My oldest two sons just went through the exact same thing, one was in your position and the other needed space from his girlfriend. My advice would be to always remember that the right path is usually the most difficult one. Give your boyfriend his space, in fact, give him too much of it. Only if he can truly experience what it is like not to have you right there next to him, or where he can call you at any time, will he learn to respect and value you. There is a lot to be said about playing it cool.
This is the advice I gave my son when his girlfriend needed ‘space’, and she came trotting back about a month later when she realized that he could indeed live without her. My other son’s girlfriend would not stop pursuing him, always bombarding him with notes, sad looks and phone calls. They didn’t get back together because it got irritating to him, making him pull farther away.
I sincerely hope that you can steel yourself to give him what he needs so that you both can pull yourselves together and reuinite. Do you love him enough to do something as hard as pulling away from him? By giving him his space you will be showing him that you respect his needs and care about his happiness, not just yours. Think about it. It makes sense. People need room to move, and relationships need room to grow.
If you two are going to be in a long-term relationship there will be times when you both need different things from each other, and if it is going to be successful, you must be prepared to give each other those things.