I F(25) with M(25), together ~1 year — my boyfriend only compliments me if I compliment him first
I’m starting to realize something and it’s bothering me more than I thought it would.
I had a baby with my boyfriend really early on, like I got pregnant about 3 weeks into dating, so everything moved fast. We’ve been together about a year now. Now that I’ve had the baby and I’m really in this relationship, I’m noticing something I didn’t pay attention to before.
He does not compliment me. At all.
The only time he does is if I compliment him first, and then he’ll just repeat it back. Like if I say “you look good,” he’ll say “you look good” right after. That’s it.
It doesn’t feel genuine. It feels like he’s just saying it because I said it, not because he actually wants to.
I’m not looking for constant validation, but I do want to feel appreciated. Especially after having his child, it feels like basic acknowledgment shouldn’t be this hard.
I didn’t really notice it in the beginning, but now it stands out a lot and it’s starting to bother me more.
How would you interpret this kind of behavior, and how would you address it in a relationship?
TL;DR: Boyfriend never compliments me unless I compliment him first, and then he just repeats it back. It feels forced. How would you handle this?