I’ll try my best to make a long story short. -
met partner 9+ years ago, pre everything-
felt queer, never had room to explore it so we opened our relationship a few years into it so I could explore my bisexuality- eventually realize I’m a man. partner has been nothing but supportive. does my shots. took excellent care of me after top surgery. has never asked me not to do something. - financially, things have gotten more difficult. we are continually stressed.
partner also has a medical issue that makes sex difficult (probably in part caused by stress), so we don’t have sex often. - i can understand that,
except when we do kiss or have sex, etc, sometimes he flinches. our kisses aren’t as passionate. we only really does what he likes. I’m often more turned on when I’m more in control, but I can tell that’s a turn-off for him. - That’s okay, I can enjoy being submissive.
Still, if he’s not the one initiating, it doesn’t happen. 99% of the time we don’t end up having sex when I initiate.- I keep asking what’s going on, to be honest if he’s not into guys.
He assures me he’s into guys because he’s down to try a dick. I remind him not all men have dicks, not all dicks belong to men. He cites a dare where he kissed a person who then later came out as a trans woman, and a borderline assault as gay experiences. I tell him those don’t count. He says he hasn’t had one then, which ofc hurts because what about me then? He apologizes and says I do count. - Things don’t get better. We feel like roommates who cuddle. We still love each other, but it doesn’t feel the same. -
One day during an argument I mistake something he says for wanting to end our relationship. I start crying about it, he thinks I’m trying to end the relationship. Tells me okay it’s true. I’m not attracted to guys. Sorry. I don’t like having a guy come on to me. I don’t think I can give you what you need. etc etc. -
I am, of course, emotionally obliterated. I spend the whole next day crying. The day after that he sees how depressed I am. He asks why I’m so sad. I say it’s because our relationship is over. He feels awful, apologizes and says none of the stuff he said before was true.
He’s just ashamed that he’s still attracted to women but that he does like men. I decide to believe him even though deep down I don’t because he’s begging me to believe him. We have some incredible sex. I feel totally confused. - A few weeks of no sex again, I try to dress fem to get his attention. He likes it but we can’t do anything bc of his issue. He apologizes and asks if I enjoyed dressing like that. I admit I don’t. He says I shouldn’t do that then, which I appreciate. -
Months go by, my sense of “he’s not into me” doesn’t go away. In June a small but very stressful event happens, which makes me bring our relationship into question again. He says he feels bad because he can tell he’s not what I need and that he thinks he’s sapping the life out of me. But we still love each other so we decide to keep going. - Things go VERY south financially and we face eviction.
His parents offer to house him but not me bc i’m trans. He refuses to abandon me which I appreciate. -
We narrowly avoid homelessness bc I pull us out of by raising the money thru social media and finding a new place etc. He admits having not done much in comparison to me and feels bad. It bugs me a little but he’s been there for me like after surgery so who cares. - As we’re packing, he says something like “i can’t really be in a relationship right now. i just can’t be there for someone like that. I hope you don’t take that the wrong way”. I say I’m not hurt. That I just hope I’m not holding him back. He says he’s the one worried he’s holding me back.- In truth, I am very hurt, but we had a very short window of time to pack and talking about my hurt would delay us at least an hour or two so I decide to put it aside. - Unfortunately since the move a few days ago, I have started to feel like my love is quickly fading. He’s been a bit short with me because of all the stress we’re under
plus he’s unmedicated. Yesterday we got into an hour long argument because I told him he misremembered washing the dishes, today he got annoyed with me because I made a suggestion in the grocery store. - Talking about it will potentially turn into an hours long affair where I end up crying a lot to make my point because he has a hard time seeing why something hurt my feelings or thinks i shouldn’t be hurt because he didn’t mean to hurt me. Sometimes I admit I really do get onto him too much too. So I don’t really bother bringing it up anymore. - What really keeps replaying over and over in my mind is how many times he’s said he can’t be there for me as a partner, how many times he’s said he feels bad he can’t be what I need and I keep asking myself “what am I doing?”- he’s noticed my lack of enthusiasm for cuddling and kissing and asks if i’m okay. i say i am because i don’t want to rehash the same argument we keep having that ends with him swearing he’s attracted to me, that it’s just the medical thing, that i’m adding stress to an already very stressful time, that i am free to go on grindr, to please believe him and have some patience. And I will feel awful and shame myself for continuing to question his attraction. It’s hard making myself kiss him when I don’t feel it.
Right now job situation is fucked (hence why almost homeless).
I don’t have any friends or family I can stay with. I barely have friends at all. We own a dog and a cat together. We still get along perfectly well as people. I just don’t think we’ve been partners for some time.
I feel so crushed. I don’t know what to do. Nothing really wrong has ever happened, so ending a relationship over not feeling loved enough during a time of extreme stress feels stupid. Like should I ride it out until it’s not stressful anymore and see if it improves?
To make matters more complicated, me and a transfem friend are pretty sure he’s a super closeted transfem. I don’t have time to get into it, but if I did you’d all say “oh yeah. i see why”.
This wouldn’t matter if I hadn’t recently realized I’m a gay man. In that vein, I often wonder if he’s a transbian. If he came out to me as a girl, I’d still support him and would still be willing to platonically spend our life together, but I know I’d lose attraction as they got further in transition.
idk i feel like an idiot. an idiot if i stay, an idiot if i go. i wish i had someone irl to talk to about this.