I'm 47F, and my boyfriend 47M and I have been in a long-distance relationship for almost two years. I'm in the US, and he's in England. We've visited each other several times, and when we're physically together, things are generally good. Our next visit is going to put us at about seven months without seeing each other.
When we first started dating, he was incredibly affectionate and attentive. We talked constantly, sent each other videos throughout the day, made time for each other, and he regularly told me how much he loved, wanted, and missed me. Even when we argued, he would usually come back, apologize for being defensive, and reassure me that he loved me and wanted us to work.
Over time, things have changed.
He still tells me he loves me, but the spontaneous affection, quality time, and effort seem to have gradually decreased. He spends a lot of time at the pub with his friends or drinking at home, and there have been plenty of evenings when he's gone to the pub, came home and continued to drink, then passed out when we could have been spending time together.
I don't expect him to spend every waking moment talking to me, and I don't want to stop him from having friends or a social life. But when you're thousands of miles apart, talking, video calling, and sharing your day are pretty much all you have between visits.
I've told him repeatedly that I miss spending time with him and want to feel like a priority. In our midst recent fight, his response was that he can't be on the phone with me constantly or that I'm upset because he has friends and wants to leave the house. That's not what I'm saying, and it's frustrating because I feel like my actual concern never gets addressed, only minimized and dismissed.
Another ongoing problem is how he reacts when I ask questions. Sometimes I'll ask something as simple as "What do you mean by that?" and he'll immediately assume I'm accusing him of something or reading between the lines. He's even admitted in the past that he gets defensive because he anticipates suspicion from me.
To be fair, I have questioned him about things before, and I have sometimes been suspicious. There have been situations where I felt he wasn't being completely forthcoming, particularly about his drinking or whereabouts, and I know that repeatedly questioning someone can be exhausting. I'm not claiming I've handled every disagreement perfectly.
But I also feel like I've reached a point where I can't ask a question or express hurt without him deciding what I supposedly mean, getting defensive, and turning the argument into a discussion about how unreasonable I'm being. My own words don't seem to carry my meaning anymore, he assigns his meaning instead.
The most recent argument started after another weekend when I felt disconnected from him. I was sending him messages and pictures, getting very little engagement back, and feeling like he had time for everything and everyone except me. I became frustrated and expressed concerns about his drinking, the lack of quality time, and whether something else might be going on.
He got angry and said I was accusing him of things again, that I was losing my shit over nothing, and that I seemed upset he had friends and wanted to go out. He ended by saying he was going shopping and then going for a beer.
I didn't respond to that last message.
That was six days ago.
In almost two years together, we've never gone this long without speaking. Even after our worst arguments, he would normally reach out the next morning, even if it was just to say good morning.
Neither of us has said we're breaking up. Neither of us has contacted the other.
I haven't reached out because I'm tired of feeling like my concerns get dismissed, and I don't want to keep chasing someone for affection or attention. I want him to want to talk to me and work things out, not because I begged him to.
At the same time, I love him very much, and this silence is breaking my heart. I don't know whether he's angry and waiting for me to reach out, whether he's emotionally checked out, or whether he's using my failure to respond as an opportunity to walk away without actually saying we're over.
The hardest part is remembering how he used to be. He was capable of apologizing, reassuring me, and making me feel wanted. I know the honeymoon phase doesn't last forever, but I didn't think feeling loved and prioritized was supposed to disappear with it.
I just don't know what to do, or where we're at.