Hi, I am a 36 year old mother of one. For the past 4 years, I have been in a relationship with a lovely man, though lately things have turned to custard so to speak. A year ago, he asked me to support him financially while he started up his own business. I could see how excited he was about this, and because I loved him and wanted him to be happy, I agreed.
This started the long hours away from home and I ended up feeling like I was in a relationship by myself. As the business did not go as he hoped, he started to critisise aspects of me - saying I didn't exercise enough, I smoked too much, I needed to stop drinking etc. (not that I do these things often). It got to the point where my self esteem became quite low and eventually I asked him to move out and sort his life out. There is an age difference too - he turns 30 this year and is having a turning 30 crisis - doesn't know what he wants out of life etc.
My son hasn't been taking this well, as he thinks of this man as his father. Don't get me wrong, he is a lovely person and I know he loves me and my son - but I feel like I have been doing all the compromising in this relationship and if we decide to get back together, things won't change because of his confusion about his life. I am right in asking him to stay away until he sorts through things? I'm not sure if I want him back either even though I do have feelings for him. Please help - any advise appreciated - sorry for the long post!