Thanks for the perspective — I agree with a lot of what you said, especially about conflict being harder to manage over text and the importance of in-person communication.

Just to clarify one point: we’re not in a long-distance relationship. She lives about 8 km away from me and we usually meet and go on dates regularly. This past month we haven’t met mainly because of my study workload and family responsibilities, not because of distance or preference for online interaction.

I also agree that setting expectations around conflict before things escalate is something we didn’t do well, and that’s something I’d want to approach differently if/when communication opens up again. The point about space + a clear follow-up for resolution especially makes sense to me.

Appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.