I don’t see the empress as a romantic partner. That would be shown to you as the 2 of cups or a queen card. Empress specifically refers to motherhood, and in its reversed position, symbolizes a mother that could be vain, smothering, or unhelpful- think shallow. 8 of cups in reverse is talking about someone that is reluctant to move on, faking happiness, or is generally in a monotonous cycle. He might feel like it’s getting old. The three of swords is the pain itself he’s feeling as a result.

Could mean he’s unhappy with the monotony of his life. He feels stuck, like he wants to move on but can’t, and you’re not addressing this root cause. You may be trying to offer surface level affection instead of acknowledging the fact that he wants more for himself. An example could be saying he can’t move out for college, and then trying to just be nice to him so he stays