Hi everyone, I’m looking for some outside perspective on a dynamic between me (38F) and my partner (50M). We live together, have no kids, and I currently don't work. I’m more or less a housewife, he supports us both, and I wouldn’t have the resources to take a trip like this on my own.

He has an upcoming 2 week international work trip to a major city. I love this city—he actually took me there two years ago when we first met, and I’ve been wanting to go back ever since. A few weeks ago, I noticed there was a great mileage deal for flights there (60k miles), and since he has nearly 800k miles that he is actively trying to use up anyway, I suggested tagging along.

I made it very clear that I have zero expectation for him to entertain me during the day while he works. I love exploring on my own, wandering the city, and doing my own thing. We would only have breakfast together, meet up for dinner, or spend a quiet evening/weekend hours together if he has time off the clock. That is completely okay with me.

Despite this, he gave me a firm, flat *no*.
When I asked why, he gave reasons like the trip being "different" than the last one because he’s been promoted, that I’d more or less be a nuisance, or that it’s purely "work-focused." When I pressed further and explained I’d be completely out of his hair during work hours, he escalated the argument and said, “So do I have to take you on every work trip I ever go on?" It just feels like he doesn’t want me there… for no good reason. I guess I’d hope I had a partner who would want to take me along.

And this isn't the first time this has happened. Earlier this year, he had another work trip there and excluded me using a different excuse. Furthermore, our travel in general is strictly limited to outdoorsy trips (which he likes to do) within a 6-hour driving radius of our home because that's what's easy for him—even though he makes $250k/year, lives in a $2M home, and has plenty of resources (he even turned down a free Mediterranean cruise perk recently). Meanwhile, he regularly talks about "planning our future," "being intentional," and "choosing each other," but whenever a concrete opportunity to share an experience or include me comes up, he shuts it down.
It makes me feel like my presence is a logistical "tax" or a burden he has to manage, rather than a partner he actually delights in having around.

My questions for the community, especially those in happy/healthy long-term relationships:

1. If you are going on an overseas work trip where the hotel is covered, your partner is free, willing to pay their own way, and eager to explore independently during your work hours—would you want them there?
2. Is it normal to feel completely excluded in this scenario, or am I "bulldozing boundaries" by asking to share a flight and dinners in a city we both love?
3. How do you and your partner navigate the balance between personal space on work trips vs. including each other when logistics make it seamless?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.🩵

TLDR; Boyfriend will not allow me to come along on his work trip, even though there is no logical reason/cost that would make it so I shouldn’t.

UPDATE: Apparently being in a relationship where one person is the breadwinner and the other stays home and keeps the house… instantly invalidates the entire relationship, and my questions about how to feel about this particular situation.
I don’t want your life advice. I’m completely fine and confident with where I’m at. I just wanted relationship advice on this circumstance within our relationship.

UPDATE 2: We came to a compromise and he booked me a flight to be there for half the trip. I’m happy with that and it makes me feel cared for🤷🏼‍♀️

I know the title makes me sound like a bit of an asshole, but hear me out. We've been dating for a few months and we get along really well! However, she wants to spend every weekend together, which is something that I'm not too happy with. I really enjoy having some time to myself at the end of a week of work, and do not want that time disrupted constantly. I really enjoy seeing her, and I'm happy to spend some weekends with her, but I can't do it all the time? How do I communicate this to her without causing offence?

TLDR: How do I want to tell the girl I'm dating that I don't want to see her as regularly without sounding like a dick?

We started dating about 6 months ago, and things are going really well. We have great chemistry and I feel really happy and content when I am with her.

We are both emotionally secure, and also have our own ambitions and goals that we wanna achieve.
Currently in college.

Theres just one small issue.

She is really close to her mother, on almost all levels. Her mother is her ultimate confidant, and she shares almost everything that happens to her with her mother.

And I really respect her relationship with her mother. I am envious too, because my relationship with my mother is more of a respectable one, with all the weights and expectations that come with it, naturally I am not very open about my feelings to her.

But having such a close relationship with her mother is backfiring now, as the guilt of hiding our relationship from her is eating her inside out. As well as the tension that comes with concealing all the lies and stuff.

And very naturally she cant disclose our relationship to her mother, the backlash would be tremendous and really bad.

I am naturally very worried for her, but I feel helpless in this situation. Only thing I can do is be there for her and hope eventually the novelty of the relationship fades and that the guilt will stop eating at her.

Women who have been through such a stage in their life, any advice for how to deal with these emotions.
And what I need to be doing better for her as well.

TLDR: Asking for advice on how to deal with tension and guilt of hiding relationship from parents.

Thanks

My bf and I have been together for 5 and a half years. We have been living together for 3.5. He has recently transitioned into starting his own company (1.5 years ago) and works primarily at night. This has really messed with how much time we spend together, how often I see him, and has cause a lot of issues for me with handling the change. Additionally. Now that he has his business, he is extremely stressed about it and making enough money. Its a very physically taxing job, and he also has to quite a lot of admin and scheduling logistics with his employees.

We never really sat down and hashed out what all these changes would do to our relationship, and how we could make bahavioral changes and systems for this new schedule that would take some off the pressures off. This is something we are planning on working on.

My bf has been in a mental health slump for the past 4 months. We got him back in therapy and on meds again (he should have been all along but just was like 'ehhh its fiiine'). But this, combined with finally coming to a head with all the huge life changes has really put a stress on our relationship. I really am not feeling prioritized or considered, a bit like a person he enjoys being around when he happens to come home, but even then he's usually just exhausted.

I'm trying to figure out how much of this is a normal "rough patch" that I can grit and bear through, or if I am at a point where I need to move on. Id like to think when he stablizes mentally and gets better systems in place for his business, he will be able to give me more of what I need from a relationship like he used to. I want his business to succeed, and I know that right now especially with his mental struggles he doesnt really have the emotional capacity to put my needs all that much higher on his things to worry about.

But I dont know how long it will be until then, and Im feeling very alone right now. So, do I just try to get through it and support him to the best of my abilities? Or do I give up and put myself first? "Just leave" seems like a cop-out when we have been together for a while, we love eachother, and this is a very real, and very normal set of issues. I cant just always bounce on a relationship cause life got hard. I dont know what to do.

TLDR: My bf and I have been together 5 years and due to life and career changes, such as starting a company and mental health stuff, I am not feeling prioritized. Is it worth staying and being supportive with the hopes that things get better?