<p>Humans are innately motivated to seek connection, but in its pursuit, may inadvertently thwart the connection they desire. This may happen through forsaking one psychological need, a sense of autonomy, in favor of a second psychological need, relatedness, with behaviors such as self-silencing (stifling the self) and emotional fusion (relying on validation from others). To better understand how these four variables—autonomy frustration, relatedness frustration, self-silencing, and emotional fusion—function together, we used a three-step latent profile analysis to examine classifications among U.S. adults in long-term relationships (<i>n</i> = 1028). We found five latent groups: Highly Differentiated (5%), Moderately Enmeshed (52%), Poorly Differentiated (31%), Vocal Dependence (7%), and Quiet Fusion (5%). In all classes, autonomy frustration and relatedness frustration varied together such that if one was high, the other was also high, suggesting that if individuals forsake one in pursuit of the other, both may suffer. In most classes, autonomy frustration and relatedness frustration were positively associated with self-silencing and emotional fusion so that those with high autonomy frustration and relatedness frustration were more likely to self-silence or engage in emotional fusion. Those who lacked a sense of autonomy and relatedness were also more likely to report insecure attachment and sexual inhibition suggesting that self-silencing and emotional fusion, though typically intended to promote connection, might actually hinder it.</p>