Any advice on helping out my girlfriend with her shyness in our relationship (16, M) (18, F)?

[Anonymous]

**tl;dr**She is so sweet and I have known her for thirteen years, (she has a brother my age) and she can be a bit shy/reserved at times. Our families support us together and I just recently asked her to be my girlfriend.

**tl;dr**In private, she loves to sit on my lap and cuddle me and she does hold my hand out in public, but she turns super red and she even does it in front of our parents. I don’t expect her to sit on my lap in public but she is def less affectionate in public and she told me that she feels shy a little bit but she also mentioned that, “I will get over it babe!” She gets super red when I am sitting really close to her in public and end up kissing her, but she does not pull away!

**tl;dr**As for her starting college soon, it’s going to be near her home and she will be coming back home and I will be finishing my senior year of hs.

**tl;dr**I do want to make her feel less shy though especially with us as a couple

[Selene1600000]

She honestly sounds comfortable with you already, just naturally shy and a little overwhelmed by public affection. The best thing you can do is not pressure her to “act less shy” and instead make her feel safe, accepted, and unjudged while she opens up at her own pace. The fact that she still holds your hand, stays close to you, and doesn’t pull away when you kiss her are all very good signs that she likes being affectionate with you even if she gets embarrassed.

[DishLady]

You two are still very young. Her shyness will ease away on its own. Don’t push or rush her.

[SeriouslyNotSerious]

Give it some time and be patient with her. I was shy like that before, I didn't know what happened now.. 😆

[Anonymous]

What about intimacy? If she’s shy she mostly waiting for Marriage