I'm in my mid-thirties and most of my friends are coupled up in long-term relationships or marriages. And I've been dating for a number of years now.
I've had a couple of long-term relationships with men who weren't right for me. One started to become abusive verbally, emotionally, and others, it was clear that they weren't really up for commitment, despite what they said in the beginning.
Of course, I'm experiencing lots of crap on the dating apps, you know, men coming on strong, promising all sorts, and then ghosting. And because of this, I'm sure I'm developing some kind of reputation among my family and friends that I'm either too picky, or that actually I put up with too much.
But the annoying thing is, is that most of these people around me in long-term relationships or marriages put up far more than I ever would have done in any of my relationships. A lot of these relationships and marriages look perfectly happy from the outside, but once people start opening up, things aren't very rosy on the inside, and it's just really starting to bug me how people project onto single people, especially people in couples and marriages.
I've had so many people tell me, Oh my God, you put up with so much, but without really looking back into their own relationships and seeing the considerable amount of shit that they put up with from men in their lives, including cheating, abuse, laziness, chasing other women, always putting themselves first, and no respect.
Unlike these women, I would have actually walked. Yet I’m still single, because I put up with too much for too long in my relationships. Maybe I’m just not as insecure or desperate to stay in such relationships?
Sorry a rant, it’s really bugging me.