Solow wrote:
I've dated a guy like you. I said things like that to protect myself and because I was getting a vibe from him that he wasn't that keen/ was scared of too close a connection. No sane person tells their new boyfriend at the start of the relationship that they want to get married.
You say she usually contacted you first in the relationship, you didn't have daily contact, then you didn't have contact for 3 weeks. My guess is that she got bored with chasing after you and all the running around she was doing. She probably really liked you to bother with you when you are like this in the first place but its a competitive world out there, there are other men who are a little more proactive and better mannered. Your loss.
You're totally off the mark. I was the one who was investing into the relationship and wanting it to be something legitimate. She was the one who kept pulling back and made it clear she didn't want anything serious. Because I really liked her, this bothered me, and I started pulling back myself because I felt like I cared much more about the relationship than she did. I ended up pulling back almost completely, but that was only after about 3 months.
Looking back on things it's all very strange to me because her words couldn't have been more contradictory, though I don't think she was aware of it. She was adamant that she never wanted to get married or have kids and never wanted anything resembling a life-partner, but at the same time she would express that she felt very alone and wished she had a "family" for lack of a better term. Without going into detail, she's almost like a refugee as her family is back in the home country, and she feels she can never go back, so she's kind of floating unattached to anyone here, like she has no roots or ties. I told her numerous times that for me, a life partner is very important and something I want very much, and that if I found someone I could call that I would do anything for them, go anywhere. Maybe she was testing me, but it definitely backfired.
And no, marriage is actually quite common to talk about early in a relationship. Not marriage with the person you're dating; just marriage in general and what you both think of it. It's part of getting to know the other person and what they want out of life.