r/LongDistance•
aloivu

Bf struggles to meet my communication needs in LDR

Me (20) and my bf (23) met in college around a year ago and started dating. A month ago he left for an exchange, which he will return from in December (meaning we are around 3,5 months in LDR). In 2,5 weeks I'll be flying out to be with him for a week.

Before we went LDR, we got used to spending almost all of our time together, so this distance feels really draining. For context, I have an anxious attachment style which complicates things, and we have talked a lot about what I need from him to feel safe in our relationship when we are apart (I've also started working on my issues which is really difficult, but I want to be a better girlfriend to him). Ideally for me, we snap throughout the day, have a quick (30 minutes to 1 hour) call every day when we have time, and if we aren't able to do so because of other plans, we make the other person informed of this as soon as possible. For example, I told him I wasn't able to call yesterday many days in advance, since I was staying at my friend's house in a different city for a sleepover.

I would also like him to make 2-3 whole nights a week free for me so we could call for a longer time. His time zone is two hours earlier than mine, and in addition, he goes around 2-4 hours later to sleep than me because I have early classes and he's a more of a night howl. However, this has been the biggest problem we have. For two weeks, he has been out with his friends for 4-5 nights a week. This means that we don't have time for longer evening calls at all. This has made my anxiety flare up really bad, and I've been feeling negative feelings towards our relationship. I've started asking him to make one evening free for me a week, and he's agreed to not make any plans this Sunday evening so he can talk to me.

He's explained to me that he tries to make as much time for me as he can, while trying to maintain social contacts and enjoy his exchange experience. From my perspective, he doesn't need to go out for beers five times a week to enjoy exchange. I really just need honest advice; is this just my anxious attachment style flaring up or is he not prioritising our relationship enough? How do other LDR couples go about exchange, how much do you "forgive" the other person for lack of time in a situation like this? This really isn't working for me, but do I just suck it up and suffer this exchange until we can go back to normal in December?

TDLR: Boyfriend in exchange goes out about 4 times a week, and I feel like he isn't prioritising our relationship enough

Posted Oct 10, 2025, 7:30 PM UTC

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