AITAH for not wanting to talk everyday with my language exchange partner?

Not the A-hole

So I (22f) have been chatting with this guy (28m) for around 9 months and having a video call each week for Portuguese/English language exchange. I help him with English and he helps me with Portuguese. That’s it. Things were going well, but he’s had a problem with my messaging frequency on a few occasions. I’ve explained on multiple occasions that because of work, being in college (I graduated in the fall), and other familial obligations that I’m not going to be able to text everyday multiple times a day.

Some weeks I wouldn’t respond unless it pertained to our language video calls (which I was consistent with) and he said he understood.

Apparently this guys dad passed away on Thursday and I didn’t see it until today, but I sent a kind message and said that if he wanted to talk, that I’m here. Then I got a message basically ending the arrangement we have because I’m not responsive enough and that he felt like our “friendship” was one sided and I only saw him as a language exchange partner. He was planning to study in the U.S and said that he had hopes that we could meet, but that basically I let him down lol. We’ve never met one another in person and I’ve been very clear about my scheduling and in-person commitments.

I’ve had multiple language exchange partners (pretty much all men now that I think about it) that are fine in the beginning, but kind of start to have different expectations. I’m not saying you can’t develop a friendship with your language exchange partner or met them one day, but I feel like this is a big expectation to have of someone you haven’t met before. AITAH?

Posted Feb 7, 2026, 11:00 PM UTC

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