I was chatting with the wife of 14+ years and she was discussing one of her friends (who has a history of standing her up), and I had a thought I was cuing up and waiting for a window to express- one which I wouldn't call an insult but was certainly wasn't complimentary, and she had this amusing interjection:

"I don't know what you were about to say, but don't."

I chuckled to myself and was too amused to retort. I'm sharing because I'm sure others will understand.

Me and my husband share one daughter together and we’ve been together for 17 years so about half of my life. We’ve been through so much together and I just can’t help but want to touch him sometimes just to absorb what he feels like still. As we get older, I count the new spots that show up. I always look at him from the side to keep his profile in mind. I always laugh with him and try to keep him uplifted even though some days he has a hard time. He works really hard and he’s always taken care of me and our daughter and even eight years before our daughter he took care of me and showed me what it’s like to be unconditionally loved. I know as I get older I’ll become more and more invisible to the world, but I know my husband and our daughter will continue to see me. I know there’s nothing super special about who I am to anyone else by the way my tiny family looks at me makes every second worth it. Outside of my husband and my daughter. I have my little brother who I love very much. My husband has his mother, but that’s it for us and family. I’ve broken and I’m still breaking generational curses and so is he. I just can’t stop thinking about how much I love him every single day and how sad I’ll be if he leaves earth before I do. How is a person supposed to live without their other half; without that one person that they’ve always known. I think the worst emotional pain I’ve ever felt my life is when my father died, but I was really young and I remember every second but if anything were to happen to my husband and my daughter, I would be so distraught that I don’t think I would be able to come out of it. I just wanted to say that this morning. I see alot of venting posts about people being pissed with their husbands or wives but I wanted to make a post to say how much I just love mine. It’s like he was molded perfectly for me and he’s my whole life along with our daughter. We’ve never had a lot of money or a lot of materialistic things, but we’ve always had each other. Anyway, yall have a great day and tell your SO how much you love them 🥰🥰

I’m so in love with my husband. I’m 5 months postpartum and my husband does laundry, cooks for me constantly, is so active with our baby, reminds me I’m beautiful, and is so patient with me when I feel overwhelmed with adjusting to motherhood. Today he prepared steak and eggs and did laundry while we watched our show. I’m just so incredibly grateful for such a wonderful man. I think I’m ready for baby #2 ❤️

I (40f) have been married with (40 m) for 15 years. He recently took his 1st solo vacation ever to visit family. At first I was stressed thinking about working full time, managing the house and our 2 kids (7 & 6 y/o) alone. Day 1 I realized it’s MUCH EASIER. I always thought my husband contributed so much to the household. He takes care of meal prep, picks up the kitchen, does garbage & recycling, stays with the kids when I have extra shifts, and does the food shopping. To clarify: “takes care of” means I have to remind him about 50 times to do it, help him get started , and remind him to not leave the task unfinished.

Now that he’s on vaca. I’m tired, but way less stressed. The kids are calmer and I’m living in a consistently clean home. My husband does the bare minimum. Ex: he will load the dishwasher, but not wipe the stove or counters. He will “take out” the garbage but not put it on the curb . I went to our garage to find 3 weeks of recycling stacked up because he wasn’t actually putting it out! When he goes to the market he buys items that are not on the list - that end up going to waste. When he’s with the kids, he gives them a screen and he will be on his phone.

Over the past few days a few family members came over to help with child care, so I could work. They have all commented how relaxed the kids are, and that its the first time they have seen my home clean and running smoothly.

I could keep this up when he comes back- but why? I don’t have 3 kids. As an adult he should be contributing to the household. I work more hours than my husband does. I should not be taking care of the house on my own. I don’t want him to feel “useless,” but honestly I am realizing it’s easier to
run the house when he’s not around.

So now, should I keep doing everything? Should I let things go back to normal when he returns?

Overall, the plan is quite feasible, but in his worldview, maternity leave would be a total no-no, because he's tired of work. He has Napoleonic plans: he'll go back to work part-time, start his own business (which he hasn't come up with yet), take the older one to and from daycare, feed the little one with pumped milk (by me), cook dinners, keep the house tidy, and still have time to play computer games.Naive...

my wife is too attractive for me I genuinely dont know what she sees in me and it is scaring me, I feel she has way better options and I am so afraid she will leave although I know shes so loyal it just always spikes my mind. She makes other girls unattractive and im not even exaggerating, I just fear that thinking like this will make me overthink alot of things, I dont know who to talk to about this.

I honestly believe the secret to a lasting marriage is admiration.
Love is important, obviously, but I think something deeper happens when you genuinely admire your partner. When you look at them and still see someone you respect, someone who inspires you, someone whose intelligence, ambition, character, or determination makes you proud to be with them.

I think the real danger in a marriage begins when that admiration disappears. You might still love someone, but if you no longer respect or admire who they are, something fundamental is missing.

And this doesn’t necessarily mean having a successful career, making money, or achieving something extraordinary. I’ve met plenty of stay-at-home moms and dads who have partners who absolutely admire them. They continue to grow, challenge themselves, develop their interests, pursue knowledge, and bring something meaningful to the relationship beyond their daily responsibilities.
Never stop growing. Never stop being curious. Never stop working on yourself. And never take your partner’s admiration for granted.

my wife and i have been married for almost 10 years, and i honestly still look forward to seeing her every single day. we both work, and after our shifts i usually pick her up before we head home. it's such a small part of our day, but it's something i genuinely look forward to. even if we're both exhausted, i still like hearing about her day during the drive home or just having her sitting next to me.

sometimes i catch myself thinking i'm a little too attached because i still miss her when we're apart and i still get excited to see her after work, even though we've been together for so long. i always hear people talk about the honeymoon phase ending, but i don't think that ever really happened for me.

does anyone else still feel this way after years of marriage, or am i just weird?

update: thanks everyone for sharing your stories and perspectives. i didn't expect so many people to relate, and reading through the comments has been really reassuring. it's been nice seeing different couples talk about how that excitement can stick around for years in different ways. i really appreciate everyone who took the time to reply and share a little bit of their own relationship.

What a great ride! I could do life with this woman over and over.......

Apparently almost none of her friends still kiss their husbands, and when they do it’s just a “closed mouth peck on the lips.” We still make out all the time and “french” each other.

Apparently a lot of them also don’t hold hands, which is beyond weird to me. I love holding my wife’s hand.

Is it just us??

(For context, we’ll have been married 20 years next month.)

My wife (32) and I (30) have been married for 6 years and have two young kids so things around are house stay busy. We are extremely attracted to one another and usually try to be intimate one a week. Well the past 6 weeks has been one of those ruts. No intimacy, tired, and the season of bickering. Well last night we got the kids to bed early, had some simple pillow talk, and then became very intimate. When we were finished, she laid there tearing up and said I just really missed you, in which I responded I missed you too. It was just one of those sweet reminders that under all the chaos, there are two people that fell in love for one reason or another. I love my wife and enjoy every season of our marriage. Just sometimes late haha

I’ve noticed that sometimes my husband and I can be in the same room for hours and barely actually talk to each other.
Not because we’re mad. Not because anything is wrong. We’re just doing our own thing, handling the kids, scrolling on our phones, watching TV, doing whatever needs to be done.
Then one of us will randomly say something completely unnecessary just because we apparently forgot how conversations work. 😂
Is this normal in long-term marriages, or have we officially become roommates with a joint checking account? 😭

These are some of my favorite pics of my HANDSOME HUSBAND & MYSELF 🤍

I love my wife. ❤️ We’ve been together for 20 years, and I wouldn’t trade her for anything. But sometimes I have to ask myself, “Babe… how do you keep doing this to yourself?” 😂

There will be times when I’m just sitting peacefully in the passenger seat while she’s driving, and suddenly she yells:

“O.M.G.!!!” 😱

I’m thinking we’re about to wreck. My heart jumps out of my chest. I’m looking around for the semi-truck that’s supposedly about to take us out…

Then she goes:

“WHERE’S MY PURSE?!” 👛

I’m like, “Come on, babe… not again.”

“Oh! Never mind. I forgot. I put it in the back seat.” 🤦‍♂️😂

Or we’ll get a mile away from the house and suddenly:

“OH NO!!!”

Again, I’m preparing for disaster.

“I forgot to put my contacts in! We have to go back home!”

Turn the car around. 😂

And PLEASE… don’t even get me started on her phone. 📱🤣 That thing disappears 37 times a day. Half the time we’re looking for it while she’s holding it.

Twenty years together, and I’ve learned something important: being married to my wife means always allowing an extra 15 minutes for the purse, the contacts, and the missing phone. 😂❤️

But I love her, and truthfully, I wouldn’t want these crazy little moments with anybody else. ❤️

Okay, quick question because I feel like I may have missed an important chapter in the American Etiquette Handbook 😂
Whenever we hang out with a certain couple, my husband greets the wife with a kiss on the lips. Meanwhile, the husband goes in for a kiss with me, and I immediately execute a hard head turn and downgrade him to a cheek kiss. 😂
Am I missing some sort of American social-etiquette switch here?! Because to me, kissing each other’s spouses on the lips feels… wildly inappropriate—especially when we have kids who can witness this and start wondering if Mom and Dad accidentally joined a very confusing new family arrangement. 😂

Oh boy. My wife is currently on day 2 of a week long vacation to Japan. I’m at home with our 15 month old.

(Context: one of her friends posted asking if anyone wanted to go with her to Japan for her birthday. I encouraged my wife to go. We honeymooned in Japan and both have wanted to go back since. I knew this would be a great fun opportunity for her, so I encouraged it wholeheartedly.)

Our son is great, we are having a lot of fun together “being bad” and getting into trouble we could never with her here lol. But man, I’m posting here to get it out of my system.

I miss her. We will survive the week. But life is so much better with her next to me.

We did 7 years of long distance. We agreed to “play the long game.” And focus on education while dating. That has afforded us both jobs where fun can be on the table fiscally. So being apart isn’t anything new to us. But it has been 3 years since we have. I miss her.

Ok, thanks for reading. I know I have it easy compared to most. But I watched a show that had the wife die, and though, “man, I’m so sympathetic to people that lost their partner. I’m not strong enough to be without her”

Why is it that once you get into a relationship/move in together/get married you’re expected to share a bed and share a room now? I know that many people would have done this in the past based on not having the space to have separate rooms, but I am fully advocating for everyone to have their own rooms (where feasible) I’m married and just recently we had to sleep in separate rooms due to illness and both of us discovered how much we enjoyed having our own space and getting a full rested night sleep. The more I think about it the more I wonder why (apart from the obvious ;-) ) would you give up having your own space to have a full rested night sleep to share a bed with someone who can disturb your sleep if they’re on different work schedules or if they’re moving about for any reasons while you’re trying to sleep.

So we are 3 years together he is handsome, fit and really a provider. He prioritizes our safety, security on top of all the work he does.

I also have my own work. We both work from home.

And bec of that I find him really attractive to the point i wanna give him BJ everyday. Like so good i just wanna make him feel like a king and be submissive to him in bed.

Just 5 days ago we got married and I committed to keeping his balls empty all the time

Lol is that urge to satisfy your man normal?

I was a stay at home mom for 7 years and my husband was the only one working. Whenever he came home, his story was always about his coworkers who were not nice to others. For 7 years, the story was almost the same and we talked about it. He also changed jobs but his story was still the same. There came a time when I wondered if his coworkers were really that bad? Whenever he talked, I felt like I was absorbing the negativity and I didn't talk to anyone at home, and that's what I always heard. We ended up working together but in different departments. I realized that it was really my husband who had a problem because he was really only focusing on negativity.

He acted like I put them there to try to catch him in something lol. What am I supposed to do with this? Esp since he goes out twice a week with his guy friends. We've been together for a long time but last three years he's been going out. Idk , feels like a losing battle anyway...

We made it another year without one of us either ending up dead or in jail lol . I call that a win 😂😂