Conflicted, paired off to maintain attention (2,3,5)
I believe the answer is:
in two minds
'conflicted' is the definition.
(to be in two minds is to feel conflicted)
'paired off to maintain attention' is the wordplay.
'paired off' becomes 'in twos' (to pair off is to split into pairs or twos).
'to maintain' indicates putting letters inside (maintain can mean to keep or preserve).
'attention' becomes 'mind' (mind is a kind of attention).
'intwos' going around 'mind' is 'IN TWO MINDS'.
(Other definitions for in two minds that I've seen before include "where similar ideas may be foolish or clever" , "The outcome is uncertain" , "Wavering, undecided" , "Torn" , "like Dr Jekyll at times?" .)