u/Careless_Range6970

We spend a lot of our RV evenings outside, especially when we’re staying somewhere for a few days. Usually we’ll have dinner, sit around and enjoy the weather, but there are times when everyone wants to watch a game or movie without going back inside.

I’ve been considering adding an outdoor TV, but I’m trying to figure out whether it’s actually worth giving up the storage space and dealing with the extra setup.

The things I’m most curious about are power consumption, screen visibility during daylight, protection from moisture and dust, mounting, and how practical it is to store or protect the TV when we’re traveling.

I also don’t want an entertainment setup that takes 30 minutes to assemble every time. Ideally, it would just be another useful option when we’re parked and relaxing outside.

For those who RV regularly, has an outdoor TV been a worthwhile upgrade for you? What would you recommend considering before buying or installing one?

My boyfriend and me have been together for five years. We live together and have been talking seriously about getting engaged sometime next year. I have always felt like we had a relationship built on honesty so what happened last week completely caught me off guard.

I was helping him look for an old insurance document on his laptop when suddenly a calendar notification popped up. It was simply a message that said Lunch with Emma. I recognized the name immediately because Emma was his ex girlfriend before me

I asked him about it and he looked uncomfortable. After a long pause he admitted that every year they meet for lunch on the anniversary of the day they broke up.

According to him they had a very serious relationship that lasted almost seven years. Their breakup was mutual and they promised each other that they would always check in once a year to make sure the other person was doing well.

I asked how many times this had happened while we were together.

He quietly said every year.

I was completely shocked because I had never heard her name outside of stories about his past. I asked why he never told me and he said he honestly thought I would see it as something bigger than it was. He insisted there has never been anything romantic between them since they split up.

What really surprised me was that his family knows about these lunches. His sister even joked that it was nice they had stayed friends. I felt like I was the only person who had no idea this tradition even existed.

I asked him what they talk about and he said mostly work family and life updates. He offered to show me their messages. There was nothing flirty that I could find. Most of the conversations were short and only happened around the time they planned to meet.

He keeps saying that if he had anything to hide he would not have admitted it or shown me the messages. He thinks I am upset over something harmless.

The problem is that I cannot get past the fact that this has been happening for five years without me knowing. I feel like I was denied the chance to decide how I felt about it because the decision was made for me.

I am not even sure whether I would have objected if he had been honest from the beginning. What hurts is finding out after so many years that there was a part of his life he intentionally kept from me.

He says I am focusing on the secrecy instead of the fact that nothing inappropriate has ever happened. I keep wondering if the secrecy itself is enough to change how I see our relationship.

Has anyone been through something similar? Is this something couples can realistically move past or does the fact that it was hidden for years change everything?

TL;DR: I 30F found out my boyfriend 33M of five years has been meeting his ex for lunch once a year since before we started dating. He never told me and I only found out by accident. He says it is an old tradition between friends and there has never been anything romantic. I am struggling to decide whether the secrecy is a deal breaker or whether I am overreacting.

About two months ago he reconnected with his college ex on social media, completely innocent at first, just liking a few old posts. Then it turned into them texting fairly regularly, and now he's started inviting her to things we do as a couple, like a game night at our place last weekend and a group dinner coming up this Friday. He swears there's nothing romantic going on and that he just missed having her as a friend since they were close before they dated, but I can't help feeling weird sitting across from her while she laughs at his jokes and brings up memories I wasn't part of.

I tried bringing it up gently last week, saying I felt a bit uncomfortable, and he got defensive, telling me I was being insecure and that he shouldn't have to cut off a friendship just because we're together. That stung, because I don't think I'm asking him to cut her off completely, I just want to feel like my feelings matter in the situation. Now I'm second guessing myself and wondering if I really am overreacting or if this is a legitimate thing to be upset about.

I don't want to come across as the jealous girlfriend who controls who he can be friends with, but I also don't want to just swallow this feeling every time she's around. I'm not sure how to bring it up again without it turning into another fight, or if I even should.

TL;DR my boyfriend of three years reconnected with his ex and keeps inviting her to hangouts with us, and when I said it bothered me he called me insecure. Not sure if I'm overreacting or how to approach this again without starting a fight.