I spent my 20s proudly supporting my partner's business. Now that I'm in my 30s, I'm realizing what I gave up.

I love my partner, but I'm grieving some of the milestones we've had to put off.

Rachel LaBella I've always loved and supported my partner's dream of owning a restaurant .

However, we've dealt with financial insecurity at times and put off milestones like buying a home.

Now that we're in our 30s, we're having conversations about what his business means for our future.

In my 20s, I fell in love with my partner's ambition.

His dream was to own a restaurant, and I admired his willingness to reject a traditional 9-to-5 to build something of his own.

He entered the industry as a teenager, worked his way up to general manager at a local restaurant by his mid-20s, and eventually became a partner there.

By 30, he had achieved the dream he'd spent years pursuing: becoming the restaurant's sole owner.

Watching him move closer to that goal over the years was exciting, and I was proud to support him along the way — but now, in my early 30s, I'm realizing how much of my own future I've put on hold while waiting for that dream to financially pay off.

At times, the restaurant has felt like a third person in our relationship When we were first dating, I loved that my partner had such a specific dream.

Rachel LaBella At first, supporting him felt like laying the groundwork for the future we were building together.

When we were younger, money wasn't a major concern, and I believed that the financial instability we felt at times was a temporary trade-off.

But dating a restaurant owner means the business is often a third presence in our relationship.

Anxieties about payroll, rent, equipment repairs, and loans don't go away when the workday ends.