I’m so taken aback by my boyfriend’s nastiness – he calls me pathetic and even compares me to his exes

DEAR DEIDRE: MY boyfriend is so kind and loving, but sometimes it seems he has absolutely no patience for me.

It’s really starting to get me down, and I can’t understand what I ever do wrong.

He is 27, I’m 25 and we’ve been together for eight months.

Since the beginning, I’ve been besotted with him and for the first few months of our relationship, it was smooth sailing.

I was on cloud nine until one day he snapped at me for taking too long to decide what I wanted for dinner. His tone was sharp and nasty and I was so taken aback.

It was a side of him I’d never seen before. Since then his attitude has completely changed.

Sometimes he can be so lovely, but other times he does everything he can to pick me apart.

He often calls me useless and pathetic, and gets angry at the littlest of things.

There are some days when I question if I can do anything right in his eyes.

To make matters worse, he has even started regularly comparing me to his exes.

He often points out how different I am from them. It’s really starting to weigh me down and I am left feeling so useless.

DEIDRE SAYS: This is not OK. Your boyfriend sounds very unkind and even abusive.

His comments have started to affect your confidence, so while he is occasionally con-siderate, please remember, if you really love and care for someone, you treat them accordingly.

If you want to try to resolve this, you need to tell him how he is making you feel. My support pack, Standing Up For Yourself, will help you.

If things don’t improve, you need to think about whether this is the right relationship for you. Contact Women’s Aid (womensaid.org.uk) for more information and support on verbal abuse.