Do they put their family before you?
Our relationship expert Dr Pam Spurr (On Twitter & Instagram @drpamspurr) shares the signs your new partner is prioritising their family over you.
One of my "five factors" that predict relationship harmony or disharmony is family. How much time you like to do things with your family, compared to how much that new person likes to do family-oriented events and activities, is a big predictor of success or failure.
Often new couples must negotiate this minefield when it becomes apparent that one of you likes more family-time than the other. And this can go either way, and it's not just women who can be very attached to family but men too.
You can succeed in finding compromise in many cases. However, sometimes that new person, you've just met, is overly attached to their family. This can mean it's virtually impossible to find compromise with them when on Friday night they want to go to their brother's house for drinks, Saturday they want to go to a get together at their cousin's and Sunday lunch they're having their parents over. Phew!
Here are a few signs their family will always come first:
*Family comes up in almost every conversation with you. They seem unable to talk about any topic without mentioning a family example or experience with said topic.
*They tell their family everything about their dates with you. You discover this when they say things like: I told my mother about where we went the first time we met up; my sister thinks you sound brill; I was telling my dad about your work, and so on!
*You suggest some plans and they need to check if they're free as "the family always has something going on."
If you really like this new person and you're fine with family being No. 1, that's great. Just don't expect things to change much as things get more serious between you two. They've laid their cards on the table and they're stacked in favour of their family!
Good luck and happy dating x
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