I'm so confused and could do with some guidance. sorry this is so long..
My boyfriend and I have been dating for 9 months, its been a very full on relationship, very intense, passionate, symbiotic even.we have been dotty about each other and talked of building a life together. we both have children from previous relationships and have, by our mid 40's experienced a lot of life stuff and this is the 1st serious relationship for either of us for a long time - i've mostly been single and carefree - he's worked hard and had online flings/hook-ups.
so we've both been blown away by the intensity of the relationship and adored every minute - we spend most days together and i've started working with him a couple of months ago - helping out with admin and online stuff for his company. i was tentative at first about us working together - the power shift/being answerable of my bf etc - but this seemed like a practical soluition - i needed the work - he needed the help.. after a rocky start we seemed to be finding our rhythm however some flare ups would happen and he would flip out and speak to me in a really inappropriate way - obvs i wasnt pleased with this and pulled him up but also allowed some leeway as he's not had anyone help him with his company that he's been running for 9 years. a few times i'd had 2nd thoughts about the whole situation but persevered - the set up suits me to work from home, with child & dog commitments etc.
however last week he went beserk at me, at 7am, shouting and losing the plot at me over a work thing. his reaction to me was shocking - yelling and squaring up to me - not physically but very threateningly - i cowered (not like me to do this, i'd normally have my say ) and let him get it all out - i knew he was tired and stressed (and on a comedown from the previous weekend at a festival) it left me incredibly upset and shaken up - crying and baffled and actually concerned for his mental state - i actually thought he was having a breakdown. my friends were horrified at his behaviour, he'd gone mental at me whilst my kids were asleep in their bedroom, hiding away as he ranted on at me - the whole apartment block must have heard it.. afterwards i tried to get him help, via the docs and support for his anger issues. he eventualy apologised, but still maintained he was right about his outburst. since then we've talked and talked and tried to resolve a few things, but i am no longer working with him, so he's now left with more work and a fractured relationship.
i am now deeply concerned about how we get passed this and if its possible to return to the amazing connection we had before.i feel like we have crossed over to the dark side.. the bubble has definitely burst and all goodwill has gone - it feels like he's lost respect for me as this went so far. can this be repairable? once things have got to this level can they go back or is this so damaging that we will just implode?