Want to break up? Some people just can't take a hint
Dear Unsure: From your reporting, "Robert" has been very candid and upfront with you. He has actually said the words -- out loud -- that give you a pretty complete understanding of who he is and what he is dealing with.
You have every right to break up with him -- and I agree with you that you should. You obviously have no intention of staying with him, so don't you think he deserves to hear the truth from you?
Hinting, pulling back, avoiding, saying, "Hey, let's remain friends" isn't working with him. Because when you say, "Let's remain friends," he believes you are being honest (you are not), and he thinks, "Great! We're friends now, and so yes, let's remain friends!" Stop wasting his time.
Tell him, "I'm breaking up with you. I appreciate your honesty, but I find your health challenges overwhelming. You are a great guy, and I hope you will find the right person to be with, but I'm not that person."
Dear Amy: My dad's wife (not my stepmother), whom he married when I was in my 20s, has always hated me. Amy, she hated me from Day One.
I figured her animosity toward me is because I am a reminder to her that he had a life before her. She is also only 10 years older than I am.
Her latest attempt to mess up my life is to try and seduce my boyfriend.
What should I do?
We all live together and both of them work from home.
-- Sick and Tired
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