Boyfriend can be a bit aloof

[Lido78]

Have been dating a guy for about a year and a half. We don't live together but do see each other every day and spend weekends together. He is a very kind and sweet person and is on the Type B side of the personality scale (I'm definitely a Type A). While he is kind and sweet, he's not particularly communicative about his feelings. He never says "I love you" and never talks about our relationship unless I bring it up. He went through a bad divorce several years ago, and it seems to have really set the tone for his subsequent relationships. He has mentioned that other girlfriends have been bothered by his lack of communication as it comes across as if he doesn't care. The one and only time he has mentioned the "L" word was during a fight...it was something along the lines of "I don't know why you think that...don't you think I love you?" While I do believe that actions speak louder than words, I do believe that saying "I love you" is not too much to ask, at least on occasion. When I asked him about it, he answered that saying it in the past had been used against him when the relationship later went sour...Maybe we have different views on it, but I don't believe that those three words mean "I love you and that will never ever change and we'll be together forever." It simply means "I love you," and I'd never consider it to be equivalent to some kind of promise that life will never change. Thoughts?