Your respect for him should not be measured by the status of the relationship, that he is not your husband yet so you give him less respect and when he becomes your husband, he earns full respect. He believes he is not a half man so he deserves full respect. He is not a part-time lover so he deserves full time respect.
Your respect for him is not measure by how much he earns or the kind of job or profession he has, what he drives or how much he gives you. Your respect for him tells him how well you have been raised and the kind of honour he is bringing home as a wife.
Lots of men will sleep with you, play with you, but end up getting married to someone else because he is convinced, the other lady respects him more than you or believes you don’t respect him. So be mindful of the way you speak to him, your choice of words, tone and how you react towards him when you are angry or upset.
“So again I say, a man must love his wife as a part of himself; and the wife must see to it that she deeply respects her husband—obeying, praising, and honoring him.” – Ephesians 5:33 (TLB).