Wow, I did not expect such an extensive vent. I feel really grateful to read that chapter of your life though. Coincidentally this is very relatable for me, as my current partner is also religious. I've often asked before whether she's okay with me not believing in god and she's always been chill about it. It feels nice that we haven't found any major differences between us (ofcourse that can still happen at any time).
As for the dissatisfaction part, I'm not sure why it's happened in the past. Maybe the thrill of a new partner sounds exciting in the moment. I'm definitely not dissatisfied with anything in my current relationship though, except maybe the lack of seeing each other since we've been very busy this period in time.
Relationships are hard nonetheless. I've opened up to her about having thoughts about it once, and she told me she's never experienced something like that. I'm in my early 20's, so I'm just hoping this is something that fades over time. The last thing I want in life is to hurt her.
Im really glad to hear that your relationship currently is doing good, and 7 years does seem like quite a while. Wishing you the best man.
I really like your view on this, I've had rare occasions where I'm contemplating whether I want to live the rest of my life with this person. I've felt bad about it before because it feels very dishonest, but I will always fall back to the fact that the person in question is a step down relatively speaking and doesn't make sense to end my healthy current relationship. Being open about that is hard, because you feel like an ass even contemplating ending a relationship.