Should I [22F] leave my boyfriend [27M] over “I love you”
Im at a bit of a cross roads as of recently and need some advice, we’ve been together for 2 years and my bf still hasn’t told me he loves me. He’s a very loving person and has told me in the past that his last girl was the love of his life and how he’ll never love someone like that again (they were together for 7 years). I watch him daily telling the rest of the world he loves them, including his female and male friends, even going as far as to tell me he’d do anything for them. But when I tell him I love him he says “thank you I appreciate that” at first I thought he was just waiting for the right time but at this point I’m not to sure. I’ve brought it up to him before and he made it clear he only says “i love you” when he really means it and we’re just not ready for that yet. I don’t know if I want to spend the rest of my life with someone who can’t commit to loving me after 2 years together every single day. I’m starting to worry that he’s using me as a sort of stepping stone, I mean I’ve been with him through some of the hardest parts of his life and I’ve been right there the whole time. He’s even recently gotten dependent on me to do things for him on the daily to the point where he stopped asking and just started expecting; I have no issue doing any of this, but I’m now worried that he’s using me to take care of his mess well he secretly looks for the real love of his life. I love him with all of my heart and I really don’t want to end our relationship, but I can’t help this sinking feeling that I’m right and he’s just using me to get his life together so he can be perfect for someone else. I really need some guidance on what to do right now, Id hate for it to end like this but I feel very under appreciated and un-loved and he just can’t seem to understand that.
How can I save this without hurting myself anymore? How to stop feeling so strongly about 3 stupid words?