Giving Him a Key to My Place – Yes or No?

Dear Ms. HeartBeat:
Do you think it’s a good idea for me to give my boyfriend a key to my apartment? He lives about 70 miles from me. We’ve been dating for over a year. I want him to know how much I love and committed I am to him and thought this might be a good idea. What do you think?

Signed,
Confused Girlfriend

Dear Confused Girlfriend:
I think you should discuss it with him first. The primary issue to me is that if you are making that sort of declaration and statement about your relationship to him, he must be on the same page or it won’t work. In other words, if he has a key to your place, he should be willing to give you a key to his place in return (unless he lives with roommates or his family).

Likewise, if you live with anyone else, you have no right to risk their peace of mind by giving him a key to the place your roommate pays rent. Roommates have a right to safety and privacy in their own homes at any time they want it. That means no boyfriend should be coming in while your room mate is in her underwear in the kitchen, or naked taking a shower, or having her book club meeting, or making out on the couch with her boyfriend watching a porno movie.

With that politically correct position posted, I have to tell you that I am personally of the mind that women give too much to men they are not married or otherwise deeply committed to. To me, unless a man lives with you, he should NEVER have a key to your place. In my mind, a man that wants the privilege of total access to you desires to have you as his wife and life partner, not as his half time when I want to see you girlfriend.

There is no way in hell that I would give a man a key to my place under any circumstances. If he wants to see commitment and love, he needs to drop down on one knee with a ring in his hand, and do all he needs to do to make it happen.

But these matters are always best discussed between the couple involved. As long as you are both on the same page it should work out just fine.

MsHeartBeat

Relationship and dating advice columnist of Ask HeartBeat! Has enjoyed dishing out insightful yet hilariously funny advice, tersely worded reality checks and "let me slap you upside the head" wake up calls to men and women around the globe since 1991.