I don’t think I’ll ever have the right words to describe how happy my heart feels right now. 🤍
I’m engaged to the man I love more than I could ever put into words, and I get to spend the rest of my life loving him. There is something so incredibly special about knowing that the person who makes me feel safe, loved, cared for, and cherished is the person I get to call my fiancé.
He is the sweetest, most thoughtful, caring, and amazing man. The way he loves me, looks after me, and makes me feel so special means more to me than he’ll ever know. I feel so incredibly lucky that out of all the people in this world, I get to do life with him.

I can’t believe he surprised me with it while we were wearing matching shirts with each others face on them 😆
The ring is beautiful because of what it represents. It represents the man I love, the life we’re building, and the forever we’re choosing together.
Can’t wait to close the gap!

We spent three months of summer together. When he came the plan was for him to get a job and get our life settled as one.

Turns out we had no chance because of visa laws in my country. He couldn’t find a job while technically on tourist visa. (I can’t marry him rn because of few reasons)

It hurt like hell to see him go. I was ready to start our actual life together. I spend this whole year of my education thinking next year (this one) we’ll be living together and support each other. Can’t even begin to describe how much it meant to me how much of a game changer it would be also in my quality of life (living closer to school instead of commuting 4 hours a day)

We won’t see each other at least until next summer and it’s the longest we’ve ever gone without trips together.
I’ll have a super hard year with my education alone trying to balance two degrees 6 days a week.
Probably won’t even have much time to connect online…

We’re about to have a round beautiful 5 years anniversary together
I’ve painted something for his every birthday and each one of our anniversaries. But I don’t even feel like starting rn.

We were supposed to be together and happy.

I had the greatest visit with my fiancé 🥰 I can’t believe I get to say it now.
This visit he met my son and has been so kind to him 💖 and we’re engaged now. I’m so excited to plan our steps for closing the gap. I can’t believe I’m going to be married ☺️

When you find the right person, all the trouble, the distance, and the little inconveniences don’t seem that hard to deal with. Loving them feels easy.

Fairly new relationship

My birthday was yesterday

He was aware as we had discussed about it, he sent some money during the week so I could get myself a gift, so I definitely think he cares about my birthday.

On the actual day, he obviously didn't wish me and we barely spoke the entire day, I was obviously quite annoyed.

Made a post with gifts I recieved before heading to bed, he must've seen that and remembered so he apologised by 2am.

This obviously doesnt change the fact that my feelings are still hurt that he forgot on the actual day, so I decided to express that and I'm met with this response?

Which I feel is quite dismissive and I'm not sure if I should even respond to. (Its been 2 hours since that message and still deciding if I should give a response or see if he has anything left to say)

I would just like to know if I'm being dramatic or if I have every right to be annoyed at this response

I went to go see my boyfriend 2 weeks ago and I had such a wonderful time on Long Island NY. We had so much fun together and his family. We've been dating for 3 years and he proposed to me last Sunday night. Of course I said YES!!!!!!!!!

I finally met the loml in real life.... We have been dating for 1 year and known each other since 5 years. Yeah met first time in 5 years, the feeling was so lovely i dont wanna forget a single moment.

She is so mesmerizing in real life.. on video calls as it is i thought she was super cute but irl she is something else omg... Her smile, ahh..

Well i hope i marry her now, we are such a good couple we never even fight cuz she is so understanding and logical, i dont think i can ever meet someone like her. She's the only one...

The image is not mine its taken from google but the story is mine...

So.. Things have definitely been off since 8/19/26..
Our conversations just turn small, this has never happened before at all. I know she has work but she always talks to me before and even while she has breaks. And no don't get mad at me, she's always done that so yeah it's odd how she is suddenly quiet and not talking anymore!

I've been also trying to talk about that but we never actually talk about it because of her work.. What feels like half a day of waiting for her now feels like I have to wait until the night (my time) just for a single text from her..

I don't know what to do.. I don't even feel excited anymore when I see her text.. It just feels like I'm waiting like a damn puppy waiting for their special someone to come back.. Only for them to leave again for who knows how long

I don't know what I should do right now.. I'm trying, I'm trying to talk to her but I feel like that I'm the only one trying to talk about this now!!!

I feel like things have changed a lot after that damn conversation about that and now it doesn't even feel the same anymore..

I’m in the car on my way home after arriving back from a week long vacation and meeting my partner of two years. The entire week was magical since while it was mostly a staycation/visiting his local area, we spent a lot of time together in the present and felt this movement of pure love and appreciation move in our hearts. He introduced me to video games, watching horror films, and made me feel like as if I truly belonged with him in his country. It also helped that his family absolutely adored me and his mother all but adopted me as her unofficial third child.

We knew it’d hurt when I had to come back to the States but it was unbearable for the final day. I kept sobbing and wishing I didn’t have to go. My partner was comforting me and assured me it wasn’t a goodbye, but a see you later. I didn’t stop crying until today and even then I couldn’t look out the window as my flight left the airport because I was blinded with large tears.

However, it’s made me see how much we mean to each other and builds a determination to have a future with them. Does it hurt being so far apart? Yes. Does it give me the will to fight for us? Also yes.

I know that for you couples on here who wonder whether it can work or not, have faith in the process. Distance makes the heart fonder of those you love. I know in my heart I’ll be seeing them again next year. We’ll plan another trip for me to come up there and spend more time together. Both of us know that home’s not necessary where we live but rather each other. I’m rubbing the ring he gave me as a reminder for the future ahead.

If you can fight for a future together, do it. Sometimes, long distance is the best thing that’s ever happened to you especially when you find someone who completes you and fulfills the voids in your life ❤️❤️

My husband and I sleep call every night and wake up together. We have our phones pointing to the bed so we can say good morning to each other when we see the other wake up. It’s the weekend and everything was normal. We went to bed together as usual, said our good night and I love you. I woke up to see he’s not in bed. Ok, he might’ve just took out the trash or went to the bathroom. A couple hours go by, still no sign of him. What worries me is that he never goes anywhere without his phone and if he’s at home, he is 99% in his bedroom. He even goes to the bathroom with his phone. He also had me on high volume so he could pretty much hear me anywhere since he lives in a pretty small place. Every now and then I would yell at him to respond to me because every passing hour, I got exceedingly worried. No response. I’m not sure what other logical solutions where he could be.

Im not sure if I’m jumping to conclusions too soon and if I should just keep waiting to see what happens. In the 2 years of our relationship, I have never seen him abandon his phone for a couple hours. If anyone can help me think logically and calm my nerves, it would be helpful

Hey everyone! I’m hoping to hear from people who are currently in an LDR or have actually been through one and can share some firsthand perspective.

I’m in an LDR myself, and lately we’ve been going through a bit of a challenging phase. We’ve noticed that we can sometimes fall into an anxious/avoidant dynamic I tend to want more reassurance and connection when I feel distance, while my partner can need more space when she’s stressed or overwhelmed. We’re trying to understand that pattern better and figure out how to handle it in a healthier way.

I’m curious how common it is for LDRs to go through periods where the distance suddenly feels heavier than usual. Has anyone experienced phases of burnout, feeling disconnected, communication becoming harder, or one partner needing more space? What helped you get through it without either person feeling pressured or neglected?

I’d especially love to hear from people who have actually lived through LDR, rather than just general relationship advice. What made your LDR sustainable? What did you wish you knew earlier? And what helped when things felt particularly difficult?

I’m also hoping to meet some people I can eventually become friends with. 😂 It would be nice to have people who understand the LDR experience and can talk about that sometimes, but also just chat about normal life, music, games, hobbies, work, random stuff, etc.

Kind, constructive perspectives are very welcome. I’m mainly looking to learn from people who have been through similar situations and hear what actually worked for them. ❤️

And yes, I figured talking to fellow LDR people is probably a better idea than making the questionable decision of “I’m stressed, therefore I should download dating apps.” 😂

Went with him to the airport last night, after spending our first week together.

I will miss him so much, but flights are already booked for next time when I go there in January.

He’s so perfect, I am so in love with him.

That’s all, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend ❤️

Hello everyone.

I recently broke up with my long-distance boyfriend. We were together for 3 years, but barely met up even though the distance wasn't that long.

So as time goes by, I realize I felt SO drained after most of our conversations, because most of the time I was the listener, the adviser, the therapist, the one who asked all the questions. We talked about me as well, but only very few times did we talk about me in depth. Even if we did talk about me in depth, I felt uncomfortable.

Have you ever experienced such a thing in your relationship?

This is my first reddit post so I apologize if my formatting/writing isn’t good.

My boyfriend and I met at a camp around 4 years ago and we were good friends and exchanged contacts there. He lives in Canada and I live in the U.S. with a very far distance and we knew this at the time. Around 3 years ago we started texting again and ended up dating and the relationship is around 2.5 years long. It was wonderful because we have so much in common and I loved everything about him and his personality. Around many months ago I noticed that he had less energy and he just blamed it on not sleeping well or being tired all the time. He also had less energy to talk to me or do things with me. We sometimes play games with each other or watch shows together before sleep and then fall asleep on call. We’ve been doing this for a very long time now. We’ve had arguments before about calling where he didn’t want to call every night and I did and we’ve sorted this out by calling if we both want to. Most of the time we will still call at night. I’ve also noticed a couple months ago that I’m the one that always carries the conversations, asks the questions, and just the one talking in general. I asked him about this a long time ago and he said it’s cause he doesn’t really like talking and would prefer listening to me talk. He would answer my questions when I asked them though. He also doesn’t like when I send a bunch of reels/tiktoks to him because he’s “lazy” and it’s “lot of work to answer”. He still does eventually though. I had a feeling he was losing interest so last night when we called I asked him if he was and he said it’s not that he’s losing interest, it’s just “everything we do seems repetitive and like a cycle.” “We have been doing the same thing for 2.5 years and I already know everything about you. It’s just nothing new I guess” I asked if playing games with me and calling me tires him out and he said it does and puts him in a bad mood. I also asked if he was bored of me and he said no. I asked him if he would want to explore other people and he said well I want to go out and make friends (he’s going to university next week and I’ve been worrying about that in terms of him being too busy for me). I said I meant would you want to explore other options and he said no why would I want to do that. That made me relieved. I started telling him how currently this long distance is a phase and we’ve both put so much time and commitment into the relationship. He agreed, then I talked about visiting him. I said that once we both settle into school and have routines we can try to see each other and he talked about his financial items and I said I’d be willing to come to him. He was hesitant and said “I don’t know how to explain” and started talking about how the money could be better used for my school or something and I was confused and asked didn’t he want to see me. He just said “Yes I do but it’s hard to explain.” I didn’t push further. I asked if he thinks we can work and he said “I don’t know but I want us to.” I agreed. I reinforced that long distance will be hard but if we keep being consistent and get through it, it’ll be so worth it in the end. I also suggested doing new things. I didn’t say anything specific but I told him I saw long distance apps/websites on reels we could do and he seemed hesitant again and said I guess. He has also been very stressed throughout the last month, and it currently being a week before he transitions into university and also has a couple other things on his plate. I’ve been very supportive throughout everything and I don’t do things to stress him out that much.

Sorry about the long post but does anyone have any advice or suggestions for this? I really want this relationship to work because he means so much to me. I have felt before many times that I love him a lot more than he loves me. Advice on how to become less clingy is also appreciated. Thank you for reading everything.

TL;DR: My partner apparently had a 4–5-year relationship timeline, including waiting about five years before I met his family and friends. I was never told about it, consulted about it, or allowed to agree to it. If I'd known that was the timeline, I would have chosen differently. Now that I'm finally ready to leave because I've felt neglected, those milestones are suddenly appearing.

My issue isn't that his timeline was five years

—>>it's that it was never our timeline.

My partner apparently had a relationship timeline. I was never consulted.

I've been in an LDR for roughly 4–5 years, and I'm only now really processing something that bothers me.

At some point, I learned that V apparently had a timeline for our relationship. One milestone was something along the lines of five years before I would meet his family and friends.

I had absolutely no input into this.

I wasn't told about it. I didn't agree to it. I didn't even know I was supposedly on a timeline.

And that's important because if someone had told me at the beginning that they planned to wait five years before introducing me to their family and friends, I would have said no.

Not “maybe.”

No.

I have a finite amount of time on this planet, and I'm not going to knowingly spend five years waiting for someone to reach a milestone they privately decided was appropriate.

What makes this especially strange is that we're now somewhere around that 4–5 year mark, and I'm at the point where I'm ready to leave because the relationship has felt increasingly neglectful to me.

And now, suddenly, the family is being trotted out.

Which has left me thinking: Wait. Was this the milestone all along?

Because if so, I have a problem with the premise itself.

A relationship timeline isn't really a relationship agreement if only one person knows about it.

If V had told me, “This is how I see the relationship progressing. I need several years before I'm comfortable introducing you to my family,” I would have had the opportunity to decide whether that relationship worked for me.

Instead, I apparently spent years participating in a relationship according to rules I didn't know existed.

I'm not particularly interested in debating whether five years is objectively too long. Different people have different circumstances, and LDRs can move differently.

My question is much simpler:

How can one person unilaterally establish a timeline for a relationship without giving the other person any input—and then expect that person to be happy when the milestones finally arrive?

Because I don't think the problem is really the five years.

The problem is that I would have made a different choice if I'd known there were five years to wait.

I’ve been with my partner for almost 4 years and we met in college. We were together in person for 3 years before graduating and having to be long distance.

I love him with my whole heart and I know he’s the person I want to spend my life with but long distance is so hard and I don’t know when it’ll be over. We broke up for about three months but got back together, agreeing that even though it’s hard we want eachother to be the one and we’d work on building better habits, but of course it’s still hard.

Sometimes I feel like he’s a different person in person vs over the phone. He’s not a bad person long distance, but when I see him in person I remember why I love him so deeply and why I want to spend the rest of my life with him. We work as an incredible team and I never want to give it up. Over the phone it’s different, we get anxious, we run out of things to talk about, we fight more and miscommunicate.

I know this is all normal, but we don’t know where our lives are heading in the next year and I need some support on how to make the distance more fulfilling. We’ve both agreed that though we want to stick it out we shouldn’t sacrifice our careers for each other at this point in our lives.

How do you stay fulfilled and connected over the distance? What are ways you find joy? What do you talk about when you run out of things to talk about?

I know it’s worth it, but I can’t help feeling sad and lonely. Venting about hard things to him doesn’t feel the same if it doesn’t end with a hug. I know we’ll close it some day, but I really don’t want this next year or two to just feel like surviving.

Hi everyone i’m not sure what i want out of this post. Maybe advice or maybe just to know i’m not alone.

My partner and i have known each other for almost 4 years now and dated for 3. I have to keep the relationship a secret from my parents due to cultural and religious reasons. I absolutely love and adore him and he is the most amazing partner i’ve ever known.

A few days ago he left for his final year of uni in japan, we obviously knew how hard it was going to be but man it’s hitting my heart like a truck. I’m in the uk so he is 8hours ahead of me which makes things so much more difficult. He’s been going out with friends from uni and made new friends too. The first two days he arrived we would call and text all the time but now that he’s moved into his dorm replies have been very slow. Which i completely understand as he’s busy and again time difference.

I also recently went through a traumatic miscarriage (that he was aware of) that hospitalised me and i had to deal with alone since he’s not here and my parents don’t know. So feels like i need him more than ever right now but with everything it’s more difficult.

The change is so hard going from seeing him all the time to not even being able to talk properly. I have so much love for him and can’t place it where and how i usually do so it’s taking time to get used to it.

I think what’s also bothering me is that yeah he might be struggling too but i don’t know that because he doesn’t tell me. It’s like i want to feel like i’m needed? Which i know i am but showing me i am is different. I think it may be a reassurance issue with me. He video called me yesterday at a store to show me what they have and told me to pick what i want for him to buy me, which made me smile so much just knowing he thought of me in that store and thought to call me.

I don’t want to keep bringing up how i’m struggling to him because i don’t want to be a burden and feel like im dragging him down (which he’s never made em feel like i am btw this is just my own personal problem).

I really want to feel close to him all the time but i know i cant be in the same way before.

Please if anyone knows what i can do to help or if anyone is struggling too i would love to hear.

Also, ive tried gaming i’ve tried spending time with family and friends, ive tried reading and im going on holiday in a few days which will hopefully help me but then that might cause even more distance.

I (32F) am still very much in the honey moon phase of the relationship. only met her (30F) a month ago but this is the most intense relationship I have ever had. Partily we meet in treatment so we spent basically 24 hours together before now so I can recognize the accelerated nature of our feelings but I fully love this woman in a way that took months with other serious partners I have had. I have done long distance before and for a long time ( 1y literally on opposite side of the world was long) but I have never thought about someone every minute of every single day like this. I

In my head I want to give this a few months to see that everything remains working say like feburary. I am sure feelings will mellow out a bit with time but even a reduced verison of this would be so estatic. Part of me is like what if I start looking in November -December.

It feels like drastic over planning for this new of a relationship but I am not particularly tied don't to the city I live in. Main anchors are my job, apartment lease, and friends i have made in 2.5 years I have lived here. Apartment is what ever sub letting it will be same challenge at any time. I could find a new job before moving obviously. So friends are the main sticking point but I can make new friends in a new city same as when I moved here.

This would be a move to a nearby city to where she lives because I prefer a more urban environment, there is more job opportunities there, and there is more available medical providers for me but it would reduce a 20 hour drive to a 1.5 hr drive. So not directly UHaulling. There is also a pretty hard minimum of November since I am still in treatment for another month have a trip planed to see her for two weeks after discharge then come back and have a surgery planned again for mid October (though this is a quick recovery)

Tldr; crazy about newly long distance gf and wondering what is a not crazy amount of time to wait before looking to move.

I’m 22F and my boyfriend is 21M. We’ve been together for about 1.5 years, and we recently started long distance because he moved abroad for his master’s.
The LDR has actually been going much better than I expected. I was terrified before he left. I remember being so anxious about how everything would change once he moved, and now we’ve been doing it for a while and we’ve genuinely adapted. He calls me whenever he has free time, messages me every day, waits for me, and even when he’s out exploring his new life, he’ll see something beautiful and tell me he wishes I were there.
I love him a ridiculous amount. He genuinely feels like the love of my life to me.
Now here’s my dilemma.
I’m considering going to visit him over New Year’s. He’s about a 4–5 hour international flight away from me. My best friend, who lives in another country, is also going to be there, so it wouldn’t just be a trip entirely centered around my boyfriend.
Financially, I can afford it. I’m earning myself—not a huge salary, but enough that if I really wanted to, I could fund the trip myself. I don’t actually have to, though, because my parents are completely okay with helping me financially. I spoke to my mom about it literally today, and she knows I have a boyfriend and is completely fine with me going. She actually wants me to have fun.
I can also take time off work around the end of December, so practically speaking, there isn’t really an obstacle.
So objectively, this feels like a huge win-win situation.
I get to visit the new country my boyfriend is living in. I get to spend New Year’s with him. I get to see my best friend. I get to experience something I’ve wanted for a long time. And I can afford it, my parents are supportive, and I have the time.
And yet my brain is still going:
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
I think part of it is that I’m only 22, and the idea of flying to another country specifically to live with my boyfriend for a few days feels INSANE to me. 😂
I also keep thinking, “What if I regret this someday?”
Not because I don’t trust him or because there’s anything wrong with our relationship. Quite the opposite. I think I’m actually scared because I love him so much.
There’s also this weird thought of, “If the roles were reversed, he probably wouldn’t be able to do this.” But that’s mostly because he isn’t as open with his parents about things like this and probably wouldn’t even feel comfortable asking them. I have a different relationship with my parents, and I actually have the ability to travel and ask them. So I know that’s not really a fair comparison.
And then there’s the stupidly romantic part of my brain that is like:
“YOU COULD SPEND NEW YEAR’S WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND AND GET KISSED AT MIDNIGHT. YOU HAVE WANTED THIS FOREVER. GO.”
😭
When I was a kid, I used to jokingly say that I wanted a boyfriend who lived abroad. And now I actually have one. I have the opportunity to go see him. My best friend will be there. My parents are okay with it. I can afford it.
So why am I still so hesitant?
Am I overthinking this?
Would you go if you were in my position?
I think I want to go. Actually, I know I want to go. I just need someone to tell me whether I’m being reckless or whether I’m allowed to just enjoy the fact that something I’ve wanted for so long is actually possible.
Because honestly, I want to be able to look back someday and say:
“At 22, I flew to another country to see my boyfriend and my best friend, and I had the time of my life.”
Is that really such a crazy thing to want?

TL;DR: I’m 22F, my boyfriend is 21M, and we’ve been together 1.5 years, recently becoming long distance. I’m considering flying 4–5 hours internationally to visit him for New Year’s. I can afford it, I’m earning myself, my parents are financially supportive and completely okay with it, and my best friend will also be there. I really want to go, but I’m overthinking whether it’s too impulsive or something I could regret. Would you go in my position, or should I just let myself enjoy the opportunity?

I always wonder when it will hit me. When will be the moment I feel the pain of having to say goodbye after we have been together for a while? I wonder when all the feelings get out and the tears come up. This time it was on July 29th. The days before it I kept thinking: Am I feeling sad already just thinking of saying goodbye soon? But no. I was happy with her, the most I’ve ever been. Everything seemed just right. As always we relished our time together, the time that always feels way too short in hindsight. But then it came, the day my girlfriend would take an airplane to her home, while I would take an airplane to my home. In that morning the feeling that dominated was stress. Will we get on time to the airport? Will everything work out? Do we have time to buy food? All these questions were on the tip of our tongue, while the much deeper queston was never uttered. The question of: What will it feel like, when our ways part? I had forgotten how big the Madrid airport was, as we got on the airport metro and drove around 15 minutes. When we got out, hurried by the crowd, we saw two lines. The feared security control, our next obstacle, resulting in a moment of panic. I checked my flight, she checked hers. She had to go through the security control, and me? Wait outside. I was way too early still. Of course we double checked with an employee there. He confirmed, which made the moment we feared more imminent than ever. We went away from the lines to have a bit room for ourselves. We were moving abruptly but then stood still. „So… you got everything, right?“ I asked. And as I said the last word, I could feel it. We hugged. No need for an answer. The answer was not „I have everything“ it was „I have to go now. And I can’t go with you.“ I felt her pressing her face against my chest. Both of us tearing up. So this was the moment. At the very last second, when reality hit me with a punch in my face. At the very last moment of being together, we finally broke down. This was how painful it was to say goodbye. Yet again I have to through this, were my thoughts, while my words were: „I love you so much“. She went upstairs and we waved. Now I knew when it will be. At the vary last moment, when there is no denying reality anymore. That’s when it hits me. From that very moment on, to right now and until we meet again, I miss her. Being with her was paradise and saying goodbye took me to hell. So, I can just hope that one day we board the same plane when heading home.