My partner and I have been together for 8 years (we’re both 27), and while I’m ready for marriage, they aren’t. They want to stay together and focus on being happy now, with marriage as a distant possibility (maybe in 4 or 10 years). I’ve suggested compromises like an open-ended engagement or moving in together again, but they’ve said no or “we’ll see.” I want the security of knowing we’re working toward marriage, but they think I’m rushing. I love them but don’t know if I can let this go.

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Get out; they're stringing you along until they find someone else. Go date new people, and find someone with similar goals.

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You’ve been in an 8 year relationship; you aren’t rushing anything wanting marriage at this point. Your partner’s response is a huge red flag and they’re dragging you along to see how long they can string you along.

FWIW, by the time my wife and I had been together 8 years we’d been married for 6.

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Yup - my husband and I have been together for a bit over 7 years, and our 5 year wedding anniversary is in less than a month.

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Priorities are really important and if you are 27 and potentially want kids (soon?) then waiting 10 years for an engagement (37) and then trying for kids might be a little disheartening. I am sorry to hear that. I would recommend couples counseling to get on the same page / at least get some answers!

likesmart

Would have a hard time waiting for up to 10 years for them to ultimately decide they don’t want to get married. Sounds like a lot going on if you moved in together and then separated again?

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Not everyone lives together before marriage; my husband and I only did for 3 weeks at my mom’s house in separate rooms before our marriage. It’s more a concern that they are undecided about marrying someone they’ve known for 8 years. I expected an engagement around 2 years. This was only compromised for finding jobs in the same place.

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He will never be what you think he can be, never. Just go find what you need and want before you get pregnant if you are a woman.

If you are a man, same thing.

If you think things are difficult now, wait until you start a life together again.

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I’m so sorry to give you the hard truth, but you need to break it off. At that age, men are still “keeping their options open” even if mildly subconsciously, if they have doubts. Breaking it off (amicably, calmly - NOT an ultimatum) allows for you to grow individually and come back together if it’s meant to be. In reality, you’ll move on and meet someone incredible who proposes to you as soon as socially appropriate because they don’t want to lose you. It happened to me, it happened to two of my other lawyer friends. When a man wants to marry you, there’s nothing stopping him. When a man isn’t sure, there’s a million excuses. You want someone who doesn’t have any doubts about what’s “out there”.

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Also, you’ll look back a year from now and wish you had done it sooner.

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Couples counseling asap

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Why do you keep using the word ‘they’?

But sounds like he stringing you along. Why should he buy the cow when he gets the milk for free.

I dated my wife for a year, proposed, engaged for a year. Celebrating a decade married in January with two beautiful kids.

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Obviously you aren’t rushing anything if you’ve been together for 8 years. But it’s pretty clear this person does not want to get married (giving them the benefit of the doubt, it may be a general thing and nothing to do with you specifically). Is there a chance they’ll change their mind in 4-10 years? Sure, but there’s a bigger chance they won’t, so you have to decide if you want to be with them anyway, or if marriage is a dealbreaker for you.

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Oh honey, it does not sound like he is interested in ever getting married getting too serious with you. I could some one not necessarily being ready to get married at 27, but you guys have been together since you were 19 and then not wanting to move in with says they don’t think you are the one . Sounds like he is comfortable with you for now but if you keep wasting time in this relationship, there is a very good chance this relationship ends in the next decade

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Leave. Another 4-10 years and you already gave 8, you don’t live together… how could you be rushing lol 😭

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I think you at the very least deserve a definitive answer one way or the other. My husband proposed to me after 5 years we had a two year engagement while we got our lives together and now we’ve been married 6 years. If he hadn’t have proposed at 5 years I would have left. We got married when we were 28. Now 6 years in we are finally ready for kids at age 34 it’s not easy. We have been trying for almost a year and are still waiting.
I think it’s perfectly reasonable to have goals in your relationship. And goals that you can agree on.

I know someone who was with their partner for 12 years and ultimately ended up breaking up because they couldn’t agree on a future. Within 2 years of breaking up he was married to a different woman and now they have a baby.

I spent over a decade, 6 of those years “engaged,” to a man who wanted me to support him financially but didn’t want to commit to getting married or starting a family. After giving and giving and giving without getting anything back I finally had to good sense to leave.

When I met my now-husband, I lived about 40 mins away from him. After 3 months of dating he transferred to a new job closer to me so he could move in and proposed 7 months after that.

My advice to you would be to get out of this and find someone who has the same goals and plans for the future that you do. A partner who truly wants a life with you will do what they need to in order to make that happen and it doesn’t sound like you’re getting what you want (and deserve) out of this relationship.

I guess its high time to rethink priorities.
What will you do if after 3-4 years they decide this relationship doesn't fit into the criteria of "being happy now" at that point. Given that after 8years they arent ready, i doubt they ever will.
Very sorry but something is wrong.

My nephew married after 11 yrs of ‘dating’ - no official engagement. I get it for him though. My sister divorced his father and my sisters 2nd husband (nephews step father) died of ALS in 2010, 2 years after his diagnosis.

I actually know several younger ppl who had been dating for well over 5 yrs outside of my nephew and who aren’t engaged . I often think, well maybe they don’t want to ever get married-or- maybe they’re they’re saving for a house first- then boom I might get a wedding invite. Lol 👰🏻‍♀️🤵🏻

I stopped wondering….whatever works for them works for me lol

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