I (21F) have been in a relationship with my boyfriend (22M) for 3 years. I love him deeply and would never do anything to hurt him, but over the past year, I’ve been feeling an increasing desire to be with other people. This has been leaving me really confused because, despite these feelings, I still see him as an amazing person and I believe our relationship, though not perfect, is a healthy one.

The problem is that this desire is becoming harder and harder to ignore, and I’m starting to feel like it’s not fair to him to keep going as if nothing is happening. He does so much for me, and just the thought of him doing those same things for someone else breaks my heart. I’m really afraid of breaking up and then regretting it, realizing too late that he was the love of my life and that I’ll never find someone like him again.

At the same time, I feel like I’m still very young and have a lot of life ahead of me. Maybe it’s too early to be in such a long-term relationship. I wonder if I’m being selfish for wanting to break up over something that seems “silly,” but I also ask myself: is he really the love of my life? Because if he were, would I be feeling all of this?

Another point is that I’ve been feeling a bit sexually unsatisfied. I feel like both of us still have a lot to explore in that area, and sometimes I think it could even be good for him to have other experiences too, although just the idea of that already hurts me a lot.

I really wish I could find an alternative. Maybe taking a break to figure out what I really want. But I know he would never agree to that, and that makes me feel even more trapped.

Anyway, as you can probably tell, I’m extremely confused. My mind is a mess and I honestly don’t know what to do. I don’t trust anyone close to me enough to talk about this, so I’m here looking for advice.