Dear Prudence,
My boyfriend and I moved in together a few months ago and I hate it. I hate what the relationship has become, I hate the nagging role I’ve been forced into, I hate sharing the space with him, and I’ve lost a lot of respect for him in the short period we’ve been cohabitating. The way he manages things around the house and the sense of entitlement he has toward me and what I should take care of for him is childish and insulting. He keeps running out of money between paychecks and expects me to make up the difference. The reason he is running out of money so fast is because he gets takeout for every meal (except for when he eats the food I have bought and cooked myself), and doesn’t seem to understand that he can’t afford the lifestyle he wants.
I drew a line the other night and refused him when he asked to bum more money off me. He threw a temper tantrum about this. I ignored the whole thing, but I’m still angry. He has no appreciation for how much I have already loaned him. He also, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, cleans like a man. It’s pathetic. I want to break up and for him to leave, but I am having trouble pulling the trigger. He makes it as if I am the only thing that stands between him and the street. I know that isn’t true, but I do feel like I committed by signing a lease “with him” ( it is under my name). I know he will put up a fight and accuse me of being abusive and lording my money over him. I know I have to end it but I feel like I can’t. Despite how pathetically childish I find his behavior, I feel uncharacteristically weak about telling him so.
—Not Your Mommy