My man never tells me anything nice. Instead he does criticize me now and then. Am I right to feel bad about it?

[Anonymous]

He is so dedicated and spending lots of time with me. But he never tells me I am beautiful, that he misses me, or can't wait to see me. Instead he'd say things like "You need bigger ass until summer" then day he is joking, or if I wish him good morning while apart he'd say "It's good indeed". He'd never admire me or say he missed me.

It's been 6 months and I really feel empty and bad sometimes despite his dedication.

I told him many times it's not fair but he keeps saying that he told me not to push him to talk. I am not pushing him to talk but I see him very talkative when it's criticism. I don't know what to do?

[quaranta]

"Am I right to feel bad about it", is not a question, you are right to feel in any way you do, in any circumstance. So your feelings are anyway valid regardless. It's what you -do- with that, outside the borders of your head, that matters.
So the problem here is that he sees you as pushy and doesn't want to care about how you feel, but that doesn't solve the fact you feel that way of course. He is not taking responsibility over that and expects you to just shut down these things. Of course, it can't work.
Rather than telling you to not push him, he could try to justify it by understanding why he is not driven to be nice and kind. Maybe he is just "like that", maybe he wouldn't with any other woman anyway, maybe he feels kind of embarassed or cringes at that, etc, so he uses "facts" to prove his dedication instead because they look less embarassing and more indirect. Maybe he is sexist and finds these things "feminine", I don't know.

The fact he replies to "good morning" with "it's good indeed" sounds like he actively rejects chit chats and formalities, one doesn't spontaneously reply like that, there is some awareness behind in my opinion. He is saying:"I don't like this kind of interaction, so I shut it down and you should never expect me to engage in these things". I would understand this because time to time I am like this too with friends who ask me "how are you" and I decide to get it "literally", because I really hate formalities and chit chats, as well as being expected to say stuff in response to something nice I didn't ask for.
If that is the case and it doesn't hide other discomforts about you behind that motivate a kind of "hostility" underneath, then it means he is absorbed in his world, which is kind of a selfish world, sets his rules about how things are expressed, and would hardly change about that.
On this regard, have you ever tried using his same style? Like criticizing him in the same way about similar things as he does to you ("you need better six packs until next year"), not telling him anything cute or affectionate, showing dedication only through facts but playing it chill and cool all the time? Maybe if you start doing it in the same intensity as he does it might make him feel ignored and judged, calling it out, which could give him a glimpse of how you feel and of how you are driven to express it just like him, if words never worked so far.
That is like playing games, but if you are left with no other options...
And lastly, if you are not up to his terms of negotiation and he is not up to yours, it means you are not compatible in the long term, because too different and, potentially, it will anyway be like that for very long, if not ever.

[Asker]

I never pushed him but honestly I expected him to a bit more open and relaxed as time is passing. Also I don't expect him to flatter me etc but at least don't criticize me if you already have no nice and warm word for me. He is texting me all the time, spending all of his free time with me. But he is so detached when it comes to expressing feelings verbally. And on top of that, he is very verbal when he wants to tease me for some physical flaws. I put no pressure on him but it does hurt me when he does that.

[Guy13]

If he was nice to you on the front end and know there is criticism, what happened in between. Fights?

[Asker]

No, we rarely argue. But I feel hurt occasionally when he drops a random criticism saying he is "joking" but at the same time he never compliments me or acts verbally close. He is cuddly spending lots of time with me, but never saying a single nice word to me. I find that odd.

[Guy13]

Backhanded criticism? Straight-up criticism without flowers or anything nice that is not self-serving is bad news.

[In_Trance]

no point in feeling bad about it; do something about it

[boggboss]

U decided to be with a dick and now wonder why