Am I being too harsh about my boyfriend’s lack of responsibilities?

I (16f) have been dating my boyfriend (17m) for about a year and a half. And lately, I’ve been getting really frustrated with his lack of responsibilities.

I just turned 16 and have my license, a job, a high GPA, and I already have an idea of what I want to do for a career. My boyfriend doesn’t have a license and has no interest in learning to drive. He doesn’t have a job either and says he “doesn’t need one.” His GPA is a 2.8, and he thinks he’s going to become an NFL coach someday even though he’s never played football. I’ve tried talking to him about more realistic careers, but he doesn’t want to hear it.

When we first got together at 14 and 15, neither of us cared about this kinda stuff. But now I’m focused on school, working, and my future. And he still seems like a little kid who relies on his mom for everything. He doesn’t know how to clean his room, do his laundry, or cook anything. He’s almost 18.

His family doesn’t help. His older siblings (25f, 30m) both still live at home, don’t drive, don’t do chores, and have been in and out of online college without finishing degrees. The 30 year old only just got his first job last week. So it feels like this is just the family norm, and I can’t imagine him suddenly becoming independent.

My family is the opposite. My dad is high in the business world, my mom has a doctoral degree, and we’re just independent. I pay for most of my needs, cook most of my own meals, and do my laundry. His mom has made snarky comments about how my parents let me work and if I were her kid she wouldn’t want me to work while in school, and he jokes that my family “doesn’t really love me” because I cook dinner for myself.

I get that we’re young and this doesn’t really matter right now. But it frustrates me to see how little responsibility he takes. And I just think about how long is this going to last? If I stay with him, am I going to he a mom to a grown man some day? At what point do I leave? Is this reason enough to leave?

But he really is sweet, kind, funny, and caring. His family loves me. If it weren’t for these issues, I wouldn’t have anything to complain about. But I’m struggling with how much longer I can “put up” with this before it becomes a bigger problem.

Posted Aug 31, 2025, 12:17 AM UTC

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