Tired of hearing it (20m) (20f)

My boyfriend and I have been together since high school, and we’ve been together for almost 4 years. He was my first sexual partner. At the beginning, we had sex often and I genuinely enjoyed it.
Things started changing after we got suspended for having sex in the school parking lot. Around the same time, his parents were extremely overbearing they would literally count the condoms in the box. Having to constantly sneak around completely killed the enjoyment for me.
About a year later, I developed BV without realizing it. Sex became incredibly painful, to the point where I couldn’t do it anymore. Just thinking about having sex would make me anxious and upset. Even then, I would force myself because he would tell me physical intimacy was his love language and that without sex, it was hard for him to feel loved. Over time, sex stopped feeling like something I wanted and started feeling like something I had to do.
Then I got pregnant while still dealing with recurring BV. My pregnancy was miserable, especially until about 6 months, and I was on medication throughout most of it. Now I’m postpartum, and it feels like almost every conversation turns into him talking about wanting sex, asking for oral sex, or saying he can’t wait until we can have sex again.
I know he’s attracted to me, and that’s not the issue. The constant sexual comments have become overwhelming, and instead of making me feel desired, they make me dread the topic even more.
On top of that, I’ve been a stay-at-home mom, and I’ve started feeling like he thinks I owe him sex because he pays for things. That feeling bothered me enough that I recently got a job because I didn’t want to feel financially dependent or like I was expected to have sex in return.
For anyone who’s been through something similar, how did you rebuild a healthy relationship with sex after it became associated with pain, pressure, and obligation? And if you’ve had a partner with a much higher sex drive, what conversations or boundaries actually helped without causing resentment?

Posted Jul 11, 2026, 1:09 PM UTC

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