Is she not putting in efforts? Or am I overthinking?
TL;DR- Dating 4 months and considering marriage, but I feel like I’m putting in most of the effort while she seems less invested. Not sure if I’m overthinking or if it’s actually concerning.
Hi everyone, I’m a 30M and I met my partner (28F) through Shaadi.com about 4 months ago. Things have progressed quickly, our parents are involved and we’re considering getting married in about 5 months.
We both have demanding work schedules and stay quite busy. I earn 50L+ and she earns 25L+. She often says she’s overwhelmed with work, and I try to be understanding, but some patterns recently have been bothering me and I’m not sure whether I’m overthinking or if these are legitimate concerns. I’d really appreciate an outside perspective.
Here are a few examples:
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We try to talk once a day over call, but there are multiple days where we don’t speak at all. She usually says she’ll call back and then doesn’t, and this has been happening more lately.
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We went on a short trip recently that we were supposed to plan together, but she took zero initiative and interest— I handled everything (location, traveling, bookings, activities). It made me feel like she wasn’t really involved. Overall the trip was a lot of fun though.
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We meet just once a week, and there have been a few occasions(3 or 4) where she cancelled because her friends were visiting and she wanted to hang out with them instead.
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When we do meet, I travel 3+ hours on total and clear my schedule so we can spend quality time together, but when I’m there she’s still working or on her laptop 30–40% of the time.
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We’re exploring wedding venues and I’ve contacted 10+ places to get price quotes and shared it with her, but she hasn’t reached out to any despite me asking a few times.
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I also notice she’s online often but replies to my messages after 2–3 hours regularly.
I haven’t brought this up seriously yet because I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining or controlling, and I keep wondering if I’m expecting too much or if this is just her personality/workload. But I’m starting to question if I’m investing emotionally in someone who may not be putting equal effort into the relationship.
My questions:
Are these genuine red flags or is this normal in the early phase of an arranged-marriage-style relationship?
Should I communicate this directly with her, and if so, how do I do it in a healthy way?
Is it reasonable to expect more effort before marriage?
Would appreciate objective advice from people who’ve been through something similar.
Posted Dec 8, 2025, 3:30 AM UTC