The dilemma is in the title.
I (29M) have been dating someone (28F) for just over seven months now. We agreed to not date other people in August. But when I ask whether she wants us to be bf/gf, she says she is not ready yet. She told me it’s because she has never had an official bf before, and that she likes to take things slow, and asked that I give her time because she does want this (us in a relationship). I first asked at the three month mark and got that same answer. Seven months later and I’m getting the same response. I have met her parents, we’ve met each others’ friends, and we hangout at least once a week, in addition to time spent with our friends together occasionally. We seem to act like a couple based on my lived experiences in relationships, but (and this only happened once) when I accidentally introduced myself to one of her friends as her bf, she got upset.
I am going to have a conversation with her about why she does not like the bf/gf title, but I’d like to hear what people think the issue is. Is it really the timing? Don’t you know if you want to be with someone after seven months? Do some people really need to take longer to be comfortable with the bf/gf title? Or is there something else going on? Thoughts are welcome.