I’ve (23F) been with a relationship with my boyfriend (23M) for almost three years now and we frequently argue about this conflict in opinions: He doesn’t believe in apologizing for anything that he feels is not his fault because it would seem dishonest and disingenuous.
An example: Last night I hurt my foot and after it started bruising, I tried to get my boyfriend’s attention by calling in him and showing him the bruise. He was on his phone and didn’t seem to notice. Eventually, he looked up at my foot and went back to texting. I was visibly annoyed at his action and immediately told him what I was feeling and what caused it. He became defensive and claimed that I was placing blame on him, and that he simply didn’t notice. I felt that he was being mean and the argument escalated. throughout the whole discussion he kept reiterating that he would never apologize for anything that wasn’t his fault.
I was dumbfounded and tried explaining to him that even if he didn’t mean to, he still hurt my feelings. he made a point that I shouldn’t have been visibly annoyed at him in the first place.
Ultimately, I want this relationship to work and I want to bring this issue up to him one day, but I would need to have a strong argument as he is quite a stubborn and “logical” person. I want to understand him so please lmk if I’m being unfair.
TL;DR: My (23F) boyfriend (23M) of 3 years refuses to apologize for unintentional actions, causing frequent arguments. How can I address this issue with my stubborn partner?