Woman Gives 17 Page 'Relationship Contract' To Boyfriend After Two Weeks
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In an effort to make her new relationship work after having her 'boundaries crossed' in a previous toxic relationship, one woman has created a 17-page 'relationship contract' for her boyfriend two weeks after meeting him.
Risk management and insurance student Annie Wright met her boyfriend Michael Head on Tinder in October last year and after falling for each other they agreed to become exclusive soon after.
The contract drawn up by the 21-year-old states that Michael Head, 23, must pay for date nights, buy flowers twice a month and work out five times a week - and it looks very official.
When Annie suggested they should put their 'terms and conditions' on paper, law student Michael eagerly agreed.
Now Annie credits the lengthy 17-page contract as the key to their relationship success and even suggested they might give each other a 'yearly review' when they celebrate their one-year anniversary next month.
Annie said: "This has been a game changer. I'd recommend all couples have one. It's the best thing ever.
"We treat our relationship almost like a business interaction. We deal with conflict like partners in business would. We sit down and treat it more like we're partners in life and love is an added bonus.
"He was like 'I want us to be boyfriend and girlfriend'. In order to be ready for that, we had to lay some serious ground rules.
"I made the idea [about the contract] as a joke then he said 'no, seriously. We can do that and talk about it'.
"Now we're approaching one year and when we rewrite it, I bet he writes 'I want you to take your shoes off when you come into my apartment' because I always forget that.
"It's getting it out the way. I highly recommend it. I'm surprised more people don't do it.
"We're partners in this. We're agreeing to tackle life together and this is our game plan for doing it."
Annie claims they updated the document every six months and may even do a yearly review of what went well and what needed improvement.
Annie said: "People just fall into relationships. This makes me know what I'm signing up for. I live in constant fear of waking up two years into a relationship and realising my partner doesn't have the same life plan as me.
"You've put one or two years into a relationship but you don't agree on the core things. If you don't have that core connection, you're wasting time and prolonging heartbreak.
"At this point, we update it every six months or so. We'll visit it.
"Originally he'd say 'I probably need two or three days away during busy times in the year' but now we don't do that anymore. It'll just be quiet time where I'm still at his apartment but just with my headphones in.
"We revisit it and make a new document every so often. We keep joking that every year we'll do a yearly review.
"We'll say 'here are the things that were great this year, here are the things that need improvement'."
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Topics: Sex and Relationships