I dated my now wife for 10 years before getting married. I was not ready for marriage and starting a family. Before getting married - I had two mortgages, multiple car payments, multiple insurance premiums, 2x utilities, basically two of everything. I was supporting my parents and their life style and that if my own. At the time I was only making 75k USD a year and spent every penny I had everyday. Toward the tail end of the ten years I decided to get another masters degree. In no way was I financially ready nor did I have the time. A year after I graduated we got married. Flash forward a few more years and we have two daughters- and I still feel I’m not ready for this family.

Not that I don’t love my wife or kids. But I wasted my mid twenties to my late thirties amassing huge debts and doing nothing for myself.

Maybe he has done personal blocking items in his life. Or perhaps his support system in his family side is not solid.