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u/rainbowcake12 asked Reddit:
When did you ALMOST end things with your SO/spouse, and how did you fix your relationship? [Serious]
Here were some answers.
Tell Mom To Get Out
GiphyShe couldn't say no to her mom. Also her mom suuuuucked. She was super controlling and pretty emotionally and verbally abusive, calling her a whore and a failure pretty regularly. Now this was a girl who was prim and proper with a 4.0 GPA and it wasn't good enough. She was so used to having to her mom because any hint of disobedience meant days of verbal abuse and it just wasn't worth the hassle to her. I tried everything to help, from upping her self esteem to arguing with her mom myself to trying to give her more s*** then her mom when she didn't stand up for herself.
Ironically, getting married solved all our problems. Her mom tried to take control of the wedding plans and she just snapped I guess because she was even more confrontational than me. The first time was over a veil. She's really not into the whole idea of "giving your daughter away" and hated a veil because of it. Her mom wanted a traditional wedding and demanded she wear a veil. My SO went off on her like nothing I had ever seen from her and every time since then she has never been afraid to stand up for herself, even if she does have to some small things. I'm so proud of her.
Next stop, making Christmas not traumatic anymore.
The Tornado Was A Godsend
Here's a story about my old roommate. He was dating this girl for a while, and it just wasn't working out. He told me one night that he was dreading it but he was going to break up with her. The next night a tornado knocked our house down and he was forced to move in with her. I guess they were forced to work through all of their issues, because he married her the following year and has never been happier.
Actually Try
GiphyI had decided it was over before it began. I had dated this woman in high school and we had broken up. She and I were close off and on after. She always wanted to get back together but I was adamant about being on my own. I had horribly toxic friends who liked to make fun of her and being the spineless man I was I kept her distant.
I had one friend who kept a little pressure on me to be better. He pushed me to try again because he saw I wanted to. So with his help our relationship began again. Unfortunately I had it in my head that we would give it a try for a few months and then I would break it off. I don't know why I never considered it would just work.
Finally I mentioned it to my boss who also happened to be a friend who knew us both that I didn't think it would work but I was giving it a try. He just looked at me funny and said "Well why would it automatically not work? Have you considered trying?" I didn't know what to say. I just spent some time thinking and realized even if it didn't work, I needed to actually try. And it has been the best choice I've made. We have had rough patches but we are going nearly 6 years strong at this point and I plan on proposing here soon.
So Far Away
The long distance over three years was starting to get to me. We wanted to be together, but it seemed like she wasn't really trying hard to find a job where I lived at the time and there were not really any jobs in my pretty specific scope of IT available where she lived. Turned out she also only liked a specific type of job in her field.
It didn't help that I had met someone where I was living that I started to have feelings for and I'm pretty sure she liked me too.
At one point I tried to break it off with my SO... she could hear it in my voice before I could get the words out.. it was really difficult.. but she pleaded with me not to end it. So I didn't break it off with my SO.. stuck it out a little longer and got a job where she was living a few months later.
Now we're married with a couple of kiddos and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Think Before You Drink
I drank too much. I was never abusive, emotionally or verbally (the thought of hurting her makes me sick) But we lived apart for a year while I was finishing undergrad and she was in her first year of medical school. My drinking had apparently gotten to the point where my friends were concerned enough to contact her about it. She had no idea how much or little I was drinking at the time, other than what my friends' had told her and what I had told her.
She called me up one night and tearfully said I needed to get help or she couldn't be with me. I stopped drinking altogether for a while and saw a therapist for a few months, and that seemed to make her happy.
At the time I didn't think, and still don't think, I was an alcoholic or even close to being one, but being able to speak to a therapist and work out some of my other issues was helpful for us in the long run.
Untold Stress
GiphyThere's been a few times where he hasn't communicated with me about work stress or how he's feeling about specific situations, and would get these really bad moods where he would shut me out, or snap at me over little things.
We'd argue and eventually go off into separate rooms. He stews things over, I process and try to see it from his point of view. I'd then go and talk to him and stay calm when he'd get angry again. Eventually my staying calm, calms him and he'll open up.
Now I've learnt the warning signs, so I don't get angry with him, I'm also more confident and trusting in our relationship, we've been together nearly 6 years, are buying a house and planning on getting married. I know he loves me, I don't have the insecurities from my past anymore (abusive ex), so when he does get a mood I ask him about his day, and listen (even though I don't understand much about his work) or I'll set up the good tv with whatever game he's currently playing and chill some beers in the fridge. When he's ready he'll talk it through with me. I don't push it anymore but I also don't let him stew to the point he explodes.
I come from a family that is very close and everyone knows everyone's business to a certain extent. My OH's family are very reserved in comparison, we've had to learn each others quirks from being raised so differently.
It's Not A Real Problem
I almost did once (years ago) when we were dating because I just couldn't get her to leave me tf alone every now and then. I thought she was too clingy. Sometimes I felt like she lacked any common sense and it bothered the hell out of me.
To be honest, at the time I didn't break up with her because I was too scared that it was a mistake. I brought it up with her that I was pretty unhappy and I subconsciously wanted her to end it. I knew she wouldn't, because she wasn't that type of person. She was 100% committed to me regardless of whether or not I was having doubts.
I think that's what turned it around. I realized that she had her faults just like anyone else, but it's hard to hate that kind of commitment. It was completely and utterly my own problem, and I got over it. I really just needed to analyze my expectations for other people.
That being said, my relationship was and is a good one. We don't have serious compatibility issues. There were no major roadblocks to us being together. I understand that many relationships don't have that benefit. But in my case, I just had to realize what I had.
Anxiety As A Roadblock
My BF and I are actually still working on it. We have been temporary breaking up once for less than a month and then there were times when we nearly broke up.
The problem is my intense social anxiety. It got to the point where I just stopped going to restaurants because I would then be forced to interact with the waiting staffs. It makes my working life a constant stress, so much that I feel like I am going to die out of stress or heart attack any time soon. It strains my relationship with my BF because it hurts him so much seeing me like this. However him acting as my caretaker or minder has killed his romantic feelings towards me. He wants a strong, assertive and indepedent kind of woman...and right now I am none of those.
I have been going to therapy for several months now and amping up on physical exercise and some extreme sports. I hope to see a more positive result someday in the future (preferably soon).
Priorities
GiphyMy wife got blackout drunk at our house warming party, and ended up kissing my best friend's wife. She didn't remember anything the next morning, and had no idea why I was extremely angry with her. When I explained what happened, she cried, and I needed space. We had just moved into a rental home together, and it was tough for a while. That also wasn't the first time her drunkenness got on my nerves. She locked my friend and I out on the balcony for 15 minutes when she blacked out when it was about 30 degrees outside thinking it was funny. Luckily her friend opened up the door later. I gave her an ultimatum that she had to stop drinking heavily, or else I'd walk. Thankfully she did, and two years later we got married.
Balance
I just admitted to my husband last weekend that this story was the first time I ever questioned if we were in for a troubled marriage:
My husband kept telling me he wanted to remodel the basement. I told him "sure", thinking that we'd get serious about it sometime soon, but obviously we need a plan, budget, etc.
Shortly after, on a cold February night, we're sitting on the basement couch drinking wine when my husband says "Hey, can you help me load up the truck?" I'm like, "Huh, what are we loading?" He says, "The couch. I'm going to take it to the dump tomorrow!".
I was so confused. I'm like "The couch we're sitting on now?" He says "yeah. we're going to remodel the basement, right?"
Coincidentally, he ended up sleeping on the couch that night. It turned into a pretty big fight and I was *seriously* freaked out over how impulsive he was willing to act over something that is so time consuming and expensive. I'm a serious planner and I'm very strategic. For about 2 weeks, I was horrified. Now I realize that we balance each other out in this regard!