! danger!” and you focused on nothing but that danger.

    He was correct, I believe: you did not understand what he was saying or what was going on with him. The thing is, this is only a clear example of this dynamic, you being very afraid of the abandonment danger (this is why you kept asking him initially if he really wanted to marry you; you were too scared to find comfort in the notion and looked for reassurance that marriage was really going to happen).

    I don’t know the man, of course. What I do understand nonetheless is that he has been alone with his struggles. This is why he said that you didn’t understand. You were simply too focused on the “danger!” – then and before- to be mentally available to see what is going on with him.

    Will communicate further with you, if you’d like, following your next thoughts.

    anita

    #126485
    Debbie
    Participant

    I agree with you 100%. My mind set was on the end of our relationship & not him & what he was going through at that moment. As the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. When I arrived at his house that Thursday night, I should have went to him & hugged him, kissed his cheek, comforted him & be the rock that he needed at that time. Instead I stood there, stone cold, with my arms crossed, showing I was closed off, just firing questions at him about me & our relationship instead of offering my ear & supporting him. I was too wrapped up in me & the wedding, relationship, oppose to seeing that he is hurting. I see that now… But now, do I fix this? Can I even fix this? It is going on three weeks without communication. I wanted to leave him alone to get myself strong so that I can be what he needs & not this needy girl. I know he has enough on his plate right now, more than he can handle clearly. It worries me because I don’t feel he has the best support system around him. I know your friends support your decision & are there to make you feel better. Are they feeding into this? Especially the best friend who doesn’t like me? There are so many unknown variables right now. And yes, I know the only person that has the answers is him. But at this time & given his present state of mind, is he thinking more clear? I am sure his work has not eased up in the past couple of weeks.

    I just don’t know what to do here! Please help me!

    #126486
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear debbie79:

    You wrote: “I know the only person that has the answers is him.”- I don’t think he has the answers, not at all. You suggested, I believe, that hindsight is not valuable because you can not bring back time, so what is the use… well, much use, I say because much more.. insight is yet to be developed, on your part.

    I am seeing more and more in my daily life, and I can see that you need more insight. I can see it because you think he has the answers.

    It is very common for a person feeling weak, dependent, emotionally, to imagine the person you are involved with, especially if it is a man (the stronger gender… I think not), to imagine that the man is stronger, has the answers. So you told him early on about your insecurities, assuming he will take care of you that way. He was loving and patient with you and you relaxed into the relationship, falling hard.

    Thing is, at the time he was strong enough to be loving and patient. Then things happened and he was no longer strong. And he is still not strong.

    I don’t know about his friend, the woman you mentioned. What her role is in his life.

    More of concern, if you are interested in reviving this relationship, is what you do, what role you have in his life. Develop more your insight about being blind to his weakness because of your great need for outside strength, write more about it, if you will. Maybe this will help you to communicate this issue to him in a way where you show him that you are able and willing to share struggles with him, to work on those together, to take care of each other, instead of it being a one-way.

    I wonder if at first he felt good about you being emotionally dependent on him, if it made him feel strong. But then, when he was struggling day in and day out, he needed a strong woman.

    anita

    #126490
    Debbie
    Participant

    All of what you say is true… I do see him as the “man” therefore, needs to be the strong one in our relationship. And I do see where I failed as his “future wife” the strong, independent woman! He was extremely patient with me for the first two months of our relationship. He was patient, he was kind & understanding. As you said in your earlier reply, I was very insecure in the relationship is the very beginning. And yet through it all, he stood by me. Which is quite the dilemma I am in now… I do need to show him that I can be the strong & that I can be dependable. I need to show him that when he is having a rough patch, I can be there to support him & pick him up when he is down.

    My therapist said to me on day one tell me three of his best qualities & three of his worst. He said to me think about it before you answer. So I sat there & really thought.

    His three Best Qualities Are:
    – Patient
    – Loving
    – Generous (not in a materialist way)

    His three Worst qualities are:
    – Work-a-holic
    – People Pleaser
    – Bad Communicator

    The therapist then asked me, so what did I do that was so horrible to this man that would make him want to leave me? Make him fall out of love with me?

    Did you cheat on him? No
    Did you lie to him? No
    Did you abuse him? No
    Are you abusing substances? No
    Did you steal from him? No
    Did you gamble his money away? No

    He then said, ok… so you didn’t do any of those things that would cause him to change his mind about you, therefore, you need to stop playing the “blame game” with yourself. He said that right now, my fiancé feels like he is failing & there are a million things that are changing in his life right now. He cannot keep up with his work, failure, he cannot give your relationship the time it needs, failure, he cannot give you what you deserve (as he told me), failure, he cannot keep his best friend happy, failure… you add all of these things together plus the fact that everything is changing in the process, his new position, which is a huge undertaking, the change in his status – single to married, the change with his friendship, the changing of homes… he said all of these things are huge to deal with let alone, and for him, everything is happening all at once. He said that right now my fiancé is running around in the dark forest bumping into trees because he is running with his eyes close. That he has no idea where he is going or how he is even going to get there. The therapist said to me that he ended our relationship the way he did NOT because he doesn’t love me or his feelings have changed, rather that it makes him feel less guilty that he ended the relationship. He made a clean cut & thought it would be enough to make me hate him & make me walk away because he can’t deal with everything that is going on. My therapist said that we need to make me stronger & more self confident so that I can go to my fiancé, and sit him down & say, “Listen to me, listen to every word I am saying. Don’s answer me right now, just hear me out & think about it… I Love You. I am not giving up on you, I am not giving up on US! I am here to support you. Let me in! Let me be your support system when times get rough. Let me be your sounding board when you have had a stressful day. I am a strong woman! I was a strong woman before you & I will be a strong woman after you! No woman will ever love you the way that I do! We made a commitment to each other & I value that above all! Get it through your head, I LOVE YOU & I AM NOT GOING ANYWHERE”

    Then he told me not to say another word because everything else I say after that will just be white noise & go in one ear & out the other. That he will stop listening to me… But I need to believe that in myself & I need to get there. I am struggling with that right now because I am hurt. And he cut me out of his life completely! I want to be able to say all these things to him because I feel it but I am afraid that I will crumble. I am afraid that I will push him over the edge!

    I agree that he felt good in the beginning knowing that he is the “man” & that I depend on him but he also needs to know that I am just as strong & can do the same for him.

    #126491
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear debbie79:

    Truth is, neither one of you is as strong as you would like to be and none of you is as weak as you sometimes often believe you are. If I was to talk with him, I wouldn’t present myself as strong. That would not be believable because of what he already witnessed. I would present myself, if it was true, as one aware that I behaved weaker than I am, that I relied on him for strength, when in reality, there is nothing about the male species (other than muscle mass perhaps) that is stronger than the female species.

    I would let him know how I viewed him, me and the relationship in the past and how I view it now. What I learned. I would tell him that changing how you behave, changing how he behaves and changing the nature of the relationship will be a process, with both parties willing. Both of you need to turn to each other for help and comfort. It is not unmanly on his part.

    I was wondering, when you cried and told him about every rude comment the friend said to you and he was afraid you will leave him, begging you not to leave him, was that because you threatened to leave him?

    I am wondering how much pressure you put on him during the relationship, regarding the friend, regarding his tough time at the new job, fueled by your distress in seeing your (hope for a) rock of a man turned against you, maybe, by the other woman, or seeing him crumble at his new work situation?

    Will be back in a few hours.

    anita

    #126492
    Debbie
    Participant

    Good Point Anita –
    When everything happened with regard to the best friend, I told him that would not be able to marry him if things continued the way they were going, 🙁 . I told him that I felt like he did not understand where I was coming from & that he did not defend me the way I feel he defends her actions. Let me give you a little background here on this friendship.

    My fiancé is the middle child. He has an older brother that was in the military & then of course there is the baby… For a while, his older brother was over seas (7 years) & the younger brother was away at college living in another state with his friend. My fiancé had the run of the house at the time & all attention was on him. About a year into this, his mother told him that it was time for him to be on his own. That he had a good job & he needed to stand on his own two feet. So that is what he did. He moved out of the family home & got an apartment. Right after he moved out, his parents put their family house up for sale & moved away to a different state, leaving my fiancé here by himself. So his whole family was “dissolved” in a matter of a year and a half. During this time, he met this girl, we will call her “Daisy”. Daisy was into the same things my fiancé was such as metal music & playing instruments. They became friends & then were more than friends. I think the relationship lasted a little over a year but according to my fiancé, “Daisy” & him were better as friends and that is how they stayed for many years. “Daisy” became bi-sexual & got involved with this girl & they moved in together. Apparently, “Daisy” did not have a good home life & considered my fiancé as her family. She relied on him for everything. For example, when “Daisy” & her gf were living with “Daisy’s” mother & her mother disowned her & kicked her out, my fiancé told them to come live with him in his house at the facility he worked at until they got on their feet & were able to get a place of their own. So for a few months that is what was going on. “Daisy” & her gf eventually moved out into an apartment together but then they broke up. So “Daisy” ran back to my fiancé and asked to move back in because she had no where to go. So my fiancé, being who he is welcomed her back in. Well “Daisy” & her gf ended up back together & then they all moved back in with my fiancé. So once again, it was a little “Family” for a year or two. Then my fiancé got another promotion at work & had to relocate to another facility… at that point, you would think “Daisy” & her gf would have been on their own or a good time to find a place to live by themselves, NOPE! They moved with him to the new home. And lived there for another two years, up until I met him in the fall of 2015. They finally moved out to their own place in January of 2016 after “Daisy’s” gf said it is time to move on & let him live out his new life with his new girlfriend, me. So I think she kind of had resentment towards me at that point because he was no longer there all the time for her. When “Daisy’s” gf was working or had something to do, my fiancé was with me. I think she thought I was going to be another flavor of the month or a passing phase. But when our relationship took a turn to the more serious side & he proposed, that is when everything went upside down. She would pass comments fir example, she said to my fiancé, “Oh I thought you wanted to get married in a kilt?” & he replied, “I did when I was younger but not anymore” & she was not ok with that answer. She immediately said why are you letting her change you or she doesn’t know you the way I do. There was always constant little digs being thrown at me. For our engagement party, I bought my bridesmaid’s these sterling silver bracelets & he got the guys personalized socks. I told my fiancé that we should get “Daisy” something different & he was adamant that she was to get socks too… I told him, I understand she is on your side of the bridal party but she is STILL IN FACT A FEMALE. He was like, no she is one of us… Here is another example, “Daisy” got hurt on the job. Who would be the first person you call? I know for me it would have been my fiancé, for her it wasn’t. It was MY fiancé! It is like she is jealous of him & I, not because she wants him in a romantic way, but she wants him to be her “person” so to speak. At our engagement party, “Daisy” made a fool of herself in front of all of my family & friends. It was hard trying to explain their friendship to everyone that had never met her before & quite uncomfortable for me to be completely honest. She was grabbing him in the dance floor, constantly taking selfies of herself with him. Being obnoxious & crude… and at the end of the night, when we went to say good bye to her & her gf she completely turned her back to me, kissed my fiancé on the cheek & walked out! I was so upset! I didn’t know it at the time but, my fiancé went after her that night in the parking lot to yell at her for doing that to me. The following day was the first time I brought this up to him. He told me he would take care of it. Now it took him months to say anything to her about it because he doesn’t like confrontation & he doesn’t like to hurt ANYONE’S feelings. He truly does have an amazing heart, however, by doing that, it caused me much hurt & frustration because I felt like he did not have my back as my partner/future husband should have. He finally did say something to her about it & I am not exactly sure when he did this but “Daisy” told him that I need to apologize to her for being rude to her. He never told me this…
    Which now brings us to present time, the week before Christmas he asked me if I could reach out to her for him & make amends because there will be a lot of things coming up that we will all be together & he wants us to all get along. That is when I told him about all the hurt I had been holding onto & how I felt. That is when I told him that I cannot marry him if she is standing up there as his “Best Grooms Woman”. I was holding off on saying anything because I know how important his friends are to him & I respect that 110% however, I am going to be your wife, I needed to let go of all this pent up frustration I had with this situation & explain my feelings. That is when he begged me not to leave him. When he basically re-proposed, getting back down on one knee, asking me to marry him again. Telling me that I am his world & he does not want to go a day without me. He told me that day for him it was love at first sight. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. He told me that he sees me already as his wife & that I am & will always be his #1 priority!

    Two weeks later, here we are… him, telling me that he doesn’t feel the same way anymore about me & that he was forcing himself to say those things to make himself believe them. To me, that is not it. It doesn’t feel right to me. When you fall out of love with someone, you don’t want to be with them, let alone around them. You don’t pull them close into you while you are on the couch watching TV or a movie. You don’t reach for their hand while walking through a store. You aren’t intimate with them anymore. You don’t text them every night, even after we see each other, “I love you, sweet dreams”. You don’t text the, EVERY morning when you wake up, “Good Morning Beautiful” then call them on your way to work! Those things would have ended. I would have felt the divide or disconnect.

    I am so afraid of losing this man! I don’t know how to make this right! I pray everyday, three, four, five times a day! I am so lost! I can’t eat, I can’t sleep… I have lost over 25 lbs. in two & a half weeks. I feel so out of control & lost. He is my home, my comfort. I want to hear his voice again. I want to taste his kiss. I want to hold him tight in my arms!

    I sent him all the invoices to the vendors for the wedding to cancel them because I cannot handle it & I don’t want it to be done… today I got an email from the Limo company asking me to sign this form voiding our contract. I knew it was coming, but none the less it hurt to see it & know that he called them to cancel. I know that the big picture here is not the wedding. I know that as of right now, that ship has sailed… but to give up on us, on our relationship. It just isn’t right! Something doesn’t fit! There is more to this & I want more than anything to fix it… but I don’t know how~

    #126496
    Debbie
    Participant

    Anita – I can really use your words of wisdom right now. I am laying here in my bed fighting with myself not to text him “I miss you & I love you”! I know right now is not the time yet, but this is getting harder & harder everyday/night! Please help me!

    #126497
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear debbie96:

    It was frustrating for me to read about Daisy-and-gf, so I understand how frustrating it has been for you living it. This breakup is very painful to you, but the plus is not having Daisy in your life.

    In my effort to try to be helpful, I will summarize your story:
    You met hi, (38) 1.5 years ago. He told you it was love at first sight for him. You were guarded with him and told him so in the first two weeks. He was “most kind, loving patient.” The relationship was “Perfect in every way!” and the two of you “never fought.” Eight months into the relationship he proposed. He made payments, some in full, for the summer 2017 planned wedding.

    His new work position started September 2016. He was very excited & positive about it. But the position was a nightmare. He was overly occupied with it, lost weight, not sleeping well. You and him had a wonderful Christmas with his parents and toasted the new year. A week or so later, this January, he said to you: “I can’t even give our relationship any time… I don’t know if I can do this anymore” – that was the first time in 1.5 years of the relationship, and in the seven months of being engaged that he said anything like that.

    He said that he can’t do this anymore, that he is at his breaking point. He said: “You are not listening to me. I can’t do this anymore!”

    Later he told you: “I had some time to think & I realized that my feelings have changed & I no longer want this”

    In the next post you wrote:” His three Best Qualities Are: Patient, Loving, Generous (not in a materialist way).
    His three Worst qualities are: Work-a-holic, People Pleaser, Bad Communicator.”

    I am looking at this information in my summary, typing-as-I-am-thinking:

    He said: you are not listening to me, I can’t do this anymore.” He can’t do something that is difficult for him to do. Being a “bad communicator”- he was unhappy in the relationship for a while AND acted with you like there was nothing wrong. He pretended, going with the motions, feeling a growing distress until he reached his breaking point. During the time he pretended, he felt numb, strange, disturbed, going crazy.. until he couldn’t do it anymore.

    You looked up to him all this time, focused on you being the insecure one, looking up to him as this amazing guy. I suppose he had his emotional problems all along, before he met you and all through the relationship with you, before the nightmarish job.

    Maybe he pretended to be this amazing guy all along, from the beginning. Maybe it was easy at first but the new job distress made the pretending much more difficult. (Still thinking-as-I-type).

    Not saying he didn’t love you, saying maybe he put aside part of himself from the very beginning, took part of himself out of the relationship and only showed the loving, patient, supportive part of him.

    “You are not listening, he said. I can’t do this anymore.”

    What are your thoughts at this point?

    anita

    #126500
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear debbie79:

    I posted the above before I saw your last note to me.

    You used the adjective “Perfect” to describe this relationship (in your original post, perfect with a capital P).

    I think you are mourning the loss of a Perfection that never was, hopes and dreams… You are also hurting over a real emotional attachment you developed for this man, the real separation of the man you loved/ the object of your attachment.

    Listen to calming music, take a hot bath, have a hot herbal tea… calm yourself. Take care of yourself and take it a moment, hour at a time. This is difficult and will be difficult for a while.

    I will be going to bed in a few moments after I post this. If you posted since my last post, I will answer. If not, I will be at the computer in about twelve hours.

    Take best possible care of yourself. Over time, your thinking will be clear, and you will feel better soon enough, maybe tomorrow.

    anita

    #126505
    Debbie
    Participant

    Anita –

    I don’t feel that he was “acting”. The perfect opportunity to end the relationship, if he was unhappy & not “in love” with me any longer the week before Christmas when everything happened with his best friend. If he truly was pretending & not wanting to go through with our relationship, there was the perfect time for him to end it – he chose to stay. He chose to re-propose & confess his love again. How could you fake that? How could you literally be in hysterics & so fearful of losing the relationship if it was “forced” to begin with. Believe me, for the past two & a half weeks now, I have been dissecting this over & over again.

    It just does not make any sense to me. And yes, clearly I am “mourning” the loss of this relationship, but there is something that will not let me just let go of this. I feel this entire thing that has happened between us is a complete misunderstanding & failure to communicate on both of our parts.

    I feel the need to reach out to him & have a discussion regarding this. As I have said before, this is not about a wedding. This is about our lives, the commitment we made to each other the day he decided to ask me to take him as my husband! To spend all that money, almost $25,000.00 so far. A person would be willing to “fake” it & loose all of that money like that? I just don’t think it fits & is completely out of character for him!

    I am extremely worried about him! You don’t just fall out of love!

    #126506
    Debbie
    Participant

    And yes – he could have been feeling unhappy for a while, but is it really our relationship that is making him feel this way or is it all the stress from him job that is affecting his thoughts & feelings. When you become depressed, you are unhappy. Everything around you is negative. It is like a black hole that you are stuck in & no matter how hard you try, you cannot seem to find your way out. You see no light at the end of the tunnel. Could this be the catalyst that is making everything around him unclear & wrong? That is what my mind tends to go too… but that could be just me “self protecting” myself from the possibility of being hurt.

    All I do know is that I am not ready to give up on us, however, with depression, I know he needs to help himself & work on him, as I do myself. But I need to find a way to be able to communicate with him & let him know that I care. Tell him that I love him & I will ALWAYS be here for him. We have both said that we take marriage & our commitment seriously. If he has too much going on right now there were many things we could have done. We could have postponed the wedding, cut it down to save money… I could go on & on. But to give up in the state he was in & I am sure, still in to a certain capacity. That is not the time you make life altering decisions. Am I wrong for thinking this way?

    What are your thoughts?

    #126532
    Debbie
    Participant

    Good morning all!

    So I don’t know if I really believe in signs but, I have been praying for strength & clarity in my current relationship situation. This morning I was getting dressed for work & when I opened my closet to get out my clothes, this card fell to my feet. When I picked it up, it was the card my fiancé gave me just this past Christmas, ONE MONTH AGO. I opened it & it read:

    Dear Debbie,

    It’s actually our 2nd Christmas already. We have another 100 to go! I know every one of them will get more & more amazing each year!

    I Love You Baby

    I was floored to find that this is what I found at my feet! My heart skipped a beat & I felt even more confused regarding this situation. My mother had come upstairs to my apartment & I told her what happened. She said, you know it is funny you said that. Just yesterday I was cleaning out the hutch & I found the card that he gave us as well & it read:

    Dear Mr. & Mrs. ——-
    Thank you for welcoming me into you family & allowing me to marry your daughter!

    I just don’t understand. Does this sound like someone who was just “going through the motions”? This just doesn’t make any sense to me at all! I know my therapist would not be happy with me right now that I am still putting all of my energy into him & trying to figure it out instead of focusing on myself BUT, I will say this. Instead of breaking down & crying again this morning, I took a deep breathe & kept it moving although this is clearly on my mind.

    Anita, can you or anyone else understand where I am coming from & why this is so confusing? Every day I am getting a little stronger. I feel it. I am not walking around crying every second of every day. Don’t get me wrong, I still have my moments. But I think I am doing a little better.

    Tomorrow I am going to meet with the Deacon of my church. A week prior to my fiancé’s “break down” we had to take this Pre-Marital Inventory exam. We both take it separately & the church gets the results. Then we were suppose to meet with the Deacon & go over our results. This was suppose to be used as a tool to help us discuss difficult & uncomfortable topics with each other. See where we differ & what we could work on together, as a couple to strengthen our bond & eventually our marriage. I took the same test as my fiancé, just at a different time. The Deacon called me on Monday & set up an appointment with me to go over the results. He said there are def some differences in our answers. I wonder if this could have been the catalyst that helped push him over the edge & made him second guess everything & his feelings. As I have stated before, he is not the best communicator. He holds everything in because he never wants to hurt anyone or let them down. He maybe didn’t want to discuss his fears with me because he didn’t want to hurt me, so instead he ran from them. Obviously, he clearly was overwhelmed with the wedding & all the expenses, & held it in. He was overwhelmed with discussing my feelings towards his best friend & held that in for months too until I pushed him to confront her. He is overwhelmed at his job & is taking everything on because he has to do everything to his best ability. Another one of his traits. He needs to be successful & the best at all he does. I just wish he had spoken with me because I truly feel this whole thing could have been avoided if we had just talked. I feel this is a big miscommunication & now it has escalated into something it def did not need to be! I would have been more than willing to cut back on things that were too expensive. If we needed to postpone the date to be able to save the money or because he had too much going on right now, we could have. Would I have been upset? Of course. This was my dream BUT he means more to me than a single day!

    Please share your thoughts!

    #126533
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Dear debbie79:

    I think that communicating with him further is the right thing to do, absolutely. First, you need information. Then, it is possible for a good relationship to be revived and improved. You are clearly interested in examining this option, so yes, do initiate communicating with him.

    When and how is the question.

    You wrote above that he had the perfect opportunity, if he was faking it, to end the relationship when things blew over regarding Daisy. That would be true if he was reasonable and calm enough to take such … perfect opportunity. Clearly, he has been distressed for a long time, not sleeping or eating well and he is not reasonable and calm. He is not a cold hearted manipulator, planning and executing a long-held plan to end the relationship.

    Also, I don’t think that his distress, what you refer to as his depression is only about his work. From my life experience, such has origin in one’s childhood, most likely. There were troubles in the relationship with you, so those added to his distress.

    The fact that he spent over 25,000 on the wedding and he is not generous in a material way (you wrote), means he was very serious about the wedding.

    * the idea that he as been faking it, or going through the motions- he made a statement to that affect when he said he tried to make himself believe what he was saying to you, meaning he didn’t say it believing it… ? It makes much more sense to me that he felt deep dissatisfaction with the relationship (and his life overall) way before he expressed such to you.

    When he told you repeatedly (and that is very meaningful to me), that he can’t do this anymore. And then he said: you are not listening to me, I can’t do this anymore-

    That was the time to ask him: WHAT can’t you do anymore? What are you doing that is so difficult for you? It was time to say: I am listening to you now, please tell me what it is that is so very difficult for you to do? Or.. tell me MORE about it.

    Maybe this is what you should ask him, going back to that statement that he made and ask him. Tell him you want to understand. Really, you have the right to know. I wouldn’t approach him with any anger but with as much gentleness as you can muster, so to increase your chances of getting an honest answer.

    Approach him just-for-information, in a gentle, patient, non-threatening, non-confrontational way. Tell him you have the right to know, that you will not argue with him, you just want to understand, that you need to understand.

    And this is what I believe at this point, that you need information, from him. If and when you reach out to him for information, be prepared to whatever he may say. He may not answer right away, and if you get angry because he didn’t answer, you have little chance for future communication. So be very patient, prepare maybe for a series of short conversations before he opens up.

    Really, he owes you information. His investment of money in the wedding is substantial, but so is your emotional investment.

    anita

    #126534
    Debbie
    Participant

    Thank you Anita for all your advise. I agree with you & I do know that I deserve answers. And I do know that I need to handle this whole situation with care & caution. I need to be patient, which is something that I struggle with. Something that as a human, I need to work on. I am trying. This is another reason why I haven’t reached out to him yet… because I knew/know that I may not be strong enough at this present time to be understanding & patient because I am hurting, as I know I am entitled too. But I also know that HE is hurting as well. I sit here and wonder all day, is he thinking about me? Does he miss me? Does he regret his decision or does he feel relieved that he ended it? It is like a never ending loop that I am on. It feels really good to be able to express all this to you… an outlet if you will for me to release all my fears & frustrations from an outside perspective oppose to people close to me. I cannot thank you enough!

    Did you read my post earlier about the card I found? Do you believe in signs & divine intervention? Do you think it is smart to talk with my Deacon? Maybe there will be some clarity in there for me to help me understand where he is coming from.

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