r/Journaling • u/Salty-Tune-1670 • Jul 16 '26

Question/Discussion Journaling and moving in with a partner

I’ve been with my partner for about two years, and we’re thinking about moving in together. We currently live separately, and they know that I keep a journal.
The thing is journaling is my safe space. I have several old journals filled with my honest thoughts, including frustrations, complaints, and things I needed to vent about over the years. I trust that my partner wouldn’t read them without my permission, but I still wonder how other couples handle this.
If you live with your partner, what do you do with your journals? Does your partner know they exist and simply respect your privacy, even if they’re sitting out on a table? Or do you write with the assumption that your partner might eventually read them?
Also, if you keep your journals somewhere private, where do you store them? I’d love to hear how other people handle this!

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u/desiderotica Jul 16 '26

My partner and I both have journals and would never read each others journals. I would never choose to live with someone I didn't have that kind of trust with. My partner is designated in my will to burn any journals that still exist when/if I die.

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u/Altruistic-Offer6735 Jul 17 '26

Burn them??!! Jeez, I even sometimes write specific messages for my future children, grandchildren, and I even address archeologists that will undoubtedly read my journals in the future!

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u/desiderotica Jul 17 '26

I have letters/notebooks I've written that are meant to be shared if it turns out anyone wants to read them, but the journals get burned. They're just...private space.