He didn’t say I love you back

I agree, this guy is all over the place and can understand why you feel the way you do after he said he’s *in love with you* but *doesn’t love you yet*—which one is it! I believe its his way of saying we haven’t been together long enough to know if the love I feel for you now will be how I feel six months from now so is being cautiously optimistic.

Technically the two of you are still in the ‘infatuation stage’ (look it up) which can FEEL like true love but its not the deeper kind of love that a man needs to begin planning a long-term future yet because those feelings could begin to wane so he doesn’t want to set himself or you up for failure in the event it happens.

This is the trickiest part of coupling up prior to year one because you are surging with ‘love hormone’s’ but as you get to know each better there could be traits, characteristics, things one say’s or does that could be a turn off and/or those love hormone’s begin to dissipate with time to the point either he or you falls out of love. I would just continue being who you are, and lay off the love words for now, step back and allow it to blossom (progress) naturally and organically.

However I WOULD NOT wait a year or more for a man to say them. If he can’t or is unable to freely express them by the sixth month I would pull waaay back and not be accessible for at least a week. Don’t tell why, just that you need some ‘me time’ to think for a bit and seriously take the time to think if this is really the man you could or want to potentially spend your life with. This will do one of two things. It will also give him the time (space) to FULLY FEEL what his life without you in it feels like and either compel him to want to be with you because he truly does love you and the thought of you not being in his life would be too painful. OR he can’t achieve the level of love he needs to progress it forward and say he loves you because he doesn’t miss you in the way a man needs to miss you to take it further.

Either way, never give your power over to a man to decide your fate, take the bull by the horns and if he can’t step up and begin the process of fully integrating you into his life, and him in yours, then its best step out before it gets harder to step out because he keeps promising to deliver but never fully delivers.

Being vulnerable is paradoxically being strong. You said it because you mean it. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did. Be proud of yourself. I do understand that you wanted him to say it back, but it shouldn’t be the main purpose for saying it. Look at it this way: you said it because you meant it and because he matters to you and you wanted him to know. THAT should be your main purpose of saying these three words. Now of course it’s great if he says it back, but learn to be okay with the fact that he didn’t at the very moment you told him. There’s no rule about this topic. Obviously, he was super happy that you told him and felt every three words that you told him. You should’ve left it at that. What he said after you started crying made me super confused too. Usually, we hear people saying ‘I love you, but I’m not in love with you’ when they break up and not the other way around… Anyways. For now, let the relationship evolves and pull back a little. I suggest you not to tell him that you love him for a while. When he says it, you’ll know he truly means it and not just because he thinks that’s what you want to hear. Because of course, you want him to mean it. If some time passes by (like a month or two) and he doesn’t say it, then maybe you should ask yourself if you want to maintain a relationship where the person doesn’t love you and doesn’t know if she ever will.