u/Imaginary-Bus9622

I autistic 24M and my gf 24F have been together for going on 4 years. For both of us, this is the first serious relationship we've ever had. Over the past year I have had an increasing want to be with different people. It started with noticing other people that i found attractive then feelings of desire towards them including revelations about my own sexuality.

We both moved out of our parents houses and in together 3 months after we started dating and from then our finances have been linked. She has had a job off and on throughout our relationship and at times I wanted to support her as a stay at home girlfriend. In 2022 we bought a house in my name (she had no credit) using my 401k from a previous job as the down payment. We have collected an assortment of pets including 2 dogs, 2 cats and a bearded dragon since moving in.

We have both struggled with our own mental health throughout the relationship including her recent stay at a mental hospital for suicidal thoughts. I have a tendency to want to be in control and she has a tendency to be lead by the hand leading me to make most of the decisions in our relationship. Even when I try to get her input I am usually met with "whatever you think is best".

She is my best friend and I love her so much. But my feeling of being trapped and our dynamic being unhealthy from the start has made me want to leave.

I have already told her that is we ever did break up we could be roommates for as long as she needed and she'd only have to pay half of the utilities as I dont want to profit from "renting" a room from her and we have a pretty good idea of what animals will go with who. How do I approach her with this and where do we go from here?

I autistic 24M and my gf 24F have been together for going on 4 years. For both of us, this is the first serious relationship we've ever had. Over the past year I have had an increasing want to be with different people. It started with noticing other people that i found attractive then feelings of desire towards them including revelations about my own sexuality.

We both moved out of our parents houses and in together 3 months after we started dating and from then our finances have been linked. She has had a job off and on throughout our relationship and at times I wanted to support her as a stay at home girlfriend. In 2022 we bought a house in my name (she had no credit) using my 401k from a previous job as the down payment. We have collected an assortment of pets including 2 dogs, 2 cats and a bearded dragon since moving in.

We have both struggled with our own mental health throughout the relationship including her recent stay at a mental hospital for suicidal thoughts. I have a tendency to want to be in control and she has a tendency to be lead by the hand leading me to make most of the decisions in our relationship. Even when I try to get her input I am usually met with "whatever you think is best".

She is my best friend and I love her so much. But my feeling of being trapped and our dynamic being unhealthy from the start has made me want to leave.

I have already told her that is we ever did break up we could be roommates for as long as she needed and she'd only have to pay half of the utilities as I dont want to profit from "renting" a room from her and we have a pretty good idea of what animals will go with who. How do I approach her with this and where do we go from here?