I need men perspective and point of view

I'm 28F, and I need an outside perspective because I still struggle to make sense of this.

For about eight years, I was emotionally attached to a man who constantly talked about wanting to marry me one day. Those promises were the main reason I stayed. I genuinely believed we were slowly building toward a future together.

This year, I went through very difficult periods in my life when I desperately needed emotional support. I wasn't asking for grand gestures i simply needed him to be there for me. Yet he never called me, not even once. He had my phone number the entire time, but he never picked up the phone to check on me or hear my voice.

Eventually, I realized I couldn't keep waiting for someone who was always absent when I needed him the most. I left without saying goodbye. I simply walked away because I had nothing left to say.

What I still can't understand is this:

Can someone stay in contact with a woman for eight years, talk about marriage, and yet never develop a genuine emotional attachment? Or is it more likely that he had feelings but simply lacked the maturity or willingness to act on them?

I'm genuinely curious how other people, especially men, would interpret this.