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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Boyfriend in his 30s is wonderful but rarely wants sex

587 replies

RoseKitten · 13/03/2026 00:23

My boyfriend and I are both in our 30s. I love him deeply. He is kind, very attentive, ambitious, good with my friends, family and nieces, and very attractive. He goes to the gym 5x a week, and it shows: he is in incredible shape. I dream of marrying and having children with this man. I know he would be a wonderful husband and father.

However, he seems uninterested in sex. I knew something was a bit 'off' when we first started dating: he didn't invite me to his place until about date 7 or 8, and that was only because I basically invited myself around. When I went around, I was expecting to stay the night (although it wasn't explicitly discussed), but he told me he had to go to bed early because he needed to be up at 4am, so he dropped me back at about 10pm.

When we do have sex, it's fantastic. He is an amazing lover, and I find him so physically attractive, but we don't have sex enough for my liking, and I just feel it is not important to him. He very rarely initiates, and he always wants to take me out rather than spend time with me at home. Maybe I am being paranoid, but he seems to do everything possible to spend as little time as possible at my place or his.

Some other things that did/do not 'add up' for me:

  • After about date 5 or 6, we were WhatsApping one night, and I asked when he would invite me around. He wrote something like, "Netflix and chill is low-effort. I need to take you out to nice places." I wrote, "The "chill" part is nice, though, no? ;)" He then wrote, "If you want a f*boy, I am not the man for you."
  • Despite his seeming lack of interest in sex, he has no problem showing me affection (kissing, holding hands etc.) in public, and he DOES initiate these things most of the time.
  • I am a bit ashamed to admit this, but I did once go through his phone when he was out of the room, and there was nothing in there that suggests he is cheating.
  • As I said at the start of the message, going to the gym is a big part of his life, and he looks amazing. He is also quite particular about his appearance - teeth, hair, skin, everything. I know the gym and grooming etc. have all sorts of benefits, but surely one of them is to look sexually attractive. In other words, I've always felt that men who put so much effort into their appearances do so at least in part because sex is important to them, and they want to look as good as possible for it, yet... sex is not a priority for him.

To finishing things up, 98%, 99% of our relationship is so good, but this final 1-2% is so important, yet I feel almost greedy wanting it. I want to discuss it with him, but a) I don't know how to approach it, b) I am not worried about his reaction (we have discussed difficult topics before, and he has always been calm, respectful, understanding and helpful), but I am worried that he may tell me something I have not prepared for.

So,

  1. What do you think the issue(s) may be?
  2. How do I approach discussing them with him?

Thank you.

OP posts:
TheGander · 13/03/2026 16:03

Beachtastic · 13/03/2026 15:42

Hmm, another question that might seem odd, but... is he British? Other less consumerist cultures don't lean so heavily on "sexiness" as the highest attainment in life. A man can cultivate himself physically and mentally in ways that have nothing to do with presenting himself as sexy. It's hard for us in the UK to get our heads round...

Which other, less consumerist cultures value sex less? I’m genuinely curious.

Gray67 · 13/03/2026 16:03

Sounds kind of like the idea partner to me 🤪
But we are all different! The problem is that you don't match up

peachgreen · 13/03/2026 16:03

I highly recommend you read the book Come As You Are, OP. It totally changed my whole perspective on sex and talking it through with my partner changed my life for the better.

RoseKitten · 13/03/2026 16:09

Allthesnowallthetime · 13/03/2026 15:17

Is he a perfectionist? He sounds like someone who would hate to do something if it wasn't amazing.

And that could include sex. Maybe doesn't want to do it unless he can put full effort in and make it awesome for you.

Maybe he's actually quite anxious and uptight, deep down and needs to control the environment to feel ok.

I wouldn't like to have kids with someone like that. Kids are unpredictable, messy and inconvenient. Could he tolerate that I wonder

This may be another factor: he isn't a perfectionist, but he does seems focused on "performance"; e.g., for one of our early dates, we went to a fine dining restaurant, and although I enjoyed it, he did not really enjoy his main meal, so he apologised and said he would take me to a better restaurant in the future. He also would always ask how the date was in an almost business-like feedback survey style. I thought it was just his odd but kind of charming way of making sure I had a good time.

OP posts:
Elise89 · 13/03/2026 16:12

Elise89 · 13/03/2026 16:01

I think he initially brought it up. We were good friends that ended up dating, so we're already comfortable in having often deep conversations about our feeling and the world in general. He felt guilty for not wanting to do it that often, reassured me that it was nothing to do with me, and we'd likely had a drink but I was fine with it. But we do talk about it reasonably frequently.

I've been married before and my husband was very abusive. For me, sex is not the be all end all of a relationship. Id rather be with someone where I feel like I can be myself, genuinely enjoy eachothers company (doing all manner of things other than sexual!) but also have that close connection, other forms of physical intimacy, and very good sex when we do have it! Everyone's different though, my relationship might not be satisfying to everyone!

Also I've just noticed your reply to another poster - we are both ND if it makes a difference!

LemonAir · 13/03/2026 16:15

Sorry @RoseKitten but the way that you’re describing him makes him sound like Patrick Bateman from American Psycho before his girlfriend works out that he’s a psychopath.

No one on here has the first clue what is going on with him (and you don’t seem very open to accepting suggestions anyway). Why don’t you ask him?

ScholesPanda · 13/03/2026 16:16

I think you're over complicating this. He doesn't want to have sex with you more often than he is.

This will not change. If anything, his libido is likely to decline further as he ages and you are together longer.

Is this a deal breaker for you? Only you know that.

Right now I'm reading your responses and thinking 'this is how women end up spending years with men they weren't compatible with in the first place'. You can't wish or hope him into wanting more sex.

RoseKitten · 13/03/2026 16:16

Elise89 · 13/03/2026 16:01

I think he initially brought it up. We were good friends that ended up dating, so we're already comfortable in having often deep conversations about our feeling and the world in general. He felt guilty for not wanting to do it that often, reassured me that it was nothing to do with me, and we'd likely had a drink but I was fine with it. But we do talk about it reasonably frequently.

I've been married before and my husband was very abusive. For me, sex is not the be all end all of a relationship. Id rather be with someone where I feel like I can be myself, genuinely enjoy eachothers company (doing all manner of things other than sexual!) but also have that close connection, other forms of physical intimacy, and very good sex when we do have it! Everyone's different though, my relationship might not be satisfying to everyone!

I am so sorry you had an abusive partner, but I am glad you have found someone special, and you can talk about such things.

I could defintely tolerate not as much sex as I would like because he is incredible in other areas, but I really do want more sex than we are haivng now, and I find not really udnerstanding why confusing.

I must have a talk with him.

OP posts:
Benjithedog · 13/03/2026 16:18

OP you are going to have to talk to him about this as this means a lot to you. Far better to do this now than once you have moved in which would make ever more difficult.

LouiseMadetheBestBroccoliPasta · 13/03/2026 16:23

RoseKitten · 13/03/2026 16:09

This may be another factor: he isn't a perfectionist, but he does seems focused on "performance"; e.g., for one of our early dates, we went to a fine dining restaurant, and although I enjoyed it, he did not really enjoy his main meal, so he apologised and said he would take me to a better restaurant in the future. He also would always ask how the date was in an almost business-like feedback survey style. I thought it was just his odd but kind of charming way of making sure I had a good time.

This performativeness means that he isn't showing you who he really is. He's not being authentic with you. So really, you have no idea who he is.

Maybe he's emotionally constipated, possibly because of trauma or his upbringing. Which isn't great, because can you really have a relationship with someone who can't be his authentic self with you (or himself)?

At worst, he's manipulating you into a position where he gets something from you, and after he gets that or has you locked down, his true ugly colours come out.

RoseKitten · 13/03/2026 16:23

LemonAir · 13/03/2026 16:15

Sorry @RoseKitten but the way that you’re describing him makes him sound like Patrick Bateman from American Psycho before his girlfriend works out that he’s a psychopath.

No one on here has the first clue what is going on with him (and you don’t seem very open to accepting suggestions anyway). Why don’t you ask him?

I am open to suggestions, and I have listened to what people have said, and I will speak to him.

I also recognise that I may lose a man who has great qualities, and that is painful.

OP posts:
jellycount · 13/03/2026 16:24

Could he have been sexually abused when younger? Just a thought.

LBFseBrom · 13/03/2026 16:24

beccahamlet · 13/03/2026 00:31

It's obviously a problem for you. Personally I wouldn't settle for someone with whom I had such a mismatch in sex drive. My gut instinct is that he's not heterosexual. Best of luck with working through it.

Edited

I suspect the same.

Elise89 · 13/03/2026 16:27

RoseKitten · 13/03/2026 16:16

I am so sorry you had an abusive partner, but I am glad you have found someone special, and you can talk about such things.

I could defintely tolerate not as much sex as I would like because he is incredible in other areas, but I really do want more sex than we are haivng now, and I find not really udnerstanding why confusing.

I must have a talk with him.

Yeah ultimately I think talking is the solution to most relationship issues (other than abuse/cheating etc). See if you can reach a compromise that works for both of you, or if having a reason that doesn't make you feel like you're not good enough will help. If your aim is to get married/cohabit etc you'll need to be able to have what are perhaps uncomfortable conversations anyway, to help able to work through things. As I said, if he's not able to do that it's more of a red flag to me than the less frequent sex to be honest

RoseKitten · 13/03/2026 16:30

jellycount · 13/03/2026 16:24

Could he have been sexually abused when younger? Just a thought.

I don't want to consider that, but it may be the case.

I have no idea how I would handle it if that were the case.

OP posts:
canisquaeso · 13/03/2026 16:34

RoseKitten · 13/03/2026 15:56

I do wonder whether he may be ND. Some other small things that on their own are okay but together may indicate something:

  • He seems sensitive to loud noises.
  • He wears sunglasses a lot, even when it is not sunny.
  • He doesn't like strong scents. I once asked him which of my perfumes he liked the most, and said, "Honestly, I don't like perfumes, but if I had to choose one, it would be this one." He chose the weakest one.
  • He says he find socialising for long periods exhausting.

3 of these sound more like a comedown 😬

Sassylovesbooks · 13/03/2026 16:38

His lack of interest in sex could be steroid use. I'm not suggesting every man who goes to the gym frequently, takes steroids but there's a possibility, that's the issue. It lowers the sex drive quite a lot, from what I have heard. A man in his prime, who's fit and healthy, should absolutely be interested in having sex.

ginasevern · 13/03/2026 16:47

His gym obsession will become a huge problem if you have kids. And the lack of sex will get worse, not better, as he ages. There are other little things you've said which make me uneasy about him. Can't put my finger on it. But anyway, you seem determined to pursue the relationship so I hope I'm wrong.

Boomer55 · 13/03/2026 16:48

Anabolic steroids are big with gyms and they flatten male libido. It might not be though.

zurigo · 13/03/2026 16:54

He also would always ask how the date was in an almost business-like feedback survey style.

That comment, plus pretty much everything else you've said about him, and in response to my earlier suggestion, makes me think even more that all this performative stuff could mean he's ND.

The thing about the massage is weird unless you look at it through that lens, the needing to take you out all the time, the fancy restaurants, the way that when you do have sex he's really attentive, it's like he's studied how to be 'the perfect boyfriend', which makes me maybe he has. If you read the threads about ND, there's a lot of stuff about masking, and tbh his whole life feels like masking. It could be that he's gay, or it could be that actually he's ND.

Ophir · 13/03/2026 16:56

ScholesPanda · 13/03/2026 16:16

I think you're over complicating this. He doesn't want to have sex with you more often than he is.

This will not change. If anything, his libido is likely to decline further as he ages and you are together longer.

Is this a deal breaker for you? Only you know that.

Right now I'm reading your responses and thinking 'this is how women end up spending years with men they weren't compatible with in the first place'. You can't wish or hope him into wanting more sex.

Edited

This.

there’s no point analysing it more

Shithotlawyer · 13/03/2026 17:00

his whole life feels like masking

this

ArcticSkua · 13/03/2026 17:01

I think we have a tendency to assume that young healthy men are up for sex all the time. I'm thinking of the bit where you say "I find not understanding really confusing" @RoseKitten. It is probably just that he has a low-ish sex drive. Is that really so confusing?

As to whether you can accept it because of his other good qualities, obviously that's a different question.

Northernparent68 · 13/03/2026 17:05

redboxer321 · 13/03/2026 15:47

This is definitely a factor: everything he does is regimented - gym, food, cleanliness, and when he organises dates, especially when we first started dating, they are planned like military operations, and he'd always have a plan B or C if something was busy.
It's a quality I really value in him: he leads yet is not a dictator, and although he is regimented, he is not inflexible

Sorry @RoseKitten but this is how gay men who can't come out are. They need to stay in control of every aspect of their life so that they don't slip up and let their secret out. They tend to become a lot more relaxed, easy going and change quite a bit once they've come out.
As for the sex, it sounds like it's a performance.
Sorry. Could be completely wrong of course but that's what I take from the situation.

What evidence do you have that this is typical of gay men

Blondeshavemorefun · 13/03/2026 17:11

Some men do have a low sex drive - you could try initiating sex /seduce him

you sound if you have a high sex drive /want it lots. Thats fine. My 1dh and I very similar in that. 2nd dh less so

only you can decide if it’s worth looking someone who has sex with 1-3 times a week for example v all the things you love about boyfriend now

you may find someone just as loving and attentive an loves sex

or you may find someone who loves sex but doesn’t treat you as well

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