Is he interested or not?

[anotherdisaster]

NC for this. So I met someone online. I'm pretty clued up on narcissism, love-bombing etc (or thought I was). He was very keen from the beginning and I was wary of this but I did think he was just the type of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. I've held back as much as I can but I really really like this guy. Only been dating 8 weeks.
He hinted that he had some anxiety issues earlier this year due to his last relationship breakdown, starting a new job etc but he didn't go into too much detail. This is relevant.
Recently he has had some very stressful money worries due to a job change just before xmas and has been unable to pay his rent. I know he is mega stressed about this. Just to point out, he hasn't asked me for money and I've not offered.
His behaviour has changed towards me. He still messages lots every day but his messages have changed from very lovey to just generic stuff. He likes to send joke stuff and that is all I seem to get now. I had said I could see him today as my kids were going out for a few hours but he didn't get back to me then made an excuse that he was ill (not sure I believe him). We generally only see each other every other weekend so I was rather put out that he didn't jump at the chance to spend time with me.
Sorry if this is rambling but I think what I;m asking is, has he just lost interest and was a love-bomber after all? or is he a typical bloke who has some serious issues going on so cannot deal with anything else?
I'm taking a step back now to see how it pans out but I'm rather gutted if it ends as when we are together its really amazing.

@75Renarde what are the traits of the other 5%? Sounds terrifying!

Thanks everyone. All comments are no surprise. I'm not convinced he wants money from me though and I'm not being niave here. He has told me about his financial issues because we've had nights out etc planned and he obviously cannot commit to them now due to his issues.
Also to answer, yes we've not seen each other that often but he has days off midweek and we've met for lunch a few times so its not just been every other weekend.
I have absolutely NO intention of giving him any money as I'm not that stupid but obviously I've been wary about this. If he IS scamming for money then he's barking up the wrong tree with me.
We have loads of mutual friends and I've asked some of them and they all say he's a genuinely nice bloke.
I suspect there are mental health issues going on here.
I'm definitely taking a step back now though as this just feels a bit off.
My gut feeling is that he's found himself in this crap situation and can't cope with it, therefore can't commit to a relationship.
I'm not going to end things just yet but I'm stepping right back now and just carrying on with my own life. Such a shame.

If he was genuine about meeting family, building a relationship with you etc the money thing wouldn't be stopping him. He would just explain that for the moment he can only have film nights at home together etc due to money issues.

Sorry I think hes either hoping you'll jump in a save him financially and practically, or hes lost interest and is doing a slow fade. I've had time wasters like this before, sorry but with problems at this early stage it's very unlikely anything good will come. I know its disappointing.

Hey OP, he wasn’t necessarily scamming you for money, but somewhere inside him maybe he believes you should be offering. He stated intense need and you’ve ignored it - that could be how it might appear to someone hugely self-absorbed/with bad boundaries. He’s in a huff.

Whatever it is, he’s lost interest, and it’s very very early days. Sorry. But you’ve probably dodged a bullet.

Yes you could well be right. I hope you’re wrong but am preparing myself for the worst. I won’t be helping him financially so if that’s what he wants then nothing will come of it. I’m sitting back now with zero expectations.
I’ve had guys try to get money in a manipulative way before so I know the signs and this doesn’t feel like that. However I’m not stupid so my eyes are Wide open.

I really don't think he's a scammer. I'm the same as him when stressed out especially about the money - I tend to pull away from usual level of communication. The fact he still texts a lot every day is actually good - he doesn't want to lose you, but it's going against the grain atm for him as he's trying to resolve his problems and needs to focus there. I@d give him a bit of time, for sure.

He sounds a mess OP. MH probs, money probs just for starters. Unfortunately I think such a person is probably ripe to cause hurt. Deliberately or accidentally. Maybe you’re a romantic, but if so you have to be careful not to over invest. If it were me I’d have been tempted to offer to lend him money just to see if he’d take it, just for my own enjoyment - of corse if he said yes I’d make up some cock and bull story about not being refused bank overdraft. Shortly after ending it.

I meant ending it shortly after, sorry

@CatAndHisKit this is what I’ve been thinking but the part I can’t get my head around is why he can’t just say “I’ve got some shit going on so sorry if I’m not myself” or something....
and yes he sounds a mess with MH and money issues so I know things don’t look great. Deep down I’m hoping things smooth out over the next few weeks but, I’m not getting my hopes up.