Abby Connolly
If you live with someone, you’ve most likely had a moment when you needed some personal space but couldn’t get it because of your partner or roommate.
One woman has had to go to great lengths to get some time to herself since she moved in with her boyfriend, and she’s been upsetting him.
She’s 35 and has been with her 38-year-old boyfriend for seven years. About a year after they started dating, they moved in together.
Her boyfriend works a traditional 9 to 5 job Monday through Friday. She takes on different contract positions, so her weekly schedules vary.
“I’m an introvert, but I work with lots of people and basically always have to be ‘on’ at work, so I absolutely require time to myself to recharge,” she said.
During the early days of their living together, she would schedule her days off on weekdays to have the house to herself and enjoy some alone time. But once her boyfriend knew what day she was taking off, he wouldn’t go to work that day either and would call in sick or work from home.
Whenever she tried to confront him about this issue and explain that she needed some alone time to recharge, he would get super defensive and offended, even though she emphasized that it wasn’t anything personal.
Things got worse when the COVID-19 pandemic came around, as he began working from home full-time and hasn’t returned to an office.
“He gave up some of his hobbies as well, and it feels like he never leaves the house anymore,” she explained. “I still work contract work out of the house, but I know that I will have virtually no time that is truly to myself when I’m home.”
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