My (28M) uncle recently passed away, and I’m still in the thick of grieving—his funeral hasn’t even happened yet. This loss hits especially hard because he wasn’t just an uncle to me. He was more of a father figure than my actual dad ever was. My dad (his brother) wasn’t present in my life, but my uncle stepped up in ways that really mattered. Losing him feels like losing the only real father I had.

I’ve always been someone who processes emotions privately. I’m an only child and grew up dealing with things on my own, so when I’m dealing with something heavy, I usually need space and solitude to work through my emotions.

My girlfriend (25F) is the opposite. She’s very emotionally expressive and leans on people when she’s going through something. She wants to talk things out and be close. I respect that, but it’s just not how I operate.

We don’t technically live together, but she’s at my place more than her own. The other night, I asked her if she could go back to her place for the evening so I could have some time to myself. I told her it wasn’t about her—I just needed some space to grieve.

She got upset, said I was “kicking her out” and being disrespectful. From my perspective, I felt like she was being disrespectful by not understanding or accepting how I need to grieve.

To be honest, this isn’t the first time this has come up. The way I deal with emotions—especially needing space—has always been a point of friction in our relationship. I often feel like she disregards how I feel or expects me to deal with things her way.

I’m not trying to push her away or make her feel unwanted. I just needed time alone to process something deeply painful. But now I’m questioning whether I handled this the right way.

AITA for asking for space during my grieving process?

TL;DR: My uncle, who was more of a father to me than my actual dad, recently passed away. I asked my girlfriend to give me a night alone to grieve, and she got upset, saying I was being disrespectful. She’s very talk-it-out and emotionally open, while I tend to shut down and need space. This has always been a friction point in our relationship. AITA?