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I have been seeing this man for four years, and our relationship is physical but not romantic. He has been dating other women romantically – maybe even sleeping with them – but I am attracted to only him. We enjoy each other’s company, but we make no demands on each other. I am a 65-year-old widow and he is 70. We have kept our relationship a secret. But these days he has been talking about not wanting to grow old alone and how he would love to meet someone. This hurts me a lot. Should I stop this relationship and probably lose a chance to be intimate with anyone, or should I…

My fiancé, “Jim,” and I have been together for over four years now. He was married before and has four adult kids with his ex-wife. He’s a great person and I love being with him, but there’s just one problem: We’ve never been intimate. Ever. There’s an age gap – I’m 24 and he’s 48, but we click so well and life is just so calm and sweet with him. I’m quite impulsive, but he’s always supporting me in anything I decide to do, and he really does show he loves me every day. We’ve talked about the lack of a sex life, and when I say “lack of,” I mean I…

New readers, welcome to Dear Wendy, a relationship advice blog. Read some of the most popular Dear Wendy posts here. If you don’t find the info you need in this column, please visit the Dear Wendy archives or the forums (you can even start your own thread), do a search in the search bar, or submit a question for advice at wendy(AT)dearwendy.com. My husband “George” and I have been together 15 years and married for 11 years. We have a son “Ed” who will be four this summer. Overall, our relationship is solid and we both adore our son, but there is one roadblock in our relationship and I feel a compromise…

I am a pediatrician (I do not work full-time) and mother of two daughters – one is a 23-year-old medical student and the other, 17, is still in high school. I admit that I am not the best cook and I do struggle with it, but I love to clean like crazy. I never restrict my daughters from anything – whether they want to eat out or pick up food – it’s their freedom to do whatever they please as they are grown up now. Despite my efforts to keep them happy, they constantly scream at me for no reason and make me feel like a total “loser mom” (in their words)….

I’m a 35-year-old woman in a 15-year relationship with a man named “Bob.” I decided seven years ago that I wanted out. We aren’t compatible, among many other reasons. We haven’t slept in the same bed for 12 years. I have two children – our son, who is 11, and my daughter, who is 17. I met Bob when my daughter was only two years old. During these 15 years, we haven’t had much of a relationship. He has always worked and then just come home only to drink with neighbors in the garage until bed while I have taken care of the children, the house, etc. We have never even talked…

It’s time again for “Dear Wendy Updates,” a feature where people I’ve given advice to in the past let us know whether they followed the advice and how they’re doing now. Today we hear from “On the Fence,” the woman who was dating a guy, “Carl,” who still had a drawer of his ex-wife’s underwear, despite telling the LW he loved her and wanted to be exclusive with her. She was concerned about other red flags she noticed about what she considered lax boundaries with his ex, like fixing things in her house and removing the LW’s stuff when the ex comes over (to drop off their kids). Having been in an abusive…

I want to reconnect – connect more closely – with my best friend, “Sarah.” We have been friends for 40 years! Moves have sometimes forced our relationship to be via calls and texting more than visits, but we live about an hour away from each other now. She was supportive of me as a family member died of cancer, and she herself was diagnosed with a dangerous cancer about a year ago. She was terrified and I was devastated. For three years prior, I went to chemo appointments, check-ups, CT and PT scans, and surgeries with my sick family member. I know the cancer fight. I told Sarah that I would be…

I’m planning my wedding and have asked “Sue” to be my Matron-of-Honor after I was the Maid-of-Honor in her wedding. I’ve run into a conundrum with her that I’m not sure how to resolve. My fiancé and I picked out colors together and we chose a forest green color – not bright like emerald and not super dark either. Every photo of it we saw in other weddings looked gorgeous on the bridesmaids – all different hair colors, skin colors, and sizes looked good in it. Well, Sue hates it and is accusing me of trying to make her look bad. I’m trying my hardest to be accommodating. I’m not picking out…

I met “Charles” at work about 18 months ago and we quickly became very good friends. Since then we have both accepted other opportunities and so we no longer work together. I am married, going on 18 years, and a mother of two teenagers. Charles was single at the time. Charles and I, along with my husband, used to go out all the time. Once my husband felt comfortable with the friendship that Charles and I have, he elected not to accompany us every time we go out. About eight months ago, Charles started dating someone. He asked me not to text him when he was out with her, and of course…