I (22M) deeply in love with (20F) who’s emotionally closed off due to family issues, how do I support her and wait?

I’m in love with this girl and things have been complicated. I first fell for her in November 2024, but it was one-sided and she asked me to stay friends. I couldn’t handle it and blocked her to move on. Around March 2025, I unblocked her and we started talking again. She’s kind, caring, and empathetic, and suddenly started opening up to me texting more, asking to meet. One day, while walking together, she grabbed my hand, and I fell in love with her again.

Her family has huge issues—her parents don’t get along and are heavy drinkers. Over summer, we couldn’t meet because of how strict her family is. Finally, in September, we met and confessed our feelings. She suggested taking things slowly before actually dating, and I agreed. Things felt perfect for a short while.

Then her family got into a huge argument, and she said she needed space to heal. Over the next two weeks, she became distant. I asked to meet, fearing things might end. During that meeting, she opened up about her father cheating on her mom, threatening suicide, and giving her all his bank accounts before leaving. She’s deeply affected by this, and she said she’s disgusted by men, can’t date anyone, and doesn’t want to hurt me so she asked us to stop for now. She also said she will probably stand on her "no dating" choice.

She also said I don’t understand her and that she’s hard to understand. She has an avoidant attachment but has been opening up to me little by little. Despite everything, she held my hand while walking and told me I’m one of the most important people in her life and the closest man she’s ever been with. And she thinks she is not enough for me because she was going cold and distant and I kept asking if you are okay, you are being so distant lately.

She asked me to wait while she heals and promised we could talk later. I love her so much, so I agreed but I’m struggling. I don’t know:

• If she’ll heal from her family trauma.
• If she’ll come back to me and if things will be the same.
• How long I should wait without hurting myself.

Has anyone been through something similar? How do I support her while also taking care of myself during this waiting period?

TL;DR:

I love this girl deeply. We started as friends, then fell for each other, but her family has huge issues—her father cheated, threatened suicide, and emotionally hurt her. She says she’s disgusted by men, can’t date anyone right now, and asked for space to heal. She told me I’m one of the most important people in her life but wants time before we can talk about dating again.

I’m willing to wait, but I don’t know if she’ll heal, if she’ll come back to me, or how long I should wait. How do I support her while also taking care of myself?