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In an age where finding a new, exciting partner is as easy as finding a discounted designer coat online, it’s incredible when two people decide to dedicate an entire year to getting to know one another, adapting to each other’s differences and investing their emotions. So it’s normal to have a lot of questions and even fears when you approach the one-year realationship mark with a man, like these.

If he doesn’t love me now, will he ever?

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If he doesn’t love me now, will he ever?

Within any time frame under a year, if a man hasn’t told you he loves you yet, you can kind of let it slide. Men take much longer to fall in love and some men hope to only dole those words out a handful of times in their lives, so they second-guess their feelings several times before confessing them. But once that year mark approaches, you can’t help but wonder, “If he doesn’t love me now, will he ever?”

Should we consider moving in together?

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Should we consider moving in together?

Many couples move in together at the year mark! I’m not saying it’s a good idea but, by this time, many couples are already spending 7 nights a week together, and driving home in the morning is just becoming a hassle.  

Does he make decisions at a year?

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Does he make decisions at a year?

It’s totally normal to worry that, when your guy realizes that year mark is approaching, he’ll start to feel forced to make decisions about this relationship! He might want to make sure he isn’t wasting your time, so he’s asking himself tough questions about where this relationship is going.

Do I need to make decisions at a year?

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Do I need to make decisions at a year?

Maybe you are starting to worry about wasting his time. Maybe until now, you’ve known you were happy in this relationship, but you never asked yourself if you could be happy forever with this man. Maybe as the year mark approaches, you feel you need to know that answer.

Did he already make decisions about me months ago?

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Did he already make decisions about me months ago?

For all you know, he wouldn’t have even let the year mark approach at all if he hadn’t decided several months ago that he is in it for the long haul with you. Maybe you have nothing to worry about at all by virtue of the fact you’ve made it to a year.

Will he pop the question?

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Will he pop the question?

Plenty of men think a wedding ring is a nice one-year anniversary present. Especially since some guys, when you meet them, are hoping to be married within two or three years. Considering the amount of time it takes to plan a wedding, maybe your guy wants to set things in motion.

Is he going to freak out?

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Is he going to freak out?

If you’ve dated guys with commitment issues, it’s perfectly normal to be worrying that, perhaps your guy has just been ambling along, enjoying his time with you but not worrying about what the future held. And just now, when he realizes you’ve been together for a year, he could freak out and realize, “Oh my God! This got serious!”

Isn’t it time I meet his family?

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Isn’t it time I meet his family?

It’s hard to feel certain that a guy is in it for the long haul when he has hid you from his family. When that year mark approaches, you’ll begin to think things like, “It will be weird if a second Thanksgiving passes that we spend apart.”

What do his parents think about the fact that they haven’t met me?

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What do his parents think about the fact that they haven’t met me?

It’s also perfectly normal to think that his parents doubt the seriousness of the relationship if they know a girlfriend has existed for a year, but have never been introduced to her!

Do we celebrate an anniversary?

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Do we celebrate an anniversary?

When the question of the anniversary comes up, your brain will go back and forth between thinking, “It’s just a year—doing a whole big thing for that seems silly” and thinking, “We reached a year! It will be sad if we don’t celebrate. It might even mean this relationship isn’t valid if we don’t celebrate…”

When is our anniversary exactly?

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When is our anniversary exactly?

That first anniversary is always a little awkward too because, it’s hard to determine when the relationship began. The first date? The first time you slept together? The first time one of you introduced the other as “my boyfriend” or “my girlfriend”?            

Am I making too big of a deal of this anniversary?

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Am I making too big of a deal of this anniversary?

You don’t want underplay it and get your guy, like, a gift card to Whole Foods. But you also don’t want to get him a much better gift than he gets you, making it seem like you’re more into this than he is!

Is he getting bored?

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Is he getting bored?

You’re constantly bombarded with the idea that men just get bored with women after a while, and are always looking for the next best thing. So how could you not be a little afraid that your expiration date could come up at the year mark?

Do his friends assume this is serious?

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Do his friends assume this is serious?

His friends know him best: they know what a year really means. They’ve seen him reach it before. They know if perhaps, this means he’s planning on marrying you. Or, if they know he’s just a serial monogamist, and a year-mark is no big thing. They hold all the secrets! And that’s frustrating.