My boyfriend and I are perfect together except for one huge dealbreaker. Is there any solution?
So, I've been with my boyfriend for two years. He was my first relationship, and honestly, he's everything I ever wanted in a partner. He cares about me so much, adores me, and would do anything for me. We genuinely love and respect each other, and our relationship is healthy.
I've always had commitment issues, and even while dating him, I struggled with them at first. But he was always patient, reassured me, and helped me work through my fears instead of giving up on me.
Also, he's younger than me, but neither of us has ever had an issue with that. He's planning to meet my family in a few months because we're both thinking seriously about our future together.
The problem is that we have one major incompatibility that we've never been able to solve.
I don't want children. I don't mean "not right now"—I mean I genuinely don't want to be a mother. Motherhood has never been something I've wanted, and I don't see that changing.
He, on the other hand, loves kids and has always dreamed of having a family. He doesn't want a huge family, but ideally he'd like three or four children.
We've actually tried breaking up over this because we know it's a huge issue, but we couldn't go through with it. We love each other too much. We've spent two years trying to find some kind of compromise, but there really isn't one.
I know most people are going to say that one of us has to sacrifice, but that's the problem—we can't. We're both willing to compromise on so many other things, but not this one. Having children isn't something you can meet halfway on.
I honestly don't know if there's a solution. Has anyone else been in a situation like this? If so, how did it end?