My boyfriend loves me but has never seemed physically interested in our year together - 40M, 26F

During the early stages of our relationship, I made every single first move. Even now, a year later, I'm the only one who initiates anything intimate that is more than a kiss or cuddle.

My boyfriend definitely loves me, he would go to the ends of the earth for me, same thing vise versa. There is no question there. We communicate, we rarely have disagreements, he talks about being the happiest he's ever been.

He was my best friend prior to us being together and living together. During that time of just being friends, I heard of all of the details of his old flings. Things seemed very physical with a lot of different women. That's what makes this even more upsetting. We maybe have sex once a week or two. Everytime I initiate, he doesn't seem very into anything until a few minutes into kissing. This makes me feel like I'm dragging him along for something he doesn't want to do, but he does to make me happy. He has ran into some performance issues, but that has never bothered me. Anytime it happens I comfort him and tell him how I find him so attractive, because I really, really do.

I have had a conversation with him months ago about this situation, he didn't realize there was anything wrong and eagerly wanted to make it better. Things didn't seem to improve. I'm just so lost because it is not like him. He listens, communicates, and quickly works to find solutions to issues, but not this time.

I've decided to refrain from initiating and wait for him, but it's been over two weeks. This issue hurts me a lot. I do not know what the best way to approach this is. I feel unattractive, unwanted and alone even though we are often together and I am always shown that I'm loved.

How can I approach this again? I don't want to hurt his feelings or his confidence. Am I being selfish? I'll take any genuine advice.

I genuinely love him and want us both mentally and physically happy.

TL;DR; : My boyfriend never made any of the first moves in our relationship, and he still doesn't initiate sex. However, he acts like he loves me dearly. I feel unattractive and don't know what to do. Its upsetting to feel like the only person who craves physical intimacy. Am I just selfish?

Posted May 1, 2026, 3:38 AM UTC

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