Posted Saturday at 04:00 AM4 days … The kind of night that sticks to your skin like a second layer. We had just fought again. It wasn’t about anything big — it never is, at least not at first. Just a missed call. A half-hearted apology. Another promise that “things will be different.” I sat on the bathroom floor after he fell asleep, still dressed in his favorite hoodie, the sleeves swallowed my hands like they always did. And for a moment, I whispered to myself, “He’ll change. Just not yet.” That was the lie I lived in for far too long. Here’s the truth most of us don’t want to say out loud: He won’t change. At least not for you. Not because you love him enough. Not because you waited long enough. Not because you kept giving him second, third, fourth chances while quietly breaking yourself down into pieces just to hold the relationship together. We romanticize this idea that if we love someone deeply, patiently, selflessly… eventually, they’ll become the version we’ve always believed they could be. But more often than not, we fall in love with a version of potential, not reality. And potential can keep you hostage. But what if his change is not your responsibility? Let that sink in for a second. Because I wish someone had looked me in the eyes and said this to me back then: “You don’t have to keep proving you’re worthy of someone treating you right.” It’s not your job to be so lovable, so understanding, so forgiving that he finally decides to grow. If he hasn’t changed after you’ve cried, begged, compromised, stayed, left, come back, tried again — then maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t want to. Not everyone wants to grow. Not everyone wants to heal. Not everyone is willing to confront the parts of themselves that hurt others. And love — real love — cannot survive in a place where one person is doing all the work and the other is comfortable watching them do it. The hardest part? Letting go of who you thought he could be. I get it. You’ve built dreams with him in mind. You imagined your future like a house you both would one day live in. Letting him go feels like burning down everything you’ve been hoping for. But sometimes, walking away isn’t giving up — it’s coming back to yourself. It’s choosing peace over chaos. It’s picking self-worth over waiting. It’s deciding that you deserve love that doesn’t require you to shrink yourself just to keep it. And maybe the saddest part is realizing: he won’t change because you stayed. Sometimes, they only begin to change once you leave — and by then, it’s not your healing to witness anymore. If you’re reading this while still waiting — I see you. You’re not weak for loving someone who didn’t love you right. You’re not foolish for hoping he’d grow. You’re human. But please don’t waste your golden years playing therapist, mother, fixer, or savior to someone who only ever needed to want to change and didn’t. You deserve love that doesn’t feel like begging. You deserve honesty that doesn’t come with a catch. You deserve someone who chooses growth because they want a future with you — not because you forced them to become worthy of one. So here’s what I wish someone had told me before I wasted years waiting: Stop waiting. He won’t change. And that’s not your fault. Thanks for reading my story . Please Clap and Drop a Comment — and if you enjoy my writing stories, please follow me. It means the world to me and helps me stay inspired — This post was previously published on medium.com. Love relationships? We promise to have a good one with your inbox. Subcribe to get 3x weekly dating and relationship advice. Did you know? We have 8 publications on Medium. Join us there! Hello, Love (relationships) Change Becomes You (Advice) A Parent is Born (Parenting) Equality Includes You (Social Justice) Greener Together (Environment) Shelter Me (Wellness) Modern Identities (Gender, etc.) Co-Existence (World) *** – Photo credit: Louis Galvez on Unsplash The post Still Waiting for Him to Change? He Won’t appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article
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