F
Photo by docksidepress, used by CC license.

I'm putting this out there because I believe I can't be the ONLY ONE to have felt this way. Okay, here's the deal: I hate the word “fiance.”

My partner Aaron and I were engaged for a year and we never got used to saying it. It just felt funny on my tongue and weird coming out of my mouth. Another one of those “this feels too fancy for me” things. (I swear, I must have some sort of insane anti-“fancy shit” complex. Is there a name for that? Okay, I'm getting off topic, rein it in Megs.)

It got to the point where I started to dread when I would have to introduce Aaron to someone new. There was always that moment where I thought that I'd be okay saying “my fiance” — I'd just grin and bear it, no big deal, people do it all the time, what the fuck was wrong with me — but when it came to that moment I'd just freeze. Then this kind of thing would happen all the time…

John: Hey Megs, have you met Wendy?
Me: No, I haven't. Hi Wendy, it's nice to meet you.
Wendy: Hi Megan, nice to meet you too.
Me: Wendy, this is my… (pause for inner conflict) …boyfriend, Aaron.
John: Wow, you're still fighting that word, aren't you?
Me: Yup.

I just couldn't bring myself to use the “F word.” And it caused some confusion too, like, there were whisperings about whether or not we were still planning on getting married because Aaron and I just flat out refused to switch from saying boyfriend and girlfriend to saying fiance.

Aaron was the same way. From the moment we were engaged we talked about not wanting to use the word “fiance,” but what are we to do!? There's no other term for it that didn't give us the wiggens; betrothed, intended, future spouse? Nope. Uh-uh. Too formal. But the fact remains that he's more than a “boyfriend” but he's not a “husband” yet.

To anyone who is freely and happily using that term — good on ya mate for that! I think people should be happy to, both, be and have a fiance. For the longest time I couldn't wait to be affianced. But once I was, I just couldn't bring myself to ACTUALLY use the word. I'm telling ya, sometimes I hate myself. 😉

So, here are some of the terms we finally came up with to use instead of “fiance.” Feel free to use them as your own…

  • “Marrying girlfriend” or “marrying boyfriend.”
  • “My future partner in crime,” sometimes shorted to just “partner.”
  • “The one I caught”
  • “Feyonce” (like Beyonce)
  • “The guy/girl who's making an honest girl/guy out of me”
  • “The one who would have me, despite all the glaring flaws.”
  • “That guy/girl that I'm gonna marry.”
  • “Matrimonial candidate”
  • “Spousal Unit” as suggested by a reader
  • Or, my favorite, introduce your partner in a french accent as in “Zees ees mah fee-yon-say.”

Does anyone else feel the same way about the “F word?” If so, what terms do you use instead?

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