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“Jason” and I have been together for about three years now. We actually dated for the first time in high school when we were both very young, but we broke up and dated other people until we reconnected in our mid-20s.Last year on New Years — about two years into our relationship — he got very drunk and got violent with me. I wasn’t seriously injured but there was property damage. I pressed charges and we broke up, and over the last year he has attended several anger management programs including group sessions. He also quit a stressful job, got on the Dean’s list in school, got his own place and secured…

My fiancé, “Scott,” and I have been together for four years. We’re in our mid-30s and we’re very honest with each other about our feelings. We communicate very well and hardly ever argue because we talk through everything. But we’ve reached a situation that I cannot find a solution for. We’ll call her “Amber.” Amber and Scott have a several mutual friends from their childhood and youth group. Scott had strong feelings for her in high school, but unfortunately for him, they were unrequited. From what we’ve discussed, I gather that she was a girl who liked the attention and genuinely liked Scott as a friend, but nothing more. But she was…

I am a seventeen-year-old girl who is in a tight spot. There is this boy, “Tony,” who is smart, funny, super nice and caring, and has just introduced me to his family, who is also very nice. However, there is a slight problem….his face is not very attractive. I know it sounds horrible, and I try to look pass it but can’t. I am not judgmental, but his unattractive face makes him not datable. I feel embarrased to be seen with him around people I know and don’t want him to meet my extended family because of the way he looks. Should I end the relationship or just see if I can…

I’ve been seeing this guy for about five months. We met at work and started talking about a month after. In the beginning he told me that he was looking for someone to marry and have children with (within a year or so) which was the same thing I wanted. Now all of a sudden he doesn’t want that, and when I ask him about it he just changes the subject. My birthday came around and we went out and he told me that my gift was at his mother’s house and he would bring it to me. It’s been approximately two months and I still haven’t received anything. He asked me…

I have been dating my guy for over five years, on and off. I won’t get into all the problems of our relationship, but there have been many. One new problem we have is his views on smoking pot. I smoked a lot of pot in college, but since then I don’t do it much because I live in a country where it is highly illegal. I really enjoy it, but I only do it when I’m on holiday and, yes, I do it a lot on holiday. I’m not a big drinker, and I have never done any other drugs; overall, I’m a really “good girl” and he knows that. When…

In a feature I call “Your Turn,” in which you, the readers, get to answer the question, I’m presenting the following letter without commentary from me: I have been with my boyfriend, Gary, for two years and we now live together. Gary has been divored from his ex-wife for 12 years and she’s still bitter. She had an fling after 23 years of marrige to get out of the marriage. Their 30-year-old daughter, Elaine, lives with the mother and is getting married soon. Elaine recently called and asked Gary to dinner at her fiancé’s parents’ home to meet them. Her mother won’t be there — she met the new in-laws the week…

It’s time again for Shortcuts. For every question, I’ll give my advice in three sentences or less, because sometimes the answer to a person’s question is so obvious and the need to hear it so great, being as clear and frank as possible is simply the best way to go. Today we discuss sugar babies, crushing on the bossman, and getting “closure.”

In a feature I call “Your Turn,” in which you, the readers, get to answer the question, I’m presenting the following letter without commentary from me: My boyfriend and I have been dating for about six months and he’s been sick lately so he went to the doctor and had a blood test and found out he has low MCV which could indicate cancer. Of course, I was devastated when I found out and totally worried and I went online to research and saw somebody on Yahoo Answers who was his age asking a question about it. I didn’t notice that it was asked 3 hours earlier so I went on his…