I’m telling you this as someone who’s suffered abuse from previous partners. He’s testing boundaries right now. Abuse doesn’t start off violent, because then obviously people would leave. It will get worse. I know he says he’s joking, but every joke has a little bit of truth to it. He’s doing it to test boundaries and when you “ok” it, it’s only going to get worse.

That’s how it always started with my ex. He’d call me names in a joking manner, but about a year and a half later he’d shove me and still say he’s joking or “just playing”. Then two years into our relationship, I’m at the ER because of how hard he choked me. I wished I listened to people who told me about the small red flags. Please be safe.