We’ve been together for five years, but I’m losing interest. And he won’t talk about it

My partner of five years has problems with premature ejaculation. He gets overexcited easily and can sometimes ejaculat e before any penetration. I used to have a high sex drive and love having sex, but now I dread the disappointment. He is always willing to try to satisfy me , but I find it so disappointing and I lose interest. It’s affecting how I feel about him. He gets very insecure when we talk about it, so I can’t discuss how I feel without him thinking he’s a failure.

This condition can be treated successfully by a qualified sex therapist. Your partner simply needs to realise that he could have far more pleasure by seeking help for what is a very common issue. Try a matter-of-fact approach and educate him; despite what he probably thinks, he can learn to control his moment of ejaculation and learn to last longer – for his sake as well as yours. Sex therapists’ treatment for early ejaculation usually involves exercises that, while they can be done alone, are often best carried out with a partner, so express your willingness to support him in that way. If he agrees, it will be rewarding for both of you.

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After her brother’s death, Mary-Anne O’Connor never thought she’d meet someone who could carry her grief. Then, at a 21st birthday party, Anthony walked through the door

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My brother Matthew was the closest person in my world when I was 16 years old. He was 17 and we were part of the same social group, always off having adventures. He was incredibly wise for someone so young and he used to solve the problems of the world for me as we played one-on-one basketball together after school.

“You worry too much,” he’d often say as we’d walk home and watch the sunset. “Just enjoy living in this great country, Australia, and family and friends and stuff, you know?” We were like two halves of a whole.

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Reesa Teesa’s Who TF Did I Marry chronicled how she ‘met, dated, married and divorced’ a ‘pathological liar’ which had millions obsessed with her story

April Reign watched all 50 parts of the viral TikTok series, Who TF Did I Marry?

Reign, creator of the 2015 viral social media campaign, #OscarSoWhite, was among the millions and counting who tuned in to see Reesa Teesa, whose real name is Tareasa Johnson, talk about how she “met, dated, married and divorced” a man who she described as “a real pathological liar”.

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Being open about their mismatched libidos – and a Friday night ‘no sex date’ – helps keep Declan and Celine’s love life revved up

How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

My libido is something we joke about, because I generally crave sex more than Celine

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Sonia, 72, a retired civil servant, meets Stefan, 70, a software engineer

What were you hoping for?
An enjoyable meal in pleasant company.

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These missives are an opportunity for connection. If your children don’t want them, that’s up to them, but give them the choice
• Every week Annalisa Barbieri addresses a family-related problem sent in by a reader

We are in our mid -80s and have been together for 12 years.

Our relationship journeys to our meeting point were utterly different. My partner has two marriages behind her a s well as a long-term partner. Mine was a marriage of over 40 years . My partner and I were colleagues for many years before our retirements.

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Marvin wants Lil to exercise for her mental health, but she won’t be told what to do by a ‘robot of the patriarchy’. You decide whose argument is fit for purpose
Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror

I’m not trying to control Lil. She just needs to leave the house. It’s really unhealthy to sit for hours

I’m a grown woman and can decide if and when I need to exercise – I have other priorities

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It’s a shame your friend has started making jokes like this, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith . But there’s a way to put a stop to this dynamic

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I confided in a friend that my husband doesn’t contribute much financially – barely at all given mental health issues. Now I think the friend disrespects my husband. He and my husband have had their own direct friendship for some time now, which is especially important for my husband as he moved to a new city and appreciates this friendship.

The financial imbalance between my husband and I has definitely been a sore point and cause of stress for us. We are working through it and we are hopeful to get things moving in a better direction.

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Bart, 61 and Alicia, 56, became friends as students in Washington DC in the 1980s. A chance encounter in the 1990s led to a life-changing bond

As a student in 1989, Alicia went to Washington DC for an internship at the US Senate. “After six months, I extended my trip but I needed a place to stay,” she says. She moved to the International Student House, a hall of residence usually reserved for foreign students. “Although I am American, I managed to get a place. It was a very fun time; I could walk to work during the day and enjoy the nightlife in the evening, as well as communal meals with other students.”

It was at one of these meals that she first met Bart, a medical student from Rotterdam who was working on some research at the National Institute of Mental Health. “I was living with a host family,” he says, “but I had a friend living at the International Student House, so I’d go there to hang out.”

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