Relationships often reach a quiet crossroads. One person feels stretched too thin. The other may be too overwhelmed to even notice.
My wife is a teacher, but she’s been staying home since her maternity leave. Every morning, I take our son to kindergarten and then head to work. When I come back, the house is a mess, and she’s usually on her phone all day. She won’t even take her plate to the sink.
She always talks about how we should share responsibilities, and I say “as you wish”. But honestly, I feel like I’m the only one running around doing everything. Meanwhile, she just scrolls through Instagram Reels.
I wanted to help her get back on track, and I thought maybe working again would make her feel better. So I secretly updated her CV and sent it out for some part-time and remote jobs. To my surprise, someone actually called her for an interview.
When I told her to try going to the interview, she got really mad and said I crossed a line. Since then, she hasn’t spoken to me. I didn’t mean to upset her. I just wanted her to see how hard it is to juggle everything, and I thought maybe restarting her career would lift her mood.
When someone stops showing up for daily life, it’s often not laziness but burnout or emotional shutdown. Your wife may be struggling in ways she can’t explain yet, from identity loss to quiet exhaustion.
It’s easy to start counting who’s doing more when you feel like you’re carrying everything. And honestly, it’s frustrating when it feels one-sided. But keeping score usually just makes things colder between you.
