“Hey, is now a good time to talk?” “Hey, I just wanted to check in on you. How are you doing?”
“It wasn’t cool of me to snap at you earlier. You were just trying to help, and I overreacted. ” “I can tell that I hurt your feelings earlier. I really didn’t mean to do that. ”
Try to avoid saying things like, “I’m sorry you feel that way,” or, “You know I didn’t mean it like that. ” These half apologies might make your boyfriend feel like you’re just placating him instead of actually being sincere.
“I’m really sorry about what happened earlier. ” “I wanted to apologize for hurting your feelings. ” “I wish I could tell you this in person, but a text will have to do. I’m so sorry. ”
“I had a super hard day at work, so I was a little on edge. I’m really sorry I let that affect the way that I talked to you. ” “For some reason, I thought that you didn’t want to hang out with me today. I should have clarified before jumping to conclusions. ”
“I really messed up. I shouldn’t have said that to you. I reacted out of anger without thinking, and that was my fault. ” “You didn’t do anything wrong—it was all me. ”
As you listen to him, make eye contact and nod along. This shows him that you’re paying attention and you aren’t distracted. If you’re apologizing over text, be sure to read his texts thoroughly and respond quickly. If you can, try to chat with him over the phone or via video chat instead.
“It makes a lot of sense why you felt that way. Thank you for sharing that with me. ” “I totally understand where you’re coming from. I’d probably feel the same way in your position. ”
“Next time, I’ll ask you to clarify what you mean before I snap at you. That way, we can avoid any miscommunication. ” “I’ll be sure to tell you when I’ve had a bad day at work. But I’m also gonna work on calming down and not taking my anger out on you. ”
“Thanks for hearing me out. Can you forgive me?” “Are we okay now? Or do you need a little more time?” “Again, I’m really sorry. Is there any way you can forgive me?”
Feel free to check in with your boyfriend about it every now and then, too. “I’ve been working on controlling my anger lately. Have you noticed anything different?”
