<human>: We have been together for almost a year. He is someone I see myself spending the rest of my life with. Recently we have had some problems, mainly in our own personal lives but it has started to effect the health of our relationship.

I noticed he started hanging out with friends more and seemed to be emotionally unavailable. When I asked him about this he told me he was unhappy in the relationship and was confused about what to do.

It was a huge shock to me (even though all the signs were there) but we talked and I gave him about a week since we first had a long discussion about all the problems in our relationship. 

I too, took some time to re-think through some things and agreed that there was too much pressure in the relationship and that personal matters needed to come first. There were also issues in the relationship that weren't being addressed, but with our personal stuff going on agreed that that mattered more than fixing problems in the relationship at the moment.

For me, that meant I was going to go to therapy for treating some anxiety/depression and for him that meant fixing some mistakes he made in the past (financially)

After about a week of minimal communication we both agreed that we needed space in the relationship. That night we talked about how we still really care about each other and he said that distance makes the heart grow fonder. 

I spent the night at his place that night and we cuddled and laughed and seemed to be very calm about the whole ordeal. However, I am now wondering if it'll work. 

I really want the relationship to work, but I am not entirely sure if it is his way of ending things 'lightly' or if he really means that he just needs to figure out his personal issues without me putting pressure on him to fix relationship issues.

What are your experiences with taking breaks or having space in a relationship? Does it work? We have barely talked since that night and I am trying my best not to smother him or pressure him for an answer. Thanks for reading.

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<bot>: Boyfriend told me he needed space in the relationship. I agree but am now wondering if he really means it or if it just a way of softening a breakup.