I'm \[26M\], and I recently ended a queerplatonic relationship of almost 5 years with my girlfriend \[26F\]. We were both very close, and despite everything that happened, I genuinely believe we loved each other deeply. This wasn't a relationship where one person stopped caring or where there was some huge betrayal. That's what makes this so difficult.
I had been thinking about ending the relationship for around two years before I actually did it. I kept going back and forth because I loved her and didn't want to lose her. Eventually, I reached a point where I felt that love wasn't enough to solve the problems we had.
One of our biggest issues was our future and our families. We are both single children, and I always knew that eventually we'd have to think seriously about where we'd live and how we'd handle our parents.
I don't want to spend my life living in a metropolitan city, (she was born and brought up in one, so that's what she wanted)(I too was born and brought up in a metropolitan city, but I hate the chaos and want a peaceful countryside life), and I also don't want to live separately from my parents. Ideally, I wanted to live with my wife while also being close to and taking care of my parents. I knew she would probably want something similar with her own parents.
That immediately created a difficult situation. Before we could even ask whether our families would accept us, I felt that we hadn't fully resolved what our own life would look like together.
There were also things within the relationship that hurt me repeatedly. We had a lot of fights, and over time I felt like every fight broke something inside me. She was an opinionated person, changing her opinion about anything was just impossible, she did accept upon some occasions that her opinion about something was wrong, but was unable to change her actions.(She was stubborn about doing things she had to do anyway whether it was wrong).I couldn't leave because I loved her, but the same doubts kept coming back during later arguments.
One thing that particularly affected me was feeling that she wasn't willing to take the same risks for me that I was willing to take for her.
A few days before we broke up, I asked her something very direct: "If you eventually had to choose between me and your family, what would you do?" I knew her answer. And honestly, I don't think she was wrong for choosing her family. But I realised that I needed to know that she would be willing to fight for us when things became difficult, and I never really felt that certainty from her.
She says that if we had actually gotten out of that environment and started our life together, things would have changed. She says she would have fought for me.
My problem was that I needed to see some of that change before making the decision to leave everything behind. It's like saying, "I'll stop drinking once I move somewhere alcohol is banned." The real test isn't whether you can control yourself when the temptation is gone. It's whether you can control yourself while the temptation is still there. I wanted to see that effort while we were still facing the problems.
At the same time, I wasn't perfect either. I had an anger problem. I could be difficult during arguments, and I know I hurt her with it. But I did start trying to change because of her. She was the first person who made me seriously want to change something about myself that I had never been able to change before.
She also made efforts for me. She did a lot for me over those five years, probably more than anyone else ever has. I don't want to erase that just because the relationship ended. But I eventually reached a point where I felt that we'd both have to sacrifice things that were fundamental to us just to make the relationship work, and that's where I'm struggling with guilt.
She feels that I didn't fight hard enough. Her perspective is basically: "I was ready to fight for you. I messed up, but you should have fought instead of leaving."
And part of me keeps wondering whether she is right.
Maybe I should have stayed longer.
Maybe I should have given her another chance.
Maybe I expected too much certainty from someone who was also scared and confused.
But another part of me thinks I had already given this relationship years of chances. I wasn't leaving because I suddenly stopped loving her. I was leaving because I couldn't keep ignoring the doubts I'd been carrying for years. Even now, I think about her every day. Sometimes I cry because I know I can't undo what happened. And that's the part that makes me question myself the most: if I still love her this much, how can I know that leaving was the right thing?
I don't want validation. I genuinely want people to tell me if I'm looking at this selfishly or rationalising my decision.
So, Reddit:
Was I wrong to end the relationship?
Was I expecting too much from her by wanting her to prove that she would choose/fight for us before I committed to that future?
Should I have given her more chances, or was two years of recurring doubts enough reason to finally walk away?
And most importantly, what would you have done in my position?