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I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend, “Robert” for almost nine years. We have three young children as well as a cat, a dog, a rabbit, and some chickens. We bought our dream house four years ago. It may not be everyone’s idea of a dream house as it is a smallish 3-bedroom double-wide, but it is on four acres of land with a breathtaking view and is exactly where I want to raise our children. I love my boyfriend more than anything. We have been through so much together and it seemed as though nothing could ever break the bond we share. But then six months ago his mother…

I love your site, and I couldn’t think of who else to ask. I don’t care if I’m in your column, I just want to know what you think about my relationship(s), if you don’t mind. Mark is my boyfriend. I found him on Bumble this past December, we started dating in January, and he’s just moved in with me while he shops for a house to buy and flip into a rental property. I’ll be deploying in January, and while I’m away, he will hopefully be selected for Special Forces. Our career timelines wouldn’t give me anxiety if it wasn’t for one other variable. Her name is Karen, his childhood sweetheart…

I have a little situation going on right now where I say something that seems to easily upset my Maid of Honor and she has no hesitation to “ghost” me. The more difficult part is that she not only lives in another state, but also she is my childhood friend and for some reason lately we could be talking about anything — work, her relationship, random topics, etc. – and she will get short with me saying, “K…talk to you later…I should be alone right now…”. I truly don’t understand, and when I asked her about it and we discussed it, I thought we were all good, but then something I said…

I dated a guy on and off for a year before he moved back to his former city to be closer to his son and family. A year after the move, we resumed “dating” long-distance for about seven months. We started making plans for my visit and discussed my possibly moving at a later date. During this time he reconnected with old friends, including someone he used to date (long distance also) with whom he had some bad experiences. (She once drove for hours to curse him and trash his house. She also broke into his phone – after he had forgiven her and they had hung out as friends – and…

Four years ago I got involved with a man in a relationship that went south very quickly. This man stole my concert tickets and then asked to borrow my car, only to cheat on me and ride another woman around in my car. I forgave him and put our past dealings aside trying to remain friends, but, two and a half years later, this man decided to end our friendship and stop taking my calls. I couldn’t figure out what I had done wrong. Six months after that he lost his job and got kicked out of his apartment. He had nowhere to go, so I decided to be a good person…

I’ve been together with my boyfriend, “Stan” for four years, we’ve known each other for much longer and have lived happily together for around three years. He is 43, I am 41, and we do have a wonderful relationship, I must say. Stan recently took on a part-time job about 300 miles away, so we see each other about every two weeks (two here, two there). There’s an old female friend of his whom we both know from school who has recently popped her head up. She’s never been married, she had a baby about five months ago, she moved 1000 miles away from the baby’s father (they have no relationship) and…

I’ve been seeing a guy for over three years whom I met off Tinder. We had in-depth text and phone conversation for over a month and never met. Then a few months later I got back on Tinder after a breakup, we matched again, and we picked back up where we had started. We finally met and started spending time together, and we seem to genuinely care for each other and feel very comfortable around each other. Neither one of us is a “going-out person,” and we seem to be more comfortable staying in. I’m a single mom with sole custody. So, after we met for lunch a couple of times, I…

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 “I Blame Social Media,” the mom who wrote in a couple days ago about her teenage daughter wanting to wear a thong bikini. This is part update, part new question, and part complaint that her original question didn’t get enough attention from all of you:

I know you must get a ton of questions, so I’ll go straight to the point. My boyfriend is 34 and I’m 22. It’s the first serious relationship I’ve ever been in, and we’ve connected on many levels after I decided I would give him a chance. Reasons I went for it: – He has a great personality – He’s very sociable – He’s kind – We have things in common – He’s smart – He loves me a lot Reasons I was so f***ing hesitant: – Age gap – His looks (I’m talking maaaybe a 6 out of 10) – Our height difference (I’m 5’10”, he’s 5’8″) I’m absolutely aware those…

I have been with the father of our two amazing children for 21 years and engaged for almost 20 of those years. We have had our ups and downs. I have always been the one who feels unworthy of him, and even more so now. He is my world; he has been since the day I met him. And yet, he never mentions getting married. Maybe twice in all these years. He blames me for arguments we have had in the past in which I have taken off my rings because I wonder why I wear them if he won’t even talk about marriage. I’m going to be 45 next week and…