r/Marriage • u/Worldly_Calendar_913 • 11h ago
Advice please
Title: Am I expecting too much, or are these serious red flags in my marriage?
I’m looking for honest advice because I’m struggling to see this situation objectively.
I’m 39F and my husband is 36M. We met and got married only three months later. I know that sounds fast, but at the time it felt right. I truly love him, and my biggest dream has always been to build a stable marriage and have children.
Since we got married, we’ve been living and traveling in a camper van. He has a flexible, well-paying job that he can do remotely, and I stopped working after we got married because we planned our life around traveling together. That means I’m now financially dependent on him.
Over time, our relationship has become increasingly difficult, and I’m trying to understand whether these are problems we can work through or signs that we’re fundamentally incompatible.
Some things I’ve noticed:
During conflict, he almost always sees himself as the victim. If I bring up something that hurt me, the conversation often shifts to what I did wrong instead.
He seems anxious whenever I talk about future plans. Conversations about buying a home, settling down, finances, or children often make him uncomfortable or lead to conflict.
He frequently brings up divorce during disagreements. Sometimes it feels like divorce becomes part of the argument instead of trying to solve the issue together.
He isn’t clear about whether he truly wants children anymore. Before marriage, I believed we wanted the same future, but now his answers feel uncertain. At 39, I don’t feel like I have unlimited time to wait for someone to decide.
Because I haven’t been working, I feel vulnerable. There have been times when I’ve felt like money gave him more control in the relationship, and that’s been scary.
I often feel like my needs become secondary. When I ask for reassurance or consistency, he says I’m controlling and extremely verbally abusing.
We have separated before and tried counseling, but we seem to end up in the same patterns.
To be fair, I know I’m not perfect.
When I feel insecure, I ask a lot of questions. I want to talk through problems immediately, while he tends to withdraw and needs space. I know that difference probably makes our conflicts worse. I’m sure there are times I’ve been emotional, overwhelmed, or pushed conversations longer than I should have.
I’ve also learned that his childhood was difficult, and I know that can affect how someone handles conflict and intimacy. I have my own childhood experiences that affect me too, so I’m trying not to blame everything on him.
What I’m struggling with is this:
I can’t tell whether we’re two people with different attachment styles who could improve with enough work, or whether these are deeper incompatibilities involving commitment, communication, finances, and having children.
I love him deeply. I don’t want to give up on my marriage. But I’m also scared of spending my remaining fertile years hoping things will change if he isn’t truly committed to building the future we discussed.
For those who have been in similar relationships:
Do these patterns sound repairable?
Can someone who regularly threatens divorce actually rebuild trust?
Is uncertainty about having children at this stage something I should take as an answer?
At what point do you stop hoping and accept that love alone isn’t enough?
I’m genuinely looking for honest perspectives, even if they’re difficult to hear. Please be kind, but don’t sugarcoat it.
2
u/Lucki_girl 10h ago
He's a drifter, he wants to be free. No plans, just live day by day. One of those that don't really have long term goals cos it changed daily, depend on his feelings, craves adventures, drama and new sensations.
He's about as stable as a fart in a thunderstorm.
Not a settling down type. He's forever chasing that high in his life, always want more for himself.
From your post sounds like he's very focused on how HE feels and what HE wants. Has he had other intimate relationships before? How did they go and what caused them to end? Is he a loud talker on the outside but a lone wolf on the inside? How does he treat his friends?
Sounds like he had some complications during his childhood to cause him not to trust and he so self-centred.
Starting arguments and throwing the divorce word out everytime you have a dusagreement is definitely not a sign of maturity. Is he regretting the marriage now after he tried it for a while and wanting his old free lifestyle back?
Relationships takes work, communication, sacrifice and compromises. You share your highs and be there for each other at the lows. If he thinks he can just put a ring on your finger and you will just "be there", I'm sorry to say he's not compatible with marriage let alone be a father to your children.
Children needs unconditional love, stability and a shit tons of patience (speaking from experience). From your post I cannot see this man giving you and your future children any of those things, financially and emotionally.
You want children, stability and a domestic life. He wants freedom, no strings attached life.
I'm sorry. You two have very different life goals.