His family won’t stop religiously pressuring us, and it’s destroying my peace

My boyfriend and I have been together for a while, and early on, he told me he was Coptic Orthodox. I’m Christian too, so I tried to be open and supportive—I even went to classes, got involved, and tried to understand the faith. His parents were thrilled and really liked me.

But as time went on, I realized I couldn’t see myself converting. It just didn’t align with me personally or spiritually. I told my boyfriend honestly, and he was incredibly understanding. He didn’t pressure me and said he still wanted to be with me. The problem is, his family didn’t take the news well. We eventually told them that I’m not converting, and they were furious. They’ve been putting a lot of pressure on us ever since.

His mom called him weak, said I have a dominating personality, and accused him of not thinking for himself. They’ve also threatened not to attend our wedding unless I convert. It feels like they want him to choose between them and me—and they won’t let him have both.

Even worse, his sister and the priest have both called him to question him about this decision, almost like they’re trying to guilt him into backing down. My boyfriend was honest with the priest and said that he’s having issues with Orthodoxy and doesn’t feel aligned with the church anymore. Now it feels like even his spiritual choices are being monitored.

I feel drained, like every boundary we set gets chipped away at. I’m exhausted from being the villain in a story where I’ve done nothing but love someone and try to find peace. I don’t know how to keep going when every time we try to take a step forward, someone from his past pulls him back.

I’d love thoughts or advice—especially from anyone who’s been in a situation where religion, family, and control got tangled up like this. P.S my bf has done a lot for us, it’s not his fault and he has stood up to them, they just won’t back down. It’s exhausting as heck