Fourteen and four? Yikes!

No one can tell you what to do but all of your concerns are absolutely valid and it is not selfish of you to have those concerns. This guy comes with a lot of baggage.

You're brilliant! You are doing exactly what you should be doing at this point in your relationship! This is your dress rehearsal for how married life will be with this guy. If it doesn't look good at this point, it will not look good in 20 years when the love is "settled in," the bills are stacked up, you're both fat and wrinkled. And he sure won't look good when you're in the midst of divorce and fighting over who gets the grill and that stack of bills.

Think about it. No one marries with the idea they'll be miserable. People only want to talk about love and wedding dresses when they're dating. The person who looks past that fun stuff and looks objectively at who they're dating is the one with the best chance of making a happy union. You are asking important questions as you should.

As for whether you and he are a good match...well, look at what you're writing. The issues are not issues that can be easily changed. They're kids. He can't give them back. And he can't change who their mothers are. A career, a house, a few extra pounds can be changed. But this guy has major baggage with TWO kids and TWO biomoms. He is beholden to many other people for at least 14 years. And trust the women here when we say resenting children is not viewed nicely by the general population, no matter how awful those kids are. You will always be the bad guy in this situation.

I think you're pretty sharp. Don't make the mistake of knowing the issues and ignoring them. There are so many great men out there - go get one! You can and will do better if you allow yourself to do better. Focus on this one thing you wrote and I think you'll figure out what you have to do:

"""""My life would essentially be controlled by 5 ppl (partner, 2kids & 2BMs)."""""

«I have no kids of my own (I do want them eventually) and wish I did just so I could put another life as a priority over my partner. If that makes sense? In his life I will never be more than number 3 in importance but he'd be my number 1» I completely understand that as I am also childless, but if you also had kids it would only be more complicated and you both would have even less time together.

You are not selfish for having those doubts; I have been dating my SO for 3 years and have decided to wait until his DD17 is launched before we move in together.

If BM2 had a baby so not to be deported, you should seriously consider that SO could end up with full custody. A local woman is in detention and scheduled to be deported. She has no criminal record or charges, been here since she was six, is married to a citizen, and has two children under five.

In today's political climate having a child does not exempt you from deportation.

I think if you already know that you will never be #1 with him, then you should seriously consider ending things. Even if a man has children, his wife should never feel as if she is never #1. In my opinion, a man's wife should be his first priority and his kids only become #1 if they need something immediately. Making his kids happy shouldn't trump making his wife happy. A man's wife and his children should never be on an equal playing field. Children will eventually grow up and leave. Ideally, a man's wife will stay with him and care for him long after his children have left. A lot of marriages (where both spouses are parents to the children) break down because one spouse in the relationship puts the children over the marital relationship and the other spouse feels unappreciated, unwanted, or like a roommate, instead of a romantic partner. A marital relationship shouldn't be put on the backburner because one person has children. If that's the case, then the person with children should not have gotten married and should have focused exclusively on his/her children. I say all this, knowing that this is not the reality for many child-free steppparents - myself included. Speaking from personal experience, there is a total imbalance of power in my relationship with DH. He thinks that he should get special privileges or his needs should trump mine because he has children. It's caused me a lot of heartache and I've had to work to let a lot of things go. Knowing what I know now, I have had moments when I think I might have walked away from my relationship (I don't feel that way all the time because I love my husband and when SSs are not around, our relationship is good, but when his kids are around and we're catering to them like entitled little princes or when BM is kicking up a fuss over something that she has no right to fuss over, then I truly think "why did you do this to yourself?!")

So ummm... You should ALWAYS be his TOP PRIORITY. The skids may be his top responsibility (you're an adult) but if you're not his top priority then the relationship is a bit one sided don't you think? Just food for thought.

I'm a single, childless woman like you, dating a man with 2 kids. His are girls, closer in age and have the same mother. We currently have separate homes even though we spend almost every night together, because I'm not going to rush into one of us moving in with the other until I'm very comfortable with how things are going with the kids, the ex, and his parenting. It's worth the expense of maintaining two places until I'm very confident about all of that. I feel respected and like a priority or I wouldn't be in the relationship, and his ex is sane, stable and cooperative. I'm waiting to move in together until we have more time under our belts and I've made sure that the signs of Disney Dad syndrome have disappeared (he's getting better). If I thought there was a good likelihood (as opposed to the chance that always exists) that the kids would be moving in full time, or if I was not respected by the kids or prioritized by SO, or if there was a high conflict BM, I'd be gone. I don't think that's selfish at all - you have to take care of yourself, especially if you're not someone else's priority. Life is too short to live in a situation where you're not comfortable in your own home and you're not your partner's priority. Frankly, I don't think I could live with the situation you've described, and I most definitely would not get a house together with him unless and until you can get comfortable with the situation.

How is he going to take care of his DS if he moves in full time. ???
Did you asked him how son moving in is going to work. ? Who getting him to school, ? what he going after school. ?
Who going to fake him if you go away ? Who cooking ? Who cleaning ? Doing homework ?

You sound so sad. But it's terrific that you know yourself well enough to know that you will feel trapped, and you will resent not having free weekends, etc. That is not selfish. It's how you're put together. These are not your children, and you don't love them as a parent does. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact it's normal.

Add the issues with your SO as well -- seeking advice from other women because he thinks you're wrong? That's not ok. How you feel is how you feel. If he truly cares for you he would want you to feel good. All he's doing is justifying to himself that you are wrong. That is not what a partner does. It's like telling you you SHOULD like cabbage when you don't, because HE likes cabbage. He sees himself as more important than you, and therefore right. Totally not healthy.

Please don't move in with him and don't marry him. If it's not good now, it won't be good later. It will get much worse.

You need to seriously consider the fact that he could end up with full custody of one or BOTH skids at any time. If you do NOT want to live with children, move on.

While it is possible that your concerns are unlikely to happen.... the odds of them not happening are about slim and none IMHO. There are a few key take aways from your original post. * This guy is a serial breeder with two women neither of which he is still with.. HUGE RED FLAG HERE!!!!! Why on earth would you line up to be baby mama #3 with someone who has already demonstrated, repeatedly, that he doesn't have what it takes to be a stable partner or father? While I completely recognize that it could be that BM1 and BM2 are entirely to blame for the drama... the common denominator remains THIS GUY!!!!! * You are feeling resentful over something that hasn't even happened yet. Listen to your gut. Why would you even consider remaining in a situation that the mere thought of makes you feel resentful? :? * Feelings of love is not actually love. Neither are the tingly feelings anyone gets in their nether regions. Love is action. If he were taking the actions of love towards you he would be clearly demonstrating that by getting his baby mama/kid issues under control. Apparently he isn't doing that. So, quit letting emotion get in your way, grow some testicular fortitude, and own your life instead of allowing your emotions to ruin your life. All IMHO of course. Good luck.

I am in this situation, and speaking from experience, I would get out if I wasn't already so deep into it. I married my husband who has 2 boys (same mom though). I am the only girl in the house, and I am the outsider. I am okay with being number 3, I actually prefer it so I can have alone time. But my husband wants me to be more involved with the children. I was at the beginning, but after 5 years of being the scape goat, pouring my heart into his family and getting crap in return, I have disengaged. My husband is unhappy with the family dynamic. There is a lot that goes into this, and if you do stay, make sure you are ready for the uphill battle. If you want a simpler life, you may want to pick a different route.

'wish I did just so I could put another life as a priority over my partner'

It's you, you are the other life that takes priority over your partner.  If you're already resentful about weekends you wouldn't have to relax when you're not even in that situation yet you're answering your own questions, go with your gut feeling.