Finding other men attractive while in a LTR

r/

30F here. I’ve been with my boyfriend for 4 years, I love him dearly. We have such a great relationship. But lately I’ve been finding myself finding other men attractive and picturing myself with them – celebrities mainly. I feel so guilty. I work in retail and I often see beautiful men there (I would never flirt or make moves obviously, but the thoughts alone are making me feel awful).

I don’t know what to do about this. I used to not be able to picture myself with any other men, but now I am… what does this mean? 😢

EDIT: there aren’t any red flags or issues in the relationship honestly. Reflecting on this is confusing because really there’s nothing wrong. Yet I find myself thinking about other men so often lately.

Comments

  1. JessonBI89 Avatar

    It means you’re human. Just about everyone in a relationship finds other people attractive once in a while. As long as you don’t act on those feelings, you’re fine.

  2. Uhhyt231 Avatar

    You’re not dead. You can think about cute men

  3. fuzzy_snark Avatar

    It means you’re still human!

    Beautiful people exist and we have eyes.

    Don’t be so hard on yourself.

  4. Interesting-Escape36 Avatar

    First, this is normal. Especially once your relationship has hit a point of stability. Don’t let yourself feel guilty for this. Your partner probably finds other women attractive too. You can’t really stop yourself from feeling attraction.

  5. Azure_phantom Avatar

    For me, it means I’m falling out of love with my partner – or that there’s turmoil in the relationship. If I’m happy, I do not fantasize about other men. I can experience aesthetic attraction, but not sexual attraction. For me, being attracted to other people while in a relationship is a giant red flag that something isn’t right.

  6. womenaremyfavguy Avatar

    This is very normal in general. I talk about men and women I’m attracted to openly with my partner. Lately, that’s been Jason Isaacs because we’re watching White Lotus.

    Maybe it’s normal for you, maybe it’s not. If you feel like your relationship is great and you’d never cheat, it’s likely nothing. Or maybe you can reflect on how you’ve been feeling lately about your emotional and physical intimacy, why you feel guilty finding others attractive, etc.

  7. Iheartthe1990s Avatar

    Everyone finds celebrities attractive. That’s like the whole point of them, lol. You don’t have to worry about that.

    It’s also normal to find other people attractive in your everyday life. I think what you have to be aware of is if you start finding men you know (like a friend or coworker) very attractive. That might indicate something’s up with your relationship. Maybe it’s run its course or just needs more care and attention, etc.

    But otherwise it’s all very normal. You’re in a committed relationship, not dead 😉

  8. Impressive_Moment786 Avatar

    Unless you are unhappy in your relationship, it doesn’t mean anything. We are human beings and it is totally normal to notice when other people are attractive. Don’t act on it and you are fine.

  9. OkTruth299 Avatar

    It’s normal. I think about Pedro Pascal every now and then haha

  10. imtooldforthishison Avatar

    I am not sure how people were convinced it’s abnormal to find other people attractive when b in a relationship. It’s totally normal. Should you pursue those feelings is where the issue is.

  11. kgberton Avatar

    It doesn’t mean anything. This is normal life. 

  12. OkWrap2566 Avatar

    Chris brown has been right this entire time.

  13. That_70s_chick Avatar

    This is why relationships without physical contact are extremely difficult. Most people need touch.

  14. Ok_Gazelle_8082 Avatar

    “You’re loyal but you have eyes” a quote home Redditor replying to someone with the same issue

    Trust me you’re okay

  15. TV_kid Avatar

    Same thing happened to me when I turned 30 while in a committed relationship. It only intensified over the years, especially traveling for work and being around very handsome men. 

    I’m approaching 37, still in the committed relationship, and still lust after other men. 😬

  16. more_pepper_plz Avatar

    It’s okay.

    I went through this same intensive shame and guilt! To be honest, I’m still processing it a bit – but learning to be kind and gracious with myself.

    My man is the love of my life. We don’t have issues, we have fun every day, and have a great sex life and alllll that. Yet I’d still find myself checking a guy out or feeling ego boosted if they tried to flirt with me. It’s honestly natural.

    When digging deeper I realized

    1. I’m only human and we have dumb monkey brains – we just don’t ever need to act on them and THAT choice is what makes us evolved. But we shouldn’t be hard on ourselves for our monkey thoughts.
    2. As a woman, I still have deeply entrenched societally-inflicted esteem tied to validation from men. Women’s worth is deeply societally connected to how men view us (which is fucked up.) Validation from men even ties to a feeling of societal safety and even power. I’m working on further untangling external validation from my self worth and peace.

    Anyway, you’re not alone, and you’re not bad. Sending you love.

  17. Aggravating_You3873 Avatar

    It’s normal unless your bf/husband is conventionally attractive like a model/actor in looks and height. But even then, the novelty fades away and you look for variety. Men experience this all the time with all the beautiful women around.