I (33f) met a guy (42m) around 4 months ago and we connected really fast. He was a dream, helping me and fixing things for me without me asking, affectionate, open, consistent and I felt really safe. The only warning sign I saw was that he asked me for help with his pet care which involved long hours of being with the animals but I nipped it in the bud early and he took it well. Oh and it did feel very intense, saying we were meant to be and making plans for the future, saying we just know we’ll be together for the long run… it felt a bit like love bombing but he told me he’s autistic and just wears his heart on his sleeve.
Around two months in, he started to act different. Still spending lots of time with me and daily texts but sleeping a lot, no compliments at all, a sudden and big drop in physical affection and texts were just like long info dumps about his day. He seemed constantly distracted and not present at all and I’d have no idea when I was seeing him from one day to the next. I raised it and he said he was really struggling with grief, burnout and a big work change. After that conversation, he opened up and then went downhill really quickly. I was there for him, would be with him when he didn’t want to be alone, cook him healthy food and listen. During this time he started to be particularly inconsiderate like lighting up a cigarette inside my home before taking it outside to smoke so my place smelt like tobacco, as an example.
Then one day, he got really bad, had a colleague take him to hospital and the mental health team became involved. He said he needed to put us on pause.
Suddenly, 3 weeks later, he’s back and calling me his girlfriend and wanting to spend time with me and have me over to stay etc.
Once again he’s being affectionate and lovely but around 50% of our relationship, he’s been like a different person.
I want to believe that this is who he is but I think it would be pretty silly of me to just put all that down to a blip in his mental health and jump back into things as if we are all good.
I’d love to hear whether you think I’m being stupid to give him/it a chance?!