An LDR is a challenge, and lots of people have struggles with it.

You have been in a long distance courtship with this woman and have already undergone its hardships.

The long distance hasn’t been easy to grapple with.

There have been several moments where you have yearned for her and she hasn’t been physically present.

Whenever you finish a phone call or video chat with her, knowing that she is so far away from you, you are close to tears.

You want to keep her on the phone or video chat forever, so that her sweet voice or face continues to be present.

You never want the conversations to end.

But they have to.

You have lives that are filled with work and personal obligations that require attention.

Alas, you now believe that you want her to be your exclusive partner, despite all of the trials you have faced in this LDR.

Yet, you don’t know whether it is too early.

As long as you have been consistently courting her for at least two months or more, it isn’t too early to ask for exclusivity.

This being said, don’t make this decision without using your common sense.

Thus far, you have already seen how arduous it is to conduct a relationship from afar.

You have had a taste of what that is like without being officially exclusive with this woman.

There is a part of you that thinks that asking for exclusivity alleviates these challenges and gives you a greater sense of security.

You believe that in becoming exclusive with her, you won’t feel as sad whenever phone calls and video chats end.

So much of the reasoning behind why you want to ask for exclusivity is to give yourself reassurance.

There is a desire to feel reassured whenever those phone calls and video chats end.

In moments where you aren’t talking to her on the phone or video chatting, you wonder what she is doing.

Is she talking to someone else who lives in her city?

Being that you aren’t physically with her, you know that she runs into men every single day.

When she is at work, school, church, the grocery store, etc., there are opportunities for her to meet men in her city who are romantically interested in her.

The thought of this is scary, given that you live far away from her.

It keeps you up at night.

Part of your intent behind asking her for exclusivity is your desire to take this fear and insecurity away.

Sadly, you are focusing on the wrong thing.

Becoming exclusive with her doesn’t erase the hardships of a long distance relationship.

An exclusive relationship isn’t a panacea.

Rather than worrying about whether it is too early to ask for exclusivity in an LDR, think about the challenges you have faced in this long distance courtship thus far.

These hardships won’t go away by making her an exclusive long distance girlfriend.

If you still believe you are up for this, do not ask for exclusivity without having a concrete plan in mind for when you want to be in the same location with her.

This means that she has to be in on this plan, and is just as intent to follow through on it.

Without a solid plan that has been mutually agreed upon, becoming exclusive with her won’t make the relationship any less likely to fail.