He called me his partner and we’ve been dating 2 months!

[Radia111]

would anyone else feel this is soon?

when would you define someone as your partner?

we are officially girlfriend and boyfriend but to me it seems too soon to be partners?

Maybe he doesn’t like boyfriend/girlfriend - maybe he feels that’s “too young” a term these days? I wouldn’t read much into it.

How old are you?

A lot of people use partner as they feel silly using boyfriend/girlfriend as adults.

Girlfriend, boyfriend, partner. All the same thing.

I think the term “partner” came about when same sex couples became more accepted/mainstream or an older couple that felt girlfriend/boyfriend sounded a bit weird and it’s just become generic for everyone.

Fuss about nothing...girlfriend boyfriend...partner... other half so what. What's the definition and at what point? Surely if your exclusive your there aren't you!

yanbu op
partner to me implies person that you are committed to spending your life with and sharing all burdens. being in a partnership and on the same team. it's weird to think of anyone in that close way after only 2 months. relationships don't get that strong that quickly.

I get what you are saying. I am 50s and boyfriend is 50s. I feel ridiculous saying boyfriend. Friends said to use partner, but that seems more serious to me too. I would not overthink.

What do you say then?

How old are you? Boyfriend/girlfriend often sounds awkward if you’re older. Otherwise, yes partner infers sounds serious. Don’t overthink it.

I don’t think he will be calling you his partner for much longer.

We are 28! I’m not saying I don’t like it just that it sounds serious.

why Will he not be calling me that for much longer?

I couldn't use boyfriend/girlfriend past my teen years. Personally it just feels too young, we aren't boys or girls now we're men and women.

Is that not just another name for boyfriend/girlfriend? I don’t think it implies you’re about to run off into the sunset together.

I’m 45, dating someone and it’s early days. I guess I’d use the term boyfriend (if gets that serious! Only up to date 2 so far but known him 3yrs but only in a professional capacity!) for a while, as partner also seems more serious to me. But I get why someone might find the term boyfriend odd. I mean in my mid 40’s I’ll feel like a school girl saying I’ve got a boyfriend 🤣🤣

I do find partner really, really weird for new dating relationships. Especially at 28, girlfriend / boyfriend is a completely normal word to use and not silly at all! However partner seems to have become part of common parlance, so I maybe he's just adopted the term without thinking?

No it isn’t another word for boyfriend / girlfriend, partner means partner, it is its own word. It means a shared life, shared home, shared finances, shared responsibilities. I find it absurd when people refer to the man they see once a month who lives 200 miles away their “partner”. At 28 and dating two months, this is definitely a boyfriend not a partner. I would find it icky to be referred to as a partner in OPs situation.

I get what @Aprilx is saying. However, the issue is partly that there's no great term for what the OP has.

I find the OP saying they're "officially" bf and gf a bit weird too. That implies a level of partnership to me.

I'm thinking the OP and her "official boyfriend"/partner are both just struggling to define a relationship that's exclusive and becoming serious but is still in its early days.

I always thought it just meant sexual partner. So much about relationships seems unnecessarily complicated nowadays.

@Aprilx I agree with your definition.
Some strange ideas of what it is to be partners on MN.

OP - if you're "dating"'someone, that implies to me that you're not yet a couple, but exploring whether you want to be. If you're referring to yourselves as being officially bf and gf then you're past the dating stage.

But that's just nitpicking really, as relationships often don't have any sharply defined edges in the early days, but given your terminology isn't perfect, I'd give your boyfriend (or whatever he is!) some slack.

What was the context OP? Was he introducing you to an acquaintance or was he meeting your parents?

The first one makes sense - it's easier. The second would be a bit weird.

I always think of partner as someone you live with but aren't married to. Someone you share life, bills, mortgage/rent with.

At two months definitely boyfriend/girlfriend.

I also find the use of partner strange in some situations. Nephew 18 away at Uni refers to 17 year old girlfriend (in last year of High School) as partner. Maybe I'm old?

I think the same as this
I'm 39 dating a 52 year old, I would say boyfriend not sure what he says, but his circle would know me anyway so I'm just firstname

This would have me running for the hills.

Don’t worry about it OP?