My relationship is on the verge of ending, I'm feeling heartbroken, and not sure what to do about it

Seeking Advice / Problem Solving

To jump right into this, I'm 24 (M), and last year I graduated from college with my degree in psychology and decided to make a big move to be with my long-distance girlfriend.

To give some background. We met in college and became best friends almost immediately. Sometime later, we began dating for a brief while until unfortunate financial circumstances caused her to move back in with her parents. They lived 2000 miles away. We tried long distance for two years, but were off and on during that time due to the absolute hardships of long distance. But every time we couldn't be apart for long because of our strong connection.

Eventually, after months of talking, we decided that I would come to her and give us a true shot to really be together in person. This was not an easy decision and took a lot of sacrifice for me to do this. I saved as much money as possible, said goodbye to many friends that I may never see again, sold what couldn't fit in my car, and bought her a plane ticket to come be a part of the journey with me. I cried as I left, but I felt determined to see this through.

I've been here a little over a year now, we have a cute apartment, two lovely pets, a steady job, I'm applying to grad school this Fall, and finally made a new, genuine friend. The only thing that is not going our way is our relationship. Specifically, living together is not going well. In short, I'm feeling frustrated by her constant clutter, underappreciated, and unloved. After talking, she is feeling internal shame for being more cluttered than me, frustration at my sometimes impatience, and feels like I can be draining to her already lower energy. We both experience that when we get into arguments and talk after that, not much ever gets resolved. In general, I am more patient and she is less cluttered, but this didn't seem to help much. It seems like when we talk, it only makes her push me further and further away, and I want to move forward and hold on to what we have.

Our most recent talk revolved around how much longer this can last and if we should break up. We both still very much love each other, but we are quickly running out of ideas on how to fix this. I really don't want this to end, especially since every other part of my life is finally going so well, and how much I sacrificed to be here with her. She seems to lean on the side of breaking up, but doesn't want to yet. I feel scared and utterly heartbroken. I need advice on what to do. Should we end it and continue to be friends (like we used to be), or is it worth going? This hurts me deeply to even think about this right now. I hope this wholesome community can help me. Thank you for your time.

P.S. I know I may not be posting this at the correct time and may have to repost this again later, but I'm feeling so emotionally down that I just needed to get this off my chest.

Posted Aug 3, 2025, 8:57 PM UTC

46
Loading comments…