This 47-year-old man and his wife, 44, married when they were young. Unfortunately, the first few years of their marriage were traumatic because they both experienced significant losses. During the first year they were married, his parents passed away.
Three years later, his wife’s father sadly passed away. His mother-in-law is “crazy,” so neither of them has a relationship with her. Not long after that, they had two children, who are now in college.
“We’ve done a lot to hurt each other over the years. We both have walls. We just kind of co-exist. She says she loves me and wants to be my best. I don’t believe it. She has always been controlling,” he said.
His wife cooks, cleans, and schedules all their appointments while he is in charge of maintaining their home and vehicles. He works as an engineer and assumes he may be on the autism spectrum.
His wife makes him feel stupid and as if he’s irritating. Over the years, he’s wondered if he should file for divorce.
“I’ve been waiting for my kids to be grown because I had a traumatic childhood and didn’t want that for them. Now that they’re grown, I still feel stuck,” he explained.
They only communicate when they’re fighting, and they are no longer physically affectionate. For more than 20 years of their marriage, his wife has made him feel guilty for trying to initiate affection, and now he has no interest in doing so anymore. They haven’t slept together in three years.
“We’re completely disconnected. I want to be happy, whether alone or with someone else. I want her to be happy,” he shared.
He acknowledged his wife wasn’t content with their marriage, so he hired a lawyer. After his lawyer had drafted the divorce papers, he hadn’t filed them yet.
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