My Girlfriend (18F) can’t be affectionate towards me (18M)

We've been in a relationship for over 6 months now. I knew from the start she was an only child and liked being alone and also that she's not the best at expressing herself. I accepted that since I am similar sometimes.

It took forever for us to get together, as I never got any hints she liked me or anything and the whole process took around one and a half years of me trying to get with her. In the end she even invited me on dates too and it felt real fun, even though we were a bit awkward. (I felt that was normal as it’s a first for both of us to be in a relationship)

Even now that we're together it's really hard to read her, I never know when I can kiss her, show affection towards her as sometimes she shuts me down completely, so I can only do that when she initiates as I'm always down. Though I feel it's important to add that she hates PDA and since her family doesn't know about me and we can't visit eachother's homes, these situations are rare anyways.

We see eachother scarcely maybe once a week if I'm being generous, I always try to plan dates, but she's not always content with it so usually we just end up getting coffee or going to the cinema. Even though I sometimes want to see her more she’s always busy.

Ever since we've got together I felt like I was being criticized way more than complimented. She never compliments me about my looks which I'm quite insecure about already, so this has been sending me down a never ending rabbit hole of thought, where I feel like she doesn't even like how I look. She sometimes insults some of my clothing. She tells me how I should change my hair. She told me to change my glasses (since then I use contacts) and there was a time where she urged me to be more masculine.

The only time she's actually loving towards me is when she's drunk and we're partying or in similar settings. (With occasional niceness elsewhere, which I do find really wholesome and I love her for that)

This lack of love makes the relationship feel really one sided sometimes as I pay her compliments and always try to treat her right. It happens more and more often that I wonder if things will ever change and if this is worth it. I do want to keep her and maybe I'm too emotional, but the negativity makes me feel bad.

Is this normal or relatable to anyone else? Does she not actually like me? What should I even do? Is there a solution to this?

TL;DR: My girlfriend rarely feels the need to see me, doesn’t compliment me only occasionally and when she’s drunk. I feel insecure and constantly worry. What do I do?

Posted Jun 12, 2026, 8:12 PM UTC

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