Do I come across as controlling?
My boyfriend (33M) and I (28F) have been together for over a year, and we just can't seem to get on the same page. He often dismisses what I say and acts like some topics don’t warrant a discussion. For instance, we had a trip planned for February 26th, but when I found out I was pregnant in mid-January, he decided he didn’t want to go and wouldn’t discuss how we could make the trip work. This trip was meant to celebrate my birthday, and we had already paid for it. It wasn’t until we nearly broke up and he had a conversation with his mother that he agreed to come. Prior to that, on another trip, he made some expensive purchases that caused me to exceed our agreed budget of $1,200. One of his purchases was a pair of pricey sneakers for his son, which he bought for no particular reason since he had already gotten him a Christmas gift. I brought up my concerns about the purchase, but his response was that it's his child to manage. Now, he’s moving in April, and I’ve been reminding him for months to start looking for places. I even shared contact information for some brokers. He keeps saying he doesn’t want to look because he doesn’t have any money saved. I told him it’s still worth reaching out so they can know what he's looking for and contact him if something suitable comes up. I feel like he’s wasting precious time by not starting the conversation. Today, we discussed the broker situation again, and when the topic came up, he got frustrated and felt that I was blaming him for our relationship issues, which I wasn’t. What I did bring up was that he isn’t applying what we’ve talked about in therapy, specifically the need for us to communicate about our decisions. It often feels like he believes his way is the only valid approach. Another example is when he had to stay home with his son for a week while the mother was absent. His employers became upset with his repeated absences. I suggested he formally request sick leave instead of calling out daily or at least inform them of his situation. He felt it wasn’t their business and thought it was better to keep calling out. Meanwhile, he was worried about losing hours due to their frustration. A relevant incident occurred just a few months into our relationship when he was living in New Jersey. I suggested he move back to New York, where his family, including his children, and I are. He declined, saying New York was too expensive, among other reasons, yet he feels lonely in New Jersey and isn’t open to finding his way back. Overall, I’m feeling like I might need to consider terminating my pregnancy, even though that’s not what I want. It’s just that our relationship feels incredibly challenging, and I don’t see us making it work. I believe that in a relationship, there should be more compromise and teamwork. It’s frustrating because I’m not insisting that my way is the best; I’m merely suggesting that he try a different approach than what he’s used to.