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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

Does my boyfriend’s indiscretion mean he’s not ready for marriage?

‘His cousin told me he had told her that I’d been depressed. I was stunned’ (posed by models).
‘His cousin told me he had told her that I’d been depressed. I was stunned’ (posed by models). Photograph: Alamy

I have been in an long-distance relationship with my boyfriend for just over a year and he wants to marry as soon as possible. We are very close and love each other dearly. However, I recently shared with him that I suffer from depression. I had been on leave for two months due to my first severe episode, and I returned to work last Friday. We met through his cousin, who is also my colleague; when I returned, she gave me a hug and said that my boyfriend had told her what happened. I was stunned. It took me almost a year to muster the courage to tell him, and I did not want anyone at work besides my manager and HR to know. I know he meant no malice, but now I am concerned that he may not be ready for marriage if he can’t keep such serious information private – either he or his cousin also told other family members. I thought I had him to confide in and lean on, without my life being shared with his family.

I suppose my question is: am I wrong to feel this way? Should this make me reconsider marriage? He is truly a lovely person with a kind heart, but he is also 10 years younger than me and has never been married; I am divorced.

• When leaving a message on this page, please be sensitive to the fact that you are responding to a real person in the grip of a real-life dilemma, who wrote to Private Lives asking for help, and may well view your comments here. Please consider especially how your words or the tone of your message could be perceived by someone in this situation, and be aware that comments that appear to be disruptive or disrespectful to the individual concerned will be removed.

• If you would like fellow readers to respond to a dilemma of yours, send us an outline of the situation of about 150 words. For advice from Pamela Stephenson Connolly on sexual matters, send us a brief description of your concerns.

• All correspondence should reach us by Wednesday morning. Email: private.lives@theguardian.com (please don’t send attachments).

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