My now ex girlfriend and I had been together for a total of 18 months. She was a pretty great girl in general and I liked her a lot.

About 3 months after we started dating she told me that she loved me. Love is a very strong word, and I didn't love her at that point. So I responded with something along the lines of, "You're amazing and I like you a lot". She seemed hurt but didn't say anything about it. She continued to tell me she loved me for the rest of the 15 months probably about once a week.

I've been in love with a past girlfriend. Really really in love. I liked this girl a lot but even after 18 months I wouldn't say I was in love with her. So during that entire time I never told her that I loved her too. I responded similarly to the first time she said it.

After nearly a year of trying, she confronted me about it. She asked why I refused to say it back, and I told her that I care about her a lot, but I wouldn't say I love her until I was absolutely confident that I did. She said that it hurts feeling as if the love was one way and asked me if I could say it even if it wasn't true. I didn't want to do this because in my mind this takes away from the meaning of the word. If it's not true why say it at all? I told her that she didn't have to tell me she loved me. I told her that when I knew I was in love I would tell her. I liked this girl a lot, and I did tons of things to express my feelings, but I didn't love her in that way yet.

She took my advice and stopped saying she loved me after that talk. Six months later she decided to try it again. Once again I didn't say I loved her back. At that point she told me that she has had enough with our relationship. She didn't like feeling like this is a one way relationship. She said that I was being an ass and emotionally manipulating her by not saying I loved her. I feel like it's better to be honest than to lie to someone about your feelings, but maybe I'm wrong. AITA?