[36M] Feeling like a bad father for maintaining LDR for three years with [39F] while I have a child. Should I end it?

Need Advice

36 year old male, my partner is 39. She lives in Asia, I live in Europe. For the last three years we've maintained a long distance relationship that has involved me travelling to her country (very difficult for her to get a visit visa to my country).

The guilt of missing too much of my daughter's childhood gnaws away at me the longer this relationship goes on. My daughter is seven.

The arrangement has basically been, I visit my partner 4-5 weeks in January, 6-7 weeks in April, and 6-7 weeks in September. That works out at a total of about 4.5 months away from my daughter each year.

My brain is melted from relentlessly trying to decide what to do here between breaking up or continuing like this. My daughter is the only reason I ever go back to my country; I otherwise hate it there. I don't have a social life, and it just reminds me of bad things that happened while growing up.

I previously posted about this dilemma on daddit and got slated for being an absent father. I feel reality is more complicated than those black and white judgements. My daughter loves me, kids are resilient. But I'm sure there is some aspects of it that's hard for her to deal with and I don't want to totally ruin her childhood.

I guess I'm just looking for advice here. Is this relationship doomed? Am I a bad father for maintaining it for so long?

Posted Sep 13, 2026, 6:09 AM UTC

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