Men who have been vulnerable and have opened up to their partner – What was their reaction like?

34 comments

1. Super supportive & it was like taking a fresh breath of air for my wife. I had spent so much of my life with her just holding everything in until the flood gates opened up. Since, we have been amazing.

2. Never again. Ever

3. Well I can tell you if it weren’t positive then we wouldn’t have made it 20 years.

4. Very supportive and very helpful. It’s one of the reasons why I married her.

5. Super supportive

6. Ha, she told me no one cares and I never spoke of it ever again.

7. Most were supportive and embraced a deeper dive into intimacy. A few others got scared off. And a couple felt that one-upping me was necessary. All good experiences in terms of seeing who each woman was.

8. Never again.

9. My wife and partner have been my best friends for 27 years, and there’s NOTHING that I haven’t told them over the years. If I didn’t feel that I could, without judgment, then I would be with them to begin with. So, that being that, everything has always want well that I opened up to them about.

10. “Sayonara.” Lesson learned: be with someone who isn’t so selfish and immature.

11. Do it. Being on guard all the time is a drain of spirit.

12. Wonderful.

    Loving, supportive, understanding and attentive.

13. Depends on what the subject one is being vulnerable about. Some secrets are better kept inside instead of sharing

14. I’ve opened up before and they were all very receptive.

15. Sweet and supportive

16. Brought back some memories I didn’t want to remember with this question lol

17. My wife was threatened if she cried as a child. She can not show empathy very well because all emotions and feelings are ultimately connected in my opinion.

    So me being vulnerable to her is absolutely punishing.

18. I’ve only opened up to one woman I’ve dated and I’ll never do it again.

19. Depended on the partner. One was the most fantastic, compassionate human who was very interested, I’d even say turned on, by me honestly conveying my feelings. I can’t even describe the level of relief and comfort that gave me. Like I was finally able to breathe.

    Several people I’ve dated, however, closed up when I told them how I was feeling. The vulnerability killed the relationship. So… if it’s important to you to be heard, understood, and respected I suggest you have some conversation about this.

    I suggest reading For The Love Of Men if you are interested in exploring societal expectations of men and how messed up they are.

20. If you do this (and you’re not gay), do it early in the relationship. Then it won’t hurt so bad when she loses respect for you, and you lose respect for yourself, all for a moment of weakness. This is a lesson best learned early.

21. It was basically a good experience. Neither of my exes really knew how to handle it at first, but then they loosened up in short order.

22. Nope. Not a good idea.

23. Supportive and loving, same as when they open up to me about difficult things. It’s frequent in my relationships these days, and I see that as a good thing. Reciprocal vulnerability is a huge part of true connection for me, whether it’s romantic or not.

24. Laughing followed by me drinking bourbon.

25. Mostly it was squirreled it away like hoarding nuts for winter… Or more accurately like stocking an ammo depot to be used at any given moment without warning for any irrelevant reason and random length of time between now and the end of time.

    Unfortunately this is why a lot of women think men in general can’t communicate or are incapable of emotional maturity.

26. Multiple exes, and what happened is they ended up making my problems about themselves, getting worked up and stressed out about it, and then letting it become a rift between us.

    I know there are some women who don’t do this, but IME the majority do. It’s always in a dude’s best interest to feel the situation out with a long term partner before opening up to her, because there’s a big risk that it will backfire and she’ll get the ick.

27. I’m honestly horrified by all the negative comments. My girlfriend is super supportive and understanding when I am vulnerable with her. I couldn’t handle someone who doesn’t want to know my real feelings.

28. My ex was seemingly supportive, but later used it against me every chance she could.

    Current partner is very supportive, hasn’t backfired on me yet but I think it made us closer. We’ll see if it gets used on me.

    It might be in the way you deliver the topic. Or some girls are just terrible

29. Was dismissed more or less, wasn’t really taken seriously. God forbid I responded the same way she responded to me if she had an issue.

30. She left me inside of 1`2 hours after 19 years together.

31. Filed away for future use against me, has been my experience.

32. I’m so sorry for all of you who have been dismissed or treated poorly by the women you’ve opened up to. The idea that men have to be stoic & can’t be vulnerable, especially around their partners, is absolute bs. I promise there are caring women out there. For me personally, & the female friends I’ve talked to about it, having a man open up to me always makes me want and respect him so much more.

33. Seemed supportive at a surface level then immediately lost respect and interest. The honest ones don’t pretend to care. Happened like 3 times with different women in my adult life before I learned to never open up. I don’t date anymore

34. My most recent ex, my first love, was understanding and supportive; she has her own mental and physical health issues, and trauma… but even though we have broken up, she is still the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. I’ll always love her, and being free to truly open up emotionally to her with no judgment was a beautiful moment.

    Every other woman I’ve dated has used my vulnerability against me in some way, large or small. So my ex has proven the exception in my experience.