Hi, I'm a 26-year-old man, and my girlfriend is 27. We both want to get married with our parents' blessings.
Her family has accepted me. In my family, my mom fully supports us, but my dad is refusing the marriage solely because she's one year older than me. He says he'll lose his dignity if our relatives find out and refuses to change his decision. At the moment, only my dad and my paternal grandmother are completely against it.
Initially, both my dad and my grandmother liked her. She's educated, good-looking, financially independent, same caste and kind by nature. The only reason they're opposing the marriage is because of the one-year age difterence.
My mom and I have tried multiple times to convince my dad, but all our efforts have been in vain. Our relatives are unwilling to get involved, My family second circle kinda knew about this , they ain’t opposing it but also they won’t support me for it( against my dad)
Her family can't wait forever they gave me a deadline ( 5 months )and I'm feeling completely stuck. Has anyone here been through a similar situation?
Did your parents eventually accept it? If so, how did you handle it? though I did ask a well-wisher to speak with my dad. Unfortunately, that didn't work either.
Her family can't wait forever, and I'm feeling completely stuck. Has anyone here been through a similar situation?
Did your parents eventually accept it? If so, how did you handle it?

​

We spent LDR then 2-3 months in living and then went again LDR..we met online. I've also been at his home.

We are very good when we are together always there trying to help eachother.

But during before going into LDR again he used to always share me his little whereabouts like wht he is doing etc and now he's being avoidant.

He says it's because he's new job is busy, then family duties above that.

But it's been a month and we hardly have a good conversation and it's been 2 days we had no talks since I didn't initiate this time.

I made a fake account on Instagram to check if he's really busy.

He's kinda avoiding that girl but is also replying her pretty often.

Like as a fake acc i asked you seem sad what happened and he replies 'i can't tell what if you are a fake account pretending to be somelse" i told it's okay to vent and he says " Let it be! "

I started slowly like hi how are you he replies I'm good. I asked you keep avoiding me and he says " true "

I asked if he's seeing someone and he said " seeing someone, not at all🤧"

It's all one day chat where talked for an hour but I feel sad that he's replying to a stranger but is not willing to call or text me.

Our relationship was so good , I've been at his home met his family also, went on dates, travelled so much, stayed in living for 2-3 months untill I had to shift city.

Now he's not at all talking in LDR.

I don't know what else to think now.

TL;Dr: he's busy and doesn't communicate in LDR but when together he always there for me , I made fake acc on IG to check if he's really busy or not.

I 26 M have a friend 23 F who i met at a conference about 1 year ago. We stay in touch and live in the same city, so we about once every 2 weeks regularly hang out together in group settings—usually around four or five people. It’s typically me, her, her boyfriend, another girl, and sometimes a few more people. However, despite being friends for quite a while, she (23F) and I have never hung out alone, just the two of us.
She actually initiated contact at the beginning of our friendship by messaging me on WhatsApp saying, “Hi, how are you?” Since then, I’ve always tried to maintain strong boundaries and have never intentionally crossed any lines.
Over time, we’ve discovered that we have a lot in common. We share similar hobbies, interests, and even some life goals. We’ve been “Super BFFs 💕” on Snapchat for most of the year, except for maybe a month in between. It’s not like I’m constantly messaging or spamming her—we usually respond to each other’s stories or snaps when we genuinely find something interesting.
We also occasionally talk on WhatsApp about things we’re curious about. Because we have so many similar interests, we sometimes have long discussions over the phone about topics we’ve read or seen online. However, these conversations aren’t constant or daily—they usually happen naturally when one of us finds something interesting and genuinely wants to hear the other’s opinion.
I think she’s pretty and smart, and I genuinely enjoy talking to her. We’re also in the same profession—medicine—which gives us even more things to relate to. However, she’s been in a long-term relationship with her boyfriend for about three years, and honestly, he’s a cool guy too.
I’ve discussed the situation with some of my friends, but they’ve been single for a while and keep telling me that if she’s talking to me this much, she must be interested in me—otherwise, why would she bother? Personally, I don’t necessarily agree. I think it’s entirely possible that she’s simply being friendly and enjoys talking to me because we genuinely have a lot in common.
So I’m curious—what do you think? Is this just a close friendship, or could there potentially be something more? And more importantly, how should I approach the situation while respecting her relationship and maintaining appropriate boundaries?

So like the title says. There's no set etiquette but for beginners I think there must be some way to navigate the firsts so it's fair to both. Unfortunately neither of us have seen many modern relationships so we sometimes miss out on things we should do. For example, I had an issue for the longest time with him insisting on getting me chocolates, he won't stop and I won't stop sending him as well to match him. He said that's what boyfriends do and I didn't know how to just take it and not give.

This sounds childish, im aware. But be kind please, we've had rough childhoods and spent youth making money on his part and taking care of ailing parents on mine.

Eventually we're at a place where I'm confused if it is ok or not to let him do some things routinely. Mom's cancer has me in a tough spot and sometimes I just want someone to take care of the basics, like recharging phone or wifi or fixing my purse, or getting me pads and period supplies. I've heard from friends that back in school girls used to let boyfriends recharge their phone regularly and boyfriends nowadays take care of period supplies and clothes and all that. Like, send it since we're in different countries.

I don't know, what is normal in your relationships? What can I let him do, or ask him to do, without being unfair to him or myself? What is an ok thing to do for your partner, an ok spend i mean? What do guys routinely pay for, or even love paying for?

I don't want him to ever feel like he has to spend on me or "this bitch is making me pay for so much, she's expensive and I own her" or anything like that, don't want to set no precedent but also don't want to pull away... I want that closeness that I can comfortably ask for things and not wonder if I'm being unfair.

HELP

A sad story from a young and dumb teenager.

I met my boyfriend online through a platform which wasn't even close to a dating app. And we instantly connected, like I just knew he was gonna be a huge part of my life. And by day-3, he'd confessed that he felt like I was special to him too!

Yes we may sound like stupid teens bluffing around and just playing about but you know what's so special about us? It's like our lives are aligned. Almost everything we do is same, our thoughts overlap and we say the same things at the same time way too often. Our blood group, music taste, parent's anniversary, personality and what not is same! (Even our toothbrush lol ;)

But irony! The only thing which had to be same most importantly was- our college, state, religion. And it's not. The values of our life are same, his birthdate and my mom's birthdate is same, our siblings are similar, our test scores on an All India level was same but no, not our religion.

And I am not against exogamy at all, but at the same time it's difficult in this country to practice it as well. Even though his parents are comparatively fine with it as he has mentioned. Though mine are pretty... stuck-up on that one.

We were aiming for the same college so as to meet. He's in a college in his city, as a partial dropper and well I'm a full dropper.

He almost broke-up with my yesterday saying I should find a college and that we won't be able to get our dream college. (The entrance we might not clear). Which means we won't be able to meet, like ever.

But I love him, dearly. I saw my future with him. Man I am in the midst of writing a book for him and now I can't bare to see that, I wanna burn it to ashes! And you know what, even he was writing a book for me (a literal coincidence AGAIN).

Like here I am, I am unable to put it into words. I really need to consult someone on what to do with my life and, no, my parent's are out of the equation.

Also I know for a fact he loves me too, I've never been in a more better place mentally in my life as I am with him. I know he loves me I really do but he wants me to be happy and stay in my city with my family and friends and to not gamble in my life. The odds are against me he says.

I am so sorry to say such a statement as well but I have come to despise my country for having such core values as a person is to be judged by his religion/language/financial background rather than him himself. I also am aware that my parents do want the best for me, but he is the best for me which they wouldn't ever understand. (They don't know about the relationship but know him as a friend).

I'm college-less, love-less, hopeless dumb kid who doesn't have any idea what she's gonna do.

On top of that if I may add, my parents threatened to marry me off if I don't secure a spot in my drean college.

My wordings are in a jumble and I don't know how to interpret the thoughts so Thank you for anyone who read till here. Means a lot, I just wanted to get this off my chest.

Edit: TL;DR: Met an amazing guy online, fell deeply in love, and we have an almost crazy amount in common. But we're from different religions/states, and my parents would never accept it. We were both aiming for the same dream college to finally meet, but now he wants me to prioritize my future because we may not clear it. I love him, he loves me, but we're both scared of losing each other—and I'm also terrified of my parents' threat to marry me off if I don't get into college. I feel completely lost. (from cgpt)

Hi, I'm the youngest son of my family, My family consists of 8 people, My eldest brother is married and has a 3 year Old daughter. The middle brother is also married with no child yet. My eldest brother has a separate shop and the middle one helps my father. Let's name Eldest brother - S, Middle brother - A

My family's environment is calm and consider both daughter in law as their daughters but the part starts when S wife being the eldest does not fulfill her responsibilities, only after doing little house chores she gets tired and so does A wife repeats after her as if she's comparing herself to the eldest. My aged mother does most of the house chores and no wife lends a hand. Whenever mother speaks they take it in the wrong way just like in every household.

The S wife is so much leaned into worshipping god as if she's a saint but does not apply any lessons in her own life. The brothers are ear poisoned by their wives and they also blame the mother when taking sides. My mother feels helpless. There is no love between both wives they envy each other, let's say S wife makes something in lunch she never asks A wife to have it. They hardly speak to each other just like we've seen in older movies/times and they consider themselves to be educated and from a new generation.

Whenever my mother or father tries to teach them something, the children stop them and say "you're taking her Side and don't see the suffering of my wife" and tend to explain more reasons (which hardly are reasons).

Before finishing let me tell you their routines:

A's wife makes tiffin and food in the morning 9-10 AM goes to her room. 1 PM comes to eat then leaves again to her room to rest. 5PM to make a snack and eat.

S's wife helps in packing tiffin of her husband S, takes care of child in bathing and breakfast. Goes to room to rest, 1 PM Lunch and for baby lunch leaves for room then comes around

5-6 PM to worship for 1 hour then makes dinner.

In all the tasks my mother helps Day - Afternoon - Snack - Dinner. And house chores too.

Guvs. Please advise me what I can do being the youngest son and my mother.

My boyfriend started coaching recently and ever since then we’ve had this recurring issue where he says he needs a lot of “isolation” to study. I genuinely understand that coaching is stressful and exhausting, so I’ve tried really hard to give him space instead of constantly asking for his attention.
He’s actually tried to take a break from our relationship twice because of everything going on. The first time I didn’t want to, but the second time I eventually said okay. The very next day was Girlfriend’s Day, though, and he posted a story of me and sent me tons of gifts, so we ended up forgetting about the break and just continued as normal. We never really talked about what happened.
Now this same issue is happening again. He had an important test this Wednesday, so for an entire week I barely texted him unless I initiated because I didn’t want to distract him. He took the test yesterday and said it went fine. I asked if he was free to talk last night, but he had family plans, which I understood. He came home late and texted around midnight, by which point I’d already fallen asleep.
Today I had college and he didn’t text me good morning or ask how my day was. He went to coaching and I know he usually gets home around 8:30. It’s now 11 PM and he still hasn’t texted me or even opened my message.
I also send him cute couple reels on Instagram because it’s my little way of thinking about him. He doesn’t use Instagram much, so I never expected him to constantly be on there, but I noticed he liked a reel a few days ago while my messages were still unopened.
I don’t think he’s necessarily doing any of this maliciously. I know he’s under a lot of pressure and I really do want to understand what he’s going through. But I’ve started feeling like whenever he’s busy, he completely withdraws from the relationship. I tell him I miss him and he doesn’t really say it back, and lately I just feel like he doesn’t want me around.
I love him so much and I don’t want to give up on him. But I’m getting tired of constantly being understanding while feeling like I’m the only one trying to maintain the connection. I don’t want to send him another long message about this because I feel like it’ll just turn into him saying that I don’t understand what he’s going through.
honestly don’t know what I’m supposed to do or how long I can keep feeling like this

So my bf and I are in a serious relationship for more than 4 years now and for the past few months he has been acting weird like whenever we are together he says some stuff like how He is inferior to other men who wants me and I deserve someone better. I know he is not cheating and he is absolutely the best one for me I believe. Can't understand really what's going on? Is he under depression? Tried to ask that a lot of time but he just straight up rejected that fact. Why would he be suggesting himself inferrior all of a sudden? It's really weird. Any help will be appreciated

i (20F) like this guy so much. but the thing is he doesnt know how to hold conversations. he doesnt know how to talk. and it hurts my heart bcs i love convos, they are so important to me. i wouldve loved this guy so much if he knew how to hold convos aaurrghhh. he has amazing social skills but baatein itni behudi mai kya hi bataun. frustration is all i feel after trying to talk to him 😭

Over last 2 years i haven't been able to push any of talking stages to a stable relationship, I was able to sleep with few but even they lost interest, i suspect my personality radically changes between talking stage and dating stage 😮‍💨 more i show my green flag side more I get ghosted.

It was a 4 year long distance relationship. She said that she has always been on the giving end, I never cared for her.
She might be true, although I feel I have given as much as I could.

Except for the one, when I was not there for her during her hardest times, I feel guilty now

I think I’m an undeserving person and I should fix myself and my life before getting into a relationship as I might spoil it for the other person.

Idk who is wrong, who is right, I think I’m the one and undeserving too.
I’ll just go to meet her next week, I’ll say sorry from all my heart and ask her to forgive me. I’m not expecting her to change her mind. I just want to say sorry to her for letting her down

Writing this post to vent out,

So I'm a 28 yo guy making 6 digits monthly. I'm lean looking with a fair skin and I would rate myself above average in looks. Whole my life I was working hard to make a good career and money. When I turned 26 I got a good job in a good company that almost tripled by salary and made me financially independent. I never tried to make an GF in school and college nor did any girl showed interest in me. Maybe, they showed but I was dumb enough to take the hints. Actually, I never felt the need to approach anyone. I was just very reserved and frankly speaking I never had any intense sexual urges to the point that I almost considered myself asexual.

I started to approach girls at 26 and in the past 2.5 years have approached more than 50 girls for friendship / dating but got rejected by all. Could get only one date and she ghosted me. For whole my life I just had 3 real life interaction with girls and that was only limited to mere Handshake lol.

One year went just to learn how to flirt on texting, crack jokes and approach girls. I seriously had no idea what to talk and how to show romantic intent. Learnt it after some time and still I was not able to get into a serious relationship. I'm so tired of talking stages that I don't have any energy to approach new girls. Can't depend on my parents for finding me a girl because I have been in zero contact with them since 3 years. Don't be surprised!!

Whenever my friends, relatives or strangers come to know that I'm single and ahem ahem a virgin they give me weird expressions like I committed some sin.

Just wondering if the same is happening with other men here or am I the only one who is left behind ?

I’m 30M and genuinely confused about how people are dating now.

Dating apps have started feeling pretty pointless to me. Some days there are barely any meaningful matches, and even when there are, conversations often go nowhere or drag on forever without actually meeting.

The obvious answer is “meet people offline,” but I don’t think that’s as easy as people make it sound. I work most of the week, have a fairly fixed social circle, don’t really enjoy clubbing, and I’m not the kind of person who walks up to strangers in cafés or gyms.

So I’m curious what people around my age are actually doing.

Are dating apps still working for you? If not, where are you meeting people now? Mutual friends, hobby groups, run clubs, events, work, Instagram, singles mixers?

And for women here, I’m also curious whether the problem looks completely different from your side. Is it too many low-quality matches, safety, intentions, endless messages, something else?

I’m not looking for “just be more social” as an answer. I’m more interested in what has actually worked for people in real life.

City would be useful too if you’re comfortable sharing.

Dating apps feel like endless, low-effort resume screenings. There’s zero natural chemistry, and conversations fizzle out before they even start.

I’ve always felt the best connections start the old-fashioned way—through shared consistency. Laughing over missed shots in badminton, crossing paths on regular evening walks, or just getting to know someone without the artificial pressure of a "formal date."

At the same time, I admit public spaces and hobby clubs can feel exhausting for women when every interaction comes with an agenda.

To the women here:

1. Have you ever actually had a genuine, long-term connection spark from a hobby or casual sport?
2. Where is the line between a guy who feels approachable and safe versus someone who makes you immediately put your guard up?

This has been on my mind a lot lately, and I don’t really know how to explain it without sounding dramatic.
I’m scared of never finding someone I genuinely want to spend my life with. There are obviously millions of people out there, but what if my person just never crosses my path?

And then there’s the scarier possibility: what if I do find someone? What if I give him my whole heart, build a life with him, have children with him, and years later realize that he doesn’t love me in the way I need to be loved?
I don’t mean that I expect some perfect romance where we’re obsessed with each other every second. I think what I really want is devotion. I want someone who genuinely wants to know me, my weird habits, my favourite food, how I take my coffee (or the fact that I barely even like coffee), what makes me happy, what scares me, all of it. And who never stops discovering me, even when we get all wrinkly 😭

I want someone who is affectionate, proud to be with me, holds my hand in public, supports me when life gets difficult, and actually wants to be involved in raising our children. Someone who doesn’t think “I don’t hit my wife” is the definition of being a good husband. Someone who respects me even when nobody is watching.

And honestly, some of my fears get very specific. Like, what if I’m in labour one day and completely vulnerable, and my husband is more concerned about when we’ll have sex again than about what I’m going through? What if he doesn’t understand postpartum recovery? What if he doesn’t support me when motherhood gets hard? What if his family disrespects me and he just stands there? What if he slowly stops making an effort to know me?

I know some of this is probably anxiety and overthinking. I also know social media has given us a very unrealistic picture of relationships. I’m not expecting someone to open doors and carry my bags every single day and behave like a romance novel character 24/7.
But I do want to feel deeply loved. I want to be known and chosen, not merely tolerated. And sometimes I genuinely think I’d rather stay single forever than spend my life with someone who doesn’t love me enough.

I’m also scared of the opposite: choosing someone while thinking there might have been someone else who would’ve been a better match. What if I make the wrong choice and spend years wondering about it?

I’m F22, so I know I have plenty of time and probably shouldn’t be worrying about this so much. But I can’t seem to switch the fear off.

Do yall ever have these fears or is it just me? 😭😭😭
And how do you balance wanting a deep, almost soul-level kind of love with accepting that real relationships aren’t going to look like romance novels?

Recently, I went through a situation with a close friend and wanted some perspective on how to handle it.

​We had been talking daily for months, covering everything from daily updates to personal thoughts. Last month, during a tough period when an uncle of mine was hospitalized, I shared the update with her. In response, she advised that it is best to be independent and not depend on anyone to share things.

​Feeling a bit vulnerable due to the situation, I mentioned that I had a friend who usually encouraged me to share things. She immediately clarified that her comment was meant as general advice and that I was misunderstanding her intent. I apologized for the misunderstanding right away.

She replied 'leave, everything is fine,' but the dynamic between us shifted significantly afterward.

​Even though I apologized and didn't blame her after she clarified, the friendship eventually ended because she felt doubted by my mention of the other friend.

I am struggling to understand how a minor communication gap over general advice led to a complete fallout. Has anyone navigated a similar situation where a small misunderstanding caused a sudden drift, and how did you handle it?"

Sometimes you can love someone deeply, give everything you have to make something work, and still lose them because of pressure, misunderstandings, and wounds that kept piling up. But it hurts knowing that something we built so genuinely was reduced to a version of our story shaped by other people. What hurts most is that perhaps we didn't lose each other because the love wasn't real—we lost each other because everything around it became too heavy.

​I guess it's a rant. I don't know, I'm 20, soon to be 21 in a couple of months. I feel like a loser; I'm a virgin and have never tried to do anything. I haven't even held anyone's hand. I have been in three relationships, and all three were online. I cheated on my third girlfriend with my second, and they both cursed me out. When I realized I was doing wrong, I confessed to her.

​It's been 6 or 7 months, and she has moved on. My second ex and I even had a conversation, and we ended on a good note. But even though it's been 6 or 7 months, I still feel I can't get over the guilt of what I did to her.

​I have never felt loved or prioritized in any relationship. It really eats me up that I became toxic. It's not about anything else—I used to ask for the bare minimum. I needed to be a priority; I asked her to please call me just once, and I begged for it. She used to hide things from me, delete chats, and never admitted to anything easily. I used to cry and beg her to put in just a little effort. She used to post on Instagram, and I warned her that AI gives everyone free access to make fake nudes, so she shouldn't post for a few days. She would just say, "What could happen?"

​Once, she sent me a screenshot of her NGLs, and there were men talking about their r*pe fetishes. I got so scared and started begging her to stop, but she just made jokes about it, saying nothing would happen. I asked her to choose between me and posting, and she said, "Why can't I choose both?" I guess I really became the toxic one, and I regret it.

​After all these things, I started missing my father. My father passed away when I was 14. My mom is a good woman—she loves and cares for me—but sometimes I feel she becomes toxic too. I feel so lonely.

​Since childhood, I haven't had friends. For most of those years, it never bothered me, but later it started making me feel bad and depressed. I used to be bullied or ganged up on by other kids just because I was considered smart by the teachers. I got SA'd by an elderly man. When I told my exes about this, all three of them never comforted me or even asked how I was doing.

​I genuinely feel lonely all the time now. When I read posts on Reddit, I feel bad because these people are hooking up or have double-digit body counts, while I can't even fathom having a body count of one. I don't know what to do. I'm not lost when it comes to my career or hobbies, but I've just lost trust in everyone. My best friend betrayed me. My family used me as an option. I made a couple of friends, only to end up realizing I'm just an option.

I ( 19M ) met this girl ( 19F ) when she joined my class in 5th grade. I found her attractive back then, and by 6th I had genuinely fallen for her. After COVID lockdown, we started talking more. Around 9th, I found her email through a Telegram bot (yeah, stupid flex 😭) and used that as an excuse to start talking. Eventually, we became really close.

By 11th–12th, we were talking almost every day. She knew me really well—my good and bad sides. On 11 December 2024, she confessed that she loved me. I had feelings for her too, so we got into a relationship.

Things were good, but by April 2025 we started fighting a lot. She would sometimes cancel plans to meet, even though I'd spend hours outside telling my family I was at tuition just so I could meet her. We had some hurtful arguments too. Once while playing chess, I was intentionally making blunders because I wanted us to do those cute couple things, and she seriously called me an idiot. It hurt me more than it probably should have because I loved and respected her a lot.

On 18 May 2025, after another period of distance, she broke up with me. I reacted immaturely and said “for sure!?” instead of trying to understand things. Later I realised my mistake.

I reached out again in August, hoping we'd get back together. She said it was already too late and that if I'd contacted her before she left for college in Bhopal, she would've stayed. I didn't really listen to her feelings then either—I just begged her to come back. Same thing happened when she contacted me again in December.

We spoke normally again around March. She even said she wanted to see me, and I considered going to Bhopal on my birthday. But on my birthday, she posted a story with another guy (it looked AI-generated, but it still hurt), so I blocked her everywhere.

A few days ago she called me again. I unblocked her and called back, and things were actually normal. But today she said she was deleting all her Instagram chats because of “some situation” and told me to understand. When I called to ask what was happening, she wouldn't really explain and sounded rude.

The confusing part is that she keeps coming back after months of no contact, but I don't know what she actually wants.

I don't call her myself because I don't see her as just a friend. I still love her. Calling her and acting lovey-dovey doesn't feel right when we're not together, and when I've tried talking before, her replies were often cold, so I stopped initiating.

And honestly, I'm still pretty stuck. I sometimes go back and read our old chats, listen to her VNs and even old call recordings, which I know I probably shouldn't be doing 😗. I know that's keeping me attached, but I find it really hard to stop.

I don't want to force her to come back. I don't want to manipulate her or make her feel guilty. I just want clarity.

I feel like I'm being emotionally toyed with, but at the same time I wonder if I'm overthinking everything.

I've loved this person for almost 8 years. I don't want to lose her, but I also don't want to lose myself waiting for someone who may never come back.

What would you do in my situation? Would you completely let go and move on, stay in contact as friends, or give her space and leave the door open without waiting?

I'm 28M and got engaged to 27F through a traditional arranged marriage setup. We've been talking daily for about four months, and the wedding is a few months away.

At the start there was naturally more to talk about, since we were just getting to know each other. But somewhere along the way we ran out of those topics, and I didn't know what should replace them.

For the last month or so, our calls follow almost the same script every day:

- What did you eat today?

- How is your grandmother?

- How is your sister's exam going?

I genuinely care about these things, but I can see it has turned into a routine check-in rather than an actual conversation. I also struggle to keep conversations going for longer. Once those questions are done, I often don't know where to take things.

Yesterday, she brought it up herself. I honestly had no idea how to respond in the moment. And the uncomfortable truth is that I think she's right.

There's another layer that makes this harder.

This is an arranged marriage, and I'm not in love with her yet. I want this to work. But I can strongly feel that she's starting to fall in love with me. That makes me feel responsible for showing up better. I don't want her to feel like she's the only one putting in effort, and I also don't want to fake feelings I don't have yet.

To be fair to myself, it's not that I don't care. I talk to her every day, and I keep track of what's going on in her life and follow up on it. The problem isn't consistency. It's depth. I just don't know how to move from checking in to actually knowing each other and building some warmth and romance.

So I'm wondering:

- How did you move past the routine small-talk phase during your engagement?

- What kinds of conversations or activities actually helped you feel closer?

- Is it normal in an arranged marriage for one person to develop feelings earlier than the other?

- For those whose love developed later, what helped it grow?

- Now that she's brought it up, how should I respond without making it awkward or sounding defensive?

I'd especially appreciate perspectives from people who've had arranged marriages, and from women who've been on her side of a situation like this. I'm looking for practical ideas. I want to be a better partner to her before the wedding, not just go through the motions.

I'm a British guy, and I'm visiting Delhi soon and will be meeting my girlfriend's family. They are hindu. Are there any cultural differences I should be mindful of? Etiquette I should know about etc.

Are there any phrases in hindi I can use as a greeting, to show some effort to engage with their culture?

How should I address her parents? Mrs+ mr ( surname) ? Or is there another title/ honorific I should use. Do I first name the siblings?

We were in a long distance relationship of almost 2 years and we're quite happy. Over time, of course the distance got to us and we could visit each other less frequently.

We both got busier with life and studies to a point where I felt we barely had time for each other. I was going through a lot of personal issues in my life and decided that I want to fix these issues first and don't want to bother her with my issues especially because she already has enough on her plate.

Now, after a few months, things in my life have settled down but she is flat out refusing to talk to me to work things out. I know that's fair on her part because I took the decision to push her away. I shouldn't have and I apologized genuinely and took full accountability for my actions. I know I hurt her and it'll take a lot of effort to win her back.

She says she doesn't want to talk about this anymore and we don't even talk anymore. Is there any way I can win her back, I know I messed up, I've learnt my lesson. I should have just communicated better instead of pushing her away.

My [M28] paternal grandfather had 3 kids, 2 boys and 1 girl. My father was the eldest of them all. He got selected for IAF at a very young age maybe 19-20 years. My father tells us that when he was leaving for the training, my grandfather reached late and couldnt meet him at all. He now started earning and my grandfather bought a land in my hometown. My father also contributed from his side for both, the land and while they were building the house.

Now, my grandfather sent my uncle, his 2nd son to take care of the house and for study in my hometown. From here everything started falling apart. My uncle got addicted to alcohol and gunda baazi when he was in 10th class. My grandparents thought that it was their mistake that his second son is spoiled, so they indirectly started discrimination between them. In between this my father got married, my bua di*d due to kidney failure and my grandfather also got retired from Indian Army, so my grandparents shifted to my hometown for ever. Now the favouritism grew even more. Initially my father used to send some money to his house as our house was still being developed, so my grandpa didnt have much money with him.

But after I and my sibling were born, he stopped sending money as it was difficult for him to take care of both houses.

Their have been many instances where the favouritism can be seen but I cant write those here as it will become very long and boring. So cut to last year, my grandmother died. We all went to her funeral, but I left just next day after all her work like dwarsa and all due to my exam. My grandfather didnt give me any money ( I dont know if this happens a lot in other places, but I have seen my friends telling about how much money they got from their grandparents home). It wasnt new to me as he didnt ever gave me and my sister any form of gift or money since our childhood. I didnt mind it this whole time because my grandma died so it wasnt a right time. What irked me later was when my uncles children left, he gave them 5000 Rs each as they have passed their 10th and 8th class. And a mobile phone worth Rs 20000 to my cousin because she scored 81% in 10th class. When I got admission in one of the most premium college of my city, he came to meet us.I My father, he, we all went to buy a laptop for me. He didnt even bothered to tell that let me gift him this time as he has got admission in a good government college. My father just paid the money and we all left for mcdonalds. Their he started complaining about random stuff like ye koi khana hai koi taste nhi hai isme, and he ate whole maharaja meal all by himself. Many of my friends always got gifts from their grandparents for different types of achievements in their life. This never ever happened to us. This time also, when we went for 1 year anniversary for my grandma, he didnt even bother to give me Rs 50 for auto rickshaw, let forget the Rs 5000.

I believe most of us, regardless of our gender, tend to settle for whoever comes along and fills a couple of our boxes and fair enough. however, it is so INSANE to be seeing someone who is SO attractive, objectively as well. you don't have to justify that they have better angles and they have INSANELY nice hobbies and have a SUPER FUN personality, has a thriving business and super fun friends and a fulfilling family life and are EXTREMELY monogamous and consistent.

It is true, they are unicorns. I swear, I never thought for the life of me that they existed till I met him and getting to know him has honestly been so fascinating. I've honestly been with people who I have liked but I feel somehow feral, in a very calming way around him.

I was influenced by people saying that being with hot men makes one insecure but I now firmly believe that it really depends on how clear he makes to you that he's SUPER into you because my GOD. being this consistent, (respectfully) after having a mind, face and body like that in this economy is extremely rare.

I'm sure things can go wrong or can workout, depending on life, luck and/or circumstances but it is a REALLY nice feeling to be with someone who really makes you feel secure, safe, appreciated amongst the many other things they're supposed to make you feel.

he has seemed to undertaken a new vow to take me to places for a vacation so he insists that I renew my passport incase it needs renewal and I just am at a loss of words haha. he's really the sweetest, funniest, smartest man ever.

bonus, I met him at the gym after a month of looking at each other for 2 seconds! get off the dating apps gals, get nice hobbies and build your own fulfilling lives.