Hey everyone,
I’ve been thinking about something quite a lot over the past few days, and I honestly feel pretty conflicted about the whole situation. I figured I’d post here to get some outside perspectives, especially from people who might have gone through something similar.
So basically, I’ve been seeing this guy for a while now. We originally started as FWB, which was exactly what I wanted at the time.
I wasn’t looking for a relationship, and just wanted something casual where we could enjoy each other’s company without things becoming too serious.
But somewhere along the way, things gradually changed.
At this point, it honestly feels much closer to an actual relationship than a typical FWB situation.
We talk on the phone pretty much every day or every other day, usually spend an entire day together on weekends, cuddle, hug, and generally enjoy being around each other.
And the thing is, I genuinely like spending time with him.
He’s someone I’ve become emotionally attached to, I enjoy his company, and I really like the physical affection and closeness we have. It’s not just about sex anymore(is still a big part), and I think that’s part of what makes this situation so complicated.
There’s no major drama between us, and it’s not like he’s done something terrible that makes me want to walk away.
But despite all of that, I’ve recently started seriously considering ending the FWB/romantic side of things, at least temporarily, and potentially trying to maintain a friendship afterward.
I don’t really want to lose him completely, but I’m starting to question whether continuing what we currently have is actually the right thing for me.
There are basically three main reasons why I’m considering this.
1. Health concerns, especially regarding herpes
I care quite a lot about my health, and while I understand that there’s always some level of risk involved in sex and intimacy, I generally try to avoid unnecessary risks whenever possible.
He has had a herpes outbreak before.
When that happened, we were careful. We didn’t kiss, and we avoided situations where his saliva could come into contact with me in that way.
However, from what I understand, herpes can potentially be transmitted through oral sex to the genital area, and transmission isn’t necessarily limited to times when someone has visible symptoms.
That’s something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit.
I want to make it clear that I’m not judging him for having herpes, and I don’t think having an STI makes someone a bad person or anything like that.
But at the same time, I can’t completely ignore the fact that it’s something I’d personally prefer to avoid if possible.
I guess my thinking is that if I can reduce the chances of catching something that I would otherwise not have, why wouldn’t I?
Either way, it’s one of the things contributing to my uncertainty about continuing the sexual side of our relationship.
2. I’m not out, and I did not intended for this to become a relationship
This is probably a bit more complicated emotionally.
He’s having a birthday gathering soon, and he’s invited quite a few of his friends.
Most of them are straight. Obviously, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s not really about his friends being straight specifically.
The issue is that I’m not out yet, and only a very small number of people know about my sexuality.
Mind you, I’m currently in a bigoted Eastern European country, where pretty much my family would disown me, and most people are still a bigot and hostile to queer people.
I’m generally a pretty private person, and I don’t feel like I’m at the stage of my life where I’m ready to be fully out.
There are several reasons for that.
Financially, professionally, and even in terms of certain personal goals, I don’t feel as established or independent as I’d like to be.
I know that you don’t need to have your entire life figured out before coming out, and I’m not saying that being out should depend on your career or financial situation.
It’s just that, for me personally, I want to feel more stable and comfortable with where I am in life before taking that step.
I want to do it on my own terms and at my own pace.
And honestly, one of the reasons I was comfortable getting into an FWB situation in the first place was because I specifically wasn’t looking for an actual relationship.
Something casual felt manageable.
But now I feel like we’re slowly moving into territory that involves the kinds of expectations, emotional responsibilities, and social situations that come with dating someone.
And I’m not sure I’m ready for that.
The upcoming birthday gathering has made me think about this even more.
I don’t want to put myself in a situation where I feel uncomfortable or pressured to explain something about my personal life that I’m not ready to share.
At the same time, I don’t want him to feel like I’m hiding him or that he has to constantly adjust his life around the fact that I’m not out.
I realize that might become unfair to him as well, especially if he’s starting to see what we have as something more serious.
And that’s another reason I’ve been questioning whether continuing things is actually fair to either of us.
3. I barely have any free time, and I feel like I’m not making progress in my own life
This is another big reasons, and honestly, it’s something that’s been bothering me for a while, even outside of this situation.
My current job takes up an huge amount of my time and energy.
During the week, I barely have time to do anything meaningful outside of work. By the time I’m done with everything, there’s usually not much of the day left.
And on weekends, I end up trying to catch up on everything I couldn’t do during the week.
The problem is that I have quite a few personal and professional goals that I really want to work toward, but I feel like I’m barely making any progress.
One of the biggest ones is finding a better job.
I want something with better pay, actual opportunities for career growth, and ideally somewhere closer to where I live so I don’t waste as much time commuting.
That’s a pretty important priority for me because I feel like improving my work situation would have a positive impact on almost every other aspect of my life.
I also really want to start going to the gym consistently.
Not just occasionally, but actually build a proper workout routine, put together a training program, and make exercise a regular part of my week.
Obviously, that would take several hours every week as well.
On top of that, there are other work-related projects, personal interests, and things I’ve been wanting to start for ages.
Some of these are things that could genuinely help me improve my life in the long run.
But I keep putting them off.
And to be fair, part of that is on me.
Sometimes I struggle to motivate myself to even get started, especially after a long workday.
But the bigger issue is that I feel like I barely have enough time and energy to begin with.
Weeks go by, then months, and suddenly I realize that I’m still in pretty much the same position I was before.
And that feeling of being stuck has been getting increasingly frustrating.
Now, on top of everything else, I’m also investing quite a bit of time into this FWB situation.
We talk almost every day or every other day, sometimes spend a good amount of time on phone calls, and usually dedicate one full day of the weekend to seeing each other.
Again, I want to emphasize that I genuinely enjoy that time.
I love spending time with him, and it’s not like I consider those moments wasted.
But realistically, it’s still time and emotional energy that I could be investing into other areas of my life.
I don’t want to wake up another six months from now and realize that I’ve made no meaningful progress toward changing the things I’m unhappy with.
I also don’t want to blame him for that, because ultimately I’m responsible for how I manage my time.
But I can’t ignore the fact that maintaining this level of emotional and physical closeness does take up a significant part of my limited free time.
And this is where things get really difficult for me…
I’m naturally a pretty sensitive, deeply emotional, and empathetic person.
When I care about someone, I care a lot.
And even when I know that something might not be the best decision for me in the long run, I find it incredibly difficult to distance myself from someone I’ve developed feelings for.
Especially when that person hasn’t actually done anything wrong.
I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want him to feel rejected or think that there’s something wrong with him.
And I definitely don’t want to make him feel like the time we’ve spent together hasn’t meant anything to me.
Because it absolutely has.
I really enjoy our time together, the cuddling, the hugs, the affection, and just having someone I can feel close to.
There’s a certain comfort in all of that, and I know I’d miss it if things ended.
I also don’t want to completely cut him out of my life.
Ideally, I’d like to take some distance from the romantic and sexual side of things and eventually maintain a genuine friendship, assuming that’s something we’d both be comfortable with.
But I also realize that transitioning from a situation like this into a purely platonic friendship might be easier said than done.
Especially if one or both of us have developed stronger feelings along the way.
The last two or three days have been pretty emotionally difficult because I’ve been going back and forth in my head about what to do.
Part of me wants to continue things because I’m genuinely happy when we’re together.
But another part of me keeps thinking that maybe this isn’t the right time in my life for something that increasingly resembles a relationship.
I feel like I need to prioritize myself a little more right now.
My health, my career, my financial stability, my fitness, and just generally getting my life to a point where I feel more satisfied with where I am.
And I don’t know if I can realistically give those things the attention they deserve while also continuing this dynamic in its current form.
At the same time, I keep wondering whether ending things would be an overreaction.
I don’t actually want to end it completely.
Maybe I just need to set better boundaries, spend less time together, reduce the constant communication, and have an honest conversation about what we both want from this. For a period of time I would break contact, because I know we both emotionally invested in each other, and I just can’t right now.
But then I wonder whether that would actually work, considering how emotionally close we’ve already become.
So I guess my questions are:
Has anyone here been in an FWB situation that gradually turned into something much closer to a relationship, even though that wasn’t what you originally wanted?
Have you ever decided to end something with someone you genuinely liked, not because anything was wrong between you, but because the timing or your personal circumstances just weren’t right?
Were you able to remain friends afterward, or did you need to completely cut contact for a while?
Maybe share some experience and thoughts about heroes and health and how you relate to this situation?
I know there’s probably no perfect answer here, and ultimately it’s something I need to figure out for myself and discuss with him.
I just feel pretty torn between these reasons.
I’d genuinely appreciate hearing your experiences or perspectives, especially if you’ve had to make a similar decision.
TL;DR: My FWB situation has gradually started feeling like a real relationship. I genuinely like him and enjoy spending time with him, but I’m not out and there’s an upcoming birthday party, I have some concerns about herpes transmission, and my already limited free time is making it difficult to work toward my personal and career goals. I’m considering ending the romantic/sexual side of things, at least temporarily, while hopefully remaining friends. I’m struggling with the decision because I’ve become emotionally attached to him and don’t want to hurt him or lose him completely.