Relationships are great, but for them to truly deepen we need to let go of our vulnerabilities and really let the other person in, so that they can see our real selves.

All being well, this will foster the sort of trust that all the greatest partnerships are built on.

But what happens if, like the man in this story, you see your partner for who they really are and are less than happy with the results?

Read on to find out what attitude is really turning him off her.

AITA for telling my girlfriend “no”?

I am a 30-year-old man, and my girlfriend (female, 29) has been unemployed for going on three months.

We moved in together about ten months ago and had an agreement that from April onwards (after she was done with school), she would contribute $800 per mont to rent (which is $2300 in total).

Between April and now, she’s contributed half of that twice.

Yikes! Read on to find out more about his girlfriend’s situation.

She got fired for being late about three months ago, and has been on unemployment ($400/wk) ever since.

She asked me a few days ago “would you be with me forever even if I never got another job?”

I told her that I wouldn’t because that wouldn’t be fair to me.

Eventually, I’d end up having to pay her car payment, insurance, phone, etc., because unemployment doesn’t last forever.

And his words seemingly hit her hard.

She brought up last night that it hurt her feelings, and she says she’s in her head about it every night now.

I told her that stay-at-home-mom is one thing (I’m more than fine with that), but a stay-at-home-girlfriend is entirely different.

At that point, it’s just a sugar baby with feelings attached.

She says “but I know us and our relationship, and we’re stronger than that” or something along those lines, I don’t remember verbatim.

Read on to find out how he’s feeling about the situation.

Her mom has already told her that bringing love to the table is always enough for a relationship.

This worries me, because I know if we ever broke up, the narrative would be “He said I didn’t pay enough.”

Was I wrong for telling her that I wouldn’t be with her as a stay-at-home-girlfriend?

AITA?

All relationships are different, and every person’s motivations and standards are important.

Sure some people might love to have a stay-at-home girlfriend, but this guy doesn’t want that, and he’s totally entitled to his own opinion.

Her mom has given her an unhelpful view of relationships, since even the strongest relationships require work and she’s now very unprepared for that.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit had to say about this.

This person agreed that the girlfriend’s mom trained her to be a poor partner.

While others blamed him for letting the situation continue.

Meanwhile, this Redditor questioned their compatibility.

It’s clear that this couple do not see eye-to-eye on work and how that factors into a relationship.

He is working hard to support both of them, while she seems to be perfectly content doing nothing at all.

This isn’t a recipe for a successful relationship, and it’s clear that if she doesn’t find a job, things are going to get worse and worse for them.

Unless she gets it together, they’re not going the distance.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.