Member-only story
What It Was Like to Have an Exhausting Partner
“Are you listening to this song because you’re mad at me?”
“Are you mad I went to bed early? Your tone when you said ‘good morning’ was slightly off.”
“You want to pause the movie for snacks? I’ll just turn the movie off since you hate it so much.”
“Is this Facebook post from last week about me?”
“Did you see the face the waiter made when he came to our table? He was judging me.”
“You didn’t compliment my shirt. You hate it. I’ll just go change.”
“You’re working today? But it’s my day off. Can’t you take the day off too?”
I was reading an article about an emotionally exhausting boyfriend and found myself reliving moments from my past. When I was far too young, I dated a man who was over a decade older than me. A man who punctuated every sentence with a sad sigh and called me “the girl” when he talked about me.
On the surface, somebody who is emotionally exhausting can seem fun. They suck you in because they are genuinely kind. They might have a lot of interests and hobbies (and don’t you know it, you’re supposed to engage with all of them). They ask a lot of questions about what you think, but you eventually realize that there is a “right” answer. You are being tested, always. You have…
