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-   -   He just broke off the engagement (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=286187)

  • Nov 28, 2008, 11:57 PM
    ktkingster
    He just broke off the engagement
    OKay. Whew. Need to breathe for a second. This story is kind of long.

    First let me give you a little background. I met my ex - wow, weird to say that for the first time - 3.5 years ago at a casino. I wasn't looking to meet anyone as I was about to move to Los Angeles. I was almost 23, and a virgin. We started talking because I kept seeing him up at the casino (He had just turned 21 and was hooked). We are 2 years apart, by the way for those that don't do math. Anyway so we started hanging out. I decided, since this was the first guy who has ever actively pursued me that I would have sex with him. 3 weeks later he told me he loved me. I then told him that I was going to postpone moving to LA because I was falling in love with him. About a month goes by and one night we get in a fight because he won't go out because he is too busy smoking weed and watching TV. I walk out. The next day he comes over and breaks up with me. I am heartbroken. He gave me a bunch of bull reasons including still thinking about his ex from over a year ago, etc. I told him fine and never to call me again. Of course I do the thing where I drive by his apartment, and his car is actually always there - he's not out finding someone new. I must tell you though that from day one I was No Contact. Couple weeks go by and he calls to "see how I am". I said how the hell do you think I am and told him to stop calling me. About a month goes by and another phone call to tell me that he spent the weekend having sex with his ex, but now it's over. I say great, thanks for the info stop calling. I am still heartbroken, lost 17 pounds by now. So there's really not a span of more than a month where I don't get a call. Finally about 5 months after the break up he calls and asks me to meet up with him and a friend at the bowling alley. I am over him by now. I go, we start hanging out. At this point I have made plans to leave for LA in 2 months, so I casually date him (no sex) and he knows I'm leaving.

    I leave. I really have no problem with leaving him. I am in LA for about 2 weeks when he calls me to ask if I texted him. I said no. I do not miss him, and have not been calling him. Then my roommate who I moved there with suddenly moves out on me in the middle of the night without me knowing. I am shocked. I call him and I was crying. He keeps in touch with me and keeps telling me how he misses having me around. I write him a casual letter. He calls and leaves a message saying I am the cutest girl in the whole entire world and he loved my letter. LA is not going well. I call to tell him I am coming home. He does not seem the least bit surprised.

    The night I get back into town he asks me to be his girlfriend. He says he wants to be serious about it this time and promises to be a great boyfriend. That is April 2006. He erases all girls' names from his phone and throws away all ex girlfriend pics for me. Time goes by, we fall back in love, he is a great boyfriend. We go on trips together, I become part of his very large family. They love me, as he is the problem child of the 6 they have. They think I'm the best thing that ever happened to him. He gets out of a gambling debt with my help, and quits smoking. He still smokes weed, however, and this is a problem for me. I tell him when we move in together it has to stop. He says OK. He always talks about the future with me and Christmas Eve 2007 proposes to me. He wants to get married right away.. my dad wants me to finish my teaching degree first. We set the date for May 30, 2009. We move in together this past March and get a puppy that we just adore. I am wedding planning and he is working and I am working to finish school. Then 2 weeks ago he starts being mean to me. I call him on it and he gets defensive. He says he doesn't want to talk about it. Then last Friday he calls me up and says he's ready to talk (I am at my mom's now because he is being so weird). He breaks up with me. He tells me he doesn't love me 100% and that is how he should love his wife. He did love me when he proposed. He claims he has always had a little doubt in his mind, though. He is not ready for marriage. He asks for the ring back ($5,000 ring, btw), keeps our puppy and I move out that night. The next day he is very casual sounding on the phone as we straighten the lease out. He keeps wanting to call the next day, though. Finally on Tuesday I say this will be our last conversation. I tell him I love him and I respect his decision though I don't agree with it. Even if we weren't getting married we should still be together. I am NC since Tuesday and told him not to contact me unless he wakes up one day and his heart tells him that he needs to call.

    A couple of background things to know:
    We were best friends, hardly fought, spent all our time together and had fun.
    There is absolutely no chance there is another girl. He works at an all-male company and calls me 10 times a day then comes straight home. I am always with him and he swears there is no one else. I believe that 100% -that is not what's going on for sure.
    Our sex life kind of sucks. I had to have procedure on my cervix last year and then had to go 2 months without sex. I kind of got used to it and then when we had sex it would hurt. I was actively trying right when he broke up with me to have more sex. I always gave him oral or a hand job, though, it's not like I never touched him.
    He has a ty job. He went to a prestigious high school in our town but quit college after a semester. Then he went to paramedic school and quit that with 3 months left before he was to graduate. He is a laborer for a pool company and makes about 35k a year. He has been supporting us but we can hardly ever spend money on anything other than food and I am still in school.
    All other 5 kids in his family finished college. His 2 older brothers are both GMs at a hotel chain, do very well.
    We have been to 2 weddings in the past 6 months. Each one he drank heavily at and started to cry because he starts to talk with his brothers and is so ashamed he doesn't make any money. The last wedding was that of his closest brother. It was 3 weeks ago. He cried at it again and told me in the hotel room while wasted that all he wants to be able to do is take care of his family.
    The day we got back from the wedding was the day he started being mean to me. He claims this has nothing to do with his brother's wedding and that I am just not the one for him. It is all so sudden and insane. Everyone is shocked, though I have no idea what his family is saying because they have not contacted me. I told him he is making a huge mistake and he said that if he is this is too big and he won't take this decision back. Any other story I read on here about a break up there is something majorly wrong with the relationship. There was nothing majorly wrong here. It's like he just freaked the out. He says he doesn't want to hurt me, so why is he? I feel like my entire future I envisioned for myself is gone. I am just devastated but I am doing NC and letting him go figure out if he can really be without me. I just don't see how he can. He has like one friend and he's a self-proclaimed homebody. I was his only friend, really. I loved him and still do love him and I am so sad and confused right now I don't even know what to tell myself. He says he doesn't love me, but there's no way he could have been acting that whole time. I am very perceptive - I was able to pick up on his being mean to me for no reason these past 2 weeks, though it was quite subtle - he was happy with me, and I know that he loves me. Unfortunately all I do now is lay around waiting for that call that says he made a mistake. How can he live in our apartment, with our dog that we adore, and be without me?? How can anyone do this, I don't get it? I mean I have heard of cold feet, and maybe we weren't ready to get married quite yet, but to just throw the past 3.5 years away? To remove me from the family? I am in the family photo for Christ's sake.

    Obviously there are other little details but this is the jist. Has anyone ever heard of something like this where I will just never hear from him again? I can't even tell myself this is real right now.
  • Nov 28, 2008, 11:59 PM
    ktkingster
    By the way, it is *he has a TY job*
  • Nov 29, 2008, 12:00 AM
    ktkingster

    Omg okay he has a *bad job*.. is that okay to say?
  • Nov 29, 2008, 12:22 AM
    TrueFaith

    Ok girl

    First of all.. everything was RUSHED wayyy too much. I mean damn.

    Secondly

    Forget this guy. Stop hurting yourself over soemone who just used you.

    You are worth more than that.
  • Nov 29, 2008, 07:49 AM
    talaniman

    Reading this its obvious you two didn't have the skills, or commitment, to work at a healthy relationship.

    Move on, and grow into a new, better, healthier life, as this disaster should be a learning experience to you, so you don't rush into sex, and playing house again.

    That's the fairest warning I can give you.
  • Nov 29, 2008, 11:22 AM
    sully123

    I agree with Tal, just move on, way too many issues.. he has.. and a lot of problems.. You don't need his problems. Think more of yourself...
  • Dec 5, 2008, 12:39 AM
    ktkingster
    Was this a legit reason and now what should I do?
    My fiancé broke up with me 2 weeks ago. He decided he could not marry me because in all our time together I have never been able to hold a job and, well, I kind of hardly ever had sex with him. So okay - he never really communicated these were big issues until the break up, but I guess I should have taken his complaints as a hint he wasn't happy.
    So I managed to get to his place tonight to talk to him and tell him I promise I will change. (And I will). We agree we are not ready to marry yet so the engagement is definitely off, but it seems as if he is willing to start over with me in a serious relationship. Here are my questions: Did he really have a good reason to break my heart and break off an engagement? If this was legit, should I try again with him, even knowing how he hurt me? (Keep in mind our relationship was great other than the fact there was no sex and he kind of ended up taking care of me financially because I didn't work). Okay, I think I already know the answer to my questions now that I am really laying it all out there. Lol. But he did break my heart.
  • Dec 5, 2008, 12:52 AM
    ktkingster
    Broke NC and it worked
    Dumped 10 days ago --- he called off the engagement. Told him to never call me unless he realized he made a mistake. Never heard from his so called him today and we started talking and I said I'd rather talk to him in person. He was VERY hesitant but finally let me come over. I looked very cute for sure, we talked, and now he wants to try again. Gosh, what would have happened had I just cut him out of my life? NC is good but sometimes you just know you are meant to be with someone.
  • Dec 5, 2008, 12:52 AM
    TrueFaith

    So you take him back? And then if we say. No it was not the right reason

    Are you going to leave him? And say you know what. Sod you!

    Like you don't break up with me. I break up with you! Pride thing?


    Well. He should have probable talked with you a bit about the issues before the word marriage was even brought up!

    Sex is not everything in a relationship
    But! Talking.. Hey that's the mother right there!

    You guys should talk a lot more about your feelings and problems

    Try to get them before they come to big and the other partner is like what the hell?
    When the other one blows up!

    Your back with him now

    Work at this with him. And try to get talking more.

    If you are pisst off with him that he dumped you.
    You tell him. Go hey! You should have told me so we could have worked this out together

    Get that off your chest ;) you seem like you want to.

    Other than that I wish you all the best!

    May the 2nd time be the charm
  • Dec 5, 2008, 12:57 AM
    thadevilsadvocate

    YES, his reasoning was more than legit. You should be very thankful that he is willing to start over and give you another chance. It sounds to me like you were in a relationship that you thought was good, but may not have been so good for him. Would you want to marry someone that you couldn't count on to hold a steady job? Think about if you were to buy a house and pay a mortgage based on two salaries instead of one... and then you lose your job or leave your job... well then you are screwed, and not only are you screwed, but he is as well, and he was holding up his end of the bargain. He wants to marry you and build a life WITH you not FOR you. It sounds like you are very selfish in this relationship, and my intentions are not to insult you, but seriously, you need to reconsider the way you are going about things.

    As for the sex, I think you should have taken the hints. This seems to be something that important to him and this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Once again, your actions seem very selfish.

    Now, as for him not mentioning any of this before the break up... well, he did mention it and it sounds like he did many times. If your heart is in this relationship, then you should have been able to pick up on that being an issue easily. It sounds like you haven't really been paying much attention to the relationship and have been taking what you have for granted. The point of a relationship, is to give your all. You learn about your partner, so that you can pick up on hints like those. You pay attention to what they like and don't like so that you know ahead of time. You go out of your way to do surprises for them, showing that you are actually listening and paying attention to the things that they like. You do things to keep it exciting and show that you love him. Especially with the fact that he is the one that seems to be holding a job, you need to realize, that you are contributing very little to the relationship then. What would make him NEED you around anymore? He could go and find someone else that would be contributing just as much as he is.

    So, now that you have this chance, you need to get yourself together, find a job and stick with it. You need to make yourself a contributor to the relationship.
  • Dec 5, 2008, 01:32 AM
    ktkingster
    You all are very right. I did take him for granted. Luckily he was willing to listen to all I had to say and what I've realized. He is the only man I have ever had sex with, so I guess I just really didn't know how important sex is in a relationship. And I am actively pursuing a job right now. At first I really thought he didn't love me because he was able to hurt me like this... but the truth of the matter is, he loved me when he proposed, but I made him fall out of love with me with my actions. I do realize this and am soooooo grateful that he is willing to give me another chance. We are taking it slow now, which is going to be weird going from living together planning a wedding to living apart and dating. But whatever! I have my man back and I will show him how appreciative I am!
  • Dec 5, 2008, 01:47 AM
    thadevilsadvocate

    Well it's a good thing that you realize that and that you realize what you need to do from here on out.

    You are a very fortunate person, because so many people on here wish that they could have the opportunity to give it another shot... so perhaps you can remind yourself of this everyday, that you are one of the few that is getting a second chance. Good luck!
  • Dec 5, 2008, 01:57 AM
    ktkingster
    =) well I always knew I had a keeper
    That's why I fought so hard
    I would suggest anyone on here to read Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People"
    Even if you can't change their minds, most of the time you can at least get a foot in the door with some of his tactics
  • Dec 5, 2008, 02:27 AM
    DeleteAndBan

    The rule normally is that he should contact you since its his decision to break it off. Now you still don't know if he WANTS you back , or that the fact that you were just convenitnely there asking him was the dealbreaker...

    Hate to rain on your parade but when you contact the one who breaks up with you to come back puts you in the submissive position, not good.

    Hope it works out though! Would be another happy ending for the board\ :)
  • Dec 5, 2008, 02:34 AM
    ktkingster

    Well, he allowed me to come over and talk to him which was WAY more than I thought he would ever do, so something is saying he was missing the hell out of me.
  • Dec 5, 2008, 03:54 AM
    Kevin_s

    Let's be perfectly clear here.

    NC is NOT a "tool" to be used to get somebody back. It is used as a shield to protect your pride and your dignity. You wouldn't go back and talk to someone who literally stabbed you, right?

    No Contact is used to heal yourself, better yourself, not as a game to make someone miss you.

    I hope things work out for you! If he pulls this again, it's time to go into healing and stop talking to him though in my opinion.
  • Dec 5, 2008, 06:46 AM
    ktkingster

    Yeah. Well I kind of HAD to contact him because the reason he broke off the engagement is I basically always refused to have sex with him and he couldn't deal with it. That and I didn't have a job and was living off him. But I'm getting a job now and willing to have sex. I had to let him know. I think he's glad that I did.
  • Dec 5, 2008, 10:31 AM
    talaniman

    No communications, no relationship.
    Hard to work together without talking and listening.
    Good luck
  • Dec 5, 2008, 10:33 AM
    Justwantfair
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ktkingster View Post
    and willing to have sex.

    Willing today, doesn't mean willing in a year.

    Good luck to you.
  • Dec 5, 2008, 10:48 AM
    plonak

    Did you ever stop to ask yourself why you refused sex? Do you even want to be with him?

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