Girlfriend moving out but plans on continuing the relationship
Hi everyone. I did a Google search and I found this page. I read up some similar threads, but possibly someone could add something to my situation and possibly help me out.
My girlfriend of two years just gave me the news yesterday she was planning on moving out. This came as a complete surprise to me. We've been living together for a year and a half and I thought things were going well. We have/had an open, trusting relationship. At least I was under this impression.
I use the phrase have/had because I really don't know what is going on right now. I asked why she wanted to move out and the answer was she needed more freedom and space. I thought I was being good in this department as I really pretty much gave her free reign to hang out with her friends whenever she wanted. Maybe that backfired. Who knows though this was the answer. She also stated the passion in the relationship has faded and that maybe if she moved out things would be exciting again like when we first met. We both understand the passion fades the more your with someone, but for me anyway it was replaced by an adoring type of love. I question if she feels the same anymore. I thought so.
Most of all I'm surprised there was no attempt to try and talk to me about things. I've always encouraged the freedom to talk so we could let each other know what's on our minds. Maybe she felt there was no other way. I tried to find out what was exactly bothering her about living together. She just said again she just needs her space.
I guess as it stands now, we are going to attempt to keep the relationship going while we are not longer living together. While I want to believe that this could be strengthen our relationship, I'm concerned that it could be the first step to breaking up. Has anyone heard of a relationship growing stronger once someone moves out after a period living together? Any suggestions regarding how to strengthen this relationship? I consider this girl the love of my life. I had long term plans. Her birthday was coming up and I was looking forward to celebrating our relationship/anniversary together. Now I'm just crushed.
I remember telling myself when we first got together that I was just going to enjoy our time together and accept the moment when our time together come to an end. That's easier said than done. I want to be there to take care of her when she's sick or needs something just like I did in the past. Maybe I still can. I want to be positive about this. At the same time I want to be realistic. I've thus far shown my support for the move. I've even been helping her find a place to stay that's nice and safe. Maybe the best thing for me to do is just not show it's bothering me that bad, support her in her move, and continue the relationship with giving her plenty of space and freedom. Maybe I'm just denying the inevitable. To give you some background I'm 29 and she's 26. Thanks for any help.