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I am 48, a divorced mother of three children, and my boyfriend of six years is 43 and never married. He has lived at home with his parents for the last eight years. His parents work and are self-sufficient. I own my home and support my children. My boyfriend is very thoughtful and has always been there for me and my children. We have great communication and chemistry, and we enjoy each other’s company. There has not been any talk of the relationship moving to another level, which appears to be fine with both of us. We both have our space, we can build our relationship (including his with the children), and…

Eighteen months ago my partner and I moved to another country for work. We have both been separated from our respective spouses for many years. When we moved, we had been together twelve years, and for the last two years before the move we were living together in my home. At 53 he is ten years younger than I am, but he claims that this was never an issue for him: He loves me, he finds me sexy, and I do look younger than my years. A bit more about him: My partner did not have many experiences before we met. He married young, he stayed faithful to his wife for fifteen…

I wrote to you a few years ago (you answered me privately)and now I have another question for you, as well as an update. Re-reading my first letter, I downplayed a lot of my (now ex) husband’s anger issues and how they were directed at me. He smashed things, threw things – never at me, but sometimes I would be collateral damage. I assumed he was just so overwhelmed and that he never meant to hurt me, so I made a lot of excuses. As the next couple years went on, things escalated. He sought therapy but stopped after a short while. Ultimately, things reached a breaking point last year. In July,…

My boyfriend, “Hank,” and I have been in our relationship for about eight months now and are very happy. I really would like a future with him, but his family is making it clear to me that they don’t want me to be a part of his. We both come from conservative families, but the difference is that my family is accepting of all types of people while his family judges and isolates themselves from people they don’t agree with. His family is extremely racist (I am Asian and white and his family is 100% white), homophobic, COMPLETELY against marijuana, and judgmental to anyone who doesn’t run things the way they do….

I recently made the decision to walk away from one of my oldest friends and I’m feeling very guilty. “Leigh” has been married for a long time to a terrible, terrible person. Her husband has a long history of neglecting Leigh and their children, verbally abusing Leigh, and isolating her from other friends and family. I have tried everything I know to do to get her help through domestic violence shelters, counselors, therapy…you name it. I have personally visited domestic violence counselors myself to try and help her as her only friend. She’s refused help every time, often backtracking things that have been said or done by her husband. I’ve often suggested…