Man Says His Girlfriend Thinks It's 'Weird' That He Has Female Friends: 'We End Up Having Fights'

A man is seeking advice after his girlfriend accused him of "pushing boundaries" by having female friendships.

In a post on Reddit's "Dating Over Thirty" forum, the man shared that he has been dating a woman "off and on" for about a year, and their relationship has recently "gotten quite serious."

But, he said, the fact that he has female friendships has been "a recurring issue" for his girlfriend.

"These are people that I have never dated or hooked up with," the man clarified. "For example, I played pickle ball tonight with a married work friend, her sister and BIL [brother-in-law]."

Related: Husband Is Planning a Trip with His Longtime Female Friend — and Doesn't Want to Invite His Wife

"My girlfriend finds it inappropriate," he continued, "and we end up having fights whenever I hang out with a woman and she isn’t there (I would have invited her but she has her kids this weekend)."

His girlfriend's friend has even jumped into the drama and now the two "are teaming up on me and saying that it’s weird and I am pushing boundaries." The man concluded his post by asking fellow Redditors if he's in the wrong — and, if so, whether he should no longer hang out with his female friends unless his girlfriend tags along.

In the comment section, many people agreed that the disagreement between the man and his girlfriend boils down to a trust issue.

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"It’s okay with me if you have female friends but you’re not dating me, you’re dating her. So the question really should be, are you okay with dating someone who doesn’t trust you to have female friends, married or otherwise?" one person wrote.

Related: Man Says His Girlfriend Is 'Upset' That He's Comfortable Talking About 'Women Things'

Another chimed in: "If my partner had insisted I drop all my male friends, I would have dropped him fast and kept the friends. I want a partner who trusts me and understands the value in longstanding friendships (regardless of gender). I do not want a partner who feels so threatened by these friendships that I need to ditch all my squash buddies."

Several others argued that it's actually the girlfriend who is not respecting boundaries in the relationship by putting restrictions on her partner's friendships.

"She's allowed to want a man without female friends. But she's not allowed to tell him who he can see — that's not a boundary, that's control," a commenter said.

Yet another pointed out, "It's an insecurity in her, and she shouldn't put that on her partner. She needs to work on herself and work through why she feels this way."

Some commenters even urged the man to consider whether he and his girlfriend are truly compatible, arguing that this issue will be difficult to overcome. "You're never going to change her mind and it will be a constant [point of disagreement]," they wrote.

Someone else offered the advice that the man should not let his girlfriend isolate himself and sacrifice friendships to make her happy. "Your friends are your community throughout life. And when you date, you don’t know how long that will be for — maybe short, maybe long — so invest in the relationships that feel right to you," the commenter said.

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