u/CapitalLine7121

We’ve been together for 4 years, living together for 2. Recently my boyfriend downloaded TikTok and has been watching lots of videos on there. This is where he’s clearly learnt the term “rage baiting”, and it’s ruining our relationship.

I’d like to start by saying up until this point, our relationship has always been great. He was respectful, sensitive, had a good sense of humour, (but knew when and when not to make jokes). It seems like for the past few months he has been maturing backwards.

It started off by me asking simple questions, such as “What should we have for dinner?” And he’d give me a jokey answer that clearly was not relevant to what I was asking. At first I found it funny and I’d laugh but then I’d be like “no seriously, what should we have for dinner” and he’d just keep going and going. And this will happen for every question I ask him every day.

It went on like this for a while and it seemed like I could not get a serious answer out of him no matter how much I tried. It began to upset me but all he’d say it “it’s just a joke, can’t you take jokes anymore?”

I didn’t really see it as a joke because it was actually frustrating to basically battle with him to answer a simple question without taking the piss.

Then came his laughing at random things I’d do. I’d set a glass of water down on the side, he’d laugh. I’d sit down on the couch, he’d laugh. I asked him what was so funny and he’d just say “you’re just cute that’s all”. Every time I’d question why he was laughing at me he’d think of an answer that made it so I couldn’t argue with him.

Then it progressed and he started to talk to me in quite a condescending way. I’d ask something like “is this TV show out yet?” And he’d look at me like I was a child doing something silly and go “oh babe, google is there for a reason.” With this smirk on his face.

It got to the point where I’d get upset basically any time he did any of these things and I wouldn’t laugh at all, and he’d say “you fall so easily for the rage bait”

It’s made me not want to talk to him at all, let alone have any intimacy or romance. Constantly being laughed at, met with joke answers, or talked to like a toddler is making me feel quite resentful of him.

I’ve tried to have a proper conversation about it with him but again, I just get accused of not taking a joke and being overly sensitive. I’m not sensitive in the slightest and I can definitely take a joke but when “jokes” are literally the only interaction I have with him anymore it gets tiring.

He also complains that we never get sexual anymore and I tried to tell him that it’s because he turns everything into a joke and it’s not romantic at all, and he just says I’m being ridiculous and that I must not be attracted to him anymore.

Bear in mind, he has a professional office job where I’m sure he doesn’t act like that towards his colleagues or friends, or I’m certain he wouldn’t have that job anymore. It just seems he likes to wind me up for no apparent reason and I’m sick of it.

Is this normal? Does anyone else’s partners do this/have done this and what can I do to rectify the situation?