I broke up with my bf of 1.5 years a few weeks ago and am very sad about it. I met him a few months after my (now) ex-husband and I were going thru a very painful divorce and he was my rock. He quite literally saved my life and took care of me so kindly and generously.
We both fell in love… and then I started to notice some things. On a recent international trip, he introduced me as his “plus one” instead of his girlfriend. This was the second time he’s done this and as I reflected, I realized that he never called me his girlfriend publicly even tho I told him that was important to me.
When I asked for clarity about the future, he suggested we “go with the flow” and “focus on the now”. He suggested to me and our friends that he wanted to start a family but that he wasn’t sure that he wanted ”what I had to offer” (I have 2 kids and told him I would be open to more).
He has also never introduced me to anyone in his family even tho he has met mine. In recent months, his talks of the future stopped including me. And he told me rather directly that he wanted me but not necessarily my kids (who I co-parent with their dad).
As I type all this… I realize that it was the right decision to break up. But I am just so sad about it. Why date a single mom with kids if you don’t want them / don’t want the complexity of loving me despite that?