Columns

I’m 24 and my boyfriend is 25. I’ve known him for over five years, we’ve been together for 1 year and 7 months now, and we have a six-month-old son together. My boyfriend is very caring — he loves me a lot and he’s loved me since we were just friends. We live together and he pays all the bills and I’m a stay-at-home mom. We used to constantly fight because he wouldn’t want me to go shopping or anywhere else with my mom and sister, or go anywhere alone. He works all morning, he gets home around 4:30 p.m., and, if he didn’t find me at home when he got there,…

“My boyfriend of a year and a half is divorced and he and his ex-wife share no children. It was a mutual separation and they remained friendly.”

I have been in a relationship with a guy for 10 months now. Four months ago his brother went to jail for protesting against the government. He is still detained. My boyfriend has changed completely since then and it’s getting worse. He started off by saying that he doesn’t want to be in a relationship anymore. He no longer talks to his friends. He has been socially withdrawn by all means. A month later he told me he doesn’t know whether he doesn’t love me anymore or if he’s just confused because by what’s happening in his life. I told him that his feelings were appropriate given what he’s going through and…

“I have an issue that no one is giving me the right advice on so I hope you can help. My live-in boyfriend and I are a very happy couple.”

“My husband and I moved from Colorado to my hometown in Ohio, which I will openly admit pretty much sucks.”

I’m a gay man and I’m torn between two lovers. What do I do? Which one should I choose? Why do we have to choose? Can’t we love two people at the same time? As much as we want to love two people at the same time, society doesn’t look at it in a positive light. It’s been tagged as having an “affair.” On one side I have “S,” who tells me he loves me and would never leave me, who brings out the best in me, who encourages me to take risks in life and to move out of my comfort zone. He is a great guy. He is super talented….

I was seeing this amazing guy for about four months. Everything was great. He told me he had feelings for me and I felt the same way. Then, out of nowhere, he started ignoring my calls and texts. I demanded an answer, and he said that, even though he cares for me and has feelings for me, he can’t be my boyfriend or anyone else’s because he has family issues that he is going through and he can’t be good company. We didn’t contact each other for a month, and, when I finally called him, he told me he was happy I called because he had lost my number. He then called…

It’s time again for Shortcuts. For every question, I’ll give my advice in just a few sentences because sometimes the answer to a person’s question is so obvious and the need to hear it so great that being as clear and frank as possible is simply the best way to go.

“I’m 25 and have never been on a date. Ever. I grew up in a very traditional family that kept a lot of tabs on me and my movements…”