I (22F) am frustrated with my bf (21M) for creating excuses in his life.

My boyfriend and I have been together for 2 years at this point, and we have gotten along great. We both play video games together, go on dates, and have the same values. However, I have noticed that his way of making excuses in regards to job prospects and other areas of life is a HUGE turn off for me. For context, we both go to different colleges. I'm graduating college this year and have had internship experiences, made professional connections, and am still looking for a post-grad job. My boyfriend, on the other hand, has no connections and no real work experience. The most he has ever done is go to a club on his campus, and that was after I told him he had to do something outside of school for his resume. Outside of school, he spends hours playing video games, even during summers. I've asked him to look into finding summer opportunities or asking faculty for their help, but he just says he won't, and is "too scared". It's kind of embarrassing at this point, as I have my own form of income to buy what I want while he depends on his birthday or Christmas money to be able to pay for our dates. I fear that when he graduates next year, he won't be able to find a job at all in his field (engineering). His excuses make me feel upset and annoyed.

Another way he makes excuses is in regards to his routine and exercise. I am someone who is very Type A and goes to the gym every morning, cooks healthy meals, and carries a structured routine. He sleeps until mid to late afternoon on weekends or days where he has classes later, does not exercise at all, eats unhealthy meals every day (junk food and unhealthy meals), and stays up late (1am-3am) because he wants to play video games.

I don't really know what to do or how to help him. I've talked to him multiple times about these issues, and he says he will make changes or improvements, but he doesn't. I don't really want to break up with him either because I really do love him and want to see him succeed. We have so much fun together and I can't imagine being without him. However, these issues in our relationship make me worried for the future. I know this will make it sound worse, but I also have little to no friends outside of our relationship (I go to a prestigious college whose student body is mainly in the top 20% in the country financially. Really hard to make friends with people because of that), so I know I would also be "lonely" if we broke up, and pretty much lose most of the friends we currently share since they are mainly friends with him.

How can I navigate these issues in our relationship? What are some ways I can support him without "parenting" him? Any advice is appreciated.

Posted Mar 6, 2026, 5:34 PM UTC

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