I have been in a long term relationship with my girlfriend but I keep getting overpowering feelings of wanting to date other people.

My girlfriend and I have been together almost 7 years now. We have a great life together and I love her dearly. She’s my best friend who I talk to all the time, we always have so much fun when we do things, we travel, great sex, etc. Recently talk of engagement has been popping up which I’m not ready for even though we’ve been together for so long. Despite that, I’m very happy with our relationship.

I do envision spending the rest of my life together and building toward a great future but recently I’ve been experiencing feelings of wanting to date around. I never dated before her. She’s my first partner and only women I’ve had sex with. As I’m getting into my late 20s I feel like I’ve missed out on dating and meeting knew people. Before my girlfriend I never had the confidence to ask girls out, I skipped all of my high school dances, and I had trouble talking to girls in person. I have a lot of regret because of my lack of confidence at that time.

Now I’m confident and much better socially. I just want to experience the thrill of dating. This is despite having a great partner who I love dearly. I’ve been trying to stop these feelings of wanting to date others for months but they’re stronger than ever. I know the grass is not always greener on the other side and dating is not easy. It’s also likely I won’t ever meet someone as good as my current partner. But I can’t shake these feelings. I don’t want to be 40 and having regrets when I already have so many.

What should I do? What other perspectives can I think of? Sorry for the relationship rant, but this site always gives great advice.

  • American_Badass [none/use name]
    ·
    1 year ago

    There are certainly experiences you missed out on, and some of them would have been positive. But you're also missing out on a lot of negative experiences by having someone where you both care a lot about one another.

    I've been with my wife since we were teenagers and it's easy to reflect on what could have been, but we've also got a life built together with a lot of happiness that we can also reflect on and more importantly enjoy right now every day together.

    Just try not to let this turn into resentment for your partner. To me that would be what I would focus on through these feelings.