My BF (36M) and I (38F) have been together for a year. In the beginning the relationship was great and I was very happy. He has a child (16F) from a previous relationship with whom he shares 50/50 custody with the mom. I knew about this from the beginning and was fine with it. I honestly still am. The issue is that the other 50% of his time is divided amongst every thing else. When he has his daughter he gives her his undivided attention which I think is great. However, that means he doesn’t always get done the other things he needs to. He works full time and runs his own business. He also has some other family he cares for (helps doing house/yard work). He hasn’t wanted me to meet his daughter yet which I respect and agree with as there have been some ongoing issues with her home life on her mom’s side and he didn’t want to throw too much on her at once.
The first couple of months we were together we would see each other every other weekend, but now he usually can only see me one day a month (sometimes a weekend). I wanted to be understanding that he has a lot of things going on so I offered that while we may not physically be able to see each other as often as we would like we could find other creative ways to spend time together (phone calls, FaceTime, etc). He was agreeable but at most he will call me once a week. He does text me every day to tell me good morning and again to ask me how my day was but there is no conversation beyond that a majority of the time. I spoke with him about my feelings and how I don’t feel like a priority in his life. He listened and apologized and said that he was going to try to make more time for me. He has made an effort to call more, but some weeks he is unable to. I’m starting to feel really sad especially because I feel I prioritize our relationship and always make time for him when he’s available even when I have a lot going on as I don’t want to intefere with the time he spends with his daughter. I do love him and I don’t want to break up over this. He’s otherwise a great person, very kind and patient. Does anyone have any advice for how to proceed in this situation? Should I be more understanding and accept things as they are right now?
TL;DR: Feeling as if my Bf doesn’t prioritize our relationship. He has a teenage child who lives with him 50% of the time and most of the other 50% he spends on other responsibilities. Wondering how to get partner to understand that I need time with him as well.