Decided to break up after 7 years

So, my girlfriend and I have been in a relationship for the past 7 years. Recently, she came to the realization that her parents wouldn’t allow her to marry me because I don’t own a house in the capital and I’m not “rich enough” by their standards.

She told me that while she could get over the grief of a breakup in a month, she wouldn’t be able to handle the lifelong sadness of disappointing her parents if she chose to marry me. As someone who’s invested so much time, effort, and love into this relationship, I was hoping she’d take a stand and fight for us, even if it meant making some sacrifices. But I guess that wasn’t part of the plan.

Honestly, being a guy is tough. Society expects you to bottle up your emotions—you can’t even cry in front of your family. Money seems to dictate everything: your career, your relationships, even your self-worth. It’s frustrating when something as pure as love and trust gets overshadowed by material expectations.

On the bright side, at least this wasn’t a toxic ending to something I valued so deeply. Still, I’ve been hit pretty hard by this, and I’m trying to process it all. I’d love to hear from you all—have any of you been through something similar? How did you cope?