'I\'ve been dating a wonderful girl for about a year now, but I\'m wondering if I\'m in it for the right reasons. Here\'s the briefest back story I can offer.\r\n\r\nI met my girlfriend in high school, but we were just friends during that time. I believe that she held a little bit of interest in me at some point, but I never reciprocated. We stayed really good friends in college as well, even while I had several different girlfriends, it never bothered her. I went through a rough spot in my life, got dumped by my girlfriend, spent a long time staying home, drinking far too much and never going out. She managed to coax me out of hiding for which I am very grateful. \r\n\r\nAt some point, things changed to a romantic light, and we suddenly, spontaneously decided that we should date. Things progressed between us very rapidly (sexually speaking), but I feel like part of the emotional connection isn\'t there for me. I\'ve always loved her as a good friend, but I\'m still not \"in love\" with her. At the same time, because my last girl treated me poorly, I\'m very afraid of (and you could even say actively against) falling in love. This doesn\'t worry me too much, because I feel that the enduring love is the type of love I have for her, where she is very important to me and I care about her very much, not that she makes me get butterflies in my stomach.\r\n\r\nShe is a loving and kind girlfriend, and we have a ton of things in common and get along REALLY well! For all intents and purposes, it is a perfect relationship. The problem is that although her personality and mindset are what I look for in women, her physique is not. Simply put, I really don\'t find her very physically attractive at all. That\'s not to say she isn\'t good looking, but simply that she\'s (physically) not my type. At the risk of appearing shallow, I\'m concerned that the relationship may turn out poorly in the future because of this. I sometimes feel like it is unfair to her (and me) when I\'m not very interested in sex, kissing, etc. while she is VERY interested. Because of what happened to me in other relationships, I am faithful to a fault, meaning I would never ever cheat on her. At the same time, if any attractive women approach me with interest, I can\'t help but to find myself wishing that my girlfriend looked like them, or that I could simply be with a woman I am more attracted to.\r\n\r\nWhenever I think about the possibility of breaking up with her, the first thought in my mind is how much it would hurt her. I truly do care about her, I have known her for 9 years, and I really do want the best for her. I\'m wondering if I sometimes think about leaving because these other girls who approach me are exciting or if I really just don\'t find my girlfriend attractive enough to stay together. At the same time, I wonder if I stay more because I love her and don\'t want to hurt her than because I want to stay. I know that this just sounds like I\'m whining about a great relationship, but I keep getting hit by this gut feeling that I should leave, whereas there is never a gut feeling that I want to stay. Any ideas? '...

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'Hey, I’m 20 years old, in my 2nd year of college and proud of it. I’m extremely dedicated to school and an overachiever. I want to be successful in life and make some wise decisions. However, I have a boyfriend who is going of the opposite way that I am. We have been dating for 6 months now, and the first 3 months were fine. I felt butterflies and it was just a fairy tale to me. He got to know me more than anyone does, even my darkest secrets, and he accepts me for it (well kind-of, because he brings it up a lot, but he has been trying not to). The only problem is, I’m not sure I feel the same way as I did before. He is constantly telling me how he feels and how beautiful I am, and that is all I’ve ever wanted in a man, someone who appreciates me. We even talk about marriage quite frequently, and how we wish we could just do it already. But deep down inside I’ve been having very strong doubtful fears about this relationship. We are very different sometimes, and we are constantly arguing. I feel like I am being selfish with him by holding on to him, but not really knowing how I truly feel. Sometimes I feel like we should just be friends. Sometimes when I think of the two of us breaking up, I feel a sense of freedom. Sometimes I feel like I can’t really be my true self with him because I feel like he will judge me. And last but not least, sometimes I’m just not sexually attracted to his body, but I love his personality! He has influenced me to change in positive ways, but I also feel trapped by him at times. Am I just afraid of being lonely or am I just going through common temporary issues in a relationship? He is a wonderful man, anything a girl could ask for, but I don’t know if he is the one for me, and I am scared to never find a man as good as he is later on in life…Ughh.. Should I stay or leave???'...

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'I am a 23 and have been with the same man on and off for almost six years, we started dating when I was in high school and he was head over heels in love with me, but I was not mature enough to handle the relationship and we broke up. He moved 500 miles away and we remained friends, I dated someone else while I finished high school, but when I started college we reconnected and started a long distance relationship. It went really well considering the distance for about two years, then I started suspecting that he was cheating, did some snooping, but never found anything solid, my paranoia got the best of me, so I continue to snoop until I found something questionable. We would fight about it and then make up, eventually it got to be too much and we broke up. We have been broken up for the last year and a half, but it has not been a clean break, we still talk once a week, visit each other and tell each other \"I love you\". I have tried dating and met some great people, but no one who meets the standards of this man that I am in love with. Recently, we have gotten serious again, talking about me moving to where he is, working on our relationship and getting married. When we are together things are great. I couldn\'t imagine finding a more loving, caring, generous man. I still have trust issues and worry that while he is so far away that he is dating/being with other women. We talk about it and he is generally pretty open and honest about what he is up to. \r\nI haven\'t moved closer to him yet, because he just moved to a new state, still 500 miles away for work and does not want to ask me to give up my life here (I have a great job, am going to school for my masters, my own apartment, great friends and am close to my family) if he is not sure if he is going to stay there. (His other option is finding a job closer to me). He says he needs 6 months to really get a feel for the new place and if he wants to stay. At which point if we continue to the way we are then he would ask me to move closer to him and we can begin the normal progression of the relationship, dating, engagement marriage.\r\nI love him and no matter how hard I have tried I have not been able to get over him, but need an opinion am I just wasting my time? Should I just walk away and if it is meant to be it will happen, or stick out the next six months and then possibly move in with him?'...

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'Im a 17year old lad, i came out of 2year relationship to be in a relationship with the girl im with now who is also 17. Shes a very good person and girlfriend, we get on, talk through the occasional argument but a good relationship. And yes, i love her, and have done for the 9 months together.\r\nBut my problem is, \'am i too young to get into a serious relationship\', half of me wants to go out and experience stuff on my own and with other girls/people while the other half of me wants to stay with her and have a good relationship. \r\nOther things to add, university in under 18months time, both going to different uni\'s.\r\nPressure on me to be liked by my friends, a mean a dont want to be the one who has only been with a couple of girls and/or misses stuff because of the girlfriend.\r\nMy insecuritys, im insecure about my height, being liked my my friends meaning it puts pressure on my decision because i want to be liked.\r\nI\'ve told her what ive been thinking and i have to decide what i want but cant, im 50|50!\r\n\r\nSorry for the essay\r\n'...

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'i am engaged to my man of almost 3 years, we live together but things aren\'t equal in the relationship. I am a third year in college and have an internship as well as 2 part-time jobs (aka really busy). He cannot hold a steady job, only lasted 1 semester in college and owes me a lot of money for rent, car repairs, etc. Other than the equality/financial issues we get along and are a fun match, but the rest is getting in the way. what should i do?'...

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'me and my boyfriend have been together for nearly 2 years now but things have been awful for quite a large sum of the time. 6months in he bascially planned to cheat on me with his ex, and he told her that he wish he never met me and that he loved her. of course i found out through his text messages, by accident of course. i needed to send a message from his phone when he was asleep and imagine the suprise i stumbled upon...\r\ni confronted him and he said sorry, not very convincingly, and i asked if he loved her and he said yes. i left and then a week later he said he never loved her. then stupidly i took him back because he said he was going to kill himself. then a couple of months later we got in a fight and out of the blue he said he did love her. and i said goodbye, but of course he claimed that he would top himself. i couldnt leave... \r\nhe never does anything nice for me and didnt see me on my birthday because he wanted to play a game! he did nothing to make it up to me, and i didnt even see him until a week later. then he spent christmas ignoring me... but when were together its like none of that ever happened...\r\nim so pathetic i just let it go, everything he does. and sometimes im head over heels then sometimes i feel i have to leave him but i cant because he says he\'ll kill himself. god i love him so much but im just so miserable whenever im not with him, because i just feel all the pain he gave me.\r\n\r\nwhat should i do'...

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'We have been together for almost 3 years (broke up 2x before our daughter was born because he \'wasn\'t ready for a commitment\'). He used to want to get married, but now says it\'s a waste of money and it means nothing these days-just a piece of paper. His parents went through a nasty divorce when he was younger, and has seen friends\' marriages go down hill. He thinks we should just leave things as is, states: \"can\'t I just promise to love and be with you forever?\" \r\n\r\n\r\nI, on the other hand, have always wanted to get married. I come from a family of long-lasting marriages. I feel that being married is more than \'just a piece of paper\' and by him not wanting to marry me tells me he\'s waiting for something better to come along--when I tell him this, he says that\'s not true-he just doesn\'t want to get married. \r\n\r\nSo, I\'m not sure what to do. We both love each other (and have a 17 month old daughter together, and live together). Should I just give in and not get married or leave? \r\n\r\nps. we have had some trust issues in the past (going both ways), which he claims has nothing to do with his decision of not wanting to get married....I\'m 26 and he\'s 25\r\n\r\nThanks'...

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'Here is my story.\r\nThank you for your time.\r\nWe leave together for 2 years now. I stopped working at my job as soon as we moved to live together and started to help him in his two restaurants as a manager. I wasn’t getting played but he was paying all the bills, housing and my expenses. Six months ago we had a big fight. I told him that it’s over and went for a night to sleep at my neighbor friend. He said he loves and want only me. I needed time to think. I came back around 11 pm ( 4 hours later) to get a charger for my phone. What did I see? I see him and one of the waitresses sitting in a leaving a room. I asked him what’s going on, he said she is just a friend and came to help him in this stressing time.\r\nYou know what I felt. I didn’t really mean to leave him, but wanted to give us time to remember how much we loved and cared for each other at the start.\r\nI didn’t sleep that night, for some reason I came back again can’t recall now, but it was morning. And that girl was sitting on that couch still, I went to the bedroom and found towels ; they had sex and without condoms. I wanted to die that moment, couldn’t believe my eyes.\r\nTen days he was calling bagging me to come back saying it was nothing, but at that moment I knew he was cheating with her for over two weeks. I came back, he didn’t send her home saying he needs a waitress and can’t find any one else .\r\nIt was more …\r\nPlease help me ! What is your opinion I madly in love with him. And he loves me madly, but sometimes it looks like he has bipolar diesis. He becomes angry drinks and disrespects me.\r\nIf I leave him now, I wouldn’t be able to afford my University, but if I stay I would need to except his cheating. Should I stay and finish school for another 2.5 years? Or leave and try to get a job with no proper education. I am 32. Thank you.\r\n'...

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'So me and my boyfriend have been together for almost 9 months and i think i might love him, but i think its just about time to end it.\r\n\r\nHe says he loves me, yet he controls me. He made me stop smoking weed which is fine because yes it is bad, and illegal. He is currently telling me to stop smoking cigarettes which ive been doing long before i met him. \r\n\r\nHe doesn\'t let me talk to any guys that are my friends because he gets jelous.\r\nJust today he told me that he went onto my myspace and saw that i wanted to hang out with a girl from my old job. I havne\'t seen her in a while and i just wanted to catch up on old times.\r\n\r\nAnd because he thinks she smokes weed, he says i dont need to talk to her. I told him that she doesn\'t (which is the truth) and he says it shouldn\'t matter because i shouldn\'t need to hang out with anyone but him. \r\n\r\nHe constantly tells me that my free time needs to be spent with him, and if i say i want to hang out with my girl friends for the night, he says \"i don\'t ever want to hang out with anyone but you, so you should be the same\". \r\n\r\nI have broken up with him about 5 times because i don\'t like the controllingness he puts on my life but then he will cry and cry and bring me flowers and sorry cards, so i take him back.\r\n\r\nYesterday was his birtday he told me he only wanted one thing from me and that was for me to quit. He told me if i don\'t it will be the worst birthday he has ever had, so i tried.\r\n\r\nI started gettting really mad because i needed a cigarette and he finally gave me my cigarettes back. I gave him 80 dollar cologne and 70 dollar shoes for his birthday and he still said it was the worst he has ever had cuz i didn\'t stop smoking. \r\n\r\nHe then told me that if i gave him oral and anal he would forgive me. I gave him oral for a few minutes then i stopped cuz oral isn\'t my thing. and we attempted anal but it just hurt too much, so we didn\'t. \r\n\r\nSo he is mad about not getting his way on his birthday. He tells me my happiness means more to him than anything and i told him i can\'t be happy without cigarettes but thats an exception to him. \r\n\r\nHe is now going around calling me smokey to my face, and names related to smoking cigarettes. \r\n\r\nI just don\'t know what to do anymore. \r\nYes we do have good times together we go out to eat and movies frequently but i feel as if he has a controling problem..\r\n\r\nsomeone help please'...

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'Please forgive me, this is going to be long. I just need to get this off of my chest. Any advice that would bring clarity would be so much appreciated.\r\n\r\nI have a loving 12-year old daughter. About six years ago, her dad and I separated. The split was amicable and we share custody. I spent the next few years healing and getting in touch with the self that I had buried, and eventually began thinking of what I wanted in my next relationship.\r\n\r\nI fell head over heels in love with a man four years ago. About a month after we met, he told me was married but that he and his wife had decided to end their marriage a few months before we met. Though we hadn\'t been intimate, I was shocked and disappointed. I offered to stay in touch here and there until he was officially separated from his wife and out of the house. We fought about it quite a bit, I vascillated quite a lot, and to this day, I sometimes regret that I didn\'t stand my ground. I was taken aback by his anger and, because I liked him so much, I agreed to move forward with the relationship and tried to make the best of the situation. He swears he wasn\'t unfaithful by being with me and I believe him (about 95%) though I had an extremely difficult time dealing with it. He moved out about eight months later and divorced a year after that.\r\n\r\nShortly after we met, he wanted my then 8-year old daughter and I to meet him and his youngest (9 year old) daughter for an evening out. I told him I didn\'t feel comfortable because he was still living with her mother and I thought it would cause confusion and resentment. He got angry and accused me of trying to tell him how he should raise his children (he has two adult daughters from his first marriage; a teenage son and his youngest daughter from his second marriage). Again, I backed off. The four of us met on a few occasions until his wife told him that she didn\'t feel comfortable with he and their daughter spending time with me and mine while he was still living in the house. I was relieved but at the same time upset that he didn\'t listen to me when I voiced my misgivings. \r\n\r\nIt wasn\'t until year three when he really started to include me in family activities with any of his children. Until that time, I felt excluded and that our lives were compartmentalized. This too, was the cause of many fights.\r\n\r\nAlso in the first few months of our relationship, problems with his son started to escalate. He found out that his 14-year old son, who was failing in school and had angry, violent outbursts, had been using Meth and other drugs. These problems existed before we met, but came to light shortly thereafter. In addition, I slowly began to realize that I was in a verbally abusive situation. Needless to say, there was much pain, turmoil and upheaval in the first few years of our relationship. However, after a lot of drama and effort (and 5 rehabs for his son and therapy for us), things seem to have settled down. \r\n\r\nHis son is now 18 and lives with him full-time. Though he doesn\'t work and is not showing any signs of being able to live independently, his behavior has improved immensely and he doesn\'t appear to be using (drugs) to the extent that he was previously. The youngest daughter (now 13)lives with her mother and sees my boyfriend every other weekend or so, but being very driven, she has a busy schedule which keeps them from seeing each other on a regular basis.\r\n\r\nRecently, my boyfriend said he\'d like to talk about making a plan to live together in 1 1/2 to 2 years from now. I was surprised at the amount of resentment and frustration that welled up inside me. I wanted a healthy relationship and home environment for my daughter and I. I had wanted to make a life with someone; to make a new family with a man I loved. I told him from the beginning what I was looking for in a relationship. I know it\'s irrational, but I am so angry that it has taken four years to get to this point, and that it has been so painful.\r\n\r\nI feel that I have waited and waited...for him to move out, to get divorced, to have enough time after the divorce to deal with the emotional issues in his marriage, to have enough time for his two younger children to adjust to the new living situation... Now, I\'m looking at waiting another 1 1/2 to 2 years for something that may or may not happen. I\'m angry at myself for waiting, for not being clear and focused on my own and my daughter\'s well being and failing to act in our best interest.\r\n\r\nI told him about my frustration and resentment, and that I didn\'t want to talk about making a plan to live together in a year and a half when we have no idea what shape his son will be in. I have no reason to believe that his son will be ready to live on his own by that time. To this day, my boyfriend hides his cash and valuables so that his son won\'t steal them; it\'s clear that his son cannot live with my daughter and I. \r\n\r\nEven if we are able to take the next step to live together, what will my life be like? I don\'t know if I\'ll ever feel completely safe because of the past verbal abuse, and I feel uncomfortable with some of his family dynamics. \r\n\r\nIt seems that within each set of children from each marriage, there is a child who can do no wrong and a scapegoat, the oldest and youngest being the golden children. Interestingly, they have been cold and rejecting (the youngest) and passive-aggressive and rude (the oldest) in their behavior towards me. His youngest daughter has never warmed up to me to the extent that both my daughter and I feel uncomfortable in her company. I understand why - she may feel that I caused the breakup, she may be jealous and feel that I\'m taking her dad away from her (when he was married, he and his ex had a cold and contentious relationship but he was warmly affectionate and doting on his daughter). I see her maybe once every four to six months at most. He spends the majority of his time with her one-on-one, or he will include his oldest daughter and the three of them will do dinner, movies, vacations and other activities together. I feel a little crazy, because on the one hand I feel excluded and resentful, and on the other hand, I don\'t have any desire to be around her. My boyfriend says that she won\'t necessarily always behave this way, but I see no indication that things will get better on their own. I reach out, but get the cold shoulder. \r\n\r\nI can\'t help but wonder if she harbors resentment because she knew her dad and I had a relationship while he was still living with her mom. She\'s too young to understand the emotional intracacies of living under the same roof with an estranged spouse while working out the logistics of splitting up. I can\'t help but wonder...if he really fell in love with me and wanted to be with me, why didn\'t he want to make sure that things started off on the right foot? Why did he push for a relationship with me even when I voiced my extreme discomfort, and why didn\'t he think about how the relationship would affect any future relationship I might have between his daughter and I? I thought about all those things, and expressed them to him in the beginning of the relationship. He got angry and defensive, and I gave in. Now I regret it and wish I had been stronger. I\'ve since asked him those questions, but have not received an answer that I can fully comprehend.\r\n\r\nAs for the oldest daughter (she\'s 31), she has never warmed up to me either. She makes underhanded remarks almost every time we meet and he has finally admitted that \"there may be something\" with his daughter\'s feelings toward me, based on her behavior. When he and I met, he and and his oldest daughter had a very close relationship. They were confidants and companions. It seemed as though his daughter was the spouse and his wife was just another child. The closeness of their relationship actually gave me the creeps. It has since toned down, and he treats me as his partner and equal and has drawn some emotional boundaries with his daughter. \r\n\r\nI have a better, though still budding, relationship with his second daughter and his son. Both were accepting of me from the beginning. I reached out to them, and unlike the other children, they reached back. His second daughter just recently said that she had never seen her dad happy before...until he met me. Aside from being sweet and reassuring, it affirmed my belief that part of the reason why she accepted me was because she saw how her dad had changed and is a much happier person now. I wish I could say the same for his oldest daughter. My gut tells me over and over that she is jealous of the relationship that my boyfriend and I have.\r\n\r\nShould I stay with a man that I love and care for, who loves me? Yes, I want to make a life and family with a man that I love, but can I have the relationship and family life that I long for with this man? I love and care for him. We have each grown so much as a result of this relationship. He has so many qualities that I had been looking for in a life partner, and it is clear that he loves me. \r\n\r\nIf I do stay, I believe he will continue to compartmentalize his life, leaving my daughter and I to spend time alone with his oldest and/or youngest daughters. I understand they each need time alone with their dad, but will we ever be able to integrate and live as a family? Will I be able to withstand the pain of the rejection and undercutting by his daughters? I honestly don\'t see things changing for the better and based on conversations I\'ve had with my boyfriend, I don\'t know how much support I\'ll have. His second wife had a bad relationship with his two oldest daughters and she\'s the one who\'s been blamed for it entirely. That could be my fate too. I understand that they are his children, so there\'s a bond for life.\r\n\r\nI have so many conflicting thoughts and feelings. A part of me feels as if I\'ve wasted the last four years getting caught up in this situation and wonders if I should get out now that the fog has cleared. Another part of me believes that even the pain served a purpose and I\'m a better person as a result. I don\'t know if I\'ll find someone that has as many good qualities or is as compatible with me. I don\'t know if I should stay and continue to try to work things out, realizing that no situation is perfect and stepfamilies can be difficult and challenging at best. Am I expecting too much, or settling for much less?\r\n'...

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'Please forgive me, this is going to be long. I just need to get this off of my chest. Any advice that would bring clarity would be so much appreciated.\r\n\r\nI have a loving 12-year old daughter. About six years ago, her dad and I separated. The split was amicable and we share custody. I spent the next few years healing and getting in touch with the self that I had buried, and eventually began thinking of what I wanted in my next relationship.\r\n\r\nI fell head over heels in love with a man four years ago. About a month after we met, he told me was married but that he and his wife had decided to end their marriage a few months before we met. Though we hadn\'t been intimate, I was shocked and disappointed. I offered to stay in touch here and there until he was officially separated from his wife and out of the house. We fought about it quite a bit, I vascillated quite a lot, and to this day, I sometimes regret that I didn\'t stand my ground. I was taken aback by his anger and, because I liked him so much, I agreed to move forward with the relationship and tried to make the best of the situation. He swears he wasn\'t unfaithful by being with me and I believe him (about 95%) though I had an extremely difficult time dealing with it. He moved out about eight months later and divorced a year after that.\r\n\r\nShortly after we met, he wanted my then 8-year old daughter and I to meet him and his youngest (9 year old) daughter for an evening out. I told him I didn\'t feel comfortable because he was still living with her mother and I thought it would cause confusion and resentment. He got angry and accused me of trying to tell him how he should raise his children (he has two adult daughters from his first marriage; a teenage son and his youngest daughter from his second marriage). Again, I backed off. The four of us met on a few occasions until his wife told him that she didn\'t feel comfortable with he and their daughter spending time with me and mine while he was still living in the house. I was relieved but at the same time upset that he didn\'t listen to me when I voiced my misgivings. \r\n\r\nIt wasn\'t until year three when he really started to include me in family activities with any of his children. Until that time, I felt excluded and that our lives were compartmentalized. This too, was the cause of many fights.\r\n\r\nAlso in the first few months of our relationship, problems with his son started to escalate. He found out that his 14-year old son, who was failing in school and had angry, violent outbursts, had been using Meth and other drugs. These problems existed before we met, but came to light shortly thereafter. In addition, I slowly began to realize that I was in a verbally abusive situation. Needless to say, there was much pain, turmoil and upheaval in the first few years of our relationship. However, after a lot of drama and effort (and 5 rehabs for his son and therapy for us), things seem to have settled down. \r\n\r\nHis son is now 18 and lives with him full-time. Though he doesn\'t work and is not showing any signs of being able to live independently, his behavior has improved immensely and he doesn\'t appear to be using (drugs) to the extent that he was previously. The youngest daughter (now 13)lives with her mother and sees my boyfriend every other weekend or so, but being very driven, she has a busy schedule which keeps them from seeing each other on a regular basis.\r\n\r\nRecently, my boyfriend said he\'d like to talk about making a plan to live together in 1 1/2 to 2 years from now. I was surprised at the amount of resentment and frustration that welled up inside me. I wanted a healthy relationship and home environment for my daughter and I. I had wanted to make a life with someone; to make a new family with a man I loved. I told him from the beginning what I was looking for in a relationship. I know it\'s irrational, but I am so angry that it has taken four years to get to this point, and that it has been so painful.\r\n\r\nI feel that I have waited and waited...for him to move out, to get divorced, to have enough time after the divorce to deal with the emotional issues in his marriage, to have enough time for his two younger children to adjust to the new living situation... Now, I\'m looking at waiting another 1 1/2 to 2 years for something that may or may not happen. I\'m angry at myself for waiting, for not being clear and focused on my own and my daughter\'s well being and failing to act in our best interest.\r\n\r\nI told him about my frustration and resentment, and that I didn\'t want to talk about making a plan to live together in a year and a half when we have no idea what shape his son will be in. I have no reason to believe that his son will be ready to live on his own by that time. To this day, my boyfriend hides his cash and valuables so that his son won\'t steal them; it\'s clear that his son cannot live with my daughter and I. \r\n\r\nEven if we are able to take the next step to live together, what will my life be like? I don\'t know if I\'ll ever feel completely safe because of the past verbal abuse, and I feel uncomfortable with some of his family dynamics. \r\n\r\nIt seems that within each set of children from each marriage, there is a child who can do no wrong and a scapegoat, the oldest and youngest being the golden children. Interestingly, they have been cold and rejecting (the youngest) and passive-aggressive and rude (the oldest) in their behavior towards me. His youngest daughter has never warmed up to me to the extent that both my daughter and I feel uncomfortable in her company. I understand why - she may feel that I caused the breakup, she may be jealous and feel that I\'m taking her dad away from her (when he was married, he and his ex had a cold and contentious relationship but he was warmly affectionate and doting on his daughter). I see her maybe once every four to six months at most. He spends the majority of his time with her one-on-one, or he will include his oldest daughter and the three of them will do dinner, movies, vacations and other activities together. I feel a little crazy, because on the one hand I feel excluded and resentful, and on the other hand, I don\'t have any desire to be around her. My boyfriend says that she won\'t necessarily always behave this way, but I see no indication that things will get better on their own. I reach out, but get the cold shoulder. \r\n\r\nI can\'t help but wonder if she harbors resentment because she knew her dad and I had a relationship while he was still living with her mom. She\'s too young to understand the emotional intracacies of living under the same roof with an estranged spouse while working out the logistics of splitting up. I can\'t help but wonder...if he really fell in love with me and wanted to be with me, why didn\'t he want to make sure that things started off on the right foot? Why did he push for a relationship with me even when I voiced my extreme discomfort, and why didn\'t he think about how the relationship would affect any future relationship I might have between his daughter and I? I thought about all those things, and expressed them to him in the beginning of the relationship. He got angry and defensive, and I gave in. Now I regret it and wish I had been stronger. I\'ve since asked him those questions, but have not received an answer that I can fully comprehend.\r\n\r\nAs for the oldest daughter (she\'s 31), she has never warmed up to me either. She makes underhanded remarks almost every time we meet and he has finally admitted that \"there may be something\" with his daughter\'s feelings toward me, based on her behavior. When he and I met, he and and his oldest daughter had a very close relationship. They were confidants and companions. It seemed as though his daughter was the spouse and his wife was just another child. The closeness of their relationship actually gave me the creeps. It has since toned down, and he treats me as his partner and equal and has drawn some emotional boundaries with his daughter. \r\n\r\nI have a better, though still budding, relationship with his second daughter and his son. Both were accepting of me from the beginning. I reached out to them, and unlike the other children, they reached back. His second daughter just recently said that she had never seen her dad happy before...until he met me. Aside from being sweet and reassuring, it affirmed my belief that part of the reason why she accepted me was because she saw how her dad had changed and is a much happier person now. I wish I could say the same for his oldest daughter. My gut tells me over and over that she is jealous of the relationship that my boyfriend and I have.\r\n\r\nShould I stay with a man that I love and care for, who loves me? Yes, I want to make a life and family with a man that I love, but can I have the relationship and family life that I long for with this man? I love and care for him. We have each grown so much as a result of this relationship. He has so many qualities that I had been looking for in a life partner, and it is clear that he loves me. \r\n\r\nIf I do stay, I believe he will continue to compartmentalize his life, leaving my daughter and I to spend time alone with his oldest and/or youngest daughters. I understand they each need time alone with their dad, but will we ever be able to integrate and live as a family? Will I be able to withstand the pain of the rejection and undercutting by his daughters? I honestly don\'t see things changing for the better and based on conversations I\'ve had with my boyfriend, I don\'t know how much support I\'ll have. His second wife had a bad relationship with his two oldest daughters and she\'s the one who\'s been blamed for it entirely. That could be my fate too. I understand that they are his children, so there\'s a bond for life.\r\n\r\nI have so many conflicting thoughts and feelings. A part of me feels as if I\'ve wasted the last four years getting caught up in this situation and wonders if I should get out now that the fog has cleared. Another part of me believes that even the pain served a purpose and I\'m a better person as a result. I don\'t know if I\'ll find someone that has as many good qualities or is as compatible with me. I don\'t know if I should stay and continue to try to work things out, realizing that no situation is perfect and stepfamilies can be difficult and challenging at best. Am I expecting too much, or settling for much less?\r\n'...

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'Please forgive me, this is going to be long. I just need to get this off of my chest. Any advice that would bring clarity would be so much appreciated.\r\n\r\nI have a loving 12-year old daughter. About six years ago, her dad and I separated. The split was amicable and we share custody. I spent the next few years healing and getting in touch with the self that I had buried, and eventually began thinking of what I wanted in my next relationship.\r\n\r\nI fell head over heels in love with a man four years ago. About a month after we met, he told me was married but that he and his wife had decided to end their marriage a few months before we met. Though we hadn\'t been intimate, I was shocked and disappointed. I offered to stay in touch here and there until he was officially separated from his wife and out of the house. We fought about it quite a bit, I vascillated quite a lot, and to this day, I sometimes regret that I didn\'t stand my ground. I was taken aback by his anger and, because I liked him so much, I agreed to move forward with the relationship and tried to make the best of the situation. He swears he wasn\'t unfaithful by being with me and I believe him (about 95%) though I had an extremely difficult time dealing with it. He moved out about eight months later and divorced a year after that.\r\n\r\nShortly after we met, he wanted my then 8-year old daughter and I to meet him and his youngest (9 year old) daughter for an evening out. I told him I didn\'t feel comfortable because he was still living with her mother and I thought it would cause confusion and resentment. He got angry and accused me of trying to tell him how he should raise his children (he has two adult daughters from his first marriage; a teenage son and his youngest daughter from his second marriage). Again, I backed off. The four of us met on a few occasions until his wife told him that she didn\'t feel comfortable with he and their daughter spending time with me and mine while he was still living in the house. I was relieved but at the same time upset that he didn\'t listen to me when I voiced my misgivings. \r\n\r\nIt wasn\'t until year three when he really started to include me in family activities with any of his children. Until that time, I felt excluded and that our lives were compartmentalized. This too, was the cause of many fights.\r\n\r\nAlso in the first few months of our relationship, problems with his son started to escalate. He found out that his 14-year old son, who was failing in school and had angry, violent outbursts, had been using Meth and other drugs. These problems existed before we met, but came to light shortly thereafter. In addition, I slowly began to realize that I was in a verbally abusive situation. Needless to say, there was much pain, turmoil and upheaval in the first few years of our relationship. However, after a lot of drama and effort (and 5 rehabs for his son and therapy for us), things seem to have settled down. \r\n\r\nHis son is now 18 and lives with him full-time. Though he doesn\'t work and is not showing any signs of being able to live independently, his behavior has improved immensely and he doesn\'t appear to be using (drugs) to the extent that he was previously. The youngest daughter (now 13)lives with her mother and sees my boyfriend every other weekend or so, but being very driven, she has a busy schedule which keeps them from seeing each other on a regular basis.\r\n\r\nRecently, my boyfriend said he\'d like to talk about making a plan to live together in 1 1/2 to 2 years from now. I was surprised at the amount of resentment and frustration that welled up inside me. I wanted a healthy relationship and home environment for my daughter and I. I had wanted to make a life with someone; to make a new family with a man I loved. I told him from the beginning what I was looking for in a relationship. I know it\'s irrational, but I am so angry that it has taken four years to get to this point, and that it has been so painful.\r\n\r\nI feel that I have waited and waited...for him to move out, to get divorced, to have enough time after the divorce to deal with the emotional issues in his marriage, to have enough time for his two younger children to adjust to the new living situation... Now, I\'m looking at waiting another 1 1/2 to 2 years for something that may or may not happen. I\'m angry at myself for waiting, for not being clear and focused on my own and my daughter\'s well being and failing to act in our best interest.\r\n\r\nI told him about my frustration and resentment, and that I didn\'t want to talk about making a plan to live together in a year and a half when we have no idea what shape his son will be in. I have no reason to believe that his son will be ready to live on his own by that time. To this day, my boyfriend hides his cash and valuables so that his son won\'t steal them; it\'s clear that his son cannot live with my daughter and I. \r\n\r\nEven if we are able to take the next step to live together, what will my life be like? I don\'t know if I\'ll ever feel completely safe because of the past verbal abuse, and I feel uncomfortable with some of his family dynamics. \r\n\r\nIt seems that within each set of children from each marriage, there is a child who can do no wrong and a scapegoat, the oldest and youngest being the golden children. Interestingly, they have been cold and rejecting (the youngest) and passive-aggressive and rude (the oldest) in their behavior towards me. His youngest daughter has never warmed up to me to the extent that both my daughter and I feel uncomfortable in her company. I understand why - she may feel that I caused the breakup, she may be jealous and feel that I\'m taking her dad away from her (when he was married, he and his ex had a cold and contentious relationship but he was warmly affectionate and doting on his daughter). I see her maybe once every four to six months at most. He spends the majority of his time with her one-on-one, or he will include his oldest daughter and the three of them will do dinner, movies, vacations and other activities together. I feel a little crazy, because on the one hand I feel excluded and resentful, and on the other hand, I don\'t have any desire to be around her. My boyfriend says that she won\'t necessarily always behave this way, but I see no indication that things will get better on their own. I reach out, but get the cold shoulder. \r\n\r\nI can\'t help but wonder if she harbors resentment because she knew her dad and I had a relationship while he was still living with her mom. She\'s too young to understand the emotional intracacies of living under the same roof with an estranged spouse while working out the logistics of splitting up. I can\'t help but wonder...if he really fell in love with me and wanted to be with me, why didn\'t he want to make sure that things started off on the right foot? Why did he push for a relationship with me even when I voiced my extreme discomfort, and why didn\'t he think about how the relationship would affect any future relationship I might have between his daughter and I? I thought about all those things, and expressed them to him in the beginning of the relationship. He got angry and defensive, and I gave in. Now I regret it and wish I had been stronger. I\'ve since asked him those questions, but have not received an answer that I can fully comprehend.\r\n\r\nAs for the oldest daughter (she\'s 31), she has never warmed up to me either. She makes underhanded remarks almost every time we meet and he has finally admitted that \"there may be something\" with his daughter\'s feelings toward me, based on her behavior. When he and I met, he and and his oldest daughter had a very close relationship. They were confidants and companions. It seemed as though his daughter was the spouse and his wife was just another child. The closeness of their relationship actually gave me the creeps. It has since toned down, and he treats me as his partner and equal and has drawn some emotional boundaries with his daughter. \r\n\r\nI have a better, though still budding, relationship with his second daughter and his son. Both were accepting of me from the beginning. I reached out to them, and unlike the other children, they reached back. His second daughter just recently said that she had never seen her dad happy before...until he met me. Aside from being sweet and reassuring, it affirmed my belief that part of the reason why she accepted me was because she saw how her dad had changed and is a much happier person now. I wish I could say the same for his oldest daughter. My gut tells me over and over that she is jealous of the relationship that my boyfriend and I have.\r\n\r\nShould I stay with a man that I love and care for, who loves me? Yes, I want to make a life and family with a man that I love, but can I have the relationship and family life that I long for with this man? I love and care for him. We have each grown so much as a result of this relationship. He has so many qualities that I had been looking for in a life partner, and it is clear that he loves me. \r\n\r\nIf I do stay, I believe he will continue to compartmentalize his life, leaving my daughter and I to spend time alone with his oldest and/or youngest daughters. I understand they each need time alone with their dad, but will we ever be able to integrate and live as a family? Will I be able to withstand the pain of the rejection and undercutting by his daughters? I honestly don\'t see things changing for the better and based on conversations I\'ve had with my boyfriend, I don\'t know how much support I\'ll have. His second wife had a bad relationship with his two oldest daughters and she\'s the one who\'s been blamed for it entirely. That could be my fate too. I understand that they are his children, so there\'s a bond for life.\r\n\r\nI have so many conflicting thoughts and feelings. A part of me feels as if I\'ve wasted the last four years getting caught up in this situation and wonders if I should get out now that the fog has cleared. Another part of me believes that even the pain served a purpose and I\'m a better person as a result. I don\'t know if I\'ll find someone that has as many good qualities or is as compatible with me. I don\'t know if I should stay and continue to try to work things out, realizing that no situation is perfect and stepfamilies can be difficult and challenging at best. Am I expecting too much, or settling for much less?\r\n'...

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'About 3 months ago I moved in with my boyfriend of 3 years. At the beginning everything was going great. But about 3 weeks ago everything changed from my perspective. \r\n\r\nWe both work long hours and he also has some recreational activities that he has during the week right after work. I go to his games and are usually together. But come the weekend when we both have to days off. He usually goes out and spends some time with his buddies. That really does not bother me, what does bother me is the fact that he comes home at 4 in morning and drunk. \r\n\r\nDue to this drinking I\'ve felt that he has just become careless about our relationship and that the only one that is doing any type of compromise is me. On the days that we both have off we really don\'t spend time with each other, and the time that we do is usually just watching TV and is usually what he wants to watch. Going to get togethers with friends is a nightmare. Always with a drink in his hand and getting drunk knowing that he has to drive. \r\n\r\nI just feel that in a way I am being taken advantage off. I have told him that I have a problem with his drinking and the fact that we usually don\'t do anything together when we have days off. (being able to be together was the reason we moved in). Am I just a push over, or he just not realizing that he is just taking advantage of me not asking for much in the relationship. I should I be considering a break up or should I be holding on? '...

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'I have been with my boyfriend for 4 years now and am starting to have some doubts. We started going out when I was 18 years old and he was my first and only boyfriend. We were also both virgins when we met. The problem that I\'m having is that I feel like I\'m missing out because I have never been single. I wish that I had met him later in life so that we could settle down and get married and have kids, but I\'m not ready to do any of those things, so it feels like our relationship is not going anywhere. I want to be able to go to bars wit my friends and flirt with cute guys. Also he is 5 years older than me and has had other girlfriends and experienced being single so when he talks about it I feel like I should be doing those things now, not living in my own place with my boyfriend and talking about having kids. What should I do? '...

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'my boyfriend and i have been dating for over 2 yrs now . im ready to settle down and hes not . for the past 6 months we\'ve been talking about getting a house and now its like he wants nothing to do with me ! we\'ve made so many plans for our future and now after 2 yrs he thinks we\'re moving too fast ! i am not sure what to think about the situation ! i love him so much and i want nothing more than to spend my life with him but he doesnt want the same thing s i do ! what so i do !'...

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