I feel free to be myself in my relationship.

Freedom in a relationship gets measured in unimpressive units. Singing badly in the kitchen. Crying at the wrong film. Saying the half-formed opinion before you have checked whether it is defensible.

Nobody grants that in a conversation. It is established across a hundred moments when the unguarded thing came out and nothing bad happened afterwards.

If you are still testing the ground, test it small. There is usually one thing held slightly back, an interest, a worry, a taste. Let it out this week and watch what the room does with it.