After having spend hours and hours on the internet I finally found THE website where I think I could get the most helpful answers to my question.
To briefly describe the situation; Me (26) and my boyfriend (41) have been dating for a little over 2 years now. We're in a LDR as he lives in Toulouse, France and myself in Amsterdam, Holland. We met through work as I'm a flight attendant and he works at Toulouse Airport.
His mother is 78 now and suffering from COPD and we suspect that she's developping Alzheimer too. His father passed away 16 years ago aged 70 when my boyfriend was only 24.....
When his dad passed away he kind of made the promise to himself to always look after his mum. Which is absolutely understandable and it does show the good hearted caring person he is.
He did get married once (lasted 2 years) and had another 2 year relationship, both not giving him the satisfaction and love he seeked.
Until we met.
Things have been great for over a year and a half but then when things started to become more serious he got stuck in between his feelings. Feelings of guilt that he would let down his mum if he'd go and start a life and family of his own on one hand and the drive to actually make something of his own life...(which in the past 16 years have all revolved around his mum and keeping her happy).
He is not happy with the situation and feels trapped. He told me he feels like standing on the side of his life iso in the middle of it. Looking after his mum is becoming more and more of a burden (mainly because she is a horrible, horrible selfish person). and he has realised how he's missing out on life because of the choices he made.
If he has a good day; he'll say he's ready to build up his own life, if he's got a bad day he'll say his life can only begin once his mother has passed away.
I (having no more parents left) understand his responsability to look after his mum, but I'm reaching the age where I start thinking about marriage and starting a family of my own.
He is truly the most amazing and loving person I've ever dated and both he and I consider each other as the one we want to share our lifes with.
We've talked about his feelings over and over again and he does see that waiting for his mum to die before he can start his own life will and then maybe having missed out on many chances in life, will end up him feeling resentful towards his mum.
What doesn't help either is that he lives in his grandparents house on the same property as his mum's house but that I am no longer welcome there (his mum made it pretty clear a few times). So he will say he's gonna find a place of his own but in the end he always comes back to wanting to stay in this house and redo it entirely (heating broke down 6 years ago and many more things need some fixing). Kind of ignoring that everything belongs to his mother and she doesnt'want him to redo anything what so ever.
So I just don't know what to do anymore. It's a very complex situation with my boyfriend being stuck between his guilt, fears and desires.
What could or should I do? I've reached the point where I think breaking up is the best to do. I love him, but I cannot wait with him for his mum to die and then start a life....
Any advice is welcome
I have two 27 year old daughters. One daughter met a lovely young man who let her know from the very beginning he was interested in her as a wife and life partner. They married and are happy. Her sister was with a young man for 10 years who had to get his master's degree, then his law degree and then establish himself. All the while she supported him and encouraged him. Even bought a home with him only to have him decide he no longer wanted to gets married. Jerk.
Don't waste one more day on this man.
Housing and medical needs, gets the caregiver help necessary so he can live his life. Men don't whine and blame everyone else for their unhappiness. Two many red flags. As my Grandmother told me, 'there are many fish in the sea.' You can catch one who is not snagged and flopping all over trying to get away. When things are meant to be, you don't have to try so hard to make it work. Cut bait and I bet you will feel resolved. All the best, dear one.
If I were your mother, I'd tell you to run away as fast and as far as you can. His commitment is to his mother as evidenced in his past relationships. He's stringing you along hoping you'll stick with him to share in the misery of his life being a momma's boy. His emotional bond will continue to be with his mother it sounds and that doesn't bode well for your future. She will always come first and you could very well miss your child-bearing years waiting for her to pass.
JeanneGibbs is so right, as she is on so many issues here. I just have to put my two cents in as I know 26 only comes along once. The love and passion you feel today my result in bitterness and resentment in the years ahead if you don't think wisely about your choices now.
You could stay with this Momma's boy, continue giving him the benefit of the doubt over and over and over, feel resentment then feel guilty for feeling it, wait indefinitely to see anything accomplished, whether it is clearing a house or enrolling in school, or finding work. If this is your decision, don't say you didn't know what you were getting in to! If this is what you want, suck it up and learn to live at your boyfriend's pace.
You could seek some counselling to deal with questions like "what kind of GF am I?" And perhaps get some insight into why you have put yourself in this situation.
You could, with sadness and regret and a little guilt and a lot of relief, end this untennable relationship and get on with your life.
I guess it is clear what I think you should do.
Run. PLEASE run!
"As to your comment JessieBelle; I'm willing to "sacrifice" a lot for the man I love (moving to France, living in the same village as his mother does and supporting him to look after his mother) but I simply refuse to live where he lives now."
Well, that's a good thing because you'll be the one doing ALL the sacrificing. Ol' boy ditched two women because of reason having to do with mummy and that's the first thing I thought too, before I even read that far. You'll do all the sacrificing or you'll be number three getting the boot. And really, in case you hadn't realized it, mom's had a death grip on this 'man's' balls for quite some time and from the sounds of it she's not about to let loose. And he allows it. Those red flags are whipping in the wind.
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