Hi everyone, sorry for posting twice in a short span. I hope I can contribute to as much as I take from the community.

I'm 21 and recently got out of my first long term relationship. Granted, it was a mutual decision but had he still been interested in staying together, I'd have initiated the breakup. But I'm very happy it was mutual because the guilt and sadness would have destroyed me. I hate to hurt people, especially those who love me...which leads me to my next point.

...my ex was, well, the epitome of not-alpha. He wasn't beta either because he didn't try to get with girls at all. I was the one who pursued him. He was very loving and doting towards me, and effusive with praise and support. When we got together, I immediately noticed I wasn't happy but repressed the feeling. The thing is, he is in his mid 30s having held 2 jobs, both under 6 months and currently unemployed. I should mention that he tried on several occasions to be employed but things fell through last minute. But he did lack a masculine quality that you could call "drive." I didn't feel right to judge him at all given that my work-ethic and career prospects were pretty poor as well, although there was a significant age gap there. He also had Asperger's, which in a way attracted me to him initially because just being with him made me feel smarter because he was like an endless repository of facts on, albeit quite narrow topics. But it also gave him this asexual-like demeanor (he wasn't asexual.) So I couldn't respect him as a MAN. Nor did he really internalize his masculinity. I thought "well its quite amazing that someone loves me so purely and deeply, I'd be an idiot to throw that away" so the relationship persisted, until it didn't.

Before the breakup, I started developing interest in other men that were masculine, go-getter types especially one guy in particular. I didn't stray but I knew I'd pursue him after our breakup. Strictly speaking, this was hypergamy in action. But previously I thought - before learning about the specifics of RP - that there would be an "upper limit" of guys that I could be satisfied with and not keep trying to get the most alpha man possible. I'm still inclined to think that. But I guess my question is, what would have non-hypergamy looked like for me? Would I have been content with the pure love my partner expressed to me or is this not hypergamy related? Or maybe even is it hypergamy in a "reasonable" amount?