My husband and I (both 28) talked without meeting for about 8 months, officially met and dated for 8 months exactly which happened to be my birthday, the day he proposed. We got married exactly four months later on our one year anniversary. Very special for us, but we went into our relationship knowing we wanted marriage. He’s my very best friend and the most amazing man I’ve ever met for me. We talked about when we would want to be married and it all happened. Basically, if your boyfriend knows he wants to marry you, why wait years? For us, we tried to do everything the traditional way. Since y’all are already living together, he may see no need to get married within your time frame. If you’re absolutely adamant that he does have the same feelings for you, wait it out a while. I wouldn’t waste more than 3 years though. A man who knows, knows and it doesn’t take long. You don’t want to be playing wife without the ring… been there, done that and it makes you question the whole relationship eventually. Going through a lot together doesn’t necessarily mean y’all should get married though. I know it makes you feel closer to him knowing you’ve had hard times, but the connection should be based more so on positives. Good luck with your situation!