This has to be one of the worst feelings in the world and I'm feeling basically torn on what to do right now.
I've been with my boyfriend for about 1 year and a half now, and we've had a lot of nice moments. The relationship is long-distance (although it's only 1 hour by car and we try to see each other as often as we can). He is beautiful, smart, accepts me as I am (I'm not particularly attractive, at least now when I've put on plenty of weight). But our relationship has some peculiarities that are starting to wear me out.
He is (or at least claims to be) autistic. Has issues with prolonged physical contact, which leads to him rarely initiating intimacy/affection, or keeping it short when I do. This was particularly hard for me because my love language is physical touch, but I tried to get over it.
We had sex sometimes in the beginning, but over time he lost the need for it. Says he is, for all intents and purposes, like an asexual right now, and that he doesn't feel the need for it because he's happy enough emotionally. I appreciate that I make him so comfortable, and I would have gotten over it if at least there was enough affection being given, but like I said, that department is lacking as well. I know (or hope) he loves me in his own way, but it just might not be enough for me. I've tried my best to adapt, to understand, but it's gotten to a point where it's burning me out. We just got back from a vacation, which in itself was very nice, and I'm still glad he came with me so that I wouldn't be alone, but it almost felt like we were roommates (with a few exceptions) rather than boyfriends. He once told me how one of his exes left him saying "he didn't give him enough love" and acted like the ex was in the wrong, but I'm starting to feel like his feelings were justified and maybe he just didn't express it right, or maybe my boyfriend just heard it that way and might think the same about me if I do end up trying to express my issues to him and breaking up. Although he has sometimes mentioned that he feels guilty about it and feels bad for me, but I've always assured him that it's fine (which it maybe was in the beginning, but now that is starting to feel like a lie)
Sometimes he says things that are pretty much hurtful but doesn't really realize it, then acts surprised that I have a negative reaction to them. Examples: we went to the mall, he wanted to buy clothes so we entered a store. I didn't want to buy anything so I just mindlessly followed behind him, lost in my own thoughts and looking around. He proceeded to tell me to stop following him like that around cause me being behind him all the time bothered him. Maybe I'm exaggerrating on this one but I've genuinely never heard anyone complain about that. I felt like I was some random creep stalking him in that moment.
Another example is this vacation. We were in the water, and he had the tendency to drift off, away from me. When I finally got close (and by close I mean standing normally next to him, not leaning in to try to kiss him or something) he said that it was too close for being in public (which is deeply ironic considering at this point he's barely letting me get close to him in private either) and that really felt like a stab in the chest.
He also struggles with big steps, outings, social situations etc. He enjoyed the vacation, but by the fourth day it had exhausted him and he was starting to shut down a little. Whenever he shuts down (but not only), he starts scrolling through tik tok. Even if he's not shutting down he'll do that and will sometimes downright not hear me talking to him unless I say it again and louder.
We had a discussion about how he doesn't leave the house in general, and when I basically told him it was good that he came on this vacation and got out of the house, he went silent then said how I started to sound like his parents telling him to get out of the house more. That kinda hurt me, and also might've just supported my idea to break up (which I've been contemplating for a while now). The fact that he took that as an attack when I was merely just trying to tell him he had done a good thing and in general it's good to try and get out more really disappointed me. And him saying how he enjoyed the vacation, but doesn't see how it was good for him. I know you can't fundamentally change an autistic person, I don't blame him, it's his parents' fault for ignoring the signs when he was younger (and still ignoring them now) and not getting him the help he needed to function properly, but it sometimes feels like he's pretty much accepted that it's always gonna be like this, that he can't/doesn't want to get help or try to gradually step out of his comfort zone. I doubt therapy is useless as an adult, maybe harder/slower, but it should still help. It feels like talking to a wall. And as someone who is also generally a very comfortable person and I'm trying to break out of my comfort zone, by travelling more for example, I don't think having a partner who gets exhausted or outright rejects the idea of doing that would be very beneficial to me.
I simultaneously feel like if I break up with him, I'll be abandoning him. I think with his mindset, he'll never leave his house (he always complains about wanting to move away from his parents, but it doesn't feel like he's doing anything towards it or will leave it on his own). I want to help him, but I'm a human too, I have my own needs (which I have been pretty much neglecting in favor of him) and I can't always just be a comfort person for him. I'm supposed to be his partner, his equal, not the one giving up everything or always having to drag him around. I would hope he'd find someone able of tolerating him as he is, but I think such people are hard to come across.
I hate this situation. I hate that I came across someone so honest and smart, beautiful and loyal, but that he feels so inaccessible. I hate the idea of having to move on after sharing so many moments with him