u/toooftenlost

▲ 3 r/Separation+1 crossposts

Do I have to move out of shared home immediately when broken up with?

I (35F) am in the process of breaking up with my boyfriend (35M) of several years. This breakup was very sudden and his decision ("it's not you it's me" type situation). I was really blown away. Now, he is expecting me to move out basically immediately (I think he thought I would leave the first night). I am obviously very sad and traumatized to have my life change so suddenly, but am really struggling with feeling like I am being kicked out. Although things are sort of amicable (we both have lots of care for each other) he thinks I’m being unreasonable for wanting to stay in our home, and I think he’s unreasonable for expecting me to vacate immediately. My friends/family agree with my side, his agree with him (yay I guess we both have supportive friends). But I need an unbiased opinion.  

We rented this apartment together 3 years ago, furnished it together, it has plenty of space for two people to sleep separately, and he is expecting me to move out ASAP and leave the place to him (and he would take over full rent). 

His reasoning: this house is close to his work, he has a very very busy job with extremely long hours, he has a particularly busy stretch coming up this summer, and prior to the busy stretch he has a vacation week during which he wants to spend time at home relaxing. I, on the other hand, work completely remotely and my parents live semi-locally (1h away) and have a spare room. He doesn't have any family members nearby that are appropriate to stay with. Since I have a free place to stay, it seems clear to him that I should leave. I am deeply sympathetic to these reasons, he works very hard and I understand that uprooting him will disrupt his life very much.

My reasons: I feel I am being kicked out of my home, adding insult to the pain of this breakup. My life will also be disrupted by the move, even if my work life is unaffected- my few supports are close to here, my gym, my routine. My parents and I have a solid but complicated/tense relationship, so I don't feel that moving in with them is good for my mental health particularly while going through a very challenging breakup. I also don’t think at my age it’s right to just come crashing home to mom and dad- they don’t support me emotionally in the way they did when I was a kid. 

Financially, we agree that finding a new spot will be basically equally burdensome for each of us. Am I being unreasonable? Should I be moving out immediately solely because I technically have a free place to go? He has friends with spare rooms, but I understand that is a huge imposition. I am NOT asking to stay here forever. I am asking for a few weeks (3-4?) grace where we find a way to amicably share the space OR he finds somewhere to stay, since he was the one who blindsided me with a breakup and wants out. But I'm truly not sure if I'm being difficult. Maybe (probably?) my judgement is being clouded by how hurt I am. But I’m not trying to be mean, I just want to take care of myself. 

TLDR; in a breakup, do I have to leave our shared home immediately because my parents have a spare room 

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u/toooftenlost — 1 day ago