Eight years is a long time to be together. I take it you two live together. Is not being married a choice you've both made, or is getting married something that one of you is more reluctant to do than the other.

I'm not judging you, as I have a significant other of over 30 years friendship, and I've never opted for marriage. I'm just wondering if not being married is part of a larger pattern of one of you not wanting full commitment. (In my own case, I did not want to be financially responsible for my s.o., as he was not all that financially stable or responsible.)

Does this reduction in his income mean you have to subsidize him? I would be disturbed to have that happen to me.