HUGE yap because I’m genuinely flabbergasted at the lack of understanding here.

The amount of people in this comment section who don’t understand relationships and wouldn’t make good partners is INSANE. If you can’t respect the fact your partner STRUGGLES to express emotions, then I’m sorry, but you have your own inner work to do. Autism, anxiety, aspd, bpd, depression, rocd, or simply being introverted; so many things can play into having trouble expressing affection, and there are many other ways to show affection than just “I love you”. Quality time, physical contact, gift giving, and even just trust. Maybe I’m officially unc status (22) but giving me freedom, especially trusting me enough to do so, is a huge turn on. Like yes, let’s hang out with friends but be in each other’s arms at home. Do all of you think you need to be possessive and controlling for it to be love?

A little communication goes a long way. A simple “I feel like you don’t show affection enough” can easily solve this issue. It’s okay to have a preference when it comes to how you receive affection, but completely disregarding your partners love just because YOU don’t see it is extremely selfish. Not everyone processes emotion the same, not everyone shows affection the same, and not everyone finds it easy to say “I love you”. I wish more of you drama obsessed teenagers could understand that. Love comes in many forms, and it’s hard to find someone who expresses it the same way you do. I’ve been in this situation, and it feels dehumanizing. For me, this is due to my autism, gad, and avpd. I struggle to say “I love you” verbally and physical contact can be very hard early into a relationship. Being broken up with for not meeting their standards is disheartening and only puts me off from further relationships. Let’s normalize communication and trust.

You all act like ML is insufferable but accept that breaking up without even trying is okay? Not even trying to hear your partner out or understand their side? Antagonizing them over ONE not even negative thing?

This comment section makes me realize how little people actually respect others nowadays. If your type isn’t people like ML, that’s fine, but that’s no excuse to pin him as the bad guy just because you expect love to look a certain way. As you get older, you realize how immature this way of thinking and this standard for love is. Wait till you find out some countries, like Japan, don’t have people who are overly expressive. They don’t say “I love you” very often, especially only 1 year into a relationship. Does that mean these people don’t deserve a partner?

Okay, I’ll end this here. I fully expect many of you to still disagree, especially with how downhill reading comprehension has gotten in the last few years. It just further proves my point LMAO. I do hope some of you can finally understand and change your mind, even just a little.